Ratings and Rankings · 7:53pm Sep 27th, 2017
So:
horizon modified this idea he got from Estee—go to the list of the stories you've written, sort 'em by "Rating," and see how your opinion as the author matches up with the readers' opinions. So I thought it might be fun to give it a try.
Then I remembered that I've got two accounts with 45 stories in total. 
Just making the list showed me one surprising thing: even though Augie's got almost exactly twice as many followers, the Baal Bunny stuff seems to be more popular on the site overall. My three most popular Bunny stories are rated in the top 600, for instance, while the most popular Augie story is #1,179.
This actually makes sense when I think about it. From the beginning, I've used the Augie name for stories where I'm experimenting with various writing tricks and techniques while the Bunny stories all started as entries in the Writeoff. So the Bunny stories for the most part are shorter and more straightforward, easier to read in a single sitting and maybe more accessible that way.
So maybe it shouldn't be odd that I find myself rearranging the Augie stories much more than the Bunny ones. The Augie stories, I write for me: the Bunny ones are for public consumption.
We'll start with the Bunny stuff since that's the easier of the two groups. Here's how the site ranks 'em for popularity:
1. Collaborators
2. Epitaphs
3. Discontinuity
4. Flapjacks
5. Stupid Tree
6. This Side of the Mirror
7. Doing Well by Doing Good
8. Funatics
9. Bowled Over
10. Grouchisaurus Rex
11. Maybe Tomorrow
12. In From the Cold
13. Far Kobresia
14. Pranks for Nothing
15. Once and Future
16. Princessence
17. At the Break of Dawn
18. Wànlǐ Chángchéng / A Great Wall
19. A Thany-Mendored Spling
20. Noblesse Oblige
21. Dignity
I can't argue much with that, really.
I mean, sure, I'd slide a few things here and there. I can't imagine I'll ever finish "Grouchisaurus Rex"—the second and third chapters have been sitting around in various stages of completion for going on three years now, but I can't figure out a way to make it anything more than just another "immortality angst" story. So I'd put that down at #20. "Once and Future," to be completely honest, I'd forgotten I'd even written: the story never quite came together the way I'd hoped, so let's make that #19. The changes I made to "Far Kobresia" when transitioning it from the original Writeoff version to the version I posted on FimFiction always seemed a little shaky to me, so I'll make that #18 on my list.
I'd move "Noblesse Oblige" up the scale to, oh, 10th place, maybe? It's hampered both by the way it's "rated mature for sexual situations," and for the way that it doesn't have any explicit sex scenes in it. Its few sex scenes are described in very flowery and poetic language, so people looking for a clopfic won't enjoy it, and people with their mature filter turned on won't even see it. Oh, well.
I'd like to move "In From the Cold" up to a higher position because I love that story to an unreasonable extent, but I like all the stories above it, too. So I guess it stays in 12th place.
As for my look at the Augie stories, I'll post it over on the AugieDog page when I get it done.
Mike
That's what you think, buddy! Personally, the flowery language aids the imagination as a subtle guide; less like a tour bus driver, more like Sacagawea.
You made me look, darnit. The actual ranking of stories flies around from day to day, and I've had a couple flitter around the #1 spot for a week or two, but right now (checks the mature slider) the best I can do is in the 60s, dropping down into the 300s with the pranking princess stories, 400s with Monster, etc... down to about 14 thousand with The Adultery of Princess Twilight Sparkle (which I blame the pun for the low ranking)
Anyway, if I do a ranking post, I'll probably only list my favorites grouped into categories instead of 1,2,3,4... Otherwise, I'd spend a week dithering about if this one needs to be #17 or maybe #18, because I'm not well-organized. Maybe: Most Proud of, Pretty Darned Proud Of, Good, and I'm Going To Stop Now, with the rest falling into You Can Go Look If You Want But I Warned You.
4680160
As a more-than-fifty-year-old virgin, I've got nothing but imagination to be my guide...
4680236
"Epitaphs" made it into the site's top 10 at one point, but having three stories in the triple digits is about as popular as I'm likely to get. And the Augie stories are even less-regarded by the public-at-large. But with 66 stories, yeah, you'd probably want to focus on sections rather than straight up numerical rankings of your whole oeuvre. Which I believe is French for "egg." Or am I thinking of something else?
Mike
"Collaborators" absolutely deserves its top spot; glad to know both you and your readers agree. And I personally happen to think "Funatics" is underrated, but I think that's just my inner fanboy talking.
4680371
Seconded on both counts!
I was surprised by how far down "Noblesse Oblige" was, but I guess your content-and-filters explanation makes a lot of sense.
4680371
4680553
I've actually been thinking lately about reserving a couple hours in the radio station's production studio and trying to record a reading of "Funatics." Because I had way too much fun reading it aloud while writing it all those years ago.
4680573
I always have a lotta theories...
Mike