Anyone ever post a story expecting it to be received really well, (relative to your other works) only to see it bomb. Or post one you don't think is your best work and see people praise the hell out of it?
Yes and yes! So ... the takeaway is always write for yourself! If you love it, it was worth writing. I think if you write, trying to please others, your writing will suffer. Art is subjective. Writing is art. Impossible to know for certain what will be a big hit with readers.
Yes to the former, quite a few times (to be fair, I'm somewhat delusional); to the latter, no, that's not happened. As Kimmi says, you must write for yourself ultimately. It can be a lonely dance, so you must satisfy 'you' first and foremost.
Not really. I write because I enjoy it. Though I admit having my very first story I posted on Lush being selected as a blue thumbs up Recommended Read did feel good. But as long as I'm satisfied with my writing that's all that matters to me. Although when others like my writing my ego gets stroked.
I am always flabbergasted when one of my stories gets multiple reads! In high school, I barely eeked by my Creative Writing class (I think the teacher passed me only to get rid of me!). I was told in no uncertain terms that I needed to find another means of support - my writing wasn't going to cut it! So when I see one of my stories do well, it's a complete shock to me! I was terrified when I put my first story out and the "wonder" hasn't diminished any over the next 650!
Yes to both - probably true of anyone that's written a dozen stories or more, if they're being honest - but "well-received" and "bombed" can be tough to judge here. As has been noted elsewhere, scores tend to be very generous at Lush unless the story is just awful, and not many of those make the cut.
Views don't tell you much, at least initially, because the title could be one that drew people in but once they read a few hundred words they may have given up and moved on. Views doesn't necessarily equate to reads. Long-term, if it keeps getting "viewed" and collecting votes, that's probably a good indicator of a solid story. Oh, and the title, category, or word count may have also scared some people off that never clicked on what might be a great story, so really all you have initially is the comments.
I enjoy the comments because you can get a better sense of how readers felt about it. The fun ones are when the reader tells you (sometimes quite graphically!) how the story affected them arousal-wise, or that the story was "better than Viagra for me and my wife". We are writng erotica, after all; its main purpose in life is to tease and arouse and inspire all kinds of fun stuff! If you can tell a good story in the process, one where the reader finds the characters relatable and the story line captivating, those are the ones that tend to be very popular.
As much as anything I enjoy the comments because they are a way to stay in touch with friends - if you have a following you'll hear from the same people a lot. I enjoy that and try to reply in some pesonal way to each comment to let them know how much it means to have them support my stories. It's time-consuming, but also a big part of what keeps me going.
And I too write for me - an idea bounces around for a while and eventually either fades or demands to be written - and as long as you're putting in the time, you might as well try to write the best story you can. After that you throw your baby out there and leave it at the mercy of the readers. You hope they like it - and that if they do, they might tell you. If not... well, other stories are waiting to be written. Or the lawn needs mowing, dogs need feeding, or...
I think Kimmi nailed it. Write for you. I don't get frustrated or surprised by reactions to my submissions. I do get frustrated when I think I wrote a good story and I get lower scores than anticipated and NO comments as to why. Everybody on here is an adult and if you are critical of a writer and their submissions please take 30 seconds and tell us "why". I know, in my case, I can handle the criticism. Maybe your critique will help me improve and you'll get more enjoyment from my next story.
Yeah it would be way better if there were either more votes or more comments. I would not even care if a bad comment was malicious and rude, at least it's a critique of some sort. Anyway, thanks for the encouraging words everyone.
My delusions would be shattered like a champagne flute subjected to the Queen of the Night's ravishments
Trust people to be themselves...
Yes to both. A story that has the most views and tied for my most votes now isn't what I would consider anywhere near one of the favorites I did. My favourite story I wrote doesn't even have 1000 views.
That's how it is at times.
I just wish I had the necessary skills to take the story out of my head and write it down. It always sounds so good in my head. I’m often one to get my ambitions mixed up with my capabilities. If it wasn’t for the lovely comments I get I would have given up by now. Any help in how I could improve would be gratefully accepted.
Be nice to each other
Yeah. A story I was pretty proud of became my worst-received. The ones before and after had several times the reviews etc. It's always the way though, it's hard t judge your own work objectively.
Gotta say I was surprised the first time I got more than a few reviews and comments, too. I posted a tale that didn't feel any better than what I'd done before, looked back later and did a double-take.
It very recently happened to me. In retrospect, I wrote it more for myself than for anyone else and therefore it is special to me, but just another story in a sea of others to everyone else.
It would be enjoyable for it to have been better-received, but my main satisfaction was actually in being able to write something coherent...for once in a row...anything else is just icing on the cake.
Am I a good witch, or a bad witch? History will decide
I write for the pure joy of writing. I like imagining new situations and, most of the time, I can't wait to finish a story because I already have a new one in mind. But yes to both. When I think: "Uhm, this is not very good," I get the surprise to find readers like it, and sometimes, when I'm excited for a story, it's not as good for the readers. Lol.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
YOU CAN'T LET ANYONE COME IN BETWEEN YOU AND THE THINGS YOU'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT IN THIS LIFE, OR IT AIN'T WORTH LIVING.
My first story I barely expected to be even noticed, and it did really well.
I thought my second story would do really well, and it barely made a splash.
There was, admittedly, a lot more sex in the first story.
Writing primarily in a niche category with a niche stance, I get what I get. We all have our little hopes and desires here, past the internal satisfaction of creation. For myself, I know an RR is out of the question, but it would be nice to see 20 votes/comments on at least one of 125 micros, but that hasn't happened and it's very rare to see a name that isn't one of a handful of extremely kind friends anymore. It may be life opening up again or the Comp, but I suspect I just write too much of a much and have become boring. I'm vain enough to think I'm pretty good at crafting the stories, but lack the erotic incitement that others possess in abundance, it seems. Oh, well, I do what I can do -- at least it's better than penning SM menes.