>>23531714
I woke up more than an hour before I needed to now I’m lying here in the half-dark trying not to wake up my wife and my dog. My book is taking forever to finish but I don’t see myself ever giving up writing.

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>"I'll never get trapped in the endless worldbuilding cycle and keep getting sidetracked instead of writing the actual story the setting is being created for."

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When should you write about an actual city and when should you just make up one?

>>23532284
It's such a broad question, what are your concerns with it and what is your use case?

Why do creeps always write about incest? Can't you keep your sexual fantasies to yourselves and just NOT write it?

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>>23531852

Sometimes worldbuilding is more fun than the actual plot we've all been there

>>23532284

Why not just create a pastiche city that borrows a lot from real life ones

>>23532309
>Sometimes worldbuilding is more fun than the actual plot we've all been there
I just keep stumbling into plotholes that should've been avoided if I'd done the proper worldbuilding ahead of time. I started writing a lot of encyclopedic content about my setting and it started filling in plotholes I didn't even know existed. I started discovering things about my characters and locations I hadn't even thought of yet. It makes everything else I've written more rich and detailed and I just can't stop.

Today alone I accidentally developed years of backstory between half a dozen characters just because the moment I described group X and group Y, certain historical and contemporary interactions between the groups became obvious. If group X is a bunch of maritime fishers and raiders and group Y are a bunch of inland ranchers you have to then account for the fact that group X likely raids group Y and group Y may rely on group X for port access, and group Y's livestock probably tend to pollute the rivers running through their land and meeting the sea in group X's land.

And that's one of dozens of little details that become obvious and mandatory and influence how primary characters from those two groups interact that I otherwise never would have thought of.

>>23532298
No.

Sometimes i get into the headspace of writing more words and forcing myself to put every single word that comes from my brain onto the page and write fast. I think this helps a lot with first draft, what do you think.

>>23532298
>Can't you keep your sexual fantasies to yourselves and just NOT write it?
No. I will write about my niche fetishes, and you can't stop me.

>>23531714
I went through a two year period of not writing anything and now all of my own work feels alien to me and I feel like my own writing style has degraded.

>>23532518
I get that feeling I stopped for one year, and I've still not gotten up to the same level of prose as back then.

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Just noticed a follower unfollow my royal road story in real time when I refreshed the page. And I was just starting to feel good about today too

>>23532559
What's your story?

>>23532493
depends. if you're just writing dialogue or descriptions and not pivotal plot elements, sure, shit all over your page and clean it up later. but if you aren't prepared to delete tens of thousands of words off of your final draft, you may want to consider slowing it down a little and constructing your sentences with purpose

>>23532518
Mine completely died.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5sr-xdN13I&ab_channel=TheAnimeMan

Would you write polemic stuff to try and get more attention anon?

>>23531714
this is good art. tankk you for posting

>>23532573
I already posted it here before and I'm not looking for any more critiques at the moment, just let me wallow in despair in peace

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Pretty rough first draft but idk I'm kind of proud of it.

>>23532622
pretentious turn of phrase and word choice combined with cheesy and clichéd voice
I think I could enjoy your style in the context of poetry but not so much in prose

>>23532603
If you want to wallow in peace, don't post about it on social media (Yes, 4chan is a social media site) .

>>23532309
for me worldbuilding is very important for the story.
It's the context of the story, and the same story can breed very different narratives in a different context.

has anyone experimented with writing lots of short stories and vignettes within the same world building project? some of it has been really mundane but also quite comfy

>>23532684
Not really because i like to illustrate those small stories in my world, but i mean if you have so many stories you can compile them in some anthology type book.

>>23532651
:(

Is there a name for when the last word of one sentence is the first word of another? Something like "you" here
>I love you lied to me

>>23532699
don't take it personally and you should still be proud of your work

>>23532298
Nope :)

>>23529755
anon please actually elaborate on this using "he" too much i doubt my language handles the problem in the same way.

>>23532622
Have to concur with >>23532651 sadly. Seems like you just mixed up a bunch of gaudy phrases. The way you describe cancer it could be replaced with any old bad thing

>>23532684
I made a short story cycle full of what was essentially microfiction that didn't quite work on its own, but came together as a whole. I'm working on something right now that could reasonably be called a novella that's similar in a few ways. It's more like I have a bunch of stories about a character and some that aren't about that character that are thematically related but not conventionally short stories or chapters of a novel.

I'm not writing SFF so I just call it "making shit up".

>>23532749
>>23532784
Thanks for the input, fellas. I appreciate it. But I'm going to have to stick with my guns on this. I don't think a bunch of gaudy phrases is a fair assessment. Pretentious, maybe, but mixed up and random, no.

>>23533002
Nah, it's a little fruity, and that's coming from a fruity stylist. The problem is there is no build up into your epic monologue and no resolution or point to it. It's a an except from a short essay, as you presented it. It doesn't exist within a story, it's all flash and no pan. Watch how you frame your statements so they aren't disjointed and present them in their larger context.

>>23533021
Thank you, anon. Disjointed sentences are a big struggle for me, to be honest, so I was expecting something along these lines. It comes about at the end of a mostly awkward meeting with the MCs mother in hospital. They argue, and she leaves, and this is kind of an afterthought. I didn't want to show the whole chapter because this was the bit I was most proud of. I put a lot into it with double meanings and literary references, but it's for nothing if it's unreadable, I suppose.

>write fantasy novel
>have it registered on goodreads
>check list of new fantasy publications
>its not in there
>readers need to categorize it, the author can't
>nobody reads it because it doesn't appear in new fantasy listing, but to get it in there people need to read and categorize it
>a vicious circle
Bravo, Goodreads.
Promotion is the worst part of the entire process, even worse than writing and editing holy shit.

>>23533075
Uh, anon, I really don't think people sort by new on goodreads to find shit, anyway
Just make a reader account and categorize it yourself

>>23533039
You need that whole context to deliver that kind of speech. That's what's disjointed. As it stands, it's a statement in response to nothing, which fails to serve it. One author framed the issue as how a tragic moment is cheap melodrama on its own, one that has no meaning, but becomes meaningful when you present the situation leading up to it first and let the tension build into it.

It's also an authority speech, and as much as they lend authority to the character who says it, the character also has to be granted that authority by existing first, then again by acting in a way that shows that authority, that knowledge. And I don't think it's especially poignant as-is, needs a few more drafts to flow from the preceding incident and into the following ones.

>>23533002
>>23533039
In that case, maybe you can think about structure and form more. In my opinion, the more heavy-handed pretentious style works better when it follows a classically rhetoric line of thought. Right now, it feels like you're combining the vocabulary and turn of phrase of much older literature with the disjointed form of something more modern (which, in turn, would usually be lighter in style), resulting in something quite jumbled. Could be worth investigating

I want to make a fantasy story where the girl loses her magic and fights monsters but I don't know what the theme or purpose of it would be. I can't write something if it doesn't send a message. So I came up with the first half, roughly, of what can happen (how she loses her magic, finds other ways to fight the monsters), but I have no idea where it's headed and how to end it, and until I know that I can't start writing it.

>>23533146
disability (societal vs self acceptance/rejection/loathing, prejudice, self-worth)
are there any institutions that govern the world? would they actively want to stop her fighting the monsters? did they invest heavily in her development and now see her as a failure? what does fighting monsters mean to her? a job? a way of life? a deep calling? a tangible way to exercise autonomy in a world where that may be difficult for whatever reason?

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I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, but it's where I happened to get advice before. I'm about ready to start putting my web novel up somewhere with a comfortable backlog. Up till now I've put off thinking about the logistical stuff. Do people just post to royalroad? Is that still the meta? I'm planning to setup a Patreon too, and discord, and all that nice stuff. Last time I was here, someone talked about a web novel author who at least posted in these threads even if they didn't start here.

Do people post on just one site or multiple sites? Do I need to set aside money for marketing my web novel? Also, does anyone know where I can find a good artist that can do manhwa style art?

>>23533146
Thematic stuff you usually develop in the second draft. Just focus on getting the plot and characters down. But given your extremely sparse description I can probably ass pull a few ideas:
>the value of persistence and autodiadatitism
>an allegory for becoming crippled and having to relearn how to live life
>the secret of success is dedication, not talent

>>23533166
Thanks, those are some good thinking points.

Yes, she is basically employed by the government and has to keep her loss of magic a secret or else lose her job (she found a temporary way to fake it, but it's wearing off). The monsters are related to why she lost it.

I was thinking of the theme of loss of identity, since IRL whenever you meet someone their first question is always "What do you do for a living?" and a person's worth is equated to their job. So now that her identity is threatened she feels lost, I guess? Not really sure if that's enough to go on but I liked the questions you raised, helps me think of different answers that may lead to something.

>>23532298
I found my sister's panties nestled inside the bottom of the laundry basket. It's not the first time her garments bunched with mine, but it was the first time her dirty panties were mixed with my clean laundry. There was a crusty pale yellow stain embedded into the cotton fabric and a faint scent of what I could only describe as a mixture of ammonia and lavender. It was a strange combination.

It would be simple to place it back into the washing machine and forget about the item altogether, but admittedly, I am a rabble rouser. There's nothing more I love than causing drama and needless stress to those closest to me.

I took a sniff. There must be something I can do to embarrass her with this. I racked my brains and wondered if there was a solution in my house. I wandered around my home, entered the basement, and found what I was looking for. It was my monster making machine!

The plan was simple, I just needed to extract the crusty excretion from my sister's panties and place the contents inside the machine. I haven't the slightest clue of what may come out of the machine but what comes out will be one of hilarity and embarrassment for my sister. I took another sniff of the crusty stain. The scent was much stronger---it must have been my excitement.

>>23533183
how common is magic?
is it innate or taught? did she sacrifice something to acquire magic in the first place? was it her choice?
in the same vein as some discussions earlier in this thread, maybe some worldbuilding will give some clarification and perspective

>>23532298
I wrote about necrophilia once because I needed to characterise how desperate and hedonistic one of my male leads was by constantly touching the corpse of a dead lady

>>23532298
But I want to fuck my sister that I wasn't given.

>>23533172
Please define your goals and what your story is about/genre it is in. Advice varies greatly depending on that

>>23533172
If you want to make money, give up.

>>23533210
>how common is magic?
I... don't know. I assume taught. I haven't really done a lot of worldbuilding yet, I just have my ideas. I've never had to create a new world before since all my other stories just took place on Earth. Good point, I guess I need to figure this out. It's hard to know where to start though. What do people usually do? Look to stuff they like, like games or movies, copy that as a reference and then tweak it until it becomes something new?

>>23533264
It's not that hard if you're willing to write what the market wants, though

what does make an YA, is it like a shonen anime?

>>23532298
No tragedy is complete without a little incest.

>>23533275
There are literally easier ways to make money that won't make you hate yourself.

>>23533260
It's an isekai. Even though I know it's likely of no consequence, I feel a bit weird about self-doxing, so I'll try to talk glancingly about the premise. In the same way that Isekai Oji-san had a high concept twist that sort of "revives" the premise/setting while also being the 'this is how mine is different' selling point, I've got a similar tack.

It's closer to korean style isekai. The main character isn't a villainess, but it's in that millieu.

I want to set up a patreon so I can monetize, and I want to set up a discord so I can build a following. I probably sound stupid and delusional here, but I also want to at least self publish a refined light novel version at some point, and maybe even one day get a webtoon for it.

I think I've got some good stuff, so I would also like to go out of my way to get it translated and put on japanese and korean sites.

>>23533283
Has primary themes that resonate with a young adult audience. E.g. coming of age. It's a pretty broad classification

>>23533275
You don't know what the market wants.

>>23533264
>>23533275
It's an isekai. As far as I understand it, LitRPG and Isekai are still strongly in vogue, aren't they?

>>23533294
>make you hate yourself
I much prefer writing slop over my previous job in tech, so this is a speak for yourself situation

>>23533303
>I much prefer writing slop over my previous job in tech
Yeah, for how long?
No easier way to make you hate something than make it your job.
>>23533300
You won't make money. Give up. Seriously.

It's not about "being in vogue". It's about an extremely slim chance to capture the whale audience.

>>23533311
I mean, sure. Anyway, I'm just asking about what the meta is, whether or not it's likely.

>>23533318
The meta is wish fulfillment slopshit with harems, fucking and the MC being a sociopath. Preferably a bullied cuck who suddenly got a lot of power.

Yeah I wonder who's going to read this and pay for it.

>>23533325
I meant more in terms of what websites to use

>>23533296
In that case, yes, RoyalRoad is where you want to post. You also want to post to ScribbleHub. Other sites don't matter much.

You'll want a strong cover, title, and blurb. Look at 'popular ongoing' stories and 'rising stars' to see what attracts attention. If you fail to get onto RisingStars within 4-8 weeks of posting, your path to wide popularity is mostly closed off (possible to still make it, but very unlikely).

You'll want to have a proper launch strategy. The OP has a link to a RR guide that you should read the entirety of. It's written by one of the OGs of the royalroad scene.

>Do I need to set aside money for marketing my web novel
It helps if you don't have another means of exposure. Buying ads at the ~3 week, 20+ chapters posted mark can help you get onto Rising Stars, which is, as I said, basically the be-all end-all of virality on RR.

>Does anyone know where I can find a good artist?
Honestly man just use AI, that's what everyone else does. Buy a real cover when your writing starts to earn money to pay for itself. Otherwise I'm pretty sure you just look through ArtStation or twitter and find people willing to commission.

Also, please take the advice of most people in this thread with a huge grain of salt. They're clueless at best or crabs/haters purposefully giving bad advice at worst.

>>23533172
Read the guide in the OP

>>23533329
I appreciate the help. So you don't start marketing until a few weeks in? I have a good backlog and I'm hoping to increase it even further by launch. I noticed some Royal Road web novels seem to post a bunch in one day. Should I post like ten chapters at launch or something? I'm going for a twice a week pace, but I don't mind posting a big chunk at launch if that helps

>>23533329
>>23533331
Also I apologize for not even noticing there was a royalroad guide in the literal OP. I'm dumb

>>23533311
>how long
About two years now, though I started practicing slop about three years ago. It's not what I would write in a vacuum, but I certainly don't hate it. On the worst weeks it's closer to 'washing the dishes' on a scale of displeasure than 'actively hate it.' I write stuff I'm more passionate about on the side, because slop only takes up about ~10-15 hours of my week

>>23533298
I do for RoyalRoad, at least, and I've proven it on three totally separate pen names (two of which I dropped, they were just an experiment, but all hit top of rising stars)

I realize a doomer mindset is comfortable because you can just attribute failure to factors outside of your control, but if you really do know what you're doing you can write marketable fiction on new pen names and earn an audience with high consistency. If you disagree, then I guess I'm the best to ever do it (I'm not, you're just a doomer)

>>23533333
>2-8 chapters on first day, spread out by at least 1 hour (you want visibility from recently updated page)
> 2 chapters a day for a week
> daily until you're trending on rising stars, then cool down to your regular pace (at least 3-5x a week)

Wow. I genuinely thought the pace was 1-3 chapters a week. So you really need to hit 5-7 chapters a week? It felt like I saw slower paces on RoyalRoad.

Also, mother of learning is the biggest story on there, right? It has like 9k word chapters. Is that just people's tastes changing over time?

>>23533333
>don't start marketing until a few weeks in?
You just want enough content for the ad-clicked to sink their teeth into. It's bad form to run ads for a story with 20 pages of content, and will probably get you rating-bombed

>>23533352
>5-7 chapters a week?
If we're talking about the most popular stories, yeah. You could get away with less, you're just shooting yourself in the foot a bit.

>mother of learning
Extreme outlier. You should pay attention to trends, not individual stories.
Of course, if you can just write a banger of a story that everyone loves, then you can do what you want, obviously

>>23533325
>The meta is wish fulfillment slopshit with harems, fucking and the MC being a sociopath. Preferably a bullied cuck who suddenly got a lot of power.

>Also, please take the advice of most people in this thread with a huge grain of salt. They're clueless at best or crabs/haters purposefully giving bad advice at worst.

>>23533283
Strictly, it's more complex than a graded reader and aims at a 12-18 demographic, deals with young adult issues and tends to be an escapist power fantasy or small scale drama about becoming less of an outcast. More broadly, the vast majority of fantasy is YA because the primary market is teenagers and college stoners. Depends on if you want to be prescriptive or descriptive >>23533297
>It's a pretty broad classification
sums it up as well as anything. Sanitized market YA is one thing, shit 15-24 year olds actually read in bulk is another.

>>23533360
I really do think I've got something good. My chapters are currently running from like 2.5k to 3.5k, so I guess if I split them right now I can double my stockpile, and in general have a higher chapter release pace.

Having not really known the meta, my drafting vs. revision time was matching what I thought would be a three times a week pace. I definitely can't keep up its current level of polish at 5-7 times a week, but I'm flexible enough to be able to hit that if I need to. Though it's a little frustrating realizing I'll probably have to cut up my chapters as they are right now since I felt happy with all my chapter enders.

Is 1500 words for a chapter actually viable? Or is that low end and unworkable. If 1500 words works for a chapter, that lowers my worries considerably. But I worry that's just blueballing people

>>23533328
Oh, RR, absolutely.

>>23531714
>Royal Road Business Guide
>How long should a chapter be? How many chapters a week should I release?
>1,500 to 2,500 for 5-7 times a week.
>Forever
Holy shit. That's like an entire novel every 1.5 months. Are people on royalroad just voracious readers or is the algorithm just designed that way?

>>23533366
Sorry but this is literally the type of WNs that get serialized and then turned into anime.

>>23533383
Yeah, that really is an unbelievable nightmare pace. It'll be a challenge for sure. But I guess it means I can be a lot more lenient on myself for the acceptable quality of a chapter.

>>23533378
1500 is extremely borderline, but there are very popular stories with chapters that size. 2k is what you should shoot for, preferably 2.5k. Usually the 1.5k word posters are doing 7x weekly (I think Saintess Summons Skeletons had short chapters like that? I can't remember.)

If you can pull off 4 chapters of 2.0-2.5k a week, I think that's acceptable.

>>23533383
>or is the algorithm just designed that way?
Yup. RR algorithm is a retarded turd and I don't care for its fucking stupid algo.
I'm just writing for the few people who read.

>>23533388
For LN shit? I guess, I wouldn't know. I thought most of the stuff being turned into anime was written in Japanese or Korean and translated? I don't know that scene.

But for the Western web novel scene, like RoyalRoad, those stories are absolutely not meta.

How much content should a chapter contain?

>>23533390
4 times... Ok. I'll shoot for that. I'm glad I popped in here.

This is getting a bit in the weeds, but are readers fine with multi-scene chapters separated by a line? I've got a number of scenes that are about 1k words, so I'd imagine most chapters would be two different scenes.

Having to rewrite every scene to be double length would be... a bit nightmarish, to be completely honest, but I guess in a certain sense that's easier than writing twice as many scenes.

I'm glad I came here before I got even further building my stockpile. Even though this has increased my worries a lot, I do feel like I've avoided a big disaster.

>>23533392
What's stupid about it? It's basically just a 'whoever has the most recent followers' algorithm. What would be better for a 'rising stars' category, in your opinion?

>>23533396
Wait, then what is?

>>23533400
> multi-scene chapters
Sure, not a problem afaik. Though it's usually more organic to just have a transition sentence. "After saying his goodbyes, he returned home and..."

How do you portray gradual transformations in characters? I'm struggling to do anything more than write static characters. Are there points where they change, or do you gradually change their inner monologue?

>>23533405
There's a bunch of subgenres, but distilled down to the most meta elements:
>Competent male MC with few to no flaws
>Strong focus on power progression
>Some sort of gamification, whether direct LitRPG or abstracted, like cultivation realms/power levels
>little to no romance

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>>23531852
Im questioning my approach to worldbuilding
Im a sci fi writer and most of my planets' cultures and history tend to be based off the real world in some manner, it even helped me study the history of countries I deemed interesting enough for the plot
Thing is I dont quite know how to get the audience to know the full history of a place without it being expository or random. I like to leave the tiny bits of history around the book so the reader can slowly piece together the full historical picture of said made up cities and landscapes.
My main way of deliviring exposition has been throught describing the scenery, often times the characters pass a statue or find someone's name on a certain street and I proceed to say who that person was, or the specific branding of a electronic device or car and give little moments as to how those things came to be, my story isnt written in english so I cant give any examples right off the bat without translating them first. And of course sometimes the characters deliver expository dialogue but it tends to be a lot more introspective and character driven (life experiences, opinions and even retellings of certain events throught their eyes)
This seems fine but I feel like randomly talking about places and people in short bursts might get a bit tiring for the audience, even if its not an exposition dump I still have to watch myself for how constant it may be or if having those things even adds to the setting that much

>>23533416
That's interesting. I actually don't have any romance written in right now but I'm sort of surprised. I would've thought that heavy romance stuff such as what makes up a lot of manhwa would be in vogue. I didn't realize Royal Road was specifically such a male audience.

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>>23533383
>Lean into the tropes – they are tropes because they are popular. Pick the ones you like, and don’t try to deconstruct or add twists to everything. Tropes can also help you with plot points, lessening the burden on you (which is very important when you’re writing big chunks of words daily).
>The ABC of Webnovels is ALWAYS BE CLIFFIN’. If the readers complain, that means you’re on the right track.
>Stay in the middle lane. Don’t try to invent new genres or write in unpopular ones. You can import new popular tropes from Asian webnovels, but it’s a bit risky if that trope hasn’t been popularized in the west yet.
These are the people telling you how to "sell".

Yeah, sell out. Go ahead and write slop potboiler for $700 a month you fucking dummy. Maybe it works in Philippines.

>>23533401
The amount of people actually reading for longer than 5 seconds.

>>23533397
Absolutely 0 for potboiler slop. If you progress the story, you fail. A lot of words buddy. Pump them out.

>>23533429
>700 a month
The dude you're quoting makes at least 2 million a year, lol. And there's dozens if not hundreds of people in litrpg making $100k+

>>23533429
I'm not gonna pretend I'm not disappointed that's the meta, but it is what it is. Being able to make any money from creative work is a huge privilege no matter what, and I'm willing to grind stuff out if I can do that.

>>23533431
Wouldn't that be the same thing? People who actually follow through in reading an entire chapter usually click on the follow button. Maybe not 1:1, but your suggestion would be 90% similar to what rising stars already is

>>23533438
You're better off actually making something worth reading, something with merit, instead of literal slop.

>>23533441
>t. mommy and daddy pay my bills

>>23533439
>Wouldn't that be the same thing?
No, because some people follow or these shitters have their discord buddies give them initial boost with follows, only for them to never actually read shit.

>>23533446
Hmm, I suppose that's fair enough, though those discords aren't big enough to actually hit rising stars by themselves. It takes around 150-200 followers to make that happen.
The problem with your system is it would be easier to exploit through view bots, rather than discord cabals--and the latter is trickier to set up

>>23533443
Get a job.
>>23533434
>2m a year
Not seeing it. His books sell for $1.
>And there's dozens if not hundreds of people in litrpg making $100k+
Again, not seeing them. I think you've deluded yourself. A few winners doesn't make it a gold mine.

>>23533416
what happens if the mc is female?

>>23533449
>It takes around 150-200 followers to make that happen.
I was in rising stars and it absolutely does not.

>>23533450
>https://graphtreon.com/top-patreon-creators/writing

Remember that Patreon only accounts for a portion of these authors, since Amazon is an even bigger market

>>23533455
Smaller possible peak (all the top sellers are male, go to the amazon litrpg category and you can verify that yourself)
But it's still more than possible to have a big audience. I honestly think you get a freebie boost as a new author too, because the fem mc audience tends to seek out more fem mc stories.
Which follows the golden rule: The more niche something is, the easier it is to get readers from that audience (since there's limited content) but the audience tends to be smaller overall.

>>23533458
You literally disproved yourself. Yeah, some of the big winners write on RR, and then what? A bunch of them don't. A bunch of them don't even write litRPG slop.
And then you scroll down, and then you realize you got to $3000 a month pretty quick. $3000 a month in US? Good luck. Again, in Philippines this might work.

>>23533466
There's a lot of ridiculous fallacies in what you said, but you're obviously just a bitter crab, so there's no point in responding. Go write your novel. You're wasting your precious time on this earth being ornery on an anonymous forum

>>23533471
>you disagreed with me so you are OBVIOUSLY TROLLING!
If you are a flip, congratulations, you struck gold. $700 a month will feed your entire village.

>>23533475
OK

>>23533441
I spent five years writing what I think is an incredible novel. I did send it to some literary agents, and I'll be straight up in saying I never even got so much as a custom rejection.

But it's also true that realizing I'd get some shitty royalty deal no matter what made me want to self publish instead. A lot of my reason for starting a web novel is because I realized if I could get a discord full of people who are literally just there for me as an author, I'd be able to get dozens of evangelizer type fans that mean I don't have to release that novel into a vacuum.

That book is incredible. Yeah, I get that people with delusions of grandeur say that, but it is. It's a novel where I picked it apart sentence by sentence, and where chapters were given as many drafts as I needed until I was satisfied with them. I love that book, and I still get nauseated thinking about how much effort it took me.

For like five years, I was missing a fourth of my brain because I spent almost all of my energy on that book. I worked pretty menial jobs that whole time, too. All my college friends have gone on to have great careers, children, and all the like, while I'm a loser who 'wrote some book.' It stings, but it is what it is.

Anyway, I say all this just to say I feel comfortable with my ability to work on something where I was uncompromising on quality.

I don't really mind entering a new endeavor where I can't compromise on quantity, or else I'll drown lol. To be honest, the thought of it is giving me gut pains, but it's whatever.

I'm sure a lot of people in this thread know what it's like to desperately want to make it.

I don't want to make slop. And even if I have to hit a high release pace, and the sheer volume of chapters I release means that to ensure the quality I want means devoting everything to this WN, I'll do it. I like my concept enough I wanna see it done well.

Anyway, none of this is to lecture you or anything. In principle I don't think you're exactly wrong. I'm just sharing where I'm coming from.

>>23533479
>I don't want to make slop.
And slop is exactly what you will make. Pump out words without progressing the plot.
>I'm sure a lot of people in this thread know what it's like to desperately want to make it.
Yeah and I find it really fucking sad. Authors back then legitimately often had no way to find a job, not even a shitty low paid one. Writing something selling was their only hope to eat.
I legitimately do not understand this desperation in the modern times, unless you're from some village in India.

>>23533458
>>23533466
Amazon's a bigger market? Should I just try to go straight for that instead? My first arc is done and it's about the length of Sorceror's Stone, which seems about right for a light novel.

I'm sorry I'm asking so many questions. I really have no idea here. If it's possible to go a different route that has a higher quality standard and lower output, I would strongly prefer it. But if going on royalroad first and then refining it into a light novel is the meta, I'll probably do that.

>>23533487
>Amazon's a bigger market?
Anon. How many times do I need to repeat this?
You. Will. Not. Make. Money.

Stop writing for money. Write the things you want to write. If you earn money while doing it, great. Good for you.

Don't do it to please some fucking retard who wants to see a bunch of overused tropes rearranged in a different way.

>>23533487
No, you'd have no visibility. The reason RoyalRoad -> Amazon works so well is because you build up an audience on a free website, then stub the story (remove the content from royalroad for amazon's exclusivity clause) and transfer it to Amazon, where you make sales and start to trend on Amazon. Being at the top of the Amazon BSR list is crazyyyy exposure. But the odds of that happening organically (Without pre-existence audience) is nearly zero

>>23533486
I don't know enough about the history of publishing, but this take seems bizarre. Job specialization has increased over the last 30 years. There are a lot of jobs a pretty smart person could have done. And it's not like an author can't work a job like food service. I don't see how they had to sell their writing or die. It's tough to respond too because "back then" means what, before the 2000s?

It's obviously true that the kind of desperation I'm talking about isn't the same desperation as someone living in starving poverty. But at the same time I can't help but feel your argument is incoherent here.

If people back then were so desperate they had to sell their writing or starve, then wouldn't they choose something like Royal Road? I remember reading that Phillip K. Dick was paid by the word. Are you saying that now writers have a choice, and don't have to be put through the grinder, so therefore they shouldn't?

I also don't understand why you're so intent on talking about living costs. Perhaps making a living off of writing isn't feasible, but being able to increase your monthly income is a great thing nonetheless.

>>23533493
I think what I understand the least is that you're position keeps vacillating between "you have to sell your soul to do it" and "it's impossible and won't happen."

These are mutually exclusive positions. They can't both be coherently held.

>>23533456
Well, it varies on the time scale. 150-200 followers in 2-3 weeks will get you there. 200-250 in like 4-5 weeks. I keep a fairly regular eye on the rising stars page (and been there 3 times) so I'm fairly confident. Why, what were your stats?

How many $, 1500 words for week would normally get?

Guys, he's the resident seether, is there really a point in trying to understand how he thinks? For the sake of the thread, don't engage with him.

>>23533516
Sorry. I'm not usually in these threads and don't mean to fuck them up or anything. Anyway, a lot of thanks to all the people who helped me in this thread. It means a lot to me. Really.

>>23533504
>And it's not like an author can't work a job like food service.
Anon, what fucking food service? In the Great Depression?

>>23533507
Not only your shot is astronomically low chance, you will also hate yourself for doing it.
Is my point clear enough now?

>>23533519
No problem. You should start keeping an eye on the amazon genre categories you'll eventually be putting your book into, as well as royalroad rising stars. If commercial success is your goal, you need to be aware of the market. There's a number of guides by popular authors too floating around on reddit and royalroad's forums. Do your research, use credible resources. Don't listen to randoms on anonymous boards.

>>23533526
...Your point of comparison was the Great Depression? Are you serious?

>>23533532
That's how far back I had to reach for legitimate authors going through hard times, because modern "authors" are just fucking workshy pussies.

>>23533504
He's a shitty troll, but writing was profitable while working in a factor 12 hours a day was literal death and scraping by working in a kitchen in some nowhere shithole was pure poverty. The job market has fluctuated but has generally been slightly shittier than it is even now, with a few outlier outlets that paid well for the work involved. The difference is that writing is no longer profitable for the most part. Steady gigs and some professional side work could bump you up a social strata, but the cost of rent and mortgages eats that entirely; nevermind that the pay is nothing like what it was when print was dominant.

>>23531714
Here is a concept for my isekai that might never be written, it's called "Wars of the Mad Creation":
>nine people are isekaid into empty wilderness land
>all nine have different ideologies, like one of them a nazi, another feminist Marxist, anarchist serial killer, pacifist, etc.
>when people wake up, their hands have turned into crystal-like material
>they notice, that they are able to conjure everything from living servants to thunder
>however, they quickly find their conjuring runs on fuel
>and in order to keep conjuring, they have to absorb these diamond pillars
>but there only finite number of pillars
>so, they begin to fight over the pillars and up killing each other
>then a thousand years later they are all reincarnated
>they discovered that some of the servants they conjured founded civilizations
>thus each person takes over a nation and start fighting over the pillars
>each person shapes the civilization according to their belief, so the feminist is going to modify her people to amazons, etc.

>>23533542
>a shitty troll
Holy fuck you faggots are so thin-skinned it's insane.

How do you pick names for things?
I'm going through Google translate picking select words and seeing what they look like in exotic languages and use those words. Did you know there's a language called Assamese?

>>23533547
You're the one sperging out because you got called a troll. Everyone else is talking normally. Do some self reflection. Or is that beyond you?

>>23533549
What things?
If I'm writing something serious, I try to use phonetics. It doesn't matter if the words are fake, I use phonetics of the real stuff.

>>23533550
>HE DISAGREES WITH ME! HE'S TROLLING!
Actually pathetic. Reddit tier.
No wonder you faggots think you're all going to be rich pumping out another metric shitton of slop out into the ether.
Watch the new Bladerunner.
>IT'S ME! I'M GOING TO MAKE IT!

>>23533555
>Do some self reflection. Or is that beyond you?
The answer is yes.

>>23533558
Ironic.

>>23533561
>you faggots are so thin-skinned
>throws a massive fucking retard fit
uh huh

>>23533553
Any things. Characters, objects, places, magic, whatever.

Right now I'm looking for names I can use on creatures.

>>23533566
You'll totally make it by pumping out slop buddy, just churn it out, I believe in you.

>>23532298
List of creeps:
Lord Byron
Edgar Allen Poe
HP Lovecraft
Mary Shelley
Marcel Proust
Voltaire

>>23533569
>Right now I'm looking for names I can use on creatures.
Frame it in the perception of who named it.
Elves? Depends who the elves are in your setting. Make it some phonetically-sound exotic gibberish.
Humans? Name it something reasonable, like the way it looks or something it does, or name it something cool. Just regular cool, seriously.
Fantasy arab humans? Use arabic phonetics, fake words.

This also applies for characters and places. Anything, really. Phonetics are great when you're writing a serious thing.

Hi. Sorry to bother you guys again. I'm reading a reddit thread.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgressionFantasy/comments/16nj6ww/how_to_become_successful_on_royalroad_part_3/

The most common RoyalRoad release schedules for established stories are:

2 chapters per week (4-6k words posted per week).

3 chapters per week (4-7k words posted per week).

Rarer: 1 chapter per week (or even per month).

Rarer: 4-5 chapters per week.

Occasionally and usually temporary: 5-10 chapters per week.


So basically what this thread is saying is that the ultra hell release schedule is just for the first month, and it has to do with the rising stars thing.

Then you can relax and go down to 2-3 chapters a week.

It's a little bit different from the guide in OP so I wanted to get you guys' perspective. I worry that people would get really mad if the release pace started to droop after the first month.

>>23533570
you're just proving his point by writing shit like this. you have no actual insight into the subject, you're just irrationally compelled to try and "wound" people with shit like this
>YOU WILL FAIL
>YOU WILL SUFFER
>YOU WILL FAIL
>YOU WILL SUFFER
maybe they will, maybe they won't. but you need to believe they will, because you're fucked in the head like that

>>23533588
Stop caring, anon.

The only advice to becoming mildly popular that I can give you, is to build up a backlog before you start. Also make a nice cover because people are shallow little cunts.

Have at least 30-50 chapters of backlog, schedule them all to release at a consistent pace that you can maintain, and keep consistently releasing.

What you want to do is just garner an initial audience and let them know what they're getting themselves into. If you drop 10k word chapters every day and suddenly your backlog runs out and you barely write 1k words a day, you're in trouble.

Also don't write 3k words a day, it fucking sucks. Don't do it. Do 1.5k-2.5k MAX and that's stretching it.

>>23533574
I don't even know what phonetics even are. Just copying the general sounds of a language?

>>23533592
>wound
No you little delusional faggot I'm trying to temper their expectations so they don't get sad like every other nigger like you who dumps his shit on RR and then is sad to see only like 200 people read his well-written work that he poured a lot of heart into.

>>23533595
>Just copying the general sounds of a language?
Pretty much. But please don't Americanize it.

>>23533588
>https://www.royalroad.com/fictions/weekly-popular
These are the stories with the current highest weekly viewcounts. Go see what they do.

>https://www.royalroad.com/fictions/search?status=ONGOING&orderBy=followers
This is a list of ongoing stories sorted by followers. Go see what they do (or did, during their rise).

Doing your own research will give you higher levels of comfort in whatever you decide.

>>23533594
I've got about 25 chapters right now, and I think the average length is 3k. I was having a lot of FOMO fear that made me want to start my uploading as fast as possible but honestly, reading these business guides makes me realize I don't need to be afraid of the rug being pulled from me in a couple of months.

I'm willing to work to put in the upfront investment of that backlog honestly. But if there's any way I can slow down to at least 3 releases a week... that would be really grand.

>>23533595
I'll just add that if you're going for fake slav, you'll want to do stuff like -shka or -ya or -na. Slavs do dimunitive feminine nouns all the time.

I don't know what arabs are like but they do al-whatever all the time.
Japanese is very, VERY phonetic so you'll want to reflect that by having two-letter syllabes or something to that effect.

>>23533603
>and I think the average length is 3k
Anon do NOT torment yourself like this. Set expectations at 2k.
>But if there's any way I can slow down to at least 3 releases a week... that would be really grand.
The algo will murder your story. I am not joking when I am saying you need to churn out words. Your story will become slop by the necessity of it being slop. Even if it is not slop at the start, it will become slop.
Why? Because you will simply not have the fucking time.

>>23533597
>well-written work that he poured a lot of heart into
That's the problem there!

>>23533617
Did you just ignore my whole point that you need to churn out slop to "make it", if there is any chance of it?
And you will hate yourself for it? Yeah. That's my entire point.

Uhh sorry and this really is my last question. As far as patreons, what's the etiquette for read ahead chapters vs. what people expect to pay?

>>23533622
Get out of my thread, you poor

>>23533630
Anon, worry about that when you actually have some people reading your shit.

I would honestly set up a $1 tier, $5 and a $10 for the whales. I would never, EVER do paid chapters however, because that's the gayest fucking thing ever.

>>23533630
Varies a lot. I think 1-2 months worth of content @ 10$ is a safe decision. Go see what other big patreons are doing.

Honestly dude worry about getting an audience before you worry about monetizing them. There's good odds your first story won't cut it and you'll have to review your mistakes and try again. Not to rain on your parade or anything

>>23533645
Nah, it's cool. It's mostly just I'm researching all this stuff at the same time.

>>23533639
>10$ for the whales
10$ is the default paying reader, though? Like 80% of patrons are the 10$ tier.

>>23533651
You're a whale if you can pay 10 times more than the other guy.

>>23533654
Not what whale means, but whatever

>>23533655
A whale is a very subjective term to begin with.

How do I hook up with Scholastic and trick naive kids into buying my terrible 100 page stories? I feel like that's where the real money is.

>>23533659
Even in the most general definition, people will agree it means the small percentage of extremely high spenders in a particular market...
Not the default sub

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>>23533660
The truest fucking post in the thread.

You gay faggots dreaming about making your anime real, meanwhile this guy collects his free money.

>>23533660
Nepotism. For all the faults of slop fiction and sites like royalroad, it's at least a meritocracy (just a meritocracy of excrement producers)

>>23533664
See, this is why I think you're unreliable. Children's books is by far the most competitive market. It's insanely hard to break into. A lot of this veil of pragmatism just comes off as larping

>>23533663
A 1000% increase in what you can pay vs what you actually pay is what I'd consider a high spender.

>>23533668
Learn to distinguish a joke from a take you little nigger.
That being said if you manage to nepo yourself into a forced school read, congratulations, you made yourself a money printer.

>>23533669
Except the 1$ tier doesn't give the same benefits as the 10$ tier, so it's not 'what you can pay', they're different products.
And besides, whales mean EXTERMELY high payers, that's why they're whales (and not fish)

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>>23533674
Well $1 and $10 would get exactly fucking nothing from me so that's a null point.
>product
I loathe this fucking word so much. I don't produce products. I am not a producer.
My garden of words is ripe but barren of any product.

>>23533679
?
We were talking about definitions and how to price a Patreon, not your personal philosophy
Whatever, this conversation is weird, never mind

>>23533687
>how to price a Patreon
Granularly and without early access shit.

>>23533694
Pretty sure anon wanted to know how to price his patreon for maximum commercial success, dude. No early access? That drives 95% of patrons
Just stop posting man

>>23533694
I never realized people supported writer patreons that don't do early access

>>23533701
>That drives 95% of patrons
Wow yeah whopping $30.
>>23533702
Because when people can get something for free, they usually won't pay unless you twist their arm for money.

>>23533702
They do it for the sekrit discord shitposting and occasional bits of inside info.

>>23533706
Maybe your patreon earns 30$ but we're talking about career authors and those aspiring to be, anon

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>>23533716
>Maybe your patreon earns 30$
I don't have a patreon.
>career authors
Not found on RR.

>>23533717
>I don't have a patreon
Why are you giving advice?
>Not found on RR
What??

Guys I just want to write a shitty story about how some kid's dog ate his homework and he gets in trouble at school and whatever something else happens, and then sell this crap to little kids who have to write a book report about it like I had to

Easy money, I just don't know how to sign on to Scholastic so they can sell my trash at book fairs in elementary schools.

>>23533725
Did we not just tell you it's fucking nepotism? Obviously that shit is easy as hell. Who gets published is based on who knows who

>>23533719
People on RR are just slop factories. It kind of makes me laugh in retrospect as to why people were so amazed and rendered butthurt by LLMs. LLMs never threatened me, because I don't churn out words.
LLMs meanwhile render these guys fucking genuinely out of job. A robot can churn out a chapter after a chapter after a chapter after a chapter after a chapter, and it won't need a break.
>oh but the writing will be lower quality!
No it won't be. Let's not pretend the fucking slop they churn out is better than a robot's drivel.

>>23533729
Ok so who's dicks do I have to suck to get started? I need names, anon.

>>23533730
Thanks for another schizo rant but I really don't care. Respond to the topic at hand if you want me to reply

>>23533733
It's not a schizo rant, the shitters writing on RR aren't career authors. They're just biological LLMs or very likely actual LLMs with light editing.

>>23533725
You have a remotely jewish last name or grandparent with one you want to use as a pen name? That's something you casually mention in your cover letter to an agent.

I kid, but heebs are tight with the market in less nepotistic ways, it's a safe diversity hire that sells, for one.

>>23533737
Define career and define author, please

>>23533740
>career
Doing something for a living.
>author
A drooling fucking idiot.

>>23533742
Seems like royalroaders fit your definition, no?

>>23533397
Mine average 1800 words. Get in, get out, keep the pace flowing. Imo.

>>23533746
Grand majority can't eke out a living for a starter. It's a flytrap for the browns.

I dont post in these generals. Can I post my writing here

>>23533748
>grand majority can't eke out a living
Welcome to art

Also has nothing to do with how the successful ones price their patreons

I hate talking to you, btw. What are you diagnosed with?

>>23533479
Post an excerpt? Interested in seeing what genuine effort can produce because I'm in a similar boat and thinking about going all in.

>>23533751
You can but there's a very slim chance of someone reading it.
Don't just randomly dump shit here either. If you want a critique, say it. If it's a short snippet I might give you some.

>>23533758
I second this. I'll read it
I'd be down to support a /lit/eraty author that isn't the Garden man

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>>23533753
>Welcome to art
Once again reiterating my point, which is why I keep telling people to not hope for money but to write things they want to.
>What are you diagnosed with?
Dyslexia.

How do you know if you’re writing

>>23533764
>Dyslexia
That's it? Really?

>>23533759
Idk if I could post a short snippet and have it mean much. It'd be disjointed. Le sigh
It's whatever I'll just keep it to myself and release it right before I choke on v0mit

>>23533764
Your point? Your point should be about the thing you fucking replied to, which was you giving advice on how to price a patreon.
Please see:
>I hate talking to you

>>23533766
Suicidal ideation is the surest sign

>>23533767
I actually think I have dysgraphia but I do show some symptoms of dyslexia.
Psychiatry is a fucking spook. w*man field for horoscope bullshit.

>>23533770
Suicidal ideation is baby shit. It's the slacktivism of death.

>>23533345
>hurr durr but I got successful playing to the market
Correlation =/= causation

>>23533778
Ni66a
Chill
- William Shakespeare

>>23533783
Three separate pen names in a row, though? With zero connections or marketing on each one?
Man I'm insanely lucky, I guess

>>23532659
4chan is more of an anti-social media site, really.

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>>23533784

>>23533785
I don't understand what having a bunch of different pen names proves. You're still writing the same hackneyed shit for each of them, no?

>>23533785
Anons called my prose awful, and my writing was in rising stars too.
Make what you will of it, anon.

>>23533201
take this sadcringe to >>>/trash/ where it belongs. also, you really need to get out the house more often

>>23533791
The point is that it isn't luck, dude. I'm replying to someone who said correlation =/= causation. Clearly my marketing strategies cause my success, not that they're simply correlated

>>23533797
Marketing strategies as in, launch strategy, cover, blurb, premise, content. I don't run ads or network, which is what most people call 'marketing.'

>>23533797
I literally shat out some words with 0 "marketing" and made it to rising stars.

Anon, come on. I'm not calling your writing shit or anything because I haven't seen it, but maybe you put too much trust into a stupid algorithm.

>>23533802
What are you arguing here? That it's pure luck? Establish your position if you want to have a conversation.

>>23533810
>That it's pure luck?
That the algo is very forgiving for a week or two.

I found a way to post my writing without spamming the general
I posted a thread that got auto shelved. I'll post the archives

Excerpt 1:
>https://warosu.org/lit/thread/23060096

Excerpt 2: >https://archive.4plebs.org/tv/thread/200588058/

Lol I posted the 2nd one to /tv/ and didn't notice. Makes more sense now. I'm probably b& lmao

Read em and muhfuggin weep

>>23533797
I'm >>23533791 and >>23533783.
My point is that you're still writing your stuff across all your pen names. It's not your fucking name that got you popular, it's your work. You happen to be someone who produces stuff people want to read.
Playing to the market is like doing a rain dance. It's blind luck when the rain comes

>>23533813
>posting literature on a board for literal television
Poignant and devilish.

>>23533486
>Authors back then legitimately often had no way to find a job
Literally not true.
Herman Melville ("Moby Dick") tended to work government jobs provided by friends of his. He saw little or no literary success during his lifetime.
Frank Herbert ("Dune") worked in the publishing industry all his life.
See more examples here: https://theamericanscholar.org/10-famous-authors-with-surprising-day-jobs/

>>23533813
I'm busy right now and can't give this much text a read, but from a quick glance I can see you forgot an apostrophe here and there, and there's a few pointless commas.
Commas are a bitch and an issue to me as well, so I can't help you much.

>>23533821
>tended to work government jobs provided by friends of his
Aka. didn't starve because of nepotism.
Herbert having a straight up writing job is slightly different. I'm not even sure if I should concede this point because it technically is writing.

>>23533814
But can't any writer learn what slop consumers like? I don't read the trash-tier stuff I put out. Admittedly I do read genre, but the higher-quality stuff, usually published though sometimes the stand-out serials. I got into slop litrpg because it pays well, and it worked wonderfully for me.
I don't advocate pursuing writing as a career to everyone, I just tell the people considering it that it's more than possible. And that it's not blind luck like you're suggesting.

>>23533758
>>23533759
sorry... I really do appreciate that you guys are willing to read an excerpt and I really am tempted.

I know I'll look like a dipshit coward hack by not posting an excerpt when I talked about how much I believed in my book. And while a lot of what I'm feeling is just antsy about posting anything that vaguely doxes me, idk, it's also true that putting myself out there in this specific manner is a little too much for me.

But I really do appreciate the sentiment, and I didn't want to just leave this without a reply since it struck me as sincere. I apologize for my cowardice.

>>23533821
>I remembered my New
Orleans days, living on two five-cent candy bars a day for weeks at a time in order to have leisure to
write. But starvation, unfortunately, didn't improve art. It only hindered it. A man's soul was rooted in
his stomach. A man could write much better after eating a porterhouse steak and drinking a pint of
whiskey than he could ever write after eating a nickel candy bar. The myth of the starving artist was a
hoax. Charles Bukowski

Unlike popular belief, most good writers had a decent upper middle class upbringing, good education and a stable job, wow, its almost like you need these things to engage in intellectual activities! Even ones people often tend to romanticise living in misery such as Kafka had higher paying jobs than the average at the time

>>23533839
Im a fucking retarded because I put the greentext wrong, kill me

>>23533832
>But can't any writer learn what slop consumers like?
Nope. You can only imagine you have.

>>23533822
Meh. I don't stress grammatical proficiency for a first outing. But I feel you

>>23533833
Just post don't be a bitch. I posted mine and I'm a n00b tier faggot

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>>23533821
>>23533825
Don't forget the guy who kept his day job and wrote for an hour or two in the morning for his entire career. .

>>23533847
Well, I can't be two separate people to prove you wrong, but my personal belief is that slop can be studied and imitated to commercial success. Worked for me. Mileage will vary, I guess
At a minimum it's worth testing out to see if you're one of those people, if you want a cushy writing job. What's the harm? If you hate it just stop

>>23533855
Now this is a fucking guy.
>well educated
>working man
>fucking writes while grinding away at a day job
If only pringles weren't overpriced pieces of fucking shit. Redbull of snacks.

>>23533859
>cushy writing job
Stop acting like regurgitating 3k words every day is cushy. Eventually your creativity dries out, but the slop doesn't wait.

A normal writer trying to get traditionally published just fucking takes a break. A slop writer must shit out another chapter.

I used to feed my cat Pringles as we watched the summer Olympics together. Wish we could do that this year too. RIP.

>>23533864
>Stop acting like regurgitating 3k words every day is cushy.
8k a week, which I complete in two 4-5 hour days, personally, plus some editing. Very much a cushy job, as far as I care

>Eventually your creativity dries out, but the slop doesn't wait.
Eh, maybe it's a skill issue, but since I know it's slop and I don't care that much, I'm simply not running out of content. I just shit out another chapter, like you said.

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>>23533872
Sorry about your kot, faggot.

>>23533873
>but since I know it's slop and I don't care that much
That's where we're different. I'd die inside if I had to shit out slop for a living. I attempt to perfect my writing, whether it be by storytelling or just good writing in general.

>>23533876
Thanks. He was 16 so he still had a pretty good run, all things considered.

>>23533878
Sure, that's totally cool. That's how I feel about my passion projects as well. But the slop is my job. There's a reason I compared it to washing dishes. I just do it, even on the days I don't want to. It's not that I hate it, at worst it become a chore. And it's very much cushy. Who else has 10-15 hour work weeks with no boss, no responsibilities besides shitting chapters out?

Also why I said there's no harm in trying, and if you hate it, just stop.

>>23533833
You can put it up on pastebin with a time limit set to expire in like 24 hours or something. Even that's probably overkill. I guarantee you no one cares enough to dox you in the first place.

And yeah, it's a bit of dipshit move to hype your shit up so much and then be "afraid of putting yourself out there". Nut up faggot.

>>23533881
Mine died at like 7 or so from PKD. I like to think he died comfy at least, he was purring when I put him on the pillow.

>>23533888
>PKD
Kidneys, right? Sorry to hear. Mine went from kidney failure too. Seems common in kots.

>>23533887
Nah, other anon is right, associating with 4chan is a horrible idea, and there's at least one autistic seether in this thread who would haunt him

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>>23533885
>and if you hate it, just stop.
Yeah, I hate it, but I'm not gonna.
I'm just gonna do it for free.

>>23533894
That's your choice. But that one sperg freaks out at even the suggestion that there's money to be made with writing. Just let people try things out and come to their own conclusions

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>>23533892
>Seems common in kots.
He was a persian so it's especially common in those.
I miss that furry little shit.

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>>23533896
>But that one sperg freaks out at even the suggestion that there's money to be made with writing.
In trad publishing, yes. Perhaps even self-publishing.
On RR you'll just get disappointed thinking you'll be like ONE OF THOSE BIG ONES only to get like 30 readers. If you're lucky.

>>23533896
I can't imagine there's much money to be made from worthwhile writing
In my opinion to be a writer today you've got be willing to endure crucifixion

>>23533893
It's not a death sentence, more of a curiosity these days. No one takes it that you're from here. But you're right about the crazy stalkers.

>>23533908
>he shrugged his shoulders
It's so over for me.

>>23533909
/pol/ association is probably a death sentence. 4chan itself, not really
But yeah, there's some malicious anons

>>23533902
Feel like we're just repeating the same thing over and over.
If you target the market with laser precision, do your research and design the story around being marketable, and are also a decent writer, I think odds are pretty high you can turn writing into a cushy job.
You won't know until you try. But if you don't want to that's also fine. I'm really not trying to convince anyone, I only pop in when I see anons already asking about it

>>23533910
It's okay to say it in certain contexts.
>he shrugged his dick

>>23533913
>just whalehunt like it's Moby Dick
Alright anon, if it works for you, it works for you.
But most anons will want to have best of both worlds. They'll want to write something that doesn't make them want to kill themselves AND make money off of it. That's not possible on RR.

>>23533915
Too many heads were tilted and too many brows were furrowed already.
It truly is over.
I shrugged my shoulders.

>>23533917
It's okay. You'll just have to pay your editor $200 extra to take them out for you later.

>>23533913
Probably the best way to make money from writing online is episodic releases on a niche website. Sort of how Sam Hydewitz releases his pay for play vids

>>23533916
True, I already liked reading sanderson and such, so litrpg was a compromise but not a major one. Obviously if you're writing litfic and such, you'll probably want to gouge your eyes out.
Though desu I think none of you fuckers have worked a truly soulless job if you think slapping words of any sort on a page is comparable.

>>23533920
>I think none of you fuckers have worked a truly soulless job
Most of us are losers how do you think we've survived

>>23533928
And you think writing some silly litrpg slop is worse? No boss, low hours per week, just rely on tropes and formulaic plots? Why?

>>23533931
I dont think it's worse I was just responding to the assertion that most of us haven't worked shit tier jobs

>>23533936
Feel like you missed the point then, since I was specifically referring to the people that called a job in slop writing as "something that will make you want to kill yourself." you can't just ignore the context of the rest of my posts

>>23533920
>Though desu I think none of you fuckers have worked a truly soulless job
I've literally put dead niggers' papers into folders for 8 hours a day and half the legal minimum wage.

>>23533941
Okay, so...
>>23533931

>>23533944
My point is I don't need to write soulless slop. Ask me how my Nvidia is doing.

>>23533939
Ni66a
Chill
- Albert Einstein

>>23533947
Your 'point' isn't relevant in the slightest
Talking to you people is surreal sometimes

>>23533957
I literally have a "job" where I can sleep through the day and wake up significantly richer.
It's alright you can stomach churning out slop, but I can't.

>>23533958
Sounds like you have a pretty cush job if you can sleep through it then. It's almost as if my statement had the clarifier "if you have a truly soulless job"
Which you apparently don't, cuz you sleep through it and "wake up significantly richer"
This website is breaking my sanity as it always does so I'm leaving now

>>23533911
I worry about it if I ever publish, but I'd also like to come and share in the experience, if only briefly before going full anon again.

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>>23533968
How do you think I have enough money to do this now?

>>23533972
My actual plan is to compile a litany of the greatest writing ever produced in the 21st century, release it all at once, and then kill myself. I'm not kidding either
I won't do it til im like 70 but that's my plan

do stuff like dragon ball work on royal? do you really need to put level and game mechanics on the characters?

>>23534005
go away seether

>>23533795
There is nothing wrong with it. Just because you don't like the subject matter doesn't mean it's trash.

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>>23534012
just confused about litrpg, i mean, does the characters need to have exp, level, stats and more things that reminds a game or if just something like dragon ball's power level is fine? would dragon ball be considered a litrpg if it was written on royal road?

>>23532622
Did you mean "visceral" when you wrote "virulent"?
Virulent implies that it spreads like a virus.
Visceral in this implies that it produces a strong gut reaction.

>>23533421
>most of my planets' cultures and history tend to be based off the real world in some manner,
This is inevitable and even desirable.
Star Trek and Star Wars are infamously just "humans in space but some have different skin colors or tentacles growing from their heads."

Secondly, all art relies on balancing familiarity with novelty. So generating truly alien settings may actually do more harm than good. Ideally, you want to generate settings that are familiar enough for people to recognize them to some degree and then throw in enough novelty to make them curious about other differences that have yet to be revealed (and may never be revealed).

Most of the skill and artistry in writing fantasy, imo, is handling the exact thing you're struggling with. It's how you convey familiarity and novelty to the audience in a way that's palatable and engaging rather than just an exposition dump.

Good luck.

>>23531714
So I have an idea for a story where a guy (and possibly his group of friends) go to Wisconsin to try and rescue his sister who joined a cult to flee from her conservative parents. The brother, while traditional himself, thinks the parents are too strict and tries to convince the sister to run away with him. He offers true warmth compared to the parents coldness and the cult's degeneracy.

To accomplish this, he has to join the cult and slowly move towards the inner circle. Slowly, it becomes apparent that the cult is legitimate, and they are performing lovecraftian rituals. I have some interesting visuals in mind that would work better for a movie. For example, a scene where the brother gets trapped in a series of repeating rooms with ritualists getting closer. Another example includes a pretty brutal sacrifice scene with body horror.

In the end, the brother would have to face the lovecraftian monster's mindfuckery where he has to relive his own worst fears. He would also have to face moments where he failed to protect his sister from their parents. He succeeds in overcoming these memories and retrieves the sister from the entity's grasp.

If I were to include the friends, one would get mindfucked, and the rest would sincerely convert to the cult and betray the MC.

Thoughts?

>>23534215
Maybe opt just to get one more character. Having just one more character outside of the brother and the sister may be too excessive. You can accomplish the betray and the mindfuckery with just one guy. Maybe make the character the boyfriend or maybe girlfriend if you really want to hone in the play of traditional culture and how people interact with it.You also have to ask yourself on the purpose of the mind fuckery and betrayal too. Is it a way to show corrupting cults can be? You could also play it that the brother himself struggles to resist the cult too and this friend could be a mirror of the possiblity that may come from failing to resist it.

>>23534228
I think reducing it to one other character makes perfect sense. It requires less groundwork, which allows me to write more character moments. My thinking was that the cult's allure is that it promises to be a better family by offering complete freedom within it(as long as you don't try to leave). This would be in direct opposition to the parents who represent complete control. This allure would appeal to the MC and the friend, but the MC resists.

I was thinking that the entity would work in a way where it would allow a few minutes of pure bliss if you let it consume you, but you die and your soul gets sucked away in the end. If you resist and fail to overcome the fears the entity then induces, it consumes you in a horrific and painful way. If you overcome them you escape. This would allow the cult to make voluntary sacrifices (Enjoy bliss, even if it kills the soul). The failed resistance example could be demonstrated with a kidnapped individual that the cult engages in just to help feed the entity.

>>23531714
>>23532601
it's stable diffusion ai
it is very well done though
which model did you use, op?

3 weeks in, 118 followers. I'm contemplating giving up

>>23534417
idk what the standard is, but that sounds pretty good. I've run two Youtube channels for about 3 years and only have about 30 subs each.

>>23534399
>it's stable diffusion ai
Just checked the site. It seems pretty good quality. Worth the $9 to have it make some covers for me? Is the final quality good enough for that?

>>23534456
Looks like the standard is at least 200 followers in 2 weeks

>>23534480
lol no. Only like 1% reaches those numbers

>>23534417
What marketing have you done? 3 weeks doesn't seem like a long time.

>>23534091
I gave up on the whole "entirely alien" setting really quickly since im aware the human mind cant possibly come up with something 100% alien to us. Instead I focus on maybe 2-3 existing alien races and build up more on humans that adapted to living under different climates and planets and how that affected their body, culture and psyche, most aliens have been somewhat assimilated in human society and struggle thanks to it, one of them even has speech issues with proper galatic language of universalia (english) because their mouths are built in such a way its impossible for them to fully pronounce anything. Aside from that making an entirely alien setting for a story that mirrors the real world would be somewhat stupid.

>>23534531
Yeah I'm aware that is the case for most, I meant standard to start making money
>>23534676
I bought an on-site ads and have been running it for a week

>>23531714
>want to write a dystopian cyberpunk story
>every cool corporation name is already used by someone irl

It's really frustrating that I have to do doubletakes and google to see how likely it is I'll get my ass sued. How do you guys do it?

>>23534080
No virulent means like, very hostile towards, but if that's the impression you're getting maybe change that bit. Liklihood is more people will think what you're thinking than what I was

>>23534707
I just have villains that are better, more creative and make more sense than corporations

>>23534080
>Virulent implies that it spreads like a virus.
The word you're looking for is "viral". Virulent means extremely harmful, hostile, whether used of a disease or a person.

>>23533515
Zero. Writing is a hobby, not a career.

>>23534399
I found the image on a news site. I personally run Stable Diffusion on my home PC. See https://github.com/AUTOMATIC1111/stable-diffusion-webui/wiki

>>23534417
>>23534701
Man, I keep telling you faggots to give up on the idea of making money, but you just keep doing this.

Your writing is a money SINK not a money PRINTER. If you hate this, stop writing. Do something else.

You may eventually luck out and make money. Do not fucking expect it.

>>23534904
Anon, I don't know how you manage to get so mad over someone else's problem, but I didn't say I hate it, just disappointed. Like it's nice to just do things without any expectation, but literally no one in this world can succeed while doing things for fun without even a personal goal in mind. To pursue something is to inevitably be disappointed, you know

>>23534904
I appreciate your voice insofar as it stops this place being a delusional positivity echo chamber but is this all you post about here?

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>>23534904
I take it your writing has failed to achieve financial success so far? Don't try to drag us into your failed-crab bucket.

do you guys have a link to the wg server? i'm bored

>>23534818
It also destroys careers too.

>>23534417
Honestly 120 followers in 3 weeks for a story so off-meta for rr isn't bad.
Btw you can check rising star's subgenres and compare that to the main page to see how close you are to real rising stars. And yeah you're very far off, unfortunately, even another ad wouldn't help

>>23534998
>failed to achieve financial success so far
Appropriate picture, anon. I have not even attempted financial success. I am not good enough of a writer to feel like I deserve to shamelessly take someone's money for it.

>>23534933
No, but my voice of realism is the most prominent one.

>>23535128
This anon gets it. That's like above average for a new author on RR these days. The site is over saturated and only the top 1-2% of stories will get enough traction to find a large enough audience and subs to make money (and at least half of those are by authors with an existing fan-base).

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>>23531714
Is there any way to write "with great power comes great responsibility" without it being a clear copying of the Spider-Man quote?

>>23535134
>I have no experience with the matter, but nonetheless there's a desperate need inside me to convince everyone else they'll fail if they try
Hm, I wonder what that's about

Is "metallic thud/scratch" a thing? When you hit something metallic against wood and it makes a sort of scratching sound

How do I get over my fear of writing slop

>>23535447
1. Write
2. Stop coming here and listening to crabs

>>23535447
Why would you be afraid of writing slop

I'm trying to determine if the phrase I've come up with makes sense, could use some feedback.
>A wave a laughter passed through the crowd. The absurdity of his question dawned on him for, despite the fact that DeSerdo was indeed a devil, he seemed to value his appearance. His suit had been spotless when he’d arrived to their farm, and he’d taken great care to avoid dirtying it as he’d slaughtered Seth’s family.
>"A liar is only as good as he looks", Pa had once told him.

In your opinion, what does the phrase "A liar is only as good as he looks" mean? For context, imagine an old west farmer offering it to his child as a bit of wisdom.

It's meant to convey that people are more likely to believe a liar that is well dressed over one that is dressed poorly.

>>23535344
Yes, that's a very distinct sound many people know.

>>23535530
Forgot to mention that the alternative is
>A liar's only as good as the suit he wears

>>23535544
that's a much better choice. simplify to a liar is only as good as his suit

>>23535301
>no experience
I've written more than you have, anon. I just have a working shame gland.

>>23535779
Post work

>>23535779
>no experience with [the matter]
The matter being attempting financial success, aka the topic at hand, you goddamn illiterate.

>>23535852
What a graceful dodge of the shame gland part.

>>23535922
>You have no experience in the matter and you have a weird need to convince everyone else they'll fail

>I have a shame gland

Such a coherent argument

Illiterates will be illiterate

>>23535922
Post your work

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>>23535961
It's amazing how much the fact I'm right makes you seethe.

Anons keep coming here saying their shit isn't getting popular. I keep telling them to not write for money.

Your reddit hugbox mentality is ultimately harmful.

>>23535988
LOL of course you're the strawman retard too. Anyone points out you're being incoherent = strawman!
Fuck that's funny

>>23535988
>It's not likely, so don't even try
No, thank you, I don't think I'll ever live with that mentality.

>>23535991
If you think I'm incoherent maybe you should polish up your language skills, ESL.
>>23535994
You're free to delude yourself, but don't lie to others.

>>23535997
Explain how I created a strawman, or accept your place as the thread retard.

>>23536002
I don't need to; you're brown.

>>23536008
Thanks for proving my point.

I had a question but I think I found the answer to it, I'll share in the next thread if I remember.

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>>23531714
How xenophobic and jealous would women become if something like picrel happened?

I wanted a setting like this but I know most women are used to being the ones who pick men so I thought something like this that would force the opposite would greatly affect them.

>>23536069
>How xenophobic and jealous would women become if something like picrel happened?
Apocalyptic levels. Do it.

>>23536069
I await our alliance.