I was wondering how high is reader's standard toward RR fiction compared to wattpad, scribblehub, and published work or light novels.

If you're asking about the standards that readers expect? Hoo boy! That's a spi-cy topic!

I think a preponderance of the readers on this site are fine with anything that is competently written and easy to follow. I think this is because most readers understand that this is an indie platform where anyone can share their work. Even some stories that have glaring flaws do well because readers just look past it and continue on. Overall, I have found the RR reader base to be quite gracious.

However, evil lurks in the shadows...

There are a vocal minority of readers who will accept nothing more than absolute perfection. They will point out even the smallest of inconsistencies in your comment section and write literal essays on why your MC is dumb and the story makes no sense. They will rake you over hot coals for any grammar mistakes you make and even send you messages with resources on English grammar because you apparently didn't learn this in school.

This minority doesn't even like your story, and the only reason they are reading it at all is so they can be your personal grammar nazi and tell you that your telling the story wrong.

And you know what? I kinda love it.

On wattpad and scribble hub and all those other free publishing platforms, the readers don't seem to care as long as they get a facefull of smutty prose. They don't hold their authors to any standard except that of excess. As long as they get fed, then the quality of the work can be as low as you like.

At least readers on RR care, even if it's only a little. And that's awesome.

P.S. - I love the proofreading feature that RR uses to help spot grammar mistakes and appreciate when readers use it to give free editing help. Don't let my above comments make you think otherwise.

Story trumps all, but only to a point. Readers are willing to accept lower quality as long as they're enjoying the story, but better writing will attract and keep a larger readership in the long run. It's also much easier to build a fanbase when the writing is at least competent enough that discussions are not based entirely on basic error fixing and more on plot and character development. That said, I have a couple of readers who are very consistent about pointing out errors--I typically have 1 or 2 minor ones per chapter that I am always sure to fix. The rest of the time the commentary is on the events and characters of the story itself.

One of the more useful features of author premium is the user retention stats so you know which chapters need a second (or sometimes third etc) look. Going back and fixing the weak chapters, especially in the beginning, help make the story stronger and increase retention of new readers. I usually mark the chapters that have been edited as well, otherwise older comments may not make sense.

Descending order:

• published works (not LN)
• LN
• Royal Road
• wattpad/scribblehub

LOW, very low, the stories that do the best aren't actually because of their writing style or ability. It's a stark reminder that writing is at it's core, art. The more absurd, unusual, goofy, and all around nonsense a story is, the better it does on RR. 

This isn't a bad thing, it just means that you need to think of a gimmick that is poorly explored. The best and cleverest example I can think of is Micro, a story written by one of my good friends here. 

He got ranked within the top 200 stories REALLY fast. The gimmick being he created an isekei in which Truck-kun is reincarnated instead of being the usual arbiter of fate when he was accidentally hit instead of the intended target

Interesting question. While Wattpad etc. might have some books that are closer to publishing standards, it has MASSES of low quality work. In my opinion, the standards are generally higher on RR because of its unique features. 

First off, it has strong rating features, allowing books to be identified and filtered by quality (to some degree). This means that authors who post their work have to accept that they may see their Ranking go down as a result of bad writing, and that success is somewhat dependent on quality. Wattpad has absolutely no rating features, so the only measure of a book's quality there is the number of reads/votes.

Also, RR has the suggested corrections feature, so readers can assist authors to improve their stories. In addition, RR readers are much more inclined to do so and RR's comment section allows them to with ease. Even the approval of new books by Mods provides a level of quality control.

Jack0fheart Wrote: LOW, very low, the stories that do the best aren't actually because of their writing style or ability. It's a stark reminder that writing is at it's core, art. The more absurd, unusual, goofy, and all around nonsense a story is, the better it does on RR. 

This isn't a bad thing, it just means that you need to think of a gimmick that is poorly explored. The best and cleverest example I can think of is Micro, a story written by one of my good friends here. 

He got ranked within the top 200 stories REALLY fast. The gimmick being he created an isekei in which Truck-kun is reincarnated instead of being the usual arbiter of fate when he was accidentally hit instead of the intended target

No. Just... no. This is pure copium that is easily disproven by looking at best-rated or popular-this-week, and seeing what fics are on top. Are mother of learning, beware of chicken or azarinth healer absurd and nonsense stories? No.
What you are mistaking for absurd, goofy and nonsense is marketability. Anybody can post here. There are tons of new fics and chapters coming in all the time. To stand out, you have to have a clickable story that matches the preferences of the site. Work on your story concept, blurb, title and cover, and you can maximize your chances. 

Pure gimmick stories usually fall off fast, never hitting the big leagues. If you actually want to succeed, you do have to have something in your story that people want to read. Yes, you don't need the most prim grammar and pleasant prose, but what you need is storytelling. Often, when people say that stories are written badly and should not be as successful as they are, they are missing the ways in which the story in question succeeds at telling a satisfying progression fantasy story.

EetuTheCuteCat Wrote: No. Just... no. This is pure copium that is easily disproven by looking at best-rated or popular-this-week, and seeing what fics are on top. Are mother of learning, beware of chicken or azarinth healer absurd and nonsense stories? No.
What you are mistaking for absurd, goofy and nonsense is marketability. Anybody can post here. There are tons of new fics and chapters coming in all the time. To stand out, you have to have a clickable story that matches the preferences of the site. Work on your story concept, blurb, title and cover, and you can maximize your chances. 

Pure gimmick stories usually fall off fast, never hitting the big leagues. If you actually want to succeed, you do have to have something in your story that people want to read. Yes, you don't need the most prim grammar and pleasant prose, but what you need is storytelling. Often, when people say that stories are written badly and should not be as successful as they are, they are missing the ways in which the story in question succeeds at telling a satisfying progression fantasy story.

I'm sorry to be the one yo break it to you, all of said stories fall well within the categories I was talking about, mother of learning was a time loop story of a type never seen before...novelty. And Beware of Chicken a story based on a culitivating chicken? It speaks for itself.

Instead of focusing heavily on 'wtiting ability' treat it like the art it is with a fresh new take of things. You'll be much more successful here. I've seen a story make it to the top ranks of Trending (before Rising Stars) because it was so poorly grammatically written, evwryone was plastering it everywhere in the forums with titles like "have you seen that story that seems like it was written by 4th grader" it was EVERYWHERE. Even my own stories follow that theme.

The easiest way to make it far is an unusual non-human MC. Monster races are always a hit, but I've seen stories with MC chickens, snails, bricks, even the reincarnation of Truck-kun. All of them made it passed 1k+ followers. The idea alone isn't enough without an author willing to put in the work with sheer quantity though. 

It's not hard to make it here on RR when you understand the audience is bored of the mundane and ordinary, what they want is entertainment

I think we're conflating novelty with gimmick. 

Jack0fheart Wrote: I'm sorry to be the one yo break it to you, all of said stories fall well within the categories I was talking about, mother of learning was a time loop story of a type never seen before...novelty. And Beware of Chicken a story based on a culitivating chicken? It speaks for itself.

If you think MOL is popular because of its premise... bro. Time loops are not exactly a new concept. And Azarinth healer? What about primal hunter? He who fights with monsters? What unusual gimmick do those have? Even with Beware of Chicken, the cultivating chicken is not the lasting appeal. The appeal comes from the comfy farm family vibes. From the subverted xianxia tropes. The chicken on the cover gets you to click, but it does not get you to stay and rate it 5 stars. Do you really think those stories do not succeed because of their writing ability?

Jack0fheart Wrote: Instead of focusing heavily on 'wtiting ability' treat it like the art it is with a fresh new take of things. You'll be much more successful here. I've seen a story make it to the top ranks of Trending (before Rising Stars) because it was so poorly grammatically written, evwryone was plastering it everywhere in the forums with titles like "have you seen that story that seems like it was written by 4th grader" it was EVERYWHERE.

The story you are talking about made it high because even low star ratings count for the algo. It got tons of low stars, which pushed it up further, but is that story successful now, beyond this meme status it holds in conversations? Do people still read it? Do you really think focusing on writing ability does not matter? 

Jack0fheart Wrote: The easiest way to make it far is an unusual non-human MC. Monster races are always a hit, but I've seen stories with MC chickens, snails, bricks, even the reincarnation of Truck-kun. All of them made it passed 1k+ followers. The idea alone isn't enough without an author willing to put in the work with sheer quantity though.

And for every one of those you see getting 1k+ followers, there are thousands that never get past 50. Do a search and see how many stories tagged with non-human-lead have 150+ pages. Then sort it by followers, jump to the end of the list, and start clicking your way up. How long does it take to get to the 1k+ follower stories? 

Theo Wrote: They will rake you over hot coals for any grammar mistakes you make and even send you messages with resources on English grammar because you apparently didn't learn this in school.

EetuTheCuteCat Wrote:

Jack0fheart Wrote: I'm sorry to be the one yo break it to you, all of said stories fall well within the categories I was talking about, mother of learning was a time loop story of a type never seen before...novelty. And Beware of Chicken a story based on a culitivating chicken? It speaks for itself.

If you think MOL is popular because of its premise... bro. Time loops are not exactly a new concept. And Azarinth healer? What about primal hunter? He who fights with monsters? What unusual gimmick do those have? Even with Beware of Chicken, the cultivating chicken is not the lasting appeal. The appeal comes from the comfy farm family vibes. From the subverted xianxia tropes. The chicken on the cover gets you to click, but it does not get you to stay and rate it 5 stars. Do you really think those stories do not succeed because of their writing ability?

Jack0fheart Wrote: Instead of focusing heavily on 'wtiting ability' treat it like the art it is with a fresh new take of things. You'll be much more successful here. I've seen a story make it to the top ranks of Trending (before Rising Stars) because it was so poorly grammatically written, evwryone was plastering it everywhere in the forums with titles like "have you seen that story that seems like it was written by 4th grader" it was EVERYWHERE.

The story you are talking about made it high because even low star ratings count for the algo. It got tons of low stars, which pushed it up further, but is that story successful now, beyond this meme status it holds in conversations? Do people still read it? Do you really think focusing on writing ability does not matter? 

Jack0fheart Wrote: The easiest way to make it far is an unusual non-human MC. Monster races are always a hit, but I've seen stories with MC chickens, snails, bricks, even the reincarnation of Truck-kun. All of them made it passed 1k+ followers. The idea alone isn't enough without an author willing to put in the work with sheer quantity though.

And for every one of those you see getting 1k+ followers, there are thousands that never get past 50. Do a search and see how many stories tagged with non-human-lead have 150+ pages. Then sort it by followers, jump to the end of the list, and start clicking your way up. How long does it take to get to the 1k+ follower stories?

I don't think you've been here very long... MoL was the OG of timeloops and helped build this site. I know a lot of the authors mentioned above but instead of talking about the stories I haven't read. Primal Hunter though, it was a private story inspired by his Skyrim character of a stealth archer archtype. So in the spirit of avoiding turning this into the debate forum and getting this thread locked. I'll leave it here 😂

Alexander Wrote:

Theo Wrote: They will rake you over hot coals for any grammar mistakes you make and even send you messages with resources on English grammar because you apparently didn't learn this in school.

Please direct anyone who does this to me so I may subject them to punctuatory annihilation.

over 100 of these red marks by Grammarly. can you do worse?

Laulau20 Wrote: over 100 of these red marks by Grammarly. can you do worse?

Alexander Wrote:

Laulau20 Wrote: over 100 of these red marks by Grammarly. can you do worse?

Grammarly is to editing as a sunburn is to ᴅʀᴏᴡɴɪɴɢ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ ɪɴ ʙᴏɪʟɪɴɢ ᴛᴀʀ.

I assume you would have heatstroke before you drowned. 

Also, given the relative density of tar, i assume you would float pretty well. 

luda305 Wrote: I assume you would have heatstroke before you drowned.

Also, given the relative density of tar, i assume you would float pretty well.

Those two minor facts are no match for my large wooden stick and my ability to push you down into the tar with it.

Alexander Wrote:

Theo Wrote: They will rake you over hot coals for any grammar mistakes you make and even send you messages with resources on English grammar because you apparently didn't learn this in school.

Please direct anyone who does this to me so I may subject them to punctuatory annihilation.

To be fair, it only happened to me once. The guy sent a real nice note saying that if I learned how to English all proper like, I might turn into a real author some day!

I know they were trying to be helpful, but the condescending nature of it made the event stick in my head. 

The point is that at least RR has a platform where engagement like that happens, unlike other sites where the reader base is largely apathetic.

I guess I would have to say low, but the standards for entertainment more broadly are pretty low anyway. The good shit is what gets remembered in the long run, but you don't really need to write the good shit to get relative short-term success that justifies your effort, not just here on RR but on any platform or medium. 

What matters is, ultimately, consistency and playing the system. You know how the algorithm works, so you lean into it and get as many eyes as possible. Eventually your story builds momentum based off sheer clicks. Sure, it helps to have good grammar and at least some actual story in there, but those are not the things that build success in the attention economy, and generally speaking audiences these days don't really care about quality as much as sheer quantity of content. They want to just consume endlessly with an infinite feed of dopamine-hitting screen candy.

I mean, let's be honest. How much bullshit do you watch on YouTube? TikTok? Twitter? RR is an online library, and functions basically the same way, just with fiction. I know that, particularly when I was younger, I spent ungodly amounts of time online engaging with stuff I didn't actually care too much about, all because I could. Why would it be any different here?

In my experience, the average story I find on RR is better than the average story I find on KU.

It might just be that amazon is trash and makes their search trash on purpose.   Or it might be an overall story quality issue.
From a readers perspective, that doesn't matter.

I just know on RR I've got about a 10% chance of finding something *amazing* when I pull something up from my "read later" list. Because good stories exist, and RR provides the tools to find the ones likely to tickle your fancy.

On KU I've literally never found a good story that wasn't from RR.

Reaching the end of this thread has me feeling a little depressed. Its missing the tragedy and psychological tags. 

0.5 stars.