HearthWrite uses a handful of scores so shelves can answer different questions — “hot this week,” “quietly excellent,” “easy to binge,” and so on.
Each score is a number from 0 to 100 on a story. Behind the scenes, the site watches what readers actually do: open chapters, stick around, follow, finish, rate, and recommend. Those actions refresh the scores. Scheduled jobs then rebuild homepage and Collections shelves from the latest numbers — so a shelf can look unchanged for a little while after you publish.
New stories often look quiet on purpose. A tiny audience can make any ratio look dramatic, so early scores stay muted until more people actually read. That “wait for a real sample” idea is called Confidence.
Open any term below when a shelf or button name feels unfamiliar. You do not need the formulas to enjoy the site — but if you want the longer walkthrough, start with How Discovery Decides and How Ratings Work.
- Momentum — heat right now (recent week)
- Popular — broad reach + solid ratings
- Hidden Gem — loved without being huge yet
- Bingeable — people keep reading once they start
- Critically Acclaimed — strong ratings and “I’d recommend this”
- Consistency — steady chapter updates
Authors also see Fan Score in Studio (how devoted the audience is). Community names show a separate Dedication badge for that reader on that story. Neither of those is the same as star ratings on the story page.
Public boards and Explore sorts read the same score family. There is no secret second ranking system. For a short public summary, see also How Rankings Work.