How to get traction on here>

[iamlielac]

Okay so I know self promotion is a no-no so I wanted to ask when most people start to experience traction? Is it after posting a lot of chapters, does it happen right away for some people? I guess I was just hoping for my book to be doing better than it is and am seeking some guidance/advice.

 

[KonoKei]

Based on the insight metrics you can see on your stories stats page, most people find stories by tags. So if you have a tag that's popular (girl love, smut, etc) then you'll get clicks. Having a high quality story gets them to stick around/share online.

here's a screenshot of my refferers (Where the user was before they clicked on my story link)

The "read" link on top is someone clicking from one chapter to another, each chapter click counts as a click
The "Series" is, I assume, someone clicking on a chapter title from the story page
Everything else is pretty self explanatory, but the important info is how big the tagging system is for getting new readers. Scribblehub is smuthub, so pornographic tags get a lot of clicks. Perhaps Isekai/xianxian/power progression or w/e get a lot of clicks as well but I don't have those tags so I wouldn't know.

 

[Iamnotabot]

It's just a matter of consistency. Write and keep on writting, with time people will come. I push one chap each week and it only took me a week or two to reach 100 reader. Just keep on writting.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

Okay so I know self promotion is a no-no

Wait, slow it down. Why is self promo a no-no? Is that what people said? It depends how it's done.

Is it after posting a lot of chapters, does it happen right away for some people? I guess I was just hoping for my book to be doing better than it is and am seeking some guidance/advice.

Everything is in the type of story you're writing. The first rule of trying to sell anyone is know your customers. AKA know the SH reader base. Find out what they will like and not like, or give them something they didn't think they'd like.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

You need to give my story a one-star rating to get on trending.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

You need to give my story a one-star rating to get on trending.

Facts.

 

[Rezcore]

You just have to be more consistent than your bowels. Set a schedule, and stick to it.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

Self promotion is okay as long as it is in the right forum section. Some stories do good here while others do better elsewhere. As many have said before, co sisterly and tags are key. A good cover and synopsis will also help. Most people take a few months before they start getting traction. It took me nearly a full year because few, if any, site likes my genre of stories.

 

[RepresentingPride]

Views are not what you should look for too. The real focus is the readers you have and will get.
You only have 5 chapters now. It's not a lot, to be honest, and many don't even want to start reading a story with only 5 chapters.
With what everyone said, you can also try to publish your next chapter in a good time period to have your story appear when a lot of readers come here. However, that time will also have a lot of uploads by other authors. You can try to do the reverse and upload when fewer authors upload. Your story will stay longer, but there will be fewer readers at those times. It's up to you to try and see what works better for you.

Try to be consistent with your story, and ask yourself why did you write? Is it to enjoy writing and share your story? Or is it for money?
Sadly, if you are doing this for money, then you can already stop your story since your start is not good enough. Instead of publishing a few chapters like right now, write more, stock them, and retry with a chapter each day for a month. At the end of the month, if the result is still not enough for money making, then your story not fit here for that purpose.

Now, if you write because you enjoy writing, then don't care about those numbers. Readers will come sooner or later. Luck plays a big part here, too. It's not because you have fewer views or readers that your story isn't good.

Once you will have a good readers base, you won't even care about views anymore, only the number of readers.

Good luck with your story!

 

[HypnoticNovels]

Don't concern yourself with how many readers you have :p .

They will come with time if they want to! Just keep writing and eventually it will happen :D have a set schedule if you can and interact with whoever comments to keep everyone happy and interested (and it's also just very fun to do and it could give you some insight on your story)

Your focus should be on the quality of your story rather than how many people are reading it. If its not good, the readers will fly away anyway. Write for your own enjoyment and practice- the readers and commentators should be a happy bonus!

 

[iamlielac]

View attachment 30859
It's just a matter of consistency. Write and keep on writting, with time people will come. I push one chap each week and it only took me a week or two to reach 100 reader. Just keep on writting.

Well I am on week two and I don't have anywhere near 100 hundred :(

Don't concern yourself with how many readers you have :p .

They will come with time if they want to! Just keep writing and eventually it will happen :D have a set schedule if you can and interact with whoever comments to keep everyone happy and interested (and it's also just very fun to do and it could give you some insight on your story)

Your focus should be on the quality of your story rather than how many people are reading it. If its not good, the readers will fly away anyway. Write for your own enjoyment and practice- the readers and commentators should be a happy bonus!

thank you this is really good advice!

Views are not what you should look for too. The real focus is the readers you have and will get.
You only have 5 chapters now. It's not a lot, to be honest, and many don't even want to start reading a story with only 5 chapters.
With what everyone said, you can also try to publish your next chapter in a good time period to have your story appear when a lot of readers come here. However, that time will also have a lot of uploads by other authors. You can try to do the reverse and upload when fewer authors upload. Your story will stay longer, but there will be fewer readers at those times. It's up to you to try and see what works better for you.

Try to be consistent with your story, and ask yourself why did you write? Is it to enjoy writing and share your story? Or is it for money?
Sadly, if you are doing this for money, then you can already stop your story since your start is not good enough. Instead of publishing a few chapters like right now, write more, stock them, and retry with a chapter each day for a month. At the end of the month, if the result is still not enough for money making, then your story not fit here for that purpose.

Now, if you write because you enjoy writing, then don't care about those numbers. Readers will come sooner or later. Luck plays a big part here, too. It's not because you have fewer views or readers that your story isn't good.

Once you will have a good readers base, you won't even care about views anymore, only the number of readers.

Good luck with your story!

This was very insightful, and you're right. Maybe my focus is on the wrong thing. I do want to publish my book someday, but it isn't for money, it's more to just feel like I actually did something with my life. And because of that, I put a lot of pressure on myself to hit certain markers, and when I don't, I don't feel good enough. but you're right, I should be doing it just because I enjoy it, not for the numbers or views. Thank you for this!

 

[melchi]

You need to give my story a one-star rating to get on trending.

This is the true cheat.

 

[iamlielac]

Self promotion is okay as long as it is in the right forum section. Some stories do good here while others do better elsewhere. As many have said before, co sisterly and tags are key. A good cover and synopsis will also help. Most people take a few months before they start getting traction. It took me nearly a full year because few, if any, site likes my genre of stories.

This was very helpful, thank you!!

You just have to be more consistent than your bowels. Set a schedule, and stick to it.

Lol I hear you there!

Wait, slow it down. Why is self promo a no-no? Is that what people said? It depends how it's done.

Everything is in the type of story you're writing. The first rule of trying to sell anyone is know your customers. AKA know the SH reader base. Find out what they will like and not like, or give them something they didn't think they'd like.

I did read on reddit that self promo on here is an absolute no but if it isn't that's great! And that is a good point.

 

[Lysander_Works]

Be more active in the forums? (Presumably with a working Signature setup)

 

[Avery_Line]

This is the post that has drawn me out of lurker mode. I'm curious about this one star thing with your story.... what's up with that?

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

This is the post that has drawn me out of lurker mode. I'm curious about this one star thing with your story.... what's up with that?

If you mean K5 it's to show that even what can be considered bad stories can be a good investment if you give it a try. The thought is to see the lowest rated story on the site, read it to see how bad it is, get surprised, make the realization that if the lowest rated is this good that the other stories on the site are of better quality. So people can give everything a chance.

Yeah I remember the explanation after a year.

 

[Avery_Line]

If you mean K5 it's to show that even what can be considered bad stories can be a good investment if you give it a try. The thought is to see the lowest rated story on the site, read it to see how bad it is, get surprised, make the realization that if the lowest rated is this good that the other stories on the site are of better quality. So people can give everything a chance.

Yeah I remember the explanation after a year.

That's inspirational!

 

[CoastalFortress]

Thanks for the thread, helped me get an answer without having to post my own forum.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

I did read on reddit that self promo on here is an absolute no but if it isn't that's great! And that is a good point.

That is a very common misconception. Excessive self-promotion may be seen as spamming, or just come off as annoying, but "casual" self-promotion, or the occasional request for feedback (or offers of review exchanges) are if not encouraged, at least welcomed.

 

[KayAyBee]

Hey. (this is my first post in the forum)

What's the best place to self promote, especially if I'm trying to reach readers *outside* my normal group. (I did a poll, and like, 87% of my readers are trans women. 0% identify as cisgender.) And yet, I'm trying to write for both queer and non-queer audiences.