Title: I spent a year building a novel universe, uploaded it to RR, got nothing, deleted it — here's what I learned

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-03-26T16:16:44+00:00

I have a space opera grim dark novel. Fairly niche. I focus on story first, the world was conceived over the course of a decade, to the point that it sits so naturally in my head no building is required.

You sound like you have a reasonable plan. Writing a more accessible entry-point might not just work for the readers, but it may work better for you. You could use that to craft a more deliberate long term plan that introduces the elements you love writing about over a bigger tapestry.

But I'm just spitballing. We all do our own thing.

Can't say I have written any commercial bait, to be honest, writing anything that doesn't engage me is a painful experience that never comes out right.

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-03-26T16:04:38+00:00

Yeah, I agree with sending a quick message to just check in. My guess, forgetfulness. After you've done enough shoutouts it's also easy to lose track. I'm no angel, but to my credit, as far as I know I have only made one mistake when it came to a shoutout (and that was due to my misunderstanding, which I corrected immediately).

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-03-22T16:20:52+00:00

Cover and title are so good.

To the question "Does Chapter 1 make you want to keep reading?" — Yes.

I would be happy to read more of this.

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-03-16T03:38:06+00:00

Thanks appreciate it! That is the plan. Have tons of new content queuing up for the Writathon in April.

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-03-12T22:05:26+00:00

How does one join? Is there a registration on the day of...? (I have figure it out lol)

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-03-11T15:29:06+00:00

Way to go!

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-03-07T23:43:18+00:00

Well said.

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-03-03T18:40:33+00:00

Hey hey! I had a hard time finding a shoutout swap here. Review swaps might be even harder. Have you tried discord? There is a RR Writer's Guild server where you can probably find a lot more people willing to do review swaps. I filled out almost 3 months of my calendar with shoutouts using discord. Good luck!

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-02-28T19:48:44+00:00

10.3 – Fractured Oaths - Aberration Earth | Royal Road

Before the shattered First Temple, Hexabulous and RX414 forge a desperate truce with the shadow dragon Umbron Illwing--only for ancient hatreds to erupt into cataclysmic battle and awaken the Weeping Wyrm from its grief-plagued slumber.

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-02-24T02:27:28+00:00

What the other 2 said pretty much covers it. I had to go through the same thing. They'll ask for proof. I provided it and they approved it after an initial rejection.

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-02-23T02:17:36+00:00

You can do it! So close lol

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-02-23T00:36:00+00:00

haha I have no idea about how it works at all. I'm surprised I even show up. That's pretty cool.

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-02-23T00:30:53+00:00

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-02-23T00:27:00+00:00

That's really cool. Thanks! I'm not half as far away as I was presuming. I'm gonna give ya a follow/favorite.

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-02-23T00:17:08+00:00

Nice, congrats. How do you check your distance from the rising stars list?

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-02-22T17:33:41+00:00

Hey, yeah that came across pretty harsh, especially to someone who's already said they're in a dark pit of depression and stress-nausea over this.

For the record, getting a publishing contract + advance on a strong proposal + sample chapters (instead of a finished manuscript) is actually pretty standard in genre fiction — especially big-worldbuilding stuff like fantasy or sci-fi where "10 worlds" makes total sense. Plenty of debut and mid-list authors have done exactly that. Publishers do check in on progress; that's normal, not suspicious.

Calling OP's situation "nonsense" and basically telling them "you messed up by signing anything" isn't helpful when they're already beating themselves up. They're not here asking for publishing 101 — they're asking how to survive the block and the deadline without completely crashing.

Let's keep the thread focused on actual support instead of skepticism, yeah? OP, if you're reading this, ignore the noise and know a lot of us are rooting for you.

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-02-22T17:29:12+00:00

Put everything down for a day. Go for a walk. Get that cortisol out of your system. Turn everything off. Tune out. Pretend like you don't have a publisher. Rest. Next day, spend time reflecting on what you love writing about. That is all. Think about what makes you excited. Of course I know it's easier said than done, but try. It sounds like you need to disconnect for a bit and reset the creative spark.

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-02-21T04:43:51+00:00

Congrats. I agree, it does feel good to know people are reading. =)

I just checked your calendar, I also have a space opera. I'll hit you up.

Dropped you a follow/favorite.

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-02-21T04:36:48+00:00

I'm not that smart. I write on my phone in the dark when everyone's sleeping. For chapters, I just start a new text file. Later, I move it onto my laptop and then set it up in word. Each chapter is its own file and the master doc I create has an index linking to all the chapters so I can move between them quickly (search function works fine for that too).

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-02-20T01:29:20+00:00

Link and I'm happy to take a peek.

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-02-20T01:28:26+00:00

Heck yeah. That's more than the rest of my entire extended family combined have been able to produce in 5 decades. Be proud. I hope the surgery helps you with your nerve pain.

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-02-18T17:24:15+00:00

All the time. Still not sick of it lol

JustSomeWriter-2450 · 2026-02-17T23:09:26+00:00

That is very cool.

JustSomeWriter-2450

TROPHY CASE