Stop or continue?

[E K Stokes]

I started posting a story and three chapters in there doesn't seem to be a readership for it. Would you stop or continue? To clarify: I was not expecting a blockbuster reaction with huge numbers and I realise the first chapter might get way more views than the second, because people read it and don't like it, so move onto something else. I did think that those readers who opened and read the second chapter would be the basic readership, but after posting chapter three half the readers from chapter two disappeared. In effect, each chapter has lost more than 50% of readers, so by chapter five or six I will have next to no readers. I have to ask myself the question, stop or continue, because the numbers, views, comments, followers, indicate a flop and books can flop, like films, because of the writing style, the subject, a lack of something? I don't know what applies to me, bad writing, awful subject, terrible plot, laborious, doesn't flow, I don't know? Obviously, I thought it was okay as stories go, but that doesn't seem to be the reality. So, stop or continue anyway? What would you do?

[Mikiesboy]

@E K Stokes I understand what you're saying. It is hard when you're not getting the reaction you hoped for.  Believe me, i know how that is. Yet, we cannot stop expressing ourselves easily.  

Ask yourself why you are writing.  Are you writing because you have a story to tell or for likes and readers?  Authors who publish physical books cannot know what their readership will be.  Still, they write.

My best advice is to write your story and post it. Then, write and post the next one. Read other people's work. Post comments. People will begin to notice you. 

If you need an editor or a reader, you can ask for help: https://gayauthors.org/forums/forum/372-editors/

 

Good luck and don't quit.

 

Edited February 2, 2024 by Mikiesboy

[Krista]

Write the stories you wish to tell. If you are enjoying the process, don't stop because the process is the most important part of learning.

We all have stories we haven't finished for whatever reason, but that reason shouldn't be that it isn't getting views. Especially if you like the story and the writing/characters/plot. 

[E K Stokes]

51 minutes ago, Krista said:

Write the stories you wish to tell.

@Mikiesboy said: Ask yourself why you are writing.  Are you writing because you have a story to tell or for likes and readers?  

I'd like to write the stories readers want to read and numbers of views, likes, and followers are the gauge of that!

[drown]

On 2/2/2024 at 7:44 AM, E K Stokes said:

So, stop or continue anyway? What would you do?

Continue! This is already infinitely better than writing in a total vacuum without anyone to interact with.

Read other stories on here and see what works with readers and see the comments on why they keep coming back to a story.

Good luck, no quitting.

[Mikiesboy]

6 hours ago, E K Stokes said:

@Mikiesboy said: Ask yourself why you are writing.  Are you writing because you have a story to tell or for likes and readers?  

I'd like to write the stories readers want to read and numbers of views, likes, and followers are the gauge of that!

I understand, but this is a community. You get out, what you put in basically.  So, post your story, start a discussion forum:  https://gayauthors.org/forums/forum/12-stories-discussion-forum/

I think there's a few things that may come up in your story based on what I've read so far! 

You need to start somewhere. None of us posted our first story and had hundreds of views.

[Mikiesboy]

 

totally the wrong place.. deleted.

Edited February 4, 2024 by Mikiesboy

[drpaladin]

7 hours ago, E K Stokes said:

@Mikiesboy said: Ask yourself why you are writing.  Are you writing because you have a story to tell or for likes and readers?  

I'd like to write the stories readers want to read and numbers of views, likes, and followers are the gauge of that!

Let me be brutally frank. You expect to post here as a new author with no name recognition or track record and expect instant acclaim and readership simply by posting your story. It's unrealistc and doesn't work this way. Posting a story is just the first step and you're competing for attention with other stories being posted. You can't just sit back, do nothing, and expect results. You have to work to get noticed.

How do you do it?

Make yourself visible. Post Status Updates, post in the forums, like every comment on your story chapters, and reply to each one. This has a two fold effect. It lets your readers know you appreciate them, encourages them and others to comment more, plus others see your story being commented on in the Activity Feed and helps it get noticed.

 

[drpaladin]

@E K Stokes

Looking at your story, I see you've posted your intent to update once a month. This is a slow update for chapters under 3k words. This alone may make readers wait before reading and commenting on it until more chapters or even the entire work is posted.

[drown]

6 hours ago, Mikiesboy said:

None of us posted our first story and had hundreds of views.

[Krista]

20 hours ago, E K Stokes said:

@Mikiesboy said: Ask yourself why you are writing.  Are you writing because you have a story to tell or for likes and readers?  

I'd like to write the stories readers want to read and numbers of views, likes, and followers are the gauge of that!

What I think you're saying is, the likes and views - is what gauges a good story. That most certainly isn't the case. There are numerous reasons why one story gets views and others don't. Quality, plot/theme, characters, consistency, when it was published as in day, part of the year, how often, how the Author interacts with the community they are building, etc are just a small portion of the reasons.

There is a chicken and egg concept with writing. The Egg being the story, and the Chicken being the success of that story. You have to want the egg, nurture the egg before the chicken hatches. You have to raise that chicken, feed that chicken, and keep that chicken healthy. Then start with another egg and repeat the process.

What you need to be focusing on is the storytelling and the writing. If you do that well enough, with the proper mindset, then the rest of that will follow - but only if you allow yourself to establish all of that.

You will not gain readers if you abandon everything you start based on Likes, followers, and views. You will not grow as a storyteller or writer either. With that said, there are learning opportunities in failures, and stories that you don't finish. That is more effective only if the mindset is solely on the story, and not the numerical data of likes, views, etc. 

If you are concerned with the content of your writing, the style, story structure, grammar then as others have said: asking for advice, asking for editors, and asking for critical assessments and being open to those will go a long way. Reading also helps, which I am sure you're an avid reader. There are helpful information circulating around the forums. There are helpful people about as well.  

I do hope you continue, if not the story you're working on, but the process. I don't want anything I've said above to derail that. 

Edited February 5, 2024 by Krista

[E K Stokes]

2 hours ago, Krista said:

If you are concerned with the content of your writing, the style, story structure, grammar then as others have said: asking for advice, asking for editors, and asking for critical assessments and being open to those will go a long way. 

I did just that and I received some very good advice and critique from one of you which I am acting on. No need to go into details, but all the comments here have been really helpful. The end result can be summed up as: plan the story, publish when complete, have a reasonable publication schedule, get the story read before throwing a mess out there, and don't worry about numbers. Oh yeah, and be part of the community, which I think I'm doing. Thank you all and especially the one person who took time to contact me privately - You know who you are and I very much appreciate your help.

[frozenphenix]

@E K Stokes Only you can decide if a story is worth completing, but gauging a story’s worth based on likes and views is a recipe for disappointment.

Taste is subjective AF, e.g. Twilight and its bastard spawn Fifty Shades of Grey are bad from a technical and subjective point but have sold millions.

What sells isn’t always good, and what’s good doesn’t always sell.

It takes most writers something like 5 novels to “learn to write.”

Hell, Stephen King literally threw Carrie, one of his early novels, in the trash because he thought it sucked. But Tabitha King convinced him to show it to his publisher, and it went on to be a best seller (4 million plus copies sold).

My point is don’t let the opinions of online strangers dictate what you write (myself included).

Social media has conditioned us to chase likes, hoping to go viral and become internet famous.

But fame and reader tastes are fickle and ephemeral. Building a readership is hard AF and all writers struggle with this.

However, you must write first for yourself, and remember why you became a writer in the first place.

Let this reason, your raison d’écrire, guide you.

Good luck with your story. 😀

[LJCC]

Reasons for Views:

• There are some stories in here that are very simple, and they rack up views because of their simplicity. Simple plot = Simple storytelling. Casual-minded readers who want a casual story to pass time—nothing wrong with that.
• Anything TEEN-related will generate views, regardless of the awful grammar used or horrible plot. YA readership is a goldmine.
• Anything MATURE will generate fewer views, but personally, that's where the best GA work resides since you're not limited to thinking of mindless, bratty teens consuming your work.
• This is an amateur gay writing site, and acceptable writing is indeed accepted. But grammar and bad writing will put off readers, for the most part.
• Readers will impart heartfelt reviews on stories they find have touched their souls in some way. I believe that the real test of your own work is not the views, but if someone out there took the time to write a sincere review because he related to your story in some way, that's a winner in my book.
• Some stories drag on for years; in essence, some of these year-long stories have generated high views. 
• Some stories have turned their comment section into a group chat; hence, some views are really high because of the refresh rate from the same people doing their commentaries. Again, nothing wrong with that. Just a simple equation: reader interaction = viewership.

I'm an editor; if you want, we could work together.

But I'm going to be upfront and say that I won't waste time on shitty writing.

That's just the nature of the job.

People won't waste time on your work if you yourself have never wasted your own time on your own work.

[Libby Drew]

Please take all these replies to heart because they are each true and valuable. 

@frozenphenix and @Krista hit a couple high points for me. Obligatory old-person reference here: In the not too distant past, there was no Internet. We would write, mostly, in a vacuum. Those who persevered through this lack of readership, "likes", and comments remained writers and became infinitely better at their craft for repeatedly taking their projects to completion without the benefit of immediate feedback. Now, the community-based format of the Internet gives writers a treasure trove of tools. Not the least of which are like-minded individuals with which to share our questions, woes, and creative works. It is a truly amazing construct (not without faults) and has given rise to places like GA. 

Therefore, ask yourself this: Would you continue your story if there was nobody to read it until it was finished? Why or why not? Whatever your answer, reflect on it, thoroughly and at length. It will help you grow as a writer. 

Good luck!