How to attract readers on SH

[Juia_Darkcrest]

@Enkiari Can we get this pinned here? Whenever we get new authors, this question inevitably comes up. Also, I am open to discussion about the points with our current authors.



JD's Quick and Dirty Guide to Attracting Readers on SH

1 - Make an Attractive Cover.

Appearance is everything for the initial draw of your readers. Depending on what you are writing about, an attractive woman (or man, or small furry creature from Alpha Centauri, no judgment) on the cover tends to draw more eyes than something plain or abstract, but that will also depend on your target audience... I am weird in that my main work has an old dude in a bathrobe on the cover, yet it still gets a ton of views.

2 - Synopsis

This part cannot be overstated. You need a brief, well-written synopsis about what you are writing. People probably won't even open it up if they don't like what you're 'selling' them, no matter how good your writing is.

3 - Proper Tags for your Novel.

This will be how people even search for what you are writing. Whatever content is in your novel, make sure you add it.

Cool, now you have the basics of getting your readers' foot in the door. Next, let's talk numbers.

4 - Number of Chapters

The vast majority of readers on SH won't even look at a novel with fewer than 100 chapters. Many writers stop writing before that point, leaving their readers hanging high and dry. There seem to be several thresholds readers need to have met before they actually commit to a novel, that I have noticed, anyway. 20, 50, 100, and +150 chapters seem to be rough estimates, with 100 showing the largest boost in views. When my work hit a hundred chapters, I went from 30k views to nearly 90k in less than three weeks. Results may vary.

Also, for your chapter titles, make sure they are properly labelled with a chapter number; ie

Summertime Fun In Breezyville

No clue what chapter that is.

Chapter 32 - Summertime Fun In Breezyville
Ch 32 - Summertime Fun In Breezyville
32 - Summertime Fun In Breezyville
B1C32 - Summertime Fun In Breezyville

You get the idea. Your readers will appreciate it.

4A - Release Schedule

Now, let's say you already have a wonderful webnovel written, or say ten chapters. Whatever you do, don't just drop them all at once. ScribbleHub's algorithm will flag it as spam. Set up a release schedule to drop a chapter every day or every twelve hours. Also, dropping chapters too fast may cause readers to think your masterpiece is actually another AI slop piece, and they won't give it a second look.

Be seen by the reader base as a person, not a bot.

5 - Word Count

1500-2500 words per chapter seems to be the ideal length people agree on. Any less, and your readers can't really dig into the chapter, any more, and readers might not be able to finish it in one sitting and turn them away. There is more nuance here, but that is the generally accepted amount. I tend to lean towards the 2000-3000 mark myself.

6 - Writing Style

This one is way more subjective, but if you are trying to draw in a broad audience, writing in weird formats will turn your viewers away. Standard novel formats are difficult to read, IMO, since most people read on mobile devices. So, IMO, you should break some of your longer paragraphs up to around 3, maybe 4 sentences at most, to provide some eye relief for your readers. There are other forms of writing that several authors use here and succeed with, such as the onamonapia style, but I don't recommend it myself. That is just my opinion; write however you want.

Finally, we come to my last point;

7 - Actual Content

Is your story any good? Serious question. You may like it, but if it is some niche content, full of grammatical errors, or you have gaping plot holes you could drive a truck through in the first ten chapters, you will find your readers will just drop off like flies. A fall off is normal for numbers of views, as people try out your story and decide it isn't for them, or that they will read it later once you have more chapters.

If you are worried about your content, you can ask in the authors' forum if anyone is willing to read a few chapters and give you their opinions. Most people who are willing to do that are great and will give you honest opinions on your style. Take what they give you and learn from it.

Bonus

8 - Engage with your Readers

If you have people in your comments, congrats! You are lucky, as the vast majority of people on SH are silent readers. Engage with their comments, even if it's just a thank you. If you appear accessible to your readers, you may end up with valuable insights into your writing from their comments.

9 - Updates

To gain and maintain readers, you should update your work consistently. Make a schedule and follow it. Your readers will appreciate knowing when the next chapter will be published.

10 - Completed Works

Wait! JD, what do you mean I need to have +100 Chapters to get views? I only have 50 chapters, and it is already done!

Fret not, dear Author, you have now unlocked EasyMode for attracting readers! Completed works will let your readers know that what they are about to read is indeed finished, and they won't be left high and dry if they start your story. The above guidelines still apply, but once your final chapter is on SH, make sure you label the work as Complete.

There ya go, a quick guide for writing here on SH. Good luck!

 

[L1aei]

Before publishing, build a reputation first. That'll go a long way when you've gained relations with a community that is interested in what you've done.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

Before publishing, build a reputation first. That'll go a long way when you've gained relations with a community that is interested in what you've done.

You would need to elaborate on that... I am unsure what you mean... I just kind of went from a reader to a writer, then months later used the forum.

 

[L1aei]

You would need to elaborate on that... I am unsure what you mean... I just kind of went from a reader to a writer, then months later used the forum.

Social positioning. I mean building name recognition in the community before you publish. Like your point on engagement; comment on stories, be active in this forum by joining in on the discussions, and when other active members request feedback, give it. Be seen as a person, not just a new upload. That way, when you do release a story, people already know your name and are more likely to click it.

Covers and tags get attention from the algorithm.
Reputation gets attention from people.

 

[Louhi]

Don't release too many chapters at the same time. This will lessen your visibility on the main site and latest updates because of SH anti spam system.

Don't publish too many ongoing stories at once. Best case scenario people will think you lack focus and won't complete any of your story. Worse case scenario, people will think you are generating AI slops or is a translator and report you.

Be seen as a person, not just a new upload.

This is very important. Be seen as a person, not just a bot.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

Social positioning. I mean building name recognition in the community before you publish. Like your point on engagement; comment on stories, be active in this forum by joining in on the discussions, and when other active members request feedback, give it. Be seen as a person, not just a new upload. That way, when you do release a story, people already know your name and are more likely to click it.

Covers and tags get attention from the algorithm.
Reputation gets attention from people.

Don't release too many chapters at the same time. This will lessen your visibility on the main site and latest updates because of SH anti spam system.


This is very important. Be seen as a person, not just a bot or a translator.

I can edit those in.

 

[Leti]

@Enkiari Can we get this pinned here? Whenever we get new authors, this question inevitably comes up. Also, I am open to discussion about the points with our current authors.



JD's Quick and Dirty Guide to Attracting Readers on SH

1 - Make an Attractive Cover.

Appearance is everything for the initial draw of your readers. Depending on what you are writing about, an attractive woman (or man, or small furry creature from Alpha Centauri, no judgment) on the cover tends to draw more eyes than something plain or abstract, but that will also depend on your target audience... I am weird in that my main work has an old dude in a bathrobe on the cover, yet it still gets a ton of views.

2 - Synopsis

This part cannot be overstated. You need a brief, well-written synopsis about what you are writing. People probably won't even open it up if they don't like what you're 'selling' them, no matter how good your writing is.

3 - Proper Tags for your Novel.

This will be how people even search for what you are writing. Whatever content is in your novel, make sure you add it.

Cool, now you have the basics of getting your readers' foot in the door. Next, let's talk numbers.

4 - Number of Chapters

The vast majority of readers on SH won't even look at a novel with fewer than 100 chapters. Many writers stop writing before that point, leaving their readers hanging high and dry. There seem to be several thresholds readers need to have met before they actually commit to a novel, that I have noticed, anyway. 20, 50, 100, and +150 chapters seem to be rough estimates, with 100 showing the largest boost in views. When my work hit a hundred chapters, I went from 30k views to nearly 90k in less than three weeks. Results may vary.

5 - Word Count

1500-2500 words per chapter seems to be the ideal length people agree on. Any less, and your readers can't really dig into the chapter, any more, and readers might not be able to finish it in one sitting and turn them away. There is more nuance here, but that is the generally accepted amount. I tend to lean towards the 2000-3000 mark myself.

6 - Writing Style

This one is way more subjective, but if you are trying to draw in a broad audience, writing in weird formats will turn your viewers away. Standard novel formats are difficult to read, IMO, since most people read on mobile devices. So, IMO, you should break some of your longer paragraphs up to around 3, maybe 4 sentences at most, to provide some eye relief for your readers. There are other forms of writing that several authors use here and succeed with, such as the onamonapia style, but I don't recommend it myself. That is just my opinion; write however you want.

Finally, we come to my last point;

7 - Actual Content

Is your story any good? Serious question. You may like it, but if it is some niche content, full of grammatical errors, or you have gaping plot holes you could drive a truck through in the first ten chapters, you will find your readers will just drop off like flies. A fall off is normal for numbers of views, as people try out your story and decide it isn't for them, or that they will read it later once you have more chapters.

If you are worried about your content, you can ask in the authors' forum if anyone is willing to read a few chapters and give you their opinions. Most people who are willing to do that are great and will give you honest opinions on your style. Take what they give you and learn from it.

Bonus

8 - Engage with your Readers

If you have people in your comments, congrats! You are lucky, as the vast majority of people on SH are silent readers. Engage with their comments, even if it's just a thank you. If you appear accessible to your readers, you may end up with valuable insights into your writing from their comments.

There ya go, a quick guide for writing here on SH. Good luck!

@zany_baby you asked JD for this. This is your answer.

Doing this will increase our chance of having more organic traffic and getting into trending without manipulating our statistics. We don't have to do the RR way of gaining visibility (90% advertisements 10% review swaps) here.

A point I can add is to update consistently. Make a schedule and follow it. Your readers will appreciate knowing when the next chapter will be published.

 

[Akkizakura]

4 - Number of Chapters

The vast majority of readers on SH won't even look at a novel with fewer than 100 chapters. Many writers stop writing before that point, leaving their readers hanging high and dry. There seem to be several thresholds readers need to have met before they actually commit to a novel, that I have noticed, anyway. 20, 50, 100, and +150 chapters seem to be rough estimates, with 100 showing the largest boost in views. When my work hit a hundred chapters, I went from 30k views to nearly 90k in less than three weeks. Results may vary.

Number your chapters and add it to the chapter names. The latest updates don't show how many chapters a story have. Readers aren't psychic.

We don't have to do the RR way of gaining visibility (90% advertisements 10% review swaps) here.

@PancakesWitch RR mentioned. Your time has come.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

Number your chapters and add it to the chapter names. The latest updates don't show how many chapters a story have. Readers aren't psychic.


@PancakesWitch RR mentioned. Your time has come.

sure Ill add these too when I finish my current chapter.

 

[CinnaSloth]

how to REALLY attract readers.
plot out complicated concepts
create quirky characters
write a dozen books with those plots using those characters.
edit and upload.
wait for viewers to roll right in.
keep waiting.
wait some more.
when that eventually fails, start plan B.

plan B:
Rob a bank.
leave really dumb manifesto pointing people toward your SH account books.
sit in prison and serve time for robbing a bank.
get out with good behavior.
write a book about writing books in jail, all because you couldn't write books outside of jail.
profit.
stonks.

For all legal purposes: Don't rob banks.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

how to REALLY attract readers.
plot out complicated concepts
create quirky characters
write a dozen books with those plots using those characters.
edit and upload.
wait for viewers to roll right in.
keep waiting.
wait some more.
when that eventually fails, start plan B.

plan B:
Rob a bank.
leave really dumb manifesto pointing people toward your SH account books.
sit in prison and serve time for robbing a bank.
get out with good behavior.
write a book about writing books in jail, all because you couldn't write books outside of jail.
profit.
stonks.

For all legal purposes: Don't rob banks.

ill add this at the bottom for those looking challenge mode

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

@Enkiari Can we get this pinned here? Whenever we get new authors, this question inevitably comes up. Also, I am open to discussion about the points with our current authors.



JD's Quick and Dirty Guide to Attracting Readers on SH

1 - Make an Attractive Cover.

Appearance is everything for the initial draw of your readers. Depending on what you are writing about, an attractive woman (or man, or small furry creature from Alpha Centauri, no judgment) on the cover tends to draw more eyes than something plain or abstract, but that will also depend on your target audience... I am weird in that my main work has an old dude in a bathrobe on the cover, yet it still gets a ton of views.

2 - Synopsis

This part cannot be overstated. You need a brief, well-written synopsis about what you are writing. People probably won't even open it up if they don't like what you're 'selling' them, no matter how good your writing is.

3 - Proper Tags for your Novel.

This will be how people even search for what you are writing. Whatever content is in your novel, make sure you add it.

Cool, now you have the basics of getting your readers' foot in the door. Next, let's talk numbers.

4 - Number of Chapters

The vast majority of readers on SH won't even look at a novel with fewer than 100 chapters. Many writers stop writing before that point, leaving their readers hanging high and dry. There seem to be several thresholds readers need to have met before they actually commit to a novel, that I have noticed, anyway. 20, 50, 100, and +150 chapters seem to be rough estimates, with 100 showing the largest boost in views. When my work hit a hundred chapters, I went from 30k views to nearly 90k in less than three weeks. Results may vary.

5 - Word Count

1500-2500 words per chapter seems to be the ideal length people agree on. Any less, and your readers can't really dig into the chapter, any more, and readers might not be able to finish it in one sitting and turn them away. There is more nuance here, but that is the generally accepted amount. I tend to lean towards the 2000-3000 mark myself.

6 - Writing Style

This one is way more subjective, but if you are trying to draw in a broad audience, writing in weird formats will turn your viewers away. Standard novel formats are difficult to read, IMO, since most people read on mobile devices. So, IMO, you should break some of your longer paragraphs up to around 3, maybe 4 sentences at most, to provide some eye relief for your readers. There are other forms of writing that several authors use here and succeed with, such as the onamonapia style, but I don't recommend it myself. That is just my opinion; write however you want.

Finally, we come to my last point;

7 - Actual Content

Is your story any good? Serious question. You may like it, but if it is some niche content, full of grammatical errors, or you have gaping plot holes you could drive a truck through in the first ten chapters, you will find your readers will just drop off like flies. A fall off is normal for numbers of views, as people try out your story and decide it isn't for them, or that they will read it later once you have more chapters.

If you are worried about your content, you can ask in the authors' forum if anyone is willing to read a few chapters and give you their opinions. Most people who are willing to do that are great and will give you honest opinions on your style. Take what they give you and learn from it.

Bonus

8 - Engage with your Readers

If you have people in your comments, congrats! You are lucky, as the vast majority of people on SH are silent readers. Engage with their comments, even if it's just a thank you. If you appear accessible to your readers, you may end up with valuable insights into your writing from their comments.

There ya go, a quick guide for writing here on SH. Good luck!

All of these things are useless.

Just slap this pic of mine, courtesy of @pangmida and watch the launch of thousands of ships...

...away.

how to REALLY attract readers.
plot out complicated concepts
create quirky characters
write a dozen books with those plots using those characters.
edit and upload.
wait for viewers to roll right in.
keep waiting.
wait some more.
when that eventually fails, start plan B.

plan B:
Rob a bank.
leave really dumb manifesto pointing people toward your SH account books.
sit in prison and serve time for robbing a bank.
get out with good behavior.
write a book about writing books in jail, all because you couldn't write books outside of jail.
profit.
stonks.

For all legal purposes: Don't rob banks.

PLAN B IT IS THEN

ill add this at the bottom for those looking challenge mode

How to attract Readers on SH (Super Hard Mode)

 

[AstreiaNyx]

Know your audience

Not in a stalkerish way, to be clear.

 

[tentacle_master]

You can also write SmutHarem, somebody said it’s the original name of ScribbleHub.

my amateur SmutHarem and other authors NTR shits seems to got a bit more view than the usual professional LitRPG boobs.

 

[Anonjohn20]

@Enkiari Can we get this pinned here? Whenever we get new authors, this question inevitably comes up. Also, I am open to discussion about the points with our current authors.



JD's Quick and Dirty Guide to Attracting Readers on SH

1 - Make an Attractive Cover.

Appearance is everything for the initial draw of your readers. Depending on what you are writing about, an attractive woman (or man, or small furry creature from Alpha Centauri, no judgment) on the cover tends to draw more eyes than something plain or abstract, but that will also depend on your target audience... I am weird in that my main work has an old dude in a bathrobe on the cover, yet it still gets a ton of views.

2 - Synopsis

This part cannot be overstated. You need a brief, well-written synopsis about what you are writing. People probably won't even open it up if they don't like what you're 'selling' them, no matter how good your writing is.

3 - Proper Tags for your Novel.

This will be how people even search for what you are writing. Whatever content is in your novel, make sure you add it.

Cool, now you have the basics of getting your readers' foot in the door. Next, let's talk numbers.

4 - Number of Chapters

The vast majority of readers on SH won't even look at a novel with fewer than 100 chapters. Many writers stop writing before that point, leaving their readers hanging high and dry. There seem to be several thresholds readers need to have met before they actually commit to a novel, that I have noticed, anyway. 20, 50, 100, and +150 chapters seem to be rough estimates, with 100 showing the largest boost in views. When my work hit a hundred chapters, I went from 30k views to nearly 90k in less than three weeks. Results may vary.

5 - Word Count

1500-2500 words per chapter seems to be the ideal length people agree on. Any less, and your readers can't really dig into the chapter, any more, and readers might not be able to finish it in one sitting and turn them away. There is more nuance here, but that is the generally accepted amount. I tend to lean towards the 2000-3000 mark myself.

6 - Writing Style

This one is way more subjective, but if you are trying to draw in a broad audience, writing in weird formats will turn your viewers away. Standard novel formats are difficult to read, IMO, since most people read on mobile devices. So, IMO, you should break some of your longer paragraphs up to around 3, maybe 4 sentences at most, to provide some eye relief for your readers. There are other forms of writing that several authors use here and succeed with, such as the onamonapia style, but I don't recommend it myself. That is just my opinion; write however you want.

Finally, we come to my last point;

7 - Actual Content

Is your story any good? Serious question. You may like it, but if it is some niche content, full of grammatical errors, or you have gaping plot holes you could drive a truck through in the first ten chapters, you will find your readers will just drop off like flies. A fall off is normal for numbers of views, as people try out your story and decide it isn't for them, or that they will read it later once you have more chapters.

If you are worried about your content, you can ask in the authors' forum if anyone is willing to read a few chapters and give you their opinions. Most people who are willing to do that are great and will give you honest opinions on your style. Take what they give you and learn from it.

Bonus

8 - Engage with your Readers

If you have people in your comments, congrats! You are lucky, as the vast majority of people on SH are silent readers. Engage with their comments, even if it's just a thank you. If you appear accessible to your readers, you may end up with valuable insights into your writing from their comments.

There ya go, a quick guide for writing here on SH. Good luck!

You forgot the most important one for SmutHub. Move everything else down and make rule 1 "write smut."

 

[FRWriter]

It's a little sad that "Actual content" is listed at No. 7 ;)
It's the truth, though.

 

[BigBadBoi]

All of these things are useless.

Just slap this pic of mine, courtesy of @pangmida and watch the launch of thousands of ships...

...away.

View attachment 46054

PLAN B IT IS THEN

How to attract Readers on SH (Super Hard Mode)

I'll be honest I was reading a pretty decent smut novel here once and thought it was hot until the author posted concept art extremely similar to this pic. And no there was zero irony involved it was a genuine tumblrslop monstrosity. I proceeded to be abstinent for a week straight reading only powerfantasy hype moments and aura novels.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

It's a little sad that "Actual content" is listed at No. 7 ;)
It's the truth, though.

I mean, it is a post about getting readers, not keeping them. You need the presentation before you get to the meat and potatoes. There are 1000s of weird ass translated cultivation/ AI slop novels here, most have some sort of eye catching cover at the very least. To stand out amongst them, you need to present yourself as well as you can, or you might get glossed over.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

I'll be honest I was reading a pretty decent smut novel here once and thought it was hot until the author posted concept art extremely similar to this pic. And no there was zero irony involved it was a genuine tumblrslop monstrosity. I proceeded to be abstinent for a week straight reading only powerfantasy hype moments and aura novels.

I apologize if I singed your eyes and reminded you once again of that incident.

I shall now commit sudoku.

You can also write SmutHarem, somebody said it’s the original name of ScribbleHub.

my amateur SmutHarem and other authors NTR shits seems to got a bit more view than the usual professional LitRPG boobs.

SmutHub mon ami. That is ScribbleHub's alt name since 2020.

 

[Corty]

Whenever we get new authors, this question inevitably comes up.

You think they will read it? I have my tutorial up & pinned yet the amount of threads get posted weekly that have the answer in there is astronomical