Hi,
I'm wondering does anybody know which finished story have most downloads on this site?
Lazeez maybe be able to tell you, but there's no other way of finding out. As an author I can look at a stat sheet that shows the stats, including downloads, for my stories; but only my stories.
Actually, quite simple.
Advanced Search -> Ignore in progress and Inactive and order by download count descending order
1 A Fresh Start by rlfj 2363771
2 Living Next Door to Heaven 1 by aroslav 997459
3 Deja Vu Ascendancy by AscendingAuthor 811201
4 Chuck and Lisa by Dual Writer 700983
5 A Flawed Diamond by Jay Cantrell 682569
6 Lightning in a Bottle by Sage Mullins 615270
7 Daze in the Valley by Jay Cantrell 583041
8 The Legend of Eli Crow by JRyter 574194
9 Overboard by HandyMan 571198
10 Recluse and Ghost by Dual Writer 547391
Actually, quite simple.
Thanks for that. I didn't spot the download count as a sort choice.
@Lazeez Jiddan
Wow, That's interesting,very interesting.
And thank you very much for this info.
Maybe this should serve as another of "Top Lists" in front page :)
2 Living Next Door to Heaven 1 by aroslav 997459
This, of course, is only Book 1. It will be interesting to see how book 2 matches up.
One point about such statistics; these figures are "all time" so a book put on SOL ten years ago could and does find new readers even now so time has a slight influence to favour older submissions
Lazeez, your inner statistician is showing! That's usually the sign of a diehard baseball fan.
Lazeez, your inner statistician is showing! That's usually the sign of a diehard baseball fan.
Born and raised outside of north america. Once here, I never acquired the taste for north american specific sports (baseball, carry-ball, hockey) etc...
Sorry to disappoint.
Only thing more upside down than americans - is american sport like baseball :)
Your football is simple and man can understand it - ball must end on opposite end of the field :D
I was trying to understand basketball, but miserably failed every time.
Even Jay Cantrel with his excellent story "Flawed diamond" (https://storiesonline.net/s/73779/a-flawed-diamond ) could not help me to understand it :D
I was trying to understand basketball, but miserably failed every time.
Most USA citizens grow up with it and still don't understand it, so you never had a chance.
I was trying to understand basketball, but miserably failed every time.
We had an American do a year at the school I was at and he introduced it. It became very popular
In fact the basis is very simple - as easy as soccer / football. 1 Don't run with the ball in your hands - bounce it 2. Get the ball through the ring at the opponent's end of the court. 3. don't get caught butting or kneeing them in a painful place
I was trying to understand basketball, but miserably failed every time.
Even Jay Cantrel with his excellent story "Flawed diamond"
Think of it like upside down soccer. You have two teams on a playing field with a net on either end of the field. Each team is trying to put the ball into one of the nets as many times as they can.
In soccer you have a horizontal net at ground level and players only use their feet to manipulate the ball. In basketball you have a vertical net raised above the ground and players use their hands to manipulate the ball.
In fact pretty much every team sport except for baseball and cricket can be summed up as 2 teams on either end of field; to score, each team must move [thing*] to goal at opposite end of field.
*thing is used rather than ball to encompass hockey.
Glad you used "Thing." Badminton for example is played with an object hard to describe. However it, tennis and volleyball do not have goals to get the thing in. Success is for the other team not to be able to return it to your side. We need to work on the criteria for success in every team sport except baseball and cricket. I am pretty sure the doubles form of tennis and badminton and all forms of volleyball I know of are team sports. Beach volleyball is only two girls per team, in skimpy uniforms, but two still makes a team.
A lot of sports would gain more fans and paid attendance if the uniforms were more revealing. In beach volleyball they went about as far as they can go.
Badminton for example is played with an object hard to describe.
Okay, I missed volleyball.
I am pretty sure the doubles form of tennis and badminton and all forms of volleyball I know of are team sports. Beach volleyball is only two girls per team, in skimpy uniforms, but two still makes a team.
No, I don't consider doubles a team. In my mind in the context of team sports, a team should require a bit more infrastructure and be exclusive of solo play. Most tennis doubles also play singles.
A lot of sports would gain more fans and paid attendance if the uniforms were more revealing.
That only works for women's sports.
In beach volleyball they went about as far as they can go.
I don't see any reason why they couldn't play nude.
I don't see any reason why they couldn't play nude.
Many do, just not at public venues or on TV.
I don't see any reason why they couldn't play nude.
Gymnasium. The old Greeks scoffs "Been there, done that"
You've never heard of nude volleyball. It used to be, and probably still is, played quite regularly at nudist camps.
What do the well endowed ladies do about breast flop? Guys have things that stick out too, at least when its warm. One of the Naked in School Universe rules was to allow protective clothing like jock straps and athletic bras when running or other activity might cause injury.
Everything's up to date in Kansas City,
they've got a big theater they call a burly Q. They had a dancer there who was padded from her shoulders to her heels,
later in the second act when she began to peel,
you saw that everything she had was absolutely real.
She went about as far as she could go...
(credit Rogers and Hammerstein, Oklahoma)
I'm terrible with story names, but not long ago an author posted a story every day for months that got over two million downloads. The protagonist kept popping up in different bodies, the mob was after him and his friends, he lived on a riverboat. I quit reading fairly early on because it got repetitive. I'm pretty sure he completed it but he must have removed it.
You are probably thinking of 'Second Chance' by Number7.
The story is still ongoing, and Lazeez excluded ongoing and incomplete from his list.
@jimh67
You are thinking about "Second chance" from Number 7 (https://storiesonline.net/s/76454/second-chance ).
We all were thinking that it's finished, but (for me unfortunately) he decided to ride a dead horse again, and continued this story...
He's seems to be taking a different tactic this time and given Carl a boot way back to his early years.
While I agree that things got repetitive, I continued to read it. I did not care for the way he ended the last incarnation and supposedly the entire story. I am waiting to see where things go this time around.
I'd actually like to see him bring back the female who had been 'bounced' like Carl.
he decided to ride a dead horse again
I suspect Book 12 may be a horse of a quite different colour. I got turned off during Book 7 but when I saw a restart at 12 I took another look. Early days, but it feels quite different. I wonder if there is a ghost involved.
Perhaps we should consider the various reincarnations as second chance, third chance, fourth chance, etc.
Now we can add another story to this list:
Six times a day from Spacer X is now marked as finished (see https://storiesonline.net/s/52707/six-times-a-day)with 784354 downloads.
Seems to me that this is now also longest finished story on this site with 23.166 KB...
yes it is, and it took him 8 years to do. While no 2 (Deja Vue Ascendancy) was done in 1 year for 18,667 kb of a bit over 75% in 1/8 the the time.
Seems to me that this is now also longest finished story on this site with 23.166 KB
I gave up on that story years ago. It was like reading the same thing over and over again. I guess I could copy a large section of one of my stories and paste it a hundred times within itself and it would be the longest story.
Something similar happened to me - story was interesting maybe first 50 or so chapters, then it lost it's appeal to me and I abandoned it.
Perhaps problems sustaining interest is a reason why so many stories on SOL (and elsewhere) are relatively short. 100K is fine. 100 megabytes is pushing it.
Writers should plan ahead for an ending, and quit when they get there. Or at least start a new story in the same series.
Writers should plan ahead for an ending, and quit when they get there.
Some of us do, but then we get emails asking why we ended it there - aaaarrrgh.
@richardshagrin
Writers should plan ahead for an ending, and quit when they get there.
Some of us do, but then we get emails asking why we ended it there - aaaarrrgh.
I am with richardshagrin -- nothing prevents you from ending the story; and then writing a sequel. As wrong as the sequel has its own story arc.
nothing prevents you from ending the story; and then writing a sequel. As wrong as the sequel has its own story arc.
I hope you meant long and not wrong but part of the problem is coming up with what to write for the sequel. If I had something extra to add I'd either include it and make it a saga, or if there was a dramatic change in pace or direction (as happened with Odd Man) I'd start in on the sequel right away. But when I've already included in the story everything I want to put in it, or think I should put in it, I've got nothing for a sequel. Sure, if I think of something later I'll consider a sequel, or may even write another story along similar lines.
Let's take Will to Survive I've got the basic idea and plot, but not the details, for a sequel involving his wingman, but it's in another time period. However, while researching Will to Survive I came up with an alternative idea of where to go with it. I resisted changing the story, but am now in the process of writing another story with the same basic concept and starting in the same basic area (why not re-use the research) and taking the new story off into the other areas I thought of while writing Will to Survive - it'll be a totally different story that starts in that area and moves well away from there. So watch out for it, still playing with titles.
I hope you meant long and not wrong
I did, indeed, mean as long as the sequel has its own story arc. And if you don't have a worthwhile plot, by all means, don't write a sequel.
In fact, one thing that I do not like in some of your stories is taking the character all the way to his death -- with a sort of an obituary at the end. I would prefer to leave a protagonist living his life, with me free to imagine his later years. Or for that matter, for you to write a sequel if an idea strikes you.
I always thought of your Rivers Region stories as sequels than unconnected stories. All your Edwards stories are even more closely related. You may claim you don't write sequels, but what are the Damsels in Distress stories, some with the same hero used in other stories. Sequel is not a four letter word. Sorry if you don't want the word to get out associated with either of your pen names. Not all stories are well adapted to being made into sequels. IMHO most sagas would be improved by making them into a series of sequels. Like the 30 volume "trilogy" discussed earlier. Its an old tradition, Tarzan, the Wizard of Oz, perhaps dozens of older sagas, came out as separate books.
You may claim you don't write sequels, but what are the Damsels in Distress stories
sorry, I didn't mean to say I don't write sequels at all, just that asking for one isn't going to cause one because it's either planned already, or nothing will happen. The Clan Amir stories are a specific story arc and not all are at SoL due to contractual obligations.
It does not depend of the length of story - if it's good, it may be as long as author wishes - see stories from GWResearch, Laslo Zalezac, rlfj, Jay Cantrel, Argon (and lot of other good authors here)...
If it's repetitive, poor written, (you even may say stupid) then it loses my interest, and I'm abandoning it...
Perhaps problems sustaining interest is a reason why so many stories on SOL (and elsewhere) are relatively short. 100K is fine. 100 megabytes is pushing it.
Writers should plan ahead for an ending, and quit when they get there. Or at least start a new story in the same series.
I think Oyster50 may have got it close by writing about five separate stories which could be complete individually and then merge them into a single story and its sequel. (I'm getting bored with the sequel but I see he has started another story in the Smart Girls Universe which I will have to read).
On top of that he started another would-be linked story but his partner pulled out after one chapter - great pity because it looked very good
I think Oyster50 may have got it close by writing about five separate stories which could be complete individually and then merge them into a single story and its sequel.
Although it isn't quite as neatly wrapped together, another author who has done that is Dual Writer with the Florida Friends series. Although often introduced in separate stories, when Steve is the main storyline character most of the others are present at some point.
Chuck appears to be the main character in most of the latest stories. I agree FF (Florida Friends, not mature Female with mature Female) is close to being the series of sequels/saga type of story (story arc? is that like welding?) we are asking for, instead of million megabyte, hundreds of chapters, posted for years and years stories most of us have abandoned or never started.
At times I think its a combination of factors. For some writer/storytellers its what they do best. For others its what their fans want. For others it is probably something even different. What matters is that regardless of the cause or reason, they tell a good story that people will enjoy.
Thank you all for replies on basketball, and my apologies to all of you.
And this can show you what mad scramble is in mind of super tired security sysadmin after another hell week - i confused basketball (game very popular in my country) with baseball :(
All my rumblings were meant to baseball ...
All my rumblings were meant to baseball ...
I tuned most of the exchanges out once I saw most of you were going on about playing with someone else's balls - not my thing.
To risk breaking what appears to be the rule of this forum, by going back to the topic: Lazeez, is there any way of finding out how many people are reading/have read a story all the way through? (The number of people who have read the last/latest chapter, perhaps.) IMO, the number of downloads as currently formulated is not a meaningful indicator for long stories.
(It might be useful - but perhaps cruel to some authors - to also have an indication of how many people started a series but then gave up on it!)
(The number of people who have read the last/latest chapter, perhaps.)
Authors have access to a lot of stats on their stories. On the page Authors/Editors - select a pen name (if you use more than one), - select the show stats button and you have a page listing your stories. Select a story title and you have a page showing the stats for that story. At the top it has the story information and the votes, and below that is the information on downloads broken up by posting chapter. Thus you can see how many downloads have been made of each chapter. It isn't possible to break that up into individuals, but it gives you a good idea of how many followed the story through.
Lazeez, is there any way of finding out how many people are reading/have read a story all the way through?
Not really. It's a hard stat to keep without keeping a ton of usage stats on every user. Even then you can never be sure how many readers went through every chapter simply to download them to their computers without reading a single word of the story. There are a lot of readers who like collecting the texts.
The best I can suggest is to check the weekly download list for serial stories. If a story gets posted once a week like Arlene and Jeff, then its weekly download count is a rough estimate how many readers are following it. If it gets posted twice, then divide the number by half, and so on.
To risk breaking what appears to be the rule of this forum, by going back to the topic: Lazeez, is there any way of finding out how many people are reading/have read a story all the way through? (The number of people who have read the last/latest chapter, perhaps.)+
I would have thought that difficult in that a number of people here (including myself) admit to reading individual stories twice or even more times. From your question one would have to identify those multiple readers and cut each one back to a single read
@Ernest Bywater,
I am glad that Lazeez gives you authors lots of tools to analyze their stats, bu as a mere reader I was hoping that there would be a way for general readers to find out which stories are actually read all the way through by lots of people. I don't find the downloads figure a useful statistic.
I don't fond the downloads figure a useful statistic.
As an author, I find the download figure is a lot more useful than some others for reader numbers, simply because of how the system works.
When a person goes to a story page the download count goes up by one, when they go to the page for a chapter the chapter count goes up one. However, it matters not how many pages of the story they look at in any one 24 hour period the Story Download Count will only go up by one (this is true of all the counters). So, if you go to a story with twelve chapters and read it all in one sitting, the Story gets a count of one and the chapter counters each get a count of one (NB go back and forth between two chapters several times and they still only get a count of one for the day). If you read six chapters today, put the story aside for a day and read the rest two days later, then each chapter still gets a one count, but the story count gets two because you went to it on two different days.
So the Story Download is counting the number of people who visited the story, as best as it can. If I write a long story and it takes you three days to read, I get a count of three - one for each day, but the thirty on chapters still only get a count of one each.
To do anything more than this will require a lot more hardware and coding that any benefit it will provide to most authors or readers.
I strongly suspect the only way to keep track of people that read all the chapters of a story would be to identify them using their log in email address. I would prefer not to have that information available. Lets suppose that reading stories with underage sex becomes a crime. Or releasing that information can be accessed by potential employers, who decide against you because you are a pervert. There are reasons to want privacy in web browsing history. Knowing which stories I read all the way through so the author might be gratified does not, in my mind, become more important than my desire for privacy.
Ernest says the site tracks the number of downloads for each chapter. I think I would be happy with knowing the download count for the last/latest chapter for a story. Yes, the numbers are slightly skewed if someone revisits the last page of their favourite stories, but no system is perfect!
@Ernest,
Without knowing the structure of the SQL database that probably underlies the site stats, I can't guess how much work is involved. But as a reader, the downloads figure does not tell me much. Take Arlene and Jeff, for example. It's been downloaded a gazillion times, but if it has a number of loyal readers (each reading each part as it comes out) and there are umpteen parts so far, then each will have upped the dowload count by at least umpteen. And unless it has been updated recently the only way of finding out the value of umpteen is to visit the contents page, which has the side effect of upping the download count even if I don't read anything. The number of avid readers would be a better indicator to me of whether a story is likely to be worth reading...
And unless it has been updated recently the only way of finding out the value of umpteen is to visit the contents page
When you view an Authors story list page, that's the one you get to from the Alphabetic list of authors or your library page of favourite authors, you can see the download count there without having to visit the story index page.
There is a false count generated with some longer stories, especially those with long gaps in updates, and that's the readers will often re-read the last chapter posted or re-read the story to that point before reading the latest chapter. The total download only goes up one, but the chapter counts all go up as well. Thus the total makes more sense. However, when you get something that's been as long as A&J is, you get a lot of people re-reading the story to date. I'd guess (it's only a personal guess) that people will re-read prior chapters every six months. Also they give it another boost on every chapter posting.
With A&J you know there are 491 chapters posted weeks apart, thus you can divide the 3,273,379 by 491 straight away to get - 6,666.75 people reading each chapter (on average) because each reader will put the count up by one when each chapter goes up. The few who find it late and read a lot on the one day will counteract those who re-read it a lot.
I would be happy with the approximate measure, especially if it meant there was less fear of breaches of privacy. It is a nice bonus if the info for calculating the measure is already available, as it means existing stories canbe ranked.
I like this kind of measure as the score is independent of the way a tale is structured into books, chapters, etc. By comparison, the downloads score for A Fresh Start would be dramatically lower if it had been a series of 7 books, whereas The Flight of a Code Monkey would have a much higher downloads score if each of its huge chapters had been split into smaller chunks published on consecutive days - but the readers score I've proposed would remain unaffected. (Magestic is another tale with huge chapters, and worth reading and rereading; unlike some ongoing soap operas, the author knew from the start where the story was going and where it would end.)