On Moving On · 3:46am Mar 8th, 2013
I measure how much readers enjoy stories by counting what fraction of readers who read the first chapter go on to the second chapter. I call this the Reader Retention Ratio (RRR). Things are tricky when the first & second chapters aren't released at the same time, but with a big enough sample size, you get a good idea how stories are ranked. I had a big sample—counts for the first 40,000 stories published on fimfiction. The average RRR was 0.71.
I test troublesome stories by releasing them on ponyfictionarchive.net or fanfiction.net and checking the RRR for each chapter. "Moving On" is a troublesome story because there's no action and a lot of introspection. It probably doesn't help that Twilight's problems in the story are problems most people don't even think about before their forties. (It really should be tagged "mature".)
When I tested "Moving On", it had a reader retention ratio of 0.02. That was the fourth-worst out of all 40,000 stories. Readers liked 99.99% of the stories on fimfiction better than "Moving On".
After figuring that out, I wrote "Twilight Sparkle and the Quest for Anatomical Accuracy" and "The Saga of Dark Demon King Ravenblood Nightblade, Interior Design Alicorn". They were fun stories and I'm proud of them, but it made me a little sad to think that I had to give up the idea of writing stories like "Moving On", that they just couldn't be told. I'm not under the illusion that it's a great story, but it is the kind of story I wanted to tell, about the kinds of things I worry about.
Now, many rewrites and almost a year later, it's on EqD. I don't think stories like this will ever be tremendously popular, but maybe they can at least be told.
Also:
GhostOfHeraclitus: 525 watchers
Bad Horse: 524 watchers
Dammit, Scotty! I... need... one... more... watcher!
I'm glad such stories, and yours in particular, will be told.
Moving On is (let's face it) not the kind of fic that normally makes the feature box. . . and it's in the feature box. I'd call that a firm win. And as you said, there are some stories that are not for the general "shipping, gags, and feels" audience, but are still amazing and awesome. Moving On is one of them.
I was worried for the story there for a moment, but it seems to have found its footing at last. And that brings back some hope, it really does.
Be it as it may, I'm proud I played a part, no matter how small, in bringing this one to light.
Keep fighting the good (bad?) fight, Bad Horse.
How do you measure Reader Retention Ratio?
It has audience. Not the audience it deserves, but an audience. Moving On has already out done almost everything I've published you know.
898965
> … by counting what fraction of readers who read the first chapter go on to the second chapter
In other words, the fraction (chapter_2_views / chapter_1_views).
I feel your pain.
I often wonder how many views I could get if I cast my standards to the wind and wrote a second-person clopfic starring either Rainbow Dash or Twilight? Probably feature-box worthy. It's kind of depressing.
Still, at the end of the day, I'd rather be happy with my own high standards, and tell a story that lasts. One that someone can come back to and re-read, enjoying a second time.
Stories which, perhaps, even influence others.
You've done that, and that is a powerful thing. (I made a reference to Big Mac Reads Something Purple in my own story, Celestia Sleeps In.)
Keep up the good work. I'll stay a fan.
899133
It seems like the only things that reliably get high views in this fandom are clop and whatever is the latest craze. I posted this just 3 days ago and it already is my second most red story. http://www.fimfiction.net/story/88520/welcome-to-the-brothel
Bad Horse: 525 watchers
899229 Huzzah! Today, you have struck a great blow for evil!
Considering the quality of this story, I hope very much that you will not let RRR affect whether or not you post stories too badly in the future.
Also
899229
Quick! Someone new go watch Ghost! We can't let evil win!
Oh, I'm interested in it. It's probably going to be one of the first things I read when I dig through the current snowdrift of real-life stuff I've got to deal with. The concept and description kind-of makes me feel like it's reverse Eternal. Time has passed, Twilight has grown up, but this time there's no Celestia, for better or for worse (hence the reverse bit).
Actually, a while back I wrote:
So in that context, this may well be the fic I've been waiting to read since finishing Eternal. The question what was it all for? answered with no cheep Alicorn Twilight get-out. So yeah, this is one I'm going to find a nice, comfortable corner for where I won't be disturbed before reading.
PS: It also occurs to me this will be the first none-script story by you I've read, so I'll finally have a chance to find out who I'm taking my advice from. If the story is good, all is well, but if it is not, I fear I may run into a logical paradox where I must both take and not take your advice.
Huh. I really like the idea of the RRR. I may have to start using that myself.
Well, for multi-chapter long-term RRR, the numbers (at least for mine) seem to fall off consistantly as the last chapter comes up. That might imply a 'Sweet Spot' for large stories exists where you don't really want more than X chapters for fear of chasing off readers. Here are the numbers from my three longest-winded fics:
Title : RRR for second chapter/middle chapter/end chapter
Monster: .86 / .48 / .35
Genealogy: .85 / .45 / .34
Tutor : .74 / .50 / .36
Compared to my 2 chapter shorts like Concept (.88) means I think I'm going to have to be a lot more focused on number of words and make fewer chapters.
900212 I think what you're seeing is the effect of releasing chapters one at a time. Many readers who do read past the first chapter, keep going through as many chapters as there are at the moment, then stop and never come back.
899386
>Quick! Someone new go watch Ghost! We can't let evil win!
You can't win against evil. Because once we get you to care about winning... we've already won.
900823
Well played....
899386
If you don't make the bad horse gleeful, he'll make you his mare.
I thought Moving On was well worth reading.
My experience with your writing thus far is that the words do not tell the whole story. Your stories are told through the meaning behind your words, through the subtle character actions that are a careful study and revelation of choice and character rather than simply being a rude vehicle to move the plot forward.
Instead of providing a simple escape your work tries to pry open thoughts that many a reader would prefer not to see in their hours of leisure.
Most of the art and subtlety I read past far too quickly. Perhaps I need to get myself into a slow, calm, and introspective mood while I read your work. Or perhaps I should simply avoid listening to techno while reading pony.
900823 Update: Testing the theory that long periods of chapter releasing make the RRR fall off more.
Title : RRR for second chapter/middle chapter/end chapter
Monster: .86 / .48 / .35 (dropping to .24 as the next-to-last chapter is posted)
Genealogy: .85 / .45 / .34
Tutor : .74 / .50 / .36
Traveling Tutor and the Diplomat's Daughter: .70 / .63 / .63
Well, it looks like the theory is right for my experimental subject, which was released over about five days instead of the two months for the original Tutor. TTDD has a fairly normal dropoff at the first/second chapter, but an almost straight line after that. The middle chapter has nearly the same views (337) as the very last chapter (336). I'm assuming any more readers who stumble onto the fic will actually read it all the way through, thus raising the numbers across the board. It helped that TTDD was about a third the size of the original Tutor, and much more readable in one go.