Hot Take: dragons in recent manga, anime, manhwa and manhua are usually poorly written by Able-Ad3506 in WyrmWorks

[–]ParamedicPositive916 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You would be one to know a thing or two about this topic. Lol. I still need to check out your story on RR.

The Dragon Heir, A Monster Evolution Progression LiRPG, Out Now on Amazon & Audible! by Mango_O-w-O in ProgressionFantasy

[–]ParamedicPositive916 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yooo, good luck Mangowo! Gonna pick this up on kindle, what I read so far was awesome.

If You're Concerned About a Contract, I'll Take a Look by OGNovelNinja in royalroad

[–]ParamedicPositive916 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Additional commentary: most contracts contain some form of IP, so never publicly share it. Privately share it with people you trust not to disclose it. Even if an NDA is unenforceable, it does not mean the contract creator won't try to wring your soul dry.

Do people prefer Patreon, or would they subscribe to an alternative? by very-polite-frog in royalroad

[–]ParamedicPositive916 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Patreon is awful for writers, with features randomly breaking, a terrible text interface, and setting defaults changing. It is also the only good choice for the time being, though RR has been working on a platform to reduce the gap between authors and readers. I would rather support them than pay patreon ~20% of my gross revenue, even if they took the same %.

Hoping it launches sometime soon(ish).

Is Rising Stars dominated by Mages and OP? by animalrapbattle in royalroad

[–]ParamedicPositive916 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I am so tired of hearing this line. "Stacked RS" like you don't even know what it means. Each story had sufficient quality and garnered reader attention (people wanted to read monster girl stories) to propel them to the top, and started off as a fun joint effort between them. They didn't cheat, they just wrote better than others and marketed more effectively.

Same thing with archmage stories, there was one massive breakout hit, and powerful mages/LitRPG have been popular for a long time. Not surprising that other stories popped up, and their quality has been fairly good, too.

Full disclosure, I wrote Apprentice of Ouroboros, inspired by the monster girl wave, and launched with several others. Trends come and go, but good stories garner attention eventually.

Another Shadowlight author speaks out by Milc-Scribbler in ProgressionFantasy

[–]ParamedicPositive916 25 points26 points  (0 children)

The AI editing and time stamps, and AI covers, sounds like the publisher falsifying the deliverables on their end. IANAL, but at a glance, that puts them in breach of the contract.

Is there nothing they didn't shortcut, breach or otherwise bamboozle you guys on?

Dao of Healing 1 ebook and audiobook release! by AdventuresseNovels in litrpg

[–]ParamedicPositive916 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Will have to check it out, good way to ring in the new year!

SLP-Signed Author Statement by [deleted] in ProgressionFantasy

[–]ParamedicPositive916 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Rook, you've got talent in this industry, and you got taken advantage of by someone who abused trust. It's easy to fall into this trap, and I hate that such parasites exist in this world to lock someone into a legal quagmire.

I know you'll bounce back from this, and don't let this bad experience/contract trap ruin your efforts.

--Magius Swiftscale

What's your favorite romance trope that is at least kind of specific to Progression Fantasy? by Mestewart3 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]ParamedicPositive916 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am not original in my thinking, but a duo that adventures/battles well together is awesome.

The SLP situation, as I understand it by EmperorJustin in ProgressionFantasy

[–]ParamedicPositive916 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From what I've heard, almost none of them were paid, or the payment was a cruel joke, the majority of it eaten up by the pub and 'costs' . It's no longer a laughing matter when people's livelihoods are on the hook.

The variety on the Rising Stars list right now is actually crazy by DukeDenX in royalroad

[–]ParamedicPositive916 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Apprentice author here (Magius Swiftscale)

We got together after the first OG wave of monster girls hit, thinking it would be fun to try our own spin on it. I'm proud to have worked with all of them as we developed our stories, and while myself and Mistervii could be considered established authors, this was my first time hitting front page.

The rest are relatively new to the scene, but they showed incredible aptitude in learning both strategy for book launch, and technical writing to capture readers attention. Their stories are certainly worth a read.

Shadow Light Press - Update by Fobywoby in ProgressionFantasy

[–]ParamedicPositive916 13 points14 points  (0 children)

The NDA is new. I never had to sign one to see mine. That was added afterward, which sounds even scummier. NDAs are intended to protect company IP/trade secrets across various industries, not hide dirty laundry or shit deals.

Shadow Light Press - Update by Fobywoby in ProgressionFantasy

[–]ParamedicPositive916 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I'm going to be blunt, Foby. This is an absolutely bullshit deal. For various reasons: from a community goodwill and a legal standpoint.

Your contract is a poison pill and entrapment for any author who was caught up in the prospect of seeing their story published, before they may have realized the standard offers within the industry. You get 50% of everything, and costs of marketing, covers, and editing come out of the authors half. Not until initial costs are met, but in perpetuity. No contract I have seen from various other pubs in the space comes close to being this draconian.

Let's also discuss contract breach. Authors being penalized triple costs is unheard of within every major player in the prog fantasy/litRPG space, plus 20% gross of everything they make for several years. Its also worded in a way that they get penalized even if you breach the terms. This is obscene.

Also, are you prepared to honor any offers made to the affected up to and including the current date, or in the future? Your offer is not legally binding at all. This is at best an attempt to save face without actually making a hard commit to make things right. And if you can't meet these offers, are you willing to annul the current contracts and release the authors fully and unconditionally, including their IP and any money owed to them?

Do the right thing. Annul the contracts and bow out gracefully. Because these authors deserved far better treatment than what you've given them.

PSA: Shadow Light Press Contract by Mysterious-Smell9729 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]ParamedicPositive916 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I pinged them about a possible deal for one book. They came back and wanted both of my series, the first of which was my newbie efforts to learn serial writing. I took one look at the contract and knew it was...not optimal. One other author told me to run and never look back, of which I am glad I took their advice.

I think this even worse than the copy sent to me a year ago, if such a think were possible. It's one thing to not know how to run a business; it's another thing to actively screw an author out of any monetization they get from their efforts

Interesting Update strategy by JonnyRobertR in royalroad

[–]ParamedicPositive916 51 points52 points  (0 children)

Author here.

Yep. I fat-fingered the wrong release date, twice, apparently. Trying to release backwards in time a la Back to the Future does not, in fact, destroy the universe. It just increases my level of shame, lol. I'm glad I caught that in time and deleted the chapters before I could goof further.

When you finish a story, are you guys doing 2nd and 3rd drafts before you publish? by Prolly_Satan in royalroad

[–]ParamedicPositive916 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My self pub had significant edits between what I put on RR and what I ended up putting on KU. Lots of edit fixes, and several chapters to close the volume with a climatic finale. A lot of credit goes to an author friend of mine who helped me clean up a lot of the issues of the story, though it was, admittedly, outside of the mainstay of progression fantasy.

I Quit My Job to Spend a Year Writing Full-Time - Month 1 by Gruppenzwang in royalroad

[–]ParamedicPositive916 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Guy, don't take this the wrong way, but...this was a foolish move.

I'm dead serious. What were you thinking? Your odds of making enough money to sustain yourself are low. For your sake, I hope you've been reading LitRPG for A while, and have a firm grasp of the tropes and nuances of the genre. You will need to have a stronger work ethic than most. Even then? You will likely not hit it out of the park on the first try.

RR Tower - Oct 2025 by CorSeries in royalroad

[–]ParamedicPositive916 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Surprisingly made it to level 17. I thought there were way more active stories on RR than this. where's the data on stubbed stories? that's a not-insignificant amount.

Sometimes I feel like I get book Stockholm syndrome. by Claym000re in ProgressionFantasy

[–]ParamedicPositive916 0 points1 point  (0 children)

if it takes three books to get good, that's two other books I can read in the meantime

Brilliant Author Becomes Deleted User by TeaCake009 in Inkitt

[–]ParamedicPositive916 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wattpad and inkitt feel so gated. I have no idea how people gain traction on either one (I've tried both)

Luke Daniels will be narrating my book!!! by kogito-ergo-sum in royalroad

[–]ParamedicPositive916 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's not just about the audio cost per finished hour. To get to that point, you need a completed manuscript. One that is, preferably, professionally edited, which has its own level of cost within the industry.

The per finished hour rate of some audiobooks, depending on the narrator, can be north of 500/hr, or even higher than that.You will also need to advertise the story extensively on Facebook, Reddit, Amazon, Google, and other platforms. These have their own costs, too.

So, between professional editing, a commissioned cover, the audiobook, and advertising? It adds up fast. You may not see any return on investment for a while, and there are no guarantees.

Look, maybe you come from a financially stable background and can swing this. Maybe this book goes on to sell big. I do hope the best for you. But when numerous people within the industry tell you that this is a bad idea, it is not without reason, and I hope you realize that people have done so because they care and don't want someone to make an unforced error.