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Slow Postings

rvbuilder ๐Ÿšซ

I realize all of the authors here are unpaid and mostly write for the joy of it. Some stories are of such high quality that I think their authors would succeed in the publishing world (some have).

I can't honestly complain about the often long period of time it takes to post all chapters of a story. Since the authors probably have full time jobs and actual lives to lead, the unpaid hobby must take a back seat. I just want to say that I seldom read a story as it develops, because on several occasions I have become hooked on one, only to never know the outcome. Or else there is such a long time from first posting to last that I lose the plot.

I'm beginning to wonder if some writers purposely string a story out to get ratings for each posting rather than one rating for the complete story. If this is not the case, I apologize.

At any rate, I want to thank you all for providing such varied and good quality entertainment.

Replies:   robberhands
KinkyWinks ๐Ÿšซ

I usually quit reading them if they are slow. I read so much that I can't remember what the story is about so I just give it up as unreadable.

robberhands ๐Ÿšซ
Updated:

@rvbuilder

I'm beginning to wonder if some writers purposely string a story out to get ratings for each posting rather than one rating for the complete story.

I don't believe any author writes his stories for readers' scores. That aside, if a reader scores each newly posted chapter it still is just one vote. Only the last vote counts for the calculation of the story score.

Replies:   awnlee jawking
awnlee jawking ๐Ÿšซ

@robberhands

I don't believe any author writes his stories for readers' scores.

Given the machinations that some authors undertake to boost their scores, plus the howls of anguish when an author's precious story attracts a mere 5, I think more authors care about scores than you give credit. Some of them even post to the forum: "I don't care about scores but ..."

AJ

robberhands ๐Ÿšซ

@awnlee jawking

I think more authors care about scores than you give credit.

I didn't say authors don't care about the score. A score is a very visual critique of a story and authors certainly care about critique. But I don't believe the score is a main motivation or they write to 'purposely string a story out to get more ratings'.

awnlee jawking ๐Ÿšซ

@robberhands

purposely string a story out to get more ratings

If an author has a completed story, perhaps already available on Amazon, why do they string it out, one or two chapters per week, on SOL?

Obviously they want to attract buyers who can't wait for the whole story on SOL, but IMO a secondary consideration for posting a story a chapter at a time over a protracted period is that it attracts more downloads and higher ratings.

Isn't it fun to have a discussion on scores after all the recent political threads ;)

AJ

Replies:   Ernest Bywater
Ernest Bywater ๐Ÿšซ
Updated:

@awnlee jawking

If an author has a completed story, perhaps already available on Amazon, why do they string it out, one or two chapters per week, on SOL?

I use that process for three reasons:

1. It encourages those who can afford to spend the few dollars and are impatient to buy the book from Lulu.

2. It reduces the number of emails I get from fans about sitting up all night reading the longer stories in one sitting. If I do that with a new story many of my regular fans read the story in one sitting, then email me about how tired they are the next day. With this method it's only the new fans that get sleepless nights from reading the long stories.

Please note: Now the majority of my stories are 50,000 words or longer because I aim to write novels. When I started writing I used tow rite a lot of short stories, but now I focus more on novel length stories, and sometimes slip over in to saga length stories.

3. The most important reason for a slow release (although every other day isn't that slow) is it cuts down on the emails asking when the next story will be finished, because they don't start sending those emails until a couple of weeks after the story being posted has the last part of it posted.

edit to add: I know of one author who writes the whole story, puts it through the editors, and then makes changes based on the editorial advice. Because he does this part-time it takes him a while to make the editorial reviews, so he posts each chapter as he finishes the review of it, thus it posts over time, despite being finished.

Switch Blayde ๐Ÿšซ

@robberhands

But I don't believe the score is a main motivation or they write to 'purposely string a story out to get more ratings

It's probably that it takes time to write a chapter, and some authors post as soon as the chapter is done but it might take them a long time to write the chapter.

But for those of us who finish the story before posting, the motivation is reads (downloads), not scores. When you post the entire story it shows up once. When you post by chapter, it shows up each time you post a chapter.

Ernest Bywater ๐Ÿšซ

@awnlee jawking

I think more authors care about scores than you give credit.

Personally, I think authors caring about scores is like in the song (paraphrased):

... some authors do, and some authors don't ...

There is only one score that I worry about concerning my stories, and that's the one that comes in an email each month with the title of 'Lulu Revenues.'

As for the SoL scores, I only ever look at them when I need to analyze them for a response about the scores here on SoL. By doing and analytical report on my own stories, or all of the stories, I avoid people complaining about me picking on them and their scores.

docholladay ๐Ÿšซ

I admit that with the longer stories which are posted on a schedule I tend to wait until they are just about finished to read them. I bookmark them so I can keep track of any unread stories however. Like the new one by Lazlo I bookmarked it since he posted in his blog it would take about 60 weeks to finish the posting even though the story was finished. I have enjoyed his stories enough that I bookmarked it for later reading.

Although I have and probably will read unfinished stories, especially those by writers who are unable to continue writing and in some cases have died. I will continue to enjoy the gift they shared.

KinkyWinks ๐Ÿšซ

AJ, I don't think it improves the score, but it does boost the downloads. I have six stories that were all posted fast, I think three days at the most. The downloads are really, really, low compared to those that are strung out over months. The scores are 7.37 on the lowest and 7.93 on the highest, which to me is a satisfactory score.

Replies:   Vincent Berg
Vincent Berg ๐Ÿšซ

@KinkyWinks

Well, I've got some relevant experience. Unlike Ernest, who posts a chapter a day, I typically post twice-a-week, but for my current story, since the sequel is taking SO long, I've purposely cut back so there won't be a six or eight months delay between books! I know that many readers will stop reading, or will simply put it aside until it's completed, but part of my decision was to see HOW it impacted the scores and downloads.

As far as scores, the opposite is more often the case. You don't get better scores by only posting a chapter once a week, once a month or once a quarter. You get the best scores by posting frequently, on a set schedule so readers know when to check in. Likewise, if you post all at once, fewer readers will ever see the story to begin with. So the once to several times a week seems to be the best strategy, though I tend to think that once a week is too infrequent while once a day is too frequent, but I still have discovered the golden mean in this regard.

But yeah, I'd glad from a reprieve in the political bickering. I mean, we get it. Certain authors like certain political parties. None of us mind those positions, but we'd rather read stories than continually being hammered with your personal positions on any give topic.

I'll respect you as long as you respect me. You can despise what I stand for, or even hate me as a person, but as long as you don't attack me every time we meet, I really don't care.

That said, when a particular issue comes up, and someone feels compelled to voice their opinion, I don't mind, but if I see it more than a couple times in as many months, I'll ignore ALL the rants.

I think most everyone on the site knows my own positions, as I've never disguised my personal beliefs, and those central themes arise in my stories, but I try not to hammer then continually.

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