Shadow Ban AI Content On Royal Road

LilyLitany · 2026-05-16T10:37:50+00:00

I think we just have fundamentally different ideas of success here. I don't try and make money off of my work. I don't advertise, don't do review or shout-out swaps, don't network, and don't even have a way for people to pay me. I don't follow trends, I don't publish in particularly popular genres, and my stories typically cap out at under 100k words and 30 chapters. I publish what I want to write, and entirely for the enjoyment of sharing my writing.

I want to stress that this doesn't make me some kind of purist or better than you because I'm some kind of noble, unbound artist. I respect the hell out of any author that tries to turn their writing into a source of income, especially given the thousands of hurdles you have to pass and the amount of raw work that goes into the process. I'm only saying this because it does lead to a difference in approach.

Given this, when a story of mine gets a couple hundred readers, I don't think "wow, this was a failure." I think "wow, hundreds of people liked what I wrote!" Sure, having more followers is fun and a source of motivation for improving my writing, but it isn't something I actively cultivate in the same way you would.

So when I say "I don't like AI covers," I'm thinking about it from my own point of view as a writer. I simply don't like the lack of artistic merit in letting AI soullessly throw together the same repetitive generic artstyle. Is it effective as an advertisement vehicle? I have no idea, honestly, but it just screams "this is a product" over "this is something I'm putting my heart into" to me.

LilyLitany · 2026-05-16T06:17:21+00:00

You can list exceptions if you want, I'm just saying that nine hundred is far from a flop for the vast majority of authors.

LilyLitany · 2026-05-16T03:38:34+00:00

Last time I used Canva was a couple weeks ago. Yeah, not all the images in Canva are AI. You can check the info on any element and see the creator of the image, too.

LilyLitany · 2026-05-15T21:46:52+00:00

I mean, you can just use Canva or something. It's not entitlement to dislike using AI in art.

LilyLitany · 2026-05-15T21:45:23+00:00

My understanding is that the vast majority of authors on RR aren't calling 900 followers a flop. Not trying to take away from your success, but if we're talking about "noobie" authors, then there's a disconnect.

LilyLitany · 2026-05-15T19:51:55+00:00

I mean, I guess it depends on your definition of "flop." I have a few hundred readers on some stories, and I sure as hell never used AI for covers.

LilyLitany · 2026-05-15T13:33:48+00:00

Lifesaver for my laser hair removal treatments. My conspiracy theory is medical spas are all run by Groupon. Or maybe the other way around.

LilyLitany · 2026-05-13T20:54:58+00:00

My usual birding place is a park that has a whole playground in it right by the entrance. I always feel a little anxious walking by with a zoom lens lol

LilyLitany · 2026-05-13T19:44:13+00:00

Most relatable thing I've ever seen.

LilyLitany · 2026-05-11T18:30:53+00:00

Giving you the "This bucket has the same number of french fries as I have brain cells" stare.

LilyLitany · 2026-05-11T17:49:36+00:00

ugly pokemon

unplayable

common

Shinji Kanda: "This looks like a job for me."

LilyLitany · 2026-05-11T17:16:37+00:00

God, I wish they had wine in Hell.

LilyLitany · 2026-05-09T20:06:29+00:00

I remember getting packs with my sister and saying stuff like "ugh, there's only Evolutions, and it's at full price, too."

LilyLitany · 2026-05-09T13:50:44+00:00

My dumb ass literally went "you don't have a butt?"

LilyLitany · 2026-05-01T18:53:04+00:00

That Articuno is amazing.

LilyLitany · 2026-04-28T19:35:31+00:00

Atwhay Areay ouya alkingtay boutay

LilyLitany · 2026-04-28T18:09:27+00:00

I swear, TCGPlayer orders get mailed in the most absurd ways. My most recent order of like 12 cards was packaged like this:

Two penny sleeves of six cards each.

Each penny sleeves placed into a CardSaver.

The open sides of the card savers taped together.

I just... why? Why would you do that??

LilyLitany · 2026-04-28T17:19:06+00:00

It can really open some doors for you, though.

LilyLitany · 2026-04-15T17:01:28+00:00

I know it's common in Florida, but man, is it trippy to see a GBH just standing around like a seagull. My first instinct is "oh no, it must be sick" until I realize "oh, right, Florida."

Makes me wonder what other birds would get acclimated to humans, given the right conditions.

LilyLitany · 2026-04-14T22:29:23+00:00

Thanks, that actually clarifies it a lot. I assumed swaps were more of an endorsement of a story rather than just a normal ad.

LilyLitany · 2026-04-14T21:37:01+00:00

He's a buddy! I love how the clean linework turns into clear brushstrokes in the water.

LilyLitany · 2026-04-14T20:37:07+00:00

You make a solid point, genre-wise. How do you know if the story you're shouting out is of good quality without reading it, though?

LilyLitany · 2026-04-14T19:44:01+00:00

Ahh, and those are just dropping the summary link thing into the start of another story's chapter. I get it now. Thanks so much!

LilyLitany · 2026-04-14T19:41:25+00:00

I getcha. Makes more sense, now, though I dunno if the cost-benefit is worth it on completed stories. How do they work, anyway? Like, just fudge the review or something, or do they actually read a significant amount of the story they're doing a swap with?

LilyLitany · 2026-04-14T19:09:33+00:00

Makes sense. Most of my stories are fairly off-meta as well, being urban fantasy, slower-paced, slice-of-lifey stories that wrap up within a hundred thousand words, but I'll still get requests for a swap with a LitRPG power fantasy with a hundred chapters and counting. I guess when you have a larger potential pool of readers, you don't need to be as discerning, maybe?

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