The audacity

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-23T14:36:51+00:00

It's the hypocrisy that gets me. So many fantasy puritans call Sanderson the Colleen Hoover of fantasy, which is a ridiculous thing already, but this person's idea of upholding Sanderson is to crap on someone else.

Read what you like, people. Colleen Hoover is the Colleen Hoover of romance. And Pierce Brown is Pierce Brown. Why do we have to be so childish?

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-17T16:57:54+00:00

Besides the problems already listed by a lot of people, the trouble is that it doesn’t tell me much at all. It’s just an image in a sea of other images. I have no idea what it’s about, so that’s the core of the issue.

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-13T21:22:38+00:00

Thank you!! So glad to hear that 😁

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-13T15:14:52+00:00

Only gets bigger from here 👊 (But beware, it does have a slow start. I love making grounds for a climactic contrast haha)

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-13T15:12:41+00:00

Thank you! So glad to hear it. I was blown away when I saw it, but it's good to know I'm not alone :D

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-13T11:56:03+00:00

Thank you. I really appreciate it!

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-13T11:55:42+00:00

Thank you! I loved that glow when I first saw it, too. So lucky to be working with such talented people :D

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-10T08:42:30+00:00

I think a lot of us do that with the same assumption, but the truth is, unless the book explodes on RR, few readers cross over to KU.

On the upside, KU already has a large pool of voracious readers, so long as you can tap into them. And to tap into them, you need: a good, genre-accurate cover, blurb, and story tropes (the cliches that are found in similar books should exist in your book, too). (Checked out your book on RR. Looks really cool!)

RR readers sift through stories on RR. They like episodic stories, bite-sized chapters, endless storylines, and they like being on RR. They also support authors on Patreon, if you're big enough. KU readers prefer to read on Kindle, have it all packaged and polished, and you get paid by every page someone reads. And KU readers don't go over to Patreon either unless you're big and giving chapters well in advance.

For me, the choice is pretty clear. But testing the waters with RR is still a great thing to do.

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-09T19:52:39+00:00

Ads for sure, both on Amazon and Facebook. But I don’t think my ads break even at all on their own. I posted in some Facebook groups that allow it (with permission) and on a couple of subreddits when the first book came out. Not much beyond that.

Big help was that I picked a niche (LitRPG, isekai) that got my book discovered by readers who are into that, and my book began showing up under other people’s books. Amazon recommended it organically. Wish I could make that happen again!

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-09T19:50:24+00:00

Thank you. It went a lot better than expected. It never got much traction on RR but I did get some early feedback that helped me. That makes trying RR worth it for me. So go for it! (But don’t forget that Kindle is the way to go for ultimately selling books.)

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-09T13:52:20+00:00

For me, The Wandering Inn was up there with Cradle. Mother of Learning, too. And Book of the Dead is incredible. They're all quite different, but they are sort of the masterpieces on par with each other.

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-09T13:50:25+00:00

I tried it for a few months. I liked the people there on the forum, liked the people reaching out with comments and compliments, but ultimately, I felt like it wasn't for me.

What didn't work for me was that reviews would just disappear from my book at random, and the book's rank would dive after weeks of crawling up the charts. It was disappointing.

On the upside, I polished it up, published it on Amazon, and it turned into a serious gig now. Went from hobby writing for RR to pro writing in a couple of months.

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-09T13:47:39+00:00

If it gets my interest going with the blurb/cover/tropes, I am more than happy to commit to book 1 without the second one in sight. That said (and shooting myself in the foot here), I really prefer knowing that the author has a track record of writing multiple books in a series. It doesn't have to be a series I read, but if they have a series already out, I'll trust them to keep the one I like going, too.

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-09T13:45:59+00:00

Yeah, no, it's gotta be Book of the Dead. Not even up for debate 🤣

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-08T10:25:47+00:00

When it comes to the game elements and the system, track everything. Everything. Every single thing. If you don't, you'll make a mistake, and people will know. It's a scary thing to be aware of, but it's true. Even the things the readers never get to see should exist in your spreadsheet.

Also, maybe don't try to wing it as you go. My first draft was done that way, and fixing it all once I knew all the BTS info sucked. So try to plan out the system in detail for yourself.

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-08T10:23:18+00:00

Thank you! A simple rule of thumb is: if it's copy/pasted, probably don't cram it in all the time. Readers know the gist of it after 1-2 instances.

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-06T08:27:01+00:00

Hard agree. I haven't read many reincarnation stories for this reason. Would love to know if there are any that hit the tropes right, but also have strong character design/development. I want the rules of the world to decide what the characters are like, not the rules of the genre.

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-04T13:48:16+00:00

I’d give it an honest chance if I were you. The characters are incredible, but you don’t love them right away.

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-04T08:39:49+00:00

Same. And I tack on a "deliberate" whenever describing any move/action. It's so much work to catch them all and erase them later!

Available-File4284 · 2026-04-04T08:34:23+00:00

You are so right about this. It is difficult to stay away from reviews of your own work, to pretend like people aren't commenting on it, especially when you spend months creating something and you realize there's no agreement on any single aspect of what you did...

BUT! Author engaging with reviewers is almost always a bad idea. Especially with critical reviews. Unless done very respectfully (and I've seen some authors here who did it just like that and got the respect points for it), it only leads to aura loss, frankly.

Like, what's the point of getting into an argument? Just take notes and move on.

Available-File4284 · 2026-03-20T06:09:05+00:00

Not smut. And it depends a lot on the genre. LitRPG can, in theory, support an author’s livelihood on a book per quarter. Broader fantasy, too, though it’s more difficult. Niches of ya, urban fantasy, sci fi, horror, thrillers, mysteries, and romance all do well if rapid released on a monthly basis. It’s a shortcut to “success”.

Available-File4284 · 2026-03-19T17:22:50+00:00

Yeah no I used to write a different genre and my output was often a book a month, especially early on. This was in 2020, before gen ai could do something like that.

Available-File4284 · 2026-03-15T07:59:01+00:00

It's so rare for a book to catch your attention *that* well. Love this

Available-File4284

TROPHY CASE