How to push growth? Or how to hit trending?

[Jaymi]

I've recently begun posting my debut story on Scribblehub, though I have experience posting on various other platforms in the past. And I've noticed that different websites all have their own methods for boosting a story's visibility and growth, apart from the obvious factors like regular updates and high-quality chapters.
From what I've seen from other stories, hitting the front page of the trending list is the fastest and most efficient way to grow.

My question is whether there are specific criteria or requirements I should meet to achieve trending status, or if there are alternative strategies for enhancing my story's growth.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

Sadly, nobody knows. I believe it actually changes from time to time to prevent the same stories from abusing the trending system though I may be wrong.

 

[Syringe]

There is no secret krabby patty formula.

 

[Jaymi]

There is no secret krabby patty formula.

i'm not looking for any secret formula's. just looking to know more about the best way to get your stories seen on here (btw i love ur story i read it on RR)

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Since you know about regular updates and high-quality chapters, I will give you another advice. No one likes it, but it works. Write what is popular.

 

[John_Owl]

Trending is purposefully vague, to avoid people abusing the system. No one that i've read so far has found a way to really nail it down. Best I can recommend is spread out. I use twitter, reddit, SH and wattpad. socials help boost visibility and directs people to where you want them to read.

SH does seem to have a more relaxed stance on certain aspects and their people are generally more positive, even if they have criticisms. Wattpad, however, seems to have more flatout negative responders/trolls (comments like "This chapter and story suck, GTFO" that don't give tips to improve), but it is more widely accepted as a 3rd party link on socials.

Beyond that, I'd recommend getting a paysite set up (i use subscribestar) as some advice i've read in the past has said that not having a link to a paysite shows lack of confidence that you don't think your works are worth being paid (regardless of how true that is, it can't hurt, as long as you don't push it so much that you seem to be begging).

beyond all that, the only recommendations i can give is what you've said. consistency and quality. as long as it's a story you're proud of, someone is bound to like it. if we look at it as the law of probability, if you like it, someone else is bound to as well. and if one other person likes it, chances are, more than that one will like it. The biggest trick is to be as visible as possible, and that comes mostly from consistency, and discussing it. Having a signature that catches the eye can also help.

 

[Jaymi]

Trending is purposefully vague, to avoid people abusing the system. No one that i've read so far has found a way to really nail it down. Best I can recommend is spread out. I use twitter, reddit, SH and wattpad. socials help boost visibility and directs people to where you want them to read.

SH does seem to have a more relaxed stance on certain aspects and their people are generally more positive, even if they have criticisms. Wattpad, however, seems to have more flatout negative responders/trolls (comments like "This chapter and story suck, GTFO" that don't give tips to improve), but it is more widely accepted as a 3rd party link on socials.

Beyond that, I'd recommend getting a paysite set up (i use subscribestar) as some advice i've read in the past has said that not having a link to a paysite shows lack of confidence that you don't think your works are worth being paid (regardless of how true that is, it can't hurt, as long as you don't push it so much that you seem to be begging).

beyond all that, the only recommendations i can give is what you've said. consistency and quality. as long as it's a story you're proud of, someone is bound to like it. if we look at it as the law of probability, if you like it, someone else is bound to as well. and if one other person likes it, chances are, more than that one will like it. The biggest trick is to be as visible as possible, and that comes mostly from consistency, and discussing it. Having a signature that catches the eye can also help.

thanks, i'll just keep doing my thing then. My story is doing pretty good so far numbers-wise, but i wanted to prepare for when it starts falling off. But ur right, as long as its good and i like it, other people are bound to like it as well x)

 

[Succubiome]

Pretty sure 115 people signed up to actively read on your fourth day is actually really good for Scribblehub, numbers-wise.

Hitting front page usually means your story has garnered a fair bit of attention, and I'd be surprised if you don't hit front page eventually at this rate.

 

[Panthers426]

I still to this day have no clue how I got there that first time.

 

[CrimsonGenius]

Maybe watch reruns of The Office twice.

 

[Corty]

I have no fucking idea how I managed to get to trending with my main story in all the previous times I did it.

My word count did not change (2kish words), my upload scheldue was the same (1ch per day) and I got around the same reader interactions on my chapters. Yet I did hit trending

My only guess is a combination between comments + New readers + likes and some kind of frequency of uploads. I never really saw stories on trending that were not regularly maintained by the author.

 

[AliceShiki]

Tony purposefully keeps the trending algorithm a secret to stop people from gaming the system.

So don't worry about it too much. As long as you upload frequently and deliver quality chapters, you'll probably grow.

 

[Jaymi]

Pretty sure 115 people signed up to actively read on your fourth day is actually really good for Scribblehub, numbers-wise.

Hitting front page usually means your story has garnered a fair bit of attention, and I'd be surprised if you don't hit front page eventually at this rate.

that's reassuring

 

[Piisfun]

Trending is purposefully vague, to avoid people abusing the system. No one that i've read so far has found a way to really nail it down. Best I can recommend is spread out. I use twitter, reddit, SH and wattpad. socials help boost visibility and directs people to where you want them to read.

How it works is somewhat known, it is just extremely resistant to manipulation.

1. Trending changes once a day, at 00:00 UTC
2. A Series cannot be on trending two days in a row.
3. A Series listed on the main page under "Latest Series" is not eligible for trending.
   Rules 2 and 3 are to prevent one story hogging space on the main page.
4. The primary criteria is "peaks in activity above the series 30-day rolling average."

If one story has an average of 1,000 readers per day in the last month, but only gets 750 today, chances are it won't hit trending (75% of average)
If a second story has an average of 100 readers per day in the last month, but gets 500 today, it might hit trending. (500% of average)

The actual list is kept to something like 200 places, to accommodate release filters.

The thing is... the only good way to manipulate trending is by actually writing a story that people want to read.
At which point, is it really fair to call that manipulation?

Someone did try manipulating it via bots, though, which is why the Cloudflare settings are so aggressive about them (except RSS bots)

 

[Jaymi]

How it works is somewhat known, it is just extremely resistant to manipulation.

1. Trending changes once a day, at 00:00 UTC
2. A Series cannot be on trending two days in a row.
3. A Series listed on the main page under "Latest Series" is not eligible for trending.
   Rules 2 and 3 are to prevent one story hogging space on the main page.
4. The primary criteria is "peaks in activity above the series 30-day rolling average."

If one story has an average of 1,000 readers per day in the last month, but only gets 750 today, chances are it won't hit trending (75% of average)
If a second story has an average of 100 readers per day in the last month, but gets 500 today, it might hit trending. (500% of average)

The actual list is kept to something like 200 places, to accommodate release filters.

The thing is... the only good way to manipulate trending is by actually writing a story that people want to read.
At which point, is it really fair to call that manipulation?

Someone did try manipulating it via bots, though, which is why the Cloudflare settings are so aggressive about them (except RSS bots)

oh thanks! this is interesting

 

[melchi]

not having a link to a paysite shows lack of confidence that you don't think your works are worth being paid (regardless of how true that is, it can't hurt, as long as you don't push it so much that you seem to be begging).

I feel called out >_>

 

[HungrySheep]

Honestly, no one really knows. I've reached trending a few times but it was always out of the blue. Keep writing and updating regularly!

 

[RepresentingCaution]

First, you need to give my story one star.

 

[John_Owl]

I feel called out >_>

lol it's not a problem. like i said, it doesn't ACTUALLY show a lack of confidence. but i was a reader for years before i decided to try breaking back into the writing side of things again. and one thing i noticed was that series with paysite links tended to get more views. and a couple of times, yeah it could just be coincidence. but it's actually fairly consistent, though i'll leave it up to interpretation whether its cause or effect.

 

[Deleted member 68927]

The best thing you can do to enchant your story is to finish it. A story without an ending can be dropped, but a complete story is never in such danger. And, because of the tags on SH, your story will be read even after you post the final chapter. This happens every weekend to my stories. People come for one or more, and then give the others a chance.
What some people don't understand is that everyone has to practice to be good at what they do. You won't tell a swimmer that they should swim only during competition, will you? I congratulate you on getting your first story out there. The trill of something new will guide you on quite the ride. Just advice, though:
Write what you know, research every day to know more.
Read in the language you write, to pick up techniques.
Use grammar checkers. Don't bother with AI, though, their editing doesn't hold water. Still, if that helps you start writing, then use that! I used ChatGPT to get myself to the point of thinking in German. Maybe it left mistakes in my stories, and that is why these books don't have all that many views, but I can now think in German, and instead of getting these blackouts when I will think of the English word instead of the Bulgarian one, I now think of the German word. Very annoying when it happens, but it is proof that I have improved to the point where passing the TestDaF is not so far unreachable. I just need to write more, read more, and speak with my cats in German more.
And if you write every day, you will have a stockpile of novels XD. Like I do, since I am migrating my books from another site to here. I think I have enough chapters to post for the next 2 years. ;p