I just began posting my work. I got like 50 new page views this week, but zero reviews. Is this normal?

Paul_Tromba

Sleep deprived mess of a published author
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It's normal. People don't like to review for some reason.
 

proxybaba

Well-known member
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Dec 16, 2022
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if you can handle some hard-hitting words in review, I suggest you simultaneity post in RR. I have three reviews there and in SH its only one
 

yuki2501

New member
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Jan 26, 2023
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I can share some observations I've made in my time here.

1. Commenting seems to happen mostly between people who are familiar with each other, so try to make some friends.

2. Put a link to your story in your signature here so we don't have to stalk you to check out your story. (I totally did, and it looks interesting, and I put you in my TBR list (don't get excited, I have like, 10,000 miles of TBR list, but I'll try to get there)).

3. After reading your story's description, I must warn you that if you plan to have any M/M romantic interaction, even if it doesn't get explicit, you should tag that or mention it blatantly and prominently somewhere, or the straights will have tantrums (although here on SH it's less "tantrums" and more passive-aggressive stuff like putting you in a dropped list, which is... nicer than other places.) You are likely to get slapped with a 1-star rating for surprise M/M.

4. With LGBTQ+ content, you'll get a lot of "ghost readers". This is an international site, and a lot of folks still have to be very careful, so they probably don't even have SH accounts, no reading lists, and you'll get no interaction at all from them. You'll just see your read numbers accumulate, and smile to yourself and hope they're enjoying it. A lot of them are using VPNs and you'll see a lot of (empty) in your traffic list. That's them.

5. That list where you can see readers' chapter progression only includes people who've put you in a public reading list. If they put you in a private list your reader count will go up, but they won't appear there. Try not to get too hung up on all that. I have "81 readers" on my novel, but only about 3-4 of those are actively reading, and then I have a bunch of "ghost readers" - impossible to tell how many. And then there are the people who chucked me directly into a dropped list, but that still adds to thetotal reader count (mwahahaha).
Thanks, I updated my signature. Hopefully that gets me more readers :)
 

mitkopom

Not mikoporn or mitpopcorn!
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Jan 31, 2021
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It is normal. The readers in SHub are more shy and rarely comment and even less review. My best guess is that they are too busy touching themselves down there to type text (considering the mass smut content of the SH)
 

LunaSoltaer

Spicy Transbian
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Oct 24, 2021
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Yeah, it's normal. It's also aggravating since you as the author have very little feedback.

It's also obnoxious that SH counts your own pageviews/ratings/favorites on your own work (Or potentially useful). I actually do wish SH wouldn't do that, but c'est la vie.

You'll also get people randomly dropping your book. Usually this is either because your intro has something they find faulty, or because they ran into what I've heard called a "speedbump" chapter, and they bump themselves off because they didn't read a tag, or you the author threw something out of left field.

Problem is: you have no idea why they dropped, and, barring sleuthing, you have no idea who dropped, what chapter they dropped on, or why. If your first few chapters are consistently bad, then maybe patch them up, but you could just have people not into your work.

Very few people even click the little heart. I think it's because it says "Favorite" when really it functions more as "Like".
 

DaisukeHanashi

Once a horny writer, now a happy writer
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Feb 2, 2023
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Man, my first work hasn't even reached 20+ readers for 2-3 weeks.

Good for you
 

Corty

Spaghetti Monster
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Oct 7, 2022
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It's been a full month and I only got 43 readers so far.

Sigh... :confused:
It's because of the genre.

I have 4 stories, and 2 of those are fantasy-themed. Those are doing well. The thriller/paranormal is doing abysmal, while the sci-fi story also did poorly. Compared to my fantasy stories, at least.

People are more interested in the fantasy genre. I think it's that simple. Anyway, I bookmarked it; when I have a bit more free time again, I'll give it a shot.

PS:

It is possible that what to expect and what not to do in the synopsis are turning people away before even giving it a shot. But that is a catch-22, so I have no real advice for you on that part, sorry.

My honest experience is that a frequent schedule can also bring people in. I checked your stats (not read them yet), and you have 4k+ words per chapter. That is commendable, but here is a tip that may (or may not) work: Try splitting the chapters into two 2k-ish word chapters. That way, you can have more chapters out more frequently, increasing the chance of catching more readers' eyes.

Many don't start reading until they see 30+ chapters. My most liked book only picked up speed after around 60 or 80 chapters. Then it started to snowball.

Many are like me in this regard: Monkey brain sees big numbers, me likey. When I was reading instead of writing, I also looked for stories with 100+ chapters before even starting. It is a bad habit, but hey, that is how it is. Hope this helps a little. Don't give up!
 

LunaSoltaer

Spicy Transbian
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Oct 24, 2021
Messages
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It's been a full month and I only got 43 readers so far.

Sigh... :confused:
you are handily kicking my butt. 1.5 years and im at 31 and the majority seem to be inactive.

to be perfectly fair 66% of that time I was knocked off SH by real life events. There was... a lot of drama happening and a lot of it I could not ignore.

So at least a large part of my problem is reviving a dead series. I was also more prickly and SH readers are shy.

But ultimately, I am writing to prove that I can.

Please Do Not Lose Hope. You will likely find that one reader that makes everything so beautifully worth it. That one engaged reader is worth 1000 silent ones.

Edit to Add: I didnt know i wanted something techy to broaden my list, but I did. I checked the tags and will be wandering in at my own risk. If I for some reason do drop, it is most likely the subject matter itself and NOT anything you did! Don't change yourself to fit your audience. it will be a crime to yourself.
 
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yuki2501

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Edit to Add: I didnt know i wanted something techy to broaden my list, but I did. I checked the tags and will be wandering in at my own risk. If I for some reason do drop, it is most likely the subject matter itself and NOT anything you did! Don't change yourself to fit your audience. it will be a crime to yourself.
Thank you so much for that advice! :blobthumbsup:
I checked your stats (not read them yet), and you have 4k+ words per chapter. That is commendable, but here is a tip that may (or may not) work: Try splitting the chapters into two 2k-ish word chapters. That way, you can have more chapters out more frequently, increasing the chance of catching more readers' eyes.

Sigh. Preferring a story with two short chapters instead of a longer one? Okay that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. But that's how readers think, I guess. Sigh...

I don't think I'll be conceding that. But thanks for the advice.


Many don't start reading until they see 30+ chapters. My most liked book only picked up speed after around 60 or 80 chapters. Then it started to snowball.

Interesting.

Many are like me in this regard: Monkey brain sees big numbers, me likey. When I was reading instead of writing, I also looked for stories with 100+ chapters before even starting. It is a bad habit, but hey, that is how it is. Hope this helps a little. Don't give up!
Thanks!
 

VictorDLopez

Member
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Jul 21, 2023
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It's been a full month and I only got 43 readers so far.

Sigh... :confused:
Don't get discouraged. It can take time for readers to find you, especially if your writing does not hit the "sweet spot" of the site in terms of readers' preferences (Mine most assuredly does not.). I am new here but not new to writing across very different fields. Generally, though, posting new chapters regularly and participating in discussions helps in the long term. You will connect with readers that love your work, though perhaps not as many as those who write material that readers on any given site prefer.

As to reviews and ratings, these are hard to come by--again, especially if your writing is not what readers are most interested in discovering. And not getting feedback is better than getting undeserved bad feedback from readers that click on your story based on a beautiful book cover expecting it to be something it is not, then punish you by leaving a one-star rating or a nasty comment that has nothing whatever to do with the quality of your writing or novel.

My writing is not in the sweet spot here, or in Royal Road, Inkitt, Booksie or a few other sites where I post it. But on some it gets a decent number of reads nevertheless, though few ratings or reviews. For example, the sample chapters of my novel on Booksie for example has more than 4,600 reads without a single comment, review or rating which is why I will not continue to post chapters there. On HelloPoetry, one of two sites I post poetry to regularly, one of my poems about my maternal grandfather has more than 5,000 reads with only three likes. Others in English and Spanish have many thousands of reads with no feedback at all, while some with only dozens or hundreds of reads have significant feedback. Who knows why?

Again, don't give up. There are readers out there waiting to discover your writing. It takes time. Best of luck!
I fear that my first chapter is not very appealing to people so they just stop reading, but I have at least half of readers for chapter 2 compared to chapter 1. So why are most of my readers' bookmarks still on chapter 1? I don't understand :blob_frown:

And why don't I have even bad reviews, like "your chapter sucks" or "this is boring"?

Is this normal for new works? Any feedback appreciated.
Most readers--even those who buy our books for those of us whose books are available at booksellers--simply don't bother to review or even rate them. It is just what it is.

For people who don't have built-in self promotion like established authors and others with very large followers on social media, getting a lot of reviews requires heavy (and expensive) advertising. And there are a variety of ways to game the system, such as buying reviews--a common practice for many independent authors--or "trading reviews" with people who will give glowing reviews with the expectation of getting the same in return whether it is deserved or not. Not all offers to trade reviews are of this type, but too many are. These work. So does creating sock puppets (fake accounts) to pad one's reviews on many (most?) sites.

Most highly rated authors earn the praise they get and my hat is off to them. Those that don't hurt the sites in which they post and all honest authors since ten glowing reviews and five-star ratings of a malodorous steaming bucket of feces of male bovine do not change its nature or retain reders and cast doubt on the overwhelmingly honest ratings on any site. Fortunately, many sites including SH impose some measures to try to avoid such fraud. But no site can prevent all forms of dishonesty, any more than they can prevent trolls from giving undeserved bad reviews or ratings.
 
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