AO3 stats 2015

[john_amend_all]

Memed from thisbluespirit: Top ten AO3 works by various metrics

(2014 stats for comparison)

Top 10 by Hit Count

1. Persistence [1347]
2. Noblesse Oblige [1047]
3. Mimic [1024]
4. Vox et Praeterea Mysteria [638]
5. The Murder of Cardinal Tosca [607]
6. The Crawford Ritual [587]
7. 24 Pairs [479]
8. The Path of Duty [479]
9. 22 Pairs [465]

I think the hit count on Mimic has to be a glitch or other oddity — that was my first fic to pass 1000 hits, and my next highest fic in the Sapphire and Steel fandom has 'only' 304.

Other than that, the big draws seem to be Austen fandoms (not only has Persistence got my highest hit count, it clocked it up in less than a year). I'm also pretty sure that's the only explanation for what The Crawford Ritual is doing up there. The other crowd-puller seems to be rare pairing tags. Maybe I should combine the two and write a set of drabbles based on random Austen ships...

I also used my stats downloader to pull down the raw figures, and did a 'hits per day' sort. Since this is inclined to bias in favour of recent works, I omitted my 20 most recent fics from consideration.

1. Persistence [3.94]
2. In Your Dreams [1.5]
3. The Crawford Ritual [1.26]
4. Hearts' Desire [1.07]
5. Mimic [1.06]
6. Noblesse Oblige [1.03]
7. Ectoparasitism [1.00]
8. Vox et Praeterea Mysteria [0.82]
9. Ac Velut In Somnis [0.81]
10. Rebound [0.68]

It appears that one way keep traffic high for a fic is to post it in weekly instalments with cliffhangers. Another is to include Rose, with or without Ten.

Top 10 by Kudos

1. Persistence [65]
2. Vox et Praeterea Mysteria [57]
3. Noblesse Oblige [27]
4. Outside Context [21]
5. 22 Pairs [19]
6. Legman [18]
7. 24 Pairs [16]
8. A Spy Unmasked [15]
9. The Shy, Retiring Multicolour Man [15]
10. Dimension Breach [14]

Apart from high footfall, it seems kudos is attracted by Sherlock crossovers, Ace Rimmer, and Frobisher. Well, then.

145) The Siren- Tiffany Reisz

It's a woman's world, but he’s the one on top. Notorious Ace Rimmer is famous for his delicious works of erotica, each one more popular with readers than the last. But his latest manuscript is different - more serious, more personal-and he’s sure it'll be his breakout book...if it ever sees the light of day. Elizabeth Bennet holds Ace's fate in her well-manicured hands. The demanding British editor agrees to handle the book on one condition: she wants complete control. Ace must rewrite the entire novel to her exacting standards - in six weeks - or it's no deal.

Ace's grueling writing sessions with Elizabeth are draining...and shockingly arousing. And a dangerous former lover has him wondering which is more torturous-staying away from her...or returning to her bed? Ace thought he knew everything about being pushed to your limits. But in a world where passion is pain, nothing is ever that simple.

399) Another Side of Midnight - Mia Zachary

Two months, two weeks and four days ago, Frobisher woke up alone in a hotel room. All Ace left was a note — and a lot of questions. He's back, and he wants answers — but he wants more.

Smart-mouthed Vegas private eye Frobisher is used to all kinds of trouble. He's nursing another black eye from his bartending sideline, his mom's dropping hints about nice Italian boys and Midnight Investigation Services is struggling. Otherwise, Frobisher would never have accepted his current gig — suspected adultery, maybe embezzlement. Possibly murder. His ex, Ace Rimmer, wants to partner. Frobisher wants to punish him for past misdemeanors.

But he's got to trust him or risk facing another side of danger alone...

370) Cougar's Conquest - Linda O. Johnston

Frobisher hasn't seen Sherlock Holmes in over a year, not since their relationship had ended so abruptly. Not since the brilliant, sexy man he fell for learned his secret and he'd been forced to flee. Now Sherlock is back with an offer to join a covert military unit of shapeshifters, and the spark of their attraction is instantly reignited.

Neither can resist sharing one last night of passion, but as a cougar shifter, Frobisher had been taught only to trust his own kind. Can he truly trust Sherlock with his secret...and with his heart?

288) The Medusa Seduction by Cindy Dees

'I need you to follow me,' the tall stranger whispered to her from the shadows. And just like that, Emma Woodhouse was tapped for a top-secret mission with innocent lives at stake. Ace Rimmer believed she possessed the knowledge to smoke out a deadly terrorist — all she had to do was trust the handsome Special Forces soldier with her life.

Ace needed Emma. But training her in the art of covert commando warfare was proving more challenging than he'd anticipated. He swore nothing would compromise this operation...until passion caught him by surprise. Now keeping Emma safe was his only mission — no matter what the cost to his heart or life.

I also did kudos / hit (aka, 'Satisfied Customers'). Again, because this is biased towards recent works, I exempted fic posted this year.

1. Legman [17.3%]
2. A Sticki Situation [12.1%]
3. Keep Mum [11.8%]
4. Work Experience [11.4%]
5. Polly to the Rescue [10.7%]
6. Outside Context [10.4%]
7. Truth is What We Make It [10.4%]
8. The Blockage [10.3%]
9. Overcorrection [9.8%]
10. Childcare Arrangements [9.6%]

The good thing with this metric is that it can pull out works from obscure fandoms, or ill-frequented corners of fandom (such as Steven / Vicki shippers; there's another AO3 tag of which I'm the sole lessee and proprietor).

Top 9 by Comments

I used the AO3 'Statistics' page to sort by comment threads rather than comments. Below 4 threads, it was impossible to impose a meaningful order; hence only nine.

1. Vox et Praeterea Mysteria [9]
2. Dimension Breach [7]
3. Persistence [7]
4. Outside Context [5]
5. Works Outing [5]
6. Interrupted Night [5]
7. The Way We Spy [4]
8. Unknown Unknown [4]
9. The Murder of Cardinal Tosca [4]

The moral here is: Sapphire and Steel fans are the talkative ones.

Top 8 by Bookmarks

Again, below 3 bookmarks, a sensible ordering was not possible.

1. Vox et Praeterea Mysteria [18]
2. Persistence [9]
3. The Murder of Cardinal Tosca [4]
4. A Spy Unmasked [4]
5. Noblesse Oblige [3]
6. Work Experience [3]
7. Restitution [3]
8. Genius and Geniality [3]

The only outlier here is Restitution, which seems (to me) to have scored quite highly for a shortish Jamie / Victoria fixit. It was in the top ten for kudos last year, too.

Most Obscure

The lowest four hit counts:

1. A Glimpse Of The Future
2. Conflict Resolution
3. Wolf
4. Emigré

Nothing much to see there: four recent fics (in one case extremely recent). So let's exclude fics from this year:

1. Professional Development
2. Encounter On A London Street
3. Plan of Attack
4. Secretarial Savage

It seems that Lucie Miller and Marian Halcombe do not have large fandoms.

Last year, I did a 'Teaspoon: Reviews + Favourites' top ten. That's unchanged this year; it seems to me that these days, people prefer to leave kudos at AO3 rather than reviews at Teaspoon.

Comments

[pedanther]

I think the hit count on Mimic has to be a glitch or other oddity — that was my first fic to pass 1000 hits, and my next highest fic in the Sapphire and Steel fandom has 'only' 304.

People coming in from the "Stealth Crossover" tag, maybe?

[john_amend_all]

I only added that tag to it a few days ago, so no.

[thisbluespirit]

It seems that Lucie Miller and Marian Halcombe do not have large fandoms

There's just no justice in the world!!

(And, yep, there definitely seems to be a bug or bot issue going on with the hit counts, because I've got at least three fics with impossible hit counts, too, and I've seen other people doing this meme saying the same. And if you do get that many genuine hits from something, there's always at least a small bump in kudos to go with it, and that hasn't been happening in those cases.)

[john_amend_all]

A most regrettable lapse of public taste towards resourceful, no-nonsense Northern lasses, I have to agree.