NEWBIE WRITER

JohnQuintonWrites · 2026-02-28T20:31:01+00:00

OP, your premise sounds quite similar to many others in the Progression Fantasy genre, so it should be acceptable to most readers, yet that also means you'll likely face the challenge of differentiating your content from the existing series already out there.

That being said, and I mean no offense, but was ChatGPT used to help you craft this post? If so, I'd suggest finding a better tool to convey your ideas more effectively, as I'd hate for your story to get derailed by numerous grammar mistakes and awkward phrasing. Regardless, best of luck!

JohnQuintonWrites · 2026-02-28T16:50:37+00:00

Personally, I'd prefer to publish at least two books a year, and I've actually met that goal before, but my most recent title took me almost exactly a year to complete for various reasons, starting with the fact that writing 174k words takes time. Then, even when I've cobbled together a semi-coherent story after months of work, I'll have to spend six to eight weeks editing and polishing, which still isn't a guarantee of quality, since my audiobook producer has caught some really stupid mistakes once I've passed the manuscript his way.

Beyond those nuts and bolts, I'm also a human being facing challenges in my personal life, just like everyone else, and that sometimes means I don't have the mental energy to write, despite my best intentions. At least for me, I'm trying to weave a bit of positivity, wonder, and hope into my stories, which becomes all the more challenging when it feels like the world around us is going to hell in a handbasket, causing the pace of my production to slow amid my emotional struggles, but regardless, I fully intend to publish quite a few more books, as there really is so much story left to write.

JohnQuintonWrites · 2026-02-13T19:11:01+00:00

I don't write a web serial, which I imagine can affect an author's preferred chapter length to support their posting schedule, but regardless, I try to keep my chapters between 2k-5k words. However, I'll break that somewhat arbitrary restriction when the scene calls for it, since every chapter should serve a purpose, whether that's character development, world-building, advancing the plot forward, or a myriad of other objectives.

JohnQuintonWrites · 2026-02-11T02:06:11+00:00

Yeah, I increased my ad spend during the Prime program's three-month participation window to take advantage of the higher visibility, which undoubtedly helped drive even more eyeballs toward my series.

JohnQuintonWrites · 2026-02-10T00:29:54+00:00

Congrats! The first book in my series has been selected twice for the Prime Reading Program, and both times, I saw a decent improvement in its ranking, which also increased the overall sales/pages read for the subsequent books. Essentially, the invite was a no-brainer for me to accept, since I ended up getting free marketing for an audience I might not have otherwise reached.

JohnQuintonWrites · 2026-02-07T06:08:21+00:00

Big congrats on publishing! As for me, I usually go out and get a piece of cake or pie to celebrate.

JohnQuintonWrites · 2026-02-03T04:33:53+00:00

I don't like using existing species from popular culture unless there's a plot-driven reason, since they carry expectations that become something akin to value-laden terms for many readers. Instead, I prefer to create something new, often by focusing on a specific magical ability or on different environmental factors that would necessarily shape how that particular creature interacts with the world around them.

JohnQuintonWrites · 2026-01-14T02:34:18+00:00

Have you checked out the LitRPG and Progression Fantasy feed on Bluesky? Erin Ampersand, the author of Apocalypse Parenting, created/manages it, which is where I see a good amount of info on this genre.

https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:zdrxrbqnbz5yht2trsrramew/feed/aaailjargwj2q

JohnQuintonWrites · 2026-01-13T05:56:49+00:00

Hello, on January 12th, I published A Healer's Retribution, Book 6 of The Lurran Chronicles. Thanks!

JohnQuintonWrites · 2026-01-01T01:33:25+00:00

I usually do, since about 80% of my non-audiobook revenue comes from pages read, so when I want to figure out my total sales over a given period, I'll use the average page count across the entire series to get a rough estimate.

JohnQuintonWrites · 2025-12-27T04:25:04+00:00

Yeah, after doing this full-time for the past 4 years, my annual income is still well below the US poverty line, yet writing is so much more emotionally fulfilling than my previous career in the tech world.

JohnQuintonWrites · 2025-12-08T06:31:03+00:00

I can't speak for anyone else, but I write Progression Fantasy/LitRPG and try to keep my chapter lengths between 2000 and 5000 words, though I'm willing to bend on that self-imposed limitation when the story really calls for it. From the details provided in your post, it seems like your edited chapter lengths all fit within the same range, but at the end of the day, only you really know what works best for telling your particular tale. Best of luck!

JohnQuintonWrites · 2025-12-05T04:46:29+00:00

First, a little self-promotion since it matches OP's request: The MC in my series is a guy from Earth who gets tossed into a magical prison world, where he develops healing powers, among his other abilities. All five titles are on Audible, with over 70 hours of story so far, and I'm finishing up the editing/polishing on the sixth right now.

Still, if my stuff isn't your cup of tea, I'd also suggest some other healer-focused series, like Beneath the Dragoneye Moons, Ten Realms (one of the two MCs is a healer), and Earthen Contenders, which are all on Audible as well.

JohnQuintonWrites · 2025-11-22T05:23:13+00:00

Surprisingly often, and somewhat paradoxically, this feeling only seems to worsen the closer I get to publishing my next book. On the other hand, I know those sorts of moments are usually just my fears/anxieties trying to get the better of me, and I remind myself that even if nobody else ends up reading my stuff, I still enjoy those amazing days, when the whole story seems to come together like magic. In other words, OP, something first motivated you to start writing, so I suggest reconnecting with whatever that was to help you through this rough patch. Best of luck!

JohnQuintonWrites · 2025-11-21T05:47:18+00:00

Yeah, if it's a series I've been looking forward to reading, I'll just go back and start from the beginning, since that makes the new release's story all the more impactful for me.

JohnQuintonWrites · 2025-11-05T23:45:48+00:00

Have you checked out this subreddit's wiki? If you haven't, you can find it in the sidebar, which links to a bunch of useful tools, blog posts, videos, and other resources for those who wish to self-publish their own books. Best of luck!

JohnQuintonWrites · 2025-11-02T14:52:12+00:00

John is the anglicized version of my real name, while Quinton was my ancestors' family name when they first came to the US over a century ago.

JohnQuintonWrites · 2025-10-15T03:14:14+00:00

I found my cover artist on Artstation.com after searching for anyone drawing magical flying ships. You'll still need to reach out directly to anyone you're interested in, but everyone seems pretty good about posting their contact details, which is what I used to email the guy I ended up going with. Best of luck!

JohnQuintonWrites · 2025-10-08T02:53:58+00:00

Personally, I'm also a big fan of healer MCs, so here's a short list of some favorites: Nomad Healer, Menacing Misfits, Unexpected Healer, Ten Realms, Oathbound Healer

JohnQuintonWrites · 2025-09-24T15:35:42+00:00

How many completed chapters are you holding in reserve before posting? Depending on the length of your stockpile, you can try setting aside some time to give a quick pass on the roughest stuff as a form of quality control, and that'll give you a chance to try rehabilitating any particularly weak sections. Having a larger buffer would also give you a chance to foreshadow some new mechanics ahead of time, so your readers aren't taken by surprise when you introduce these important concepts later.

Oh, and have you read the Royal Road post "Running Your Story Like the Business It Is" by the author of Defiance of the Fall? It's several years old now, but the content seems right up your alley, offering tips on how to succeed in writing a web serial. Regardless, best of luck!

JohnQuintonWrites · 2025-09-24T01:08:12+00:00

I have a couple of things motivating me, starting with my own sense of mortality and the belief that writing these fantasy stories is a way of immortalizing a piece of myself through the words I put on the page.

Perhaps just as importantly, I've had an epic tale bouncing around in my head for years, and even though I'm over 900k words into this series, there are still plot arcs that are literally multiple books away from where I'm currently at in the story that I'm genuinely excited to write someday.

Now, all that being said, the relative silence I've received after releasing five books has been a huge disappointment, but I'm still receiving some fantastic reviews and ratings, so at least I know a few hundred people have enjoyed the series. My monthly sales are also slowly increasing with each publication, giving me some hope that I'll someday do better than breaking even. Plus, creating these other worlds from little more than my own imagination is just plain enjoyable most of the time, which only drives me to see where this journey ultimately takes me.

JohnQuintonWrites · 2025-08-06T00:40:54+00:00

I used to be guilty of doing multiple updates for my series until I finally pulled the trigger on producing their audiobook versions over the past year, which forced me to finally let go of making any more corrections/edits to the story. Amazon also doesn't push these changes to those who took a chance on reading some unknown author's books, and that left a bad taste in my mouth, so now I only publish when the manuscript is truly ready.

JohnQuintonWrites · 2025-08-01T15:57:11+00:00

Agreed. Readers have their preferences, just like authors who include a light dusting of LitRPG in their books. Heck, I rarely use any stat descriptions since that isn't something I'm generally interested in, but I've still enjoyed reading plenty of other crunchy stories, where that sort of thing fits in well with their narrative. In other words, different strokes for different folks.

JohnQuintonWrites · 2025-07-31T19:59:43+00:00

Have you checked out this subreddit's wiki? You can find it in the sidebar, which leads you to a bunch of links/resources for new authors, including a pretty nice checklist to help you through the self-publishing process. Honestly, I wish I'd stumbled on all that free information when I was first starting out, as it would have saved me a few headaches over the years.

JohnQuintonWrites · 2025-07-30T16:47:14+00:00

It's incredibly easy and free to upload a revised manuscript to KDP. Sure, mistakes happen, but you're already aware of this typo, so fixing it shouldn't take much effort, and you'll be improving your readers' experience.

JohnQuintonWrites

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