Definitions

[gdaniel]

I'm new here and need some help.

What do the labels "Temporary Hold" and "Lomg Term Hold" mean?

Also, it's interesting to note how readership falls off rapidly. Growing Pains started out with 704 views ans has dropped to about 200 by Chapter 4. Not complaining. I realize every story is for everyone.

[gdaniel]

Just now, gdaniel said:

I'm new here and need some help.

What do the labels "Temporary Hold" and "Lomg Term Hold" mean?

Also, it's interesting to note how readership falls off rapidly. Growing Pains started out with 704 views ans has dropped to about 200 by Chapter 4. Not complaining. I realize every story is for everyone.

That was supposed to be "ISN'T for everyone. DUH! Stupid fingers.

[Mrsgnomie]

Short Term Hold means the author won't likely be posting regularly but expects to be back at it soon, where Long Term Hold means not to expect any new chapters for a while. Abandoned means, it's abandoned. 

I think it's normal for most stories to see a decline... even though I'm not even sure I would call it a decline, it's just that older chapters almost always have more views, because they've been around longer. Some people will read one chapter and decide if it's for them or not. If it doesn't hook them, they'll move on. Some wait for more chapters before they binge it.

I just glanced at the numbers and they look pretty standard, especially for a new author. Is the story finished on your end or are you writing as you go? My advice would be to keep to a regular posting schedule. Readers tend to stick around if they know they won't be left hanging. Gotta earn the trust. Also, I just looked at my stories. I randomly picked one and the first chapter had 9k views and the second chapter at 6k views. It's just how it works. 

Edited February 2, 2023 by Mrsgnomie

[gdaniel]

47 minutes ago, Mrsgnomie said:

Short Term Hold means the author won't likely be posting regularly but expects to be back at it soon, where Long Term Hold means not to expect any new chapters for a while. Abandoned means, it's abandoned. 

I think it's normal for most stories to see a decline... even though I'm not even sure I would call it a decline, it's just that older chapters almost always have more views, because they've been around longer. Some people will read one chapter and decide if it's for them or not. If it doesn't hook them, they'll move on. Some wait for more chapters before they binge it.

I just glanced at the numbers and they look pretty standard, especially for a new author. Is the story finished on your end or are you writing as you go? My advice would be to keep to a regular posting schedule. Readers tend to stick around if they know they won't be left hanging. Gotta earn the trust. Also, I just looked at my stories. I randomly picked one and the first chapter had 9k views and the second chapter at 6k views. It's just how it works. 

Ehank you for this response. @Mrsgnomie. Written back in 2000, this story is complete, and I except to post a chapter a day, which as you know, is our limit. Look for a new story, written back in 1999 and therefore complete, titled What Is True Love Anyway? I'm thrilled to be able to bring these stories to light today.

[Mrsgnomie]

Just now, gdaniel said:

Ehank you for this response. @Mrsgnomie. Written back in 2000, this story is complete, and I except to post a chapter a day, which as you know, is our limit. Look for a new story, written back in 1999 and therefore complete, titled What Is True Love Anyway? I'm thrilled to be able to bring these stories to light today.

That's awesome. How many chapters?

[gdaniel]

Just now, Mrsgnomie said:

That's awesome. How many chapters?

Oh, gee. I think 12. Each chapter is fairly long. It was my first  attempt. But I originally posted them as html documents, so I have to highlight and copy, then restore to WordPerfect, then save as Rich Text, then save as plain Text and edit. So far, I have 2 chapters ready to publish. Chapter 1 has been approved, just moments ago, I will publish it now.

[Mrsgnomie]

1 minute ago, gdaniel said:

Oh, gee. I think 12. Each chapter is fairly long. It was my first  attempt. But I originally posted them as html documents, so I have to highlight and copy, then restore to WordPerfect, then save as Rich Text, then save as plain Text and edit. So far, I have 2 chapters ready to publish. Chapter 1 has been approved, just moments ago, I will publish it now.

If I were you, I would post twice a week instead of every day. That gives you a few days between chapters to build readership. 12 chapters will go by really fast. Once you're done posting and your story is finished, it will slowly lose its place at the top of the reading list. It's a balance.

[raven1]

On 2/2/2023 at 9:51 AM, gdaniel said:

I'm new here and need some help.

What do the labels "Temporary Hold" and "Lomg Term Hold" mean?

Also, it's interesting to note how readership falls off rapidly. Growing Pains started out with 704 views ans has dropped to about 200 by Chapter 4. Not complaining. I realize every story is for everyone.

Thanks for asking this question.  I was wondering about that also.  As to the observation, I think that there are many reasons for this. One is that some books have a very rough start that is difficult for readers to go through.  As an example, a book that starts with a traumatic event like abuse.  Another reason is that some books are not on a subject of interest to the reader, but got high reviews.  They start the book, but don't become invested in the plot or characters and go on to another book.  There are several stories, however, where views build as the story is told.  A lot of these books that have been finished for a few years continue to be found on the weekly Gay Authors' Genre News.

Hope this helps some.

[Carlos Hazday]

On 2/1/2023 at 9:51 PM, gdaniel said:

Also, it's interesting to note how readership falls off rapidly. Growing Pains started out with 704 views ans has dropped to about 200 by Chapter 4.

Some readers will revisit older chapters whenever a new one gets posted. If you have 12 chapters, that would mean 12 views for chapter 1, 11 for chapter 2, etc. But MrsG's right, a chunk of it is people who look at the main page and decide the story's not for them. Or read a chapter or two and lose interest. As she said, it balances and if the work's good, your future stories will fare better.

[Luca E]

If you take a look at the stats on book reading you get some interesting information:

The median number of books read by Americans is less than 4 per year.

14% of Americans cannot read, that's 32 million.

More than 60% of high school seniors (USA) read below grade level.

Most popular fiction genre is Romance, followed by Crime/Mystery, Religious/Inspirational, Sci-fi/Fantasy.

Most popular genre with young adults is Fantasy.

Romance novels raked in $1.44 billion in book sales last year.

Non-fiction outsells fiction by nearly 3 to 2.

Source: https://www.tonerbuzz.com/blog/book-and-reading-statistics/