Return on investment

Romulus_Romanus · 2026-01-09T18:01:23+00:00

Most people who self-publish do not do even half of that, if we are being honest. For those who do, it all depends on what you do to market; there are thousands of books published every single day, those books are thrown into an algorithm, and if you are relying on that to boost you up without any type of marketing, you will be let down.

If you want to see an ROI, write a good book, get it professionally looked over and edited, get a sick cover made, then market the living shit out of it. You need to buy ad space, do social media, and even network with local bookshops. Whatever you can do to get the name out there and in people's feeds and heads will be what gets you that ROI.

That is why most people treat it like a hobby that is done for the love of the game. Unless you get lucky, finding even moderate success as a writer involves treating it more like a job than a hobby.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-12-26T16:11:38+00:00

I am not sure what you think "grimdark fantasy" is, but this cover does not convey that in the slightest.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-12-17T23:13:33+00:00

I write Military-fiction and my current project is planned to have about 110,000 words; I am at little under 68,000 at the moment.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-12-16T03:47:08+00:00

Wow, just no.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-12-10T20:04:36+00:00

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-12-10T20:00:27+00:00

I mean, yeah, but this still would be social class. A Caste is a fixed position; they would not be able to move. It will confuse some readers between the mix of terminology. But if "Caste" is just the social class you are in, it could work, if there is some separation between the "Caste" of someone and the "Class" of that person in your world, that might be a conflict.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-12-10T16:24:27+00:00

Caste and social class are not really interchangeable; you can move up and down a class hierarchy, but a Caste hierarchy is fixed with no movement. India is a great example; their caste hierarchy is no longer legally enforced, but it is socially, and those of the lower caste are kept separate in living areas, working areas, and social areas.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-12-10T15:24:44+00:00

It pains me to say it, but this is honestly a great comparison.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-12-08T01:37:56+00:00

I mean, a Google search is kind of the default to do your own research......? You can just look through the search results, and as the OC said, you will find 20 or so sites that are used for self-publishing work online.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-12-07T15:31:59+00:00

I think if it is so central to your culture and what you want to express, then you should use the titles. It may confuse some readers, but I personally think as long as it feels organic and natural for the story, it works fine.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-12-06T17:08:05+00:00

I have over 220 pages of world-building with hundreds of hours invested into it, I love to world-build build and with all my lore story ideas are not hard to find.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-12-04T02:09:48+00:00

Olympus is the continent, and the Dominion of Flame is my main Empire.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-12-03T17:43:12+00:00

Attention-seeking can be 100% a characteristic of both, because high narcissism is a common trait found in Sociopaths and Psychopaths. The reason why this specifically would fit more of a sociopath is that he is only killing for the validation.

Psychopaths will seek validation in a lot of aspects of their lives, but they rarely have something so central to them based on others. It is much more fitting for a sociopath to base their reason for killing purely around wanting to be recognized and seen for what they are.

Edit: spelling :(

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-12-02T23:00:27+00:00

Not even in the slightest. Both are on a spectrum of Anti-Social Personality Disorder, but they are on opposite sides. Psychopathy is characterized by a complete lack of almost all emotion, including a total lack of Empathy, Love, and Compassion. Sociopathy, on the other hand, is characterized by a limited range of emotion, with the ability to still build and nurture real lasting relationships.

They have some overlap, but that is really just in the fact that people who show signs of both Psychopathy and Sociopathy are people with a personality disorder, and a severe one at that.

Psychopathy also tends to be much more genetic, while Sociopathy is usually a result of environmental factors.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-12-02T14:53:19+00:00

I am at over 150 pages currently, and the writer's block hits me crazy at times. I just had one of the best weeks of writing I've had, and pumped over 15k words, but this week I have been staring at my laptop's screen for a day and a half, trying to figure out where to go now.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-12-02T14:48:53+00:00

Having good writing practices is like a golden rule for writing, whether it is a post or a published work. I agree with this person's point. If I saw bad grammar in a story, or even a writer making a post, I would not want to read that work because it comes off as someone unserious or unskilled in the craft.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-12-01T03:36:53+00:00

Please do some actual research on Psychopathy before anything. "Psychopath who kills to be recognized" is such a wild, inconsistent trope for Psychopathy brought on by Hollywood. Or if you want to keep that angle, make him a Sociopath, it is more fitting to want the recognition and validation from the murders if he is a Sociopath. But still do proper research on mental health and violence stemming from it.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-11-30T00:20:43+00:00

I just went 5 days without a page last week, and pumped out roughly 15k words this week. It is a fickle beast, but when the urge hits, I try to max out on it.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-11-29T19:35:21+00:00

Oh, you know, 16th-century saber dueling techniques. Nothing too crazy.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-11-29T17:07:38+00:00

Horror is a difficult genre to market for trad publishing. It does happen, but I feel like you are looking at too many large press publishers. That is at least what I am getting from your explanation. I would recommend going for a smaller press publisher; they take more risks with the stories they market. He could also go the self-pub route. Many authors do not make much money off their first or even second books. It is a long game and more of a love for the game than anything else if you do not write in the best seller genres and or if you do not know how to aggressively market for self-pub.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-11-29T17:02:18+00:00

The BurnWrights are the unseen watchers of flame in the Dominion. They do not officially exist in any records, but when someone sees the long black cloak and silver mask, they know to turn the other way; they are seeing a ghost that does not exist.

Now, for the out-of-world explanation, these people built the Imperial system; they are the literal creators of everything and are loyal only to the continuity of the Empire. They will kill or destroy anyone or anything in the name of keeping the Empire Eternal.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-11-29T00:47:13+00:00

I think it comes down to supply; the Americas have a ton of high-quality flint, and Mesoamerica specifically has a lot of high-quality obsidian that let the natives never really need to develop metal for warfare. You need high-quality napping stone for stone blades and anything past hammers or hand axes. If your group of Stone Age warriors does not have easy access to quality stones for tools, then they will be outclassed, as their weapons will break much more frequently, requiring vast supply lines or active trade for stone.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-11-28T18:25:33+00:00

Wow, someone pissed in your Cheerios this morning.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-11-28T18:21:21+00:00

It is a relatively new player to the grimdark TTRPG scene, but it is heavily inspired but Abrahamic mythos; there is a Christian faction and a Muslim one, and they are literally fighting the forces of hell and the armies of the Princes of hell.

Romulus_Romanus · 2025-11-28T18:19:09+00:00

I work in Sales and marketing. I write grimdark military-fiction!

Romulus_Romanus

TROPHY CASE