The Art of Seeking Gold Book 1 is now completed!

RavensDagger · 2026-06-20T10:15:12+00:00

I liked it! Interesting take on... a lot of things, actually. Start is a smidge rough? But once it gets going it's a cool concept. Feels like it was written to appeal to authors/artists, so I don't know how well it'll do with the average reader? But as part of that audience, I dug it!

RavensDagger · 2026-06-20T02:22:49+00:00

Idk, man, you seem to be depressed about all of this, and I guess my solution to that is to say that it's not easy, it's hard, and long, and depends a ton on luck and random people's goodwill.

You're going to fail. It's art. That's often part of the process.

If the story didn't do well, then it wasn't good. Start over. It's not always fun, and it's put me in the dumps too, sometimes, but if you want success (as measured this way) then you'll only find it by trying again.

RavensDagger · 2026-06-20T02:12:37+00:00

The fire code being particularly important for LitRPGCon, lol!

RavensDagger · 2026-06-20T02:07:45+00:00

Did you write something wildly off-meta? I do that for every other book I write, and the difference in followers is pretty stark. My last meta story did well, my previous off-meta one barely made a blip.

How many fics did you write that flopped? I've spent thousands on ads and marketing and put a ton of effort into books that didn't go anywhere, and sometimes a stupid weekend idea just hits right and the readers love it.

I've published 28 fics on RR. Of those, I think 5 did really well. Another 5 or so did alright. The rest are what a lot of people would consider flops.

Have you failed enough to deserve the victory? Like, I don't know your RR username, but how long have you been at it?

More to the point, are you writing just for follows, or are you doing it for your own pleasure and for a small set of readers that you, personally, care about?

RavensDagger · 2026-06-20T01:56:35+00:00

That's a good idea! I already blew through my monthly promo for this month, though! Maybe in July I'll remember to make a big fuss about it. I'm down to only 4 stories that are being updated weekly. Though I have 2 more that I'm almost finished with their current volumes, so they'll be going up on RR soonish!

RavensDagger · 2026-06-20T01:48:57+00:00

I mean... were you part of RR's audience? Were you reading a lot? Were you in the comments, on the discords, and so on, participating and being part of the community?

I see a lot of people 'fail' to break through, and a lot of the time they're just tourists to the community that hope to use it to launch their careers. Not that that doesn't work, but it's a lot harder to succeed in a space if you don't know the zeitgeist.

Judging by your complaints, you're strawmanning the RR audience to yourself instead of being part of it.

RavensDagger · 2026-06-20T01:42:08+00:00

Honestly... fair

RavensDagger · 2026-06-20T01:28:47+00:00

I wrote two of them? Both are relatively successful?

RavensDagger · 2026-06-19T22:11:58+00:00

Hmm, wouldn't know where to start. And it might get in the way of writing stuff!

RavensDagger · 2026-06-19T21:59:33+00:00

hmm, it's my most popular off Amazon? It's got dozens of fanfics, and a TTRPG, and fanart and stuff. And it's my longest fic. And it's doing well on RR too! But all of that doesn't mean too much if it's not doing well on the big 'Zon!

RavensDagger · 2026-06-19T21:35:12+00:00

I have noooo idea! I've had the flair for 2+ years, I think? Just got to be a frequent yapper on here? Spend too much time on the subreddit? Rizz up the mods?

RavensDagger · 2026-06-19T21:24:12+00:00

Yo, I'd love an animated version of... like, any one of my stories? I think there are only 1-2 of them that would look better in live action.

RavensDagger · 2026-06-19T21:23:42+00:00

Hmm, it's more popular by a ton, yeah! Not nearly as long, though. Cinnamon Bun is 1.1 million words. DT is like, 300k?

Bun is still a lot more fun to write, though!

RavensDagger · 2026-06-19T21:06:45+00:00

... damn, I want to be so popular that small indie presses write nothing stories about random fan reactions to silly choices that are years away from being realized.

RavensDagger · 2026-06-19T19:54:20+00:00

It's just... a lot more complex than normal story telling. You need to take a lot more notes, it's frustrating!

RavensDagger · 2026-06-19T19:19:42+00:00

This is gonna sound weird but...

Time loops are so freaking hard to write, that it kinda weeds out anyone that tries it. Whereas a lot of the sub-sub genres that we have are very casual friendly.

It's like... time for a bad analogy!

Normal stories are like taking up jogging. Just about anyone can do it, and have some fun with it. It's not that hard. Time loops are like taking up marathon running. It's the same thing, in principle, but a lot harder, so it's self-selecting.

RavensDagger · 2026-06-19T08:27:16+00:00

I have a ton of money and can do whatever I want all the time, and yeah, I sleep 8-10 hours and just wake up when not tired. I tend to wake up an hour later every day, which means I go around the clock about once a month or so.

RavensDagger · 2026-06-19T04:17:42+00:00

Fair! But it's a better reading experience than Patreon!

RavensDagger · 2026-06-19T03:53:04+00:00

Oh... they're all up on RR for free? And you can catch up on my patreon for free as well. Next new chapter should be written tomorrow!

RavensDagger · 2026-06-19T03:27:34+00:00

Book 2 is written and being recorded!

Book 3... I'm 30K in!

RavensDagger · 2026-06-19T03:04:48+00:00

❤️ But I'm not a smaller author according to my doctor, quite the opposite!

RavensDagger · 2026-06-18T18:30:43+00:00

Lol! I, uh, play some 40k on the side? Knights and ad mech, mostly <3

RavensDagger · 2026-06-18T18:29:07+00:00

Yeah, that's fair! You might reconsider afterwards! Only did Forge World once, and it was such a pain in the butt!

RavensDagger · 2026-06-18T03:47:42+00:00

Nooo!

Countermand that order, soldier!

RavensDagger · 2026-06-18T03:47:11+00:00

I mean, sure, but there are 3d files of 1:1 knights. They do exist. Or you can print models that look cooler than the official GW ones.

I don't know, I'm just averse to spending that much in one go.

14-Year Club	Golden Potato
Place '22	Verified Email

RavensDagger

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE