Should I put reader stats in a query?

JohnLine

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I generally post my stories (usually 10k words) for free and have around a thousand regular readers. My stories have been read maybe a hundred thousand times (it’s hard to determine views versus reads.) And my most popular novella (30k words) has been read through fourteen thousand times (viewed forty thousand). Should I include any of this in a query? None of it’s traditionally published so I’m not sure.
 

LJD

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Is this on Wattpad?
 

JohnLine

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Are you querying the stories that you've already posted (published) for free?
No, I'm currently working on a 110k word fantasy novel with an ensemble of LGBT MCs. I'll probably self-publish it, but thought it might be fun to try the traditional route first.

I've never really tired to push my work before, so I'm trying to figure that out.
 

Fiender

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If these views aren't sales and didn't generate money, than most agents likely won't care. Mentioning it doesn't really make your project seem more appealing. And for every agent that might find those figures somewhat interesting, there's probably another that would find their inclusion off-putting and a sign of someone who doesn't know the industry, so I'd recommend keeping them out of your query.
 

JohnLine

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If these views aren't sales and didn't generate money, than most agents likely won't care.

That's what I'm curious about... but if I were in their shoes I'd want to know.

I've worked for some very large media firms (no book publishers), and they are generally as interested in user base as they are in revenue.
 

Sonya Heaney

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I would have said no, don't mention it, but I recently heard from a self-published author I know who pitched to one of my own HC editors, and apparently she was very interested to hear that sort of thing.

So, I guess ... there's no right answer here?
 

Katrina S. Forest

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You have those kinds of stats on DeviantArt? That is insane, and I think you should mention it.

For anyone who's not familiar with dA, written work (especially original written work) tends not to get noticed there. One of my original pieces got a Daily Deviation, meaning it was featured on the front page and put in a bunch of people's collections of DD writing. It has a grand total of 1,000 views.

Heck, even my most popular writing on more writing-centric sites like AO3 doesn't get those numbers. Closest I got was a Steven Universe fanfic that hit TV Tropes' recommended list early in the fandom. I think that one clocked in at 8,500 hits.

You've got numbers worth mentioning, so I say mention away. :)
 
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JohnLine

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You have those kinds of stats on DeviantArt? That is insane, and I think you should mention it.

Thanks for the boost! My current plan is that while I'm working on my novel, I'm going to republish all my old DA stories to more sites like Wattpad and try to generate bigger numbers that way.

I've been rereading them and cringing at my punctuation, so that'll be a bit of work.