I'm curious if any authors here have moved their stories to premium (I'm assuming that's what the hide behind paywall option means), and what your experience was doing it. I know it will kill your read numbers, but did you still have people reading it? How did your stories perform after moving behind the paywall?
I'm not an author, only a reader.
I just checked the last 50 New Stories and there are 4 stories by Craver which are Premium. They are not ongoing serials. I didn't look if they are just short stories or multi-chapter stories.
As a reader who usually waits for completion of serialized novels or novellas, my view of stories put behind the paywall is different depending on when this happens.
• first posting: ok, I'll ignore this story.
• after completion:
• if announced in a blog entry at least two days in advance, ok, I'll download all chapters if I'm interested in the story.
• if just moved behind the paywall unannounced or announced after the fact: depends on how long it was free after completion. Long enough to read all chapters (I read about 4 to 6 chapters a day), ok. Short after completion maybe I'll grumble if I haven't started reading, but if I have started reading, I'll be pissed.
• If I started reading while the story is still in progress (I do this sometimes) and the author then moves the still incomplete story behind the paywall, I'll be pissed.
My consequence if I'm pissed is to put the author on my personal blacklist and I'll ignore his existence.
I'm 76 now and there are so many other books and stories to read that I'll not miss his works.
just my 2¢
HM.
(edited typo)
Another non-author here.
Moghal was away from this site for over 10 years so all of his stories were made Premium. Then he returned and started posting a new story - https://storiesonline.net/s/25078/shades-of-grey - which was a sequel to a previous story. The new story was set automatically to Premium and it took him a while (and some prodding) to realise and fix that.
The previous story had 24500 downloads, 18 chapters, 7.84 score.
This new one has 3000 downloads, 11 chapters.
That automatic setting absolutely killed his download stats for the new story and he still does not have enough votes for them to show.
That is not the question Lumpy was asking but it makes a pretty clear statement as to the effect of posting a story as Premium.
The new story was set automatically to Premium
That's interesting.
Btw, I think it's called Premier.
Btw, I think it's called Premier.
Yes and no.
It says "Premier Members Only",
but the link on the Home page is titled "Premium Services" while the actual link is https://storiesonline.net/doc/Premier_Services_Details and on the linked page it's always "Premier".
I checked some other links (Authors, My Library, Advanced Search) and there it's always "Premier".
Seems only the link on the Home page says "Premium"
HM.
Obviously premium stories receive fewer views, but that is not necessarily the primary motivation for the author. Prior to bookapy some authors set new stories to premium as a way to encourage more readers to move to premium access and thus support Lazeez and the site. Another reason is anti-theft. I cannot recall any story posted directly to premium being stolen and posted elsewhere.
Obviously those are not common motivations, but they do occur.
More to the point however is that prior to bookapy the site was funded by Lazeez's savings and those who paid for premium access.
There are authors who consider a hit on their reader numbers a small price to pay to ensure SoL continues.
You should reach out to Lubrican and ask directly. They've been writing for decades, have nearly 300 stories posted on SOL, is still active, and releases some (but not all) stories directly to Premier.
I just took a quick look. In the past year Lubrican has posted 6 stories. Four are Premiere, and one of the ones that isn't is in progress. Of the five completed ones, the premier stories all have fewer downloads than the free one, but they're still all the range of 28k - 36k. There are plenty of free authors who would kill for those numbers.
There are plenty of free authors who would kill for those numbers.
I didn't realise that was an option. Who do I have to kill and by what method? ;-)
AJ
Who do I have to kill and by what method? ;-)
You have to come up with something original that's never been used before.
Who do I have to kill and by what method?
What ever you do let the one who looks at you funny in the mirror live.
What ever you do let the one who looks at you funny in the mirror live.
That's a given: I'm not suicidal.
AJ
Wouldn't everyone want to be Premier of Canada? Since SOL is Canadian.
Canada, much of it, is scenic, even beautiful, but I think it may well be what Milton was referring to about "Ruling in Hell" if nothing else, whatever the Quebecois speak, it's NOT French! Nearly anyone in France will strongly tell you the folks from Quebec Don't speak French.
For that matter, thanks to their "elites the language ALL Canadians are going to need to learn is Chinese...
Too many Canadian government agencies have been "captured" by agents of the Chinese Communist Party. The once quite competent Canadian agencies are now riven with corruption. Smuggling is now rampant into and through Canada; Human, drugs, technology, and other things.
It is truly sad. I had been considering an offer to move to Canada for a career with the RCMP in the mid-90's. Now I am very glad I did not. I have many friends in Canada. Some who are now emigrating.
fyi...A "Premier" in Canada leads a Province. The leader of Canada is called the "Prime Minister"...
The leader of Canada is called the "Prime Minister"
That's an oxymoron because there's only one 'Prime Minister' but one isn't prime ;-)
AJ
one isn't prime
It's confusing when mathematical definitions change: when I was brought up a prime was a number only divisible by itself and one; now it seems primes are those positive integers divisible by precisely two numbers. An annoying change!
It's confusing when mathematical definitions change: when I was brought up a prime was a number only divisible by itself and one; now it seems primes are those positive integers divisible by precisely two numbers. An annoying change!
Most annoying is that they just rephrased the same facts and the new definition states the same just less clear and obvious.
Any positive integer is at least divisible by itself and one, and if these are the only two numbers,the integer is a prime.
The new wording however definitively excludes 1, while with the old definition one could argue 1 is a prime – it's only divisible by itself and one.
While I was told the table of prime numbers starts with 2 as the lowest prime number, I always regarded 1 as the lowest prime number.
HM.
While I was told the table of prime numbers starts with 2 as the lowest prime number, I always regarded 1 as the lowest prime number.
According to Wikipedia "A prime number (or prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that has no positive divisors other than 1 and itself." Notice the "greater than 1", although I have to agree that if you ignore that 1 would qualify.
While I was told the table of prime numbers starts with 2 as the lowest prime number, I always regarded 1 as the lowest prime number.
It was still taught as a prime number in UK schools in the 70s. One of my maths teachers, who had recently completed a PhD in maths and was still actively involved in maths research and getting papers published, certainly considered it so.
The 'change' seems to have been instigated because it made some theorems easier to express rather than through any particular logical demand.
AJ
The 'change' seems to have been instigated because it made some theorems easier to express rather than through any particular logical demand.
Okay, why doesn't "making some theorems easier to express" qualify as a "particular logical demand"?
Because they're still valid theorems whether one is taken to be prime or not - they just require rewording.
AJ
Technically the definition hasn't really changed, it's just been made more clear. The old definition, as you stated was that a prime is a number only divisible by itself AND one.
The word "and" in a logical sense, which is the sense used in mathematics, is specifying that there must be two divisors. The fact that one is divisible by itself which is one does not mean that one can be divided by one and itself.
Unfortunately, formal logic and basic principles of mathematics haven't been taught in grade school on a regular basis for over a century, so the wording of the definition has been changed to exclude the false inference that one is a prime. It never has been.
The word "and" in a logical sense, which is the sense used in mathematics, is specifying that there must be two divisors. The fact that one is divisible by itself which is one does not mean that one can be divided by one and itself.
One is divisible by itself, AND one is divisible by one. So by the definition "an old-prime is a natural number whose natural number divisors are limited to itself and one", one is an old-prime. The word 'and' (in this and the earlier definition) does not require the two divisors be different, there needs to be an explicit statement that the divisors are distinct to achieve this.
(The statement "I am married to Jane Doe and that lady over there" does not mean the speaker is necessarily a polygamist, though he/she might be deliberately implying it, perhaps in order to confuse.)
The only comparisons I can make are between The Windy Pines and Pinhole. The Windy Pines has around an average of 140,000 downloads. Pinhole, in contrast, has 150,000 and is hidden behind the "premier" paywall.
To be fair, Pinhole was free while I posted it and remained that way for a short while after I completed it before moving it to conform to Kindles rules (can't be cheaper or free on any other site on the internet), so I could publish it on Amazon.
Fanlon