Hi folks.
TL:DR - I am not a webserial writer, so don't expect to join my Patreon and see tons of content. Please only join because you want to support me or want to tip the story. I really appreciate my Patreon patrons but my writing business model is more community-based and less transactional.
This will also be my 20th published book, give or take. :)
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I just woke up to the first angsty Patreon comment I've had in years, and of course it was a reader from RR who subbed just to read the rest of this book. This book only has another 2 chapters until it's done. I didn't agree with the person's negative opinion, didn't care, refunded them their $3 and that was that.
Please don't sub to my Patreon if you just want to read the end of this book. It'll be done in like 3 more days.
For those who don't know, I post stuff like this to Royal Road as a hobby. Coming here to RR is fun now. It's a throwback to when I was starting out in 2016. This is usually cathartic. RR isn't what made my career, but it definitely helped. I actually had my own website where I was posting Delvers LLC back in the day, and RR was a place where I funneled more readers to my website and to Patreon.
Over the years I have changed a lot, RR has changed a lot, and my writing has changed a lot. My expectations for any story getting big on here is not very high, not least of which because I don't have consistent output and I just don't really write in webserial format anymore.
For that reason, once this story is up in full (there are 2 more chapters), it probably won't be long before I stub it or take the whole thing down. Apocalypse Cultivation isn't up anymore for similar reasons. It's not really my style to focus much on Patreon, and for the most part I have a small group of readers in my Patreon now who have followed me for years, and whose opinions I really value.
In other words, all of this... *waves hand around vaguely* is for fun. It's so I get to interact with cool people, share stories with folks who might not otherwise find my work, or might be broke or not able to use Amazon. It's that simple.
For some reason this can be a sensitive thing to say on RR, but for those who don't know, I am a full time author. I am a midlist indie, which means I make a decent living with writing and I have been for the last 6 years (wow! It's 6 now! yay!). RR and Patreon are great sounding boards for me and I love my community. I've also been doing this long enough that I know which opinions to listen to.
So this is why I tell people on RR that I don't really care that much about editing suggestions and whatnot. Anything I put on RR is a rough draft I'm putting out for free, for fun. Every story gets professional editing before being published. What keeps the lights on in my house is either putting a story on Amazon or working through a publisher. I absolutely do write for money. Like the many authors over the years who weren't lucky or good enough to make money with their writing, I likely would have stopped a long time ago if I hadn't been fortunate enough to find my audience.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
In case anyone is not aware, writing is hard. I'm not sure why most of the world thinks they have a best selling book in them if they just cared enough to try. Once any of us (myself included) actually decides to write their first book, reality comes rushing in...fast! lol
That said, I sorta know what I'm doing (or at least I'm good at pretending like it) and I have worked really hard to have an audience for what I write. This is why my follower count here on RR doesn't mean much to me.
I feel fortunate that I have such an extensive background in RR. This is one of the best reading sites on the internet.
Now for some advice:
Writers: It's getting harder and harder to launch a new book as an unknown or to start a career as a writer. If you have story you want to tell and you haven't told it yet, stop waiting. The window of opportunity is closing. Your time to give it a shot is now. Just do it!
Readers: Due to the rapid advancement of AI tools as well as how trad and the larger indie world is slowly becoming more aware of Royal Road, be ready for a lot of really lame stories with exceptional covers hitting the site. The last couple years or so have been kind of a golden age for webserials in my opinion. I think it'll be harder to find good stuff soon. The good stuff will be out there still, it'll just be harder to find...just like how it's harder to find fun books on Amazon these days.
If you're an Amazon reader and you're curious why that is, Amazon actually changed the way promotion worked on the site in 2020ish. It used to be much easier to organically find stories that you would like. Now it's more about who is better at marketing and that doesn't always work out well for readers.
(It's best to remember authors you like on Amazon and follow them. Seriously).
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I know it's a little self indulgent to post something like this as more of a blog. I get it, most folks are here for the stories. But for the handful of people who might care about what I have to say...bless you. And I hope your reading journey continues to be fun and rewarding.
-BC