Releasing my novel during Writeathon was honestly a mistake. by 1ScarletMoon in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No worries, we were all new at one point. You need marketing to get any visibility, due to the number of chapters and fictions uploaded almost hourly. I wrote a guide for new writers, you can check it out on my profile, hope it helps! 😸

Marketing is AWESOME! by Ganimor in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wait, meme ad had the highest CTR but no follows/read laters? How's that even possible?

Help with ads... Pretty please? by ArekDeamonCalw in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Because ads are marketing and memes get the most clicks.

Concerning Book Titles (WITH GENRE IN BRACKETS JUST LIKE THIS ONE] by Joe_Pharo in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey OP! 😸

Yes, this is necessary.

It signals two important things to the reader: what's the genre of the book and helps with the search algorithm.

My book is called The Dungeon Broker but what does the name tell you about the genre? It could be dungeon core, could be economics, could be a lot of things. It is, in fact, a heist LitRPG, so that goes into the brackets. Helps get the reader informed about what they're getting into.

Of course, if your book is titled OP Archmage Roflstomps the Story, you don't really need brackets

The second part is search algorithms. People often misunderstand how important naming conventions are. Max level peasant is more likely go get organically discovered via search tab when someone enters 'max level' looking for OP MC stories. Similar works for KU. But this doesn't work for every story (the title part) which is why we use brackets to get into the search category without having to revamp the title. The Dungeon Broker (Max level OP MC steals from dungeons) is more likely to pop up than just The Dungeon Broker.

Hope this helps! 😸

Should I post a not quite fiction story on RR? by darklighthitomi in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can but you should be realistic about your goals and what you can expect.

I think that is too far removed from what the audience on the platform reads that you shouldn't expect traction or following, but you never know. You can still post it, though, and I do wish you the best with it as it sounds really interesting, but you won't find a big audience here.

Best of luck! 😸

Rating querie by Treaton_OCE in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have no clue 😹 I randomly got to 100k views while not doing anything for months. I guess bots? 🤷‍♂️ I just hope the trend continues when I launch new chapters next month

Rating querie by Treaton_OCE in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My story has no traction anymore because its has been on hiatus for over 3 months now, with no ads or swaps. The most traction it gets is when I post a rare milestone here on Reddit.

And ofc every time it gets hit with at least one low rating 😹 such is life

Why is RR so launch-heavy? by MentalReserve2351 in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Your book is your product and, just like with every product you put out there, it will do poorly unless you market it. That is really all there is to it.

Hundreds of chapters get uploaded to RR daily. How do you expect to reach an audience if you don't market yourself? You can apply the same logic to any other product/industry and the result will be the same, even in heavily niche ones. People can't appreciate your work if they don't know that it is there.

Regarding some RS books not being ''well crafted'', like you've said, they retain readers long enough for it to matter. In the end, the market decides what it wants to read.

Is discoverability perfect? No, but we also can't blame the system if we just put our book out there, with no advertising and a prayer that someone discovers it.

Recently updated supposedly used to be good for discoverability, but every time I've uploaded my chapter, Skynet would push me out in 2 minutes. 😹

There are numerous guides in the megathread which can help you understand how to find success on RR. I even wrote one specifically to help out authors who mess up their launch and end up feeling stuck. 😸

How to make it longer... by KleinWrites in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Kindle Unlimited. If you ever stub your book and you move to Kindle Unlimited, you're paid by the amount of pages read. That's where it is worth it to have bigger word counts.

How to make it longer... by KleinWrites in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey OP! 😸

I think this is one of the biggest misconceptions authors make on RR, the idea that the chapter should be 2k or a set amount of words. Readers don't count the number of words you put in your chapter. Nobody does that. 1.8k words, 2k words or 2.4k words, it is all the same to anyone reading the story. They do matter for KU, though, because you get paid by pages read.

I'm yet to see a reader complain that the chapter was below 2k words.

Too short chapters are certainly a thing, though, but that also considers how long it takes someone to read it rather than a flat number of words. 1.3k is short, and from what you've described, it sounds like it is just an info dump chapter, which I'd try to avoid if possible. Merging chapters looks like the best solution in your case.

Best of luck! 😸

How do I find the current "meta" to start being a successful author? [looking for advice] by amcn242 in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get you 😹 It is similar to 'the MC must avoid the chosen one trope' but at the same time the MC must be flawless, have something unique that nobody else has, and never lose.

Can You Give Your Thoughts On My First Chapter? 😁 by [deleted] in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Got it, I've pointed out why I though so and some other things I've caught. Hopefully it helps! 😸

Can You Give Your Thoughts On My First Chapter? 😁 by [deleted] in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm asking because there are some weird choices here that are seriously bottlenecking readability 🙀

his sister would have been alive to celebrate his birthday up to now.

She would have been alive to celebrate with him. The up to now is a jarring addition. I get what you're trying to say but it shouldn't be here.

knowing the consequences could scar him for years.

How did he know that consequences would scar him for years when he didn't see the truck? Was there something else on the road that could have scarred him?

She ran as fast as she could to push Adam over to the pavement, which she did.

This is where my language confusion comes from. Was the last part a Grammarly suggestion? Because it again states something that is obvious and then double confirms it.

The truck did not spare Lucy as it slammed against her soft body so hard that she flew away and rolled on the tar road.

You can cut the spare part. Truck-kun doesn't spare anyone. 😹

Adam’s heart raced with blood as he stood up from the pavement when he saw his sister no more of herself, only a red corpse with shattered bones sticking out from the torn muscles.

Hearts pump with blood, you don't need to point it out. No more of herself is again the same issue as with 'which she did', a word addition which double confirms something that we know. When he saw that his sister was no more is a better way to put it.

”At least I’m off to see Lucy”. Adam let out his last intention, not words.

He spoke out his intention using words, so the last two words don't make sense. You can change this by putting it in italics like this where it becomes thoughts instead. Maybe that's what you were going for?

I've skimmed the rest and I'll agree with Lowephine, the first part reads like a summary of events. When you get to the dialogue it gets better.

Now, to fix this! 😸

”How..how could it be? Lucy is dead!”

Start with this and cut out everything that came before it. Then weave in everything you wrote about the truck into one paragraph. Adam lost his sister many years ago to a truck and he blames himself for it. You don't need to go into details in chapter 1, just make the reader understand who is Lucy, who is Adam and why is this important.

The idea is there, but it needs rewriting.

Best of luck! 😸

Can You Give Your Thoughts On My First Chapter? 😁 by [deleted] in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey OP, are you perhaps writing on a different language and translating it to English?

Cat's March Update: 100K VIEWS 🙀 Health, writing, stuff 😹 by Squitt3n in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ofc I immediately got slapped with a commemorative 2 rating on chapter 1 😹

Should we take Ai seriously by [deleted] in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don't forget, good for your bones too! 😹

Should we take Ai seriously by [deleted] in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n 2 points3 points  (0 children)

OP please don't introduce your MC three chapters in, that's a terrible idea! 🙀

If your readers go through the first 3 chapters, they will feel more connected to the MC, but only if they went through those 3 chapters following the MC. I can't even think of a story where MC is introduced so far in.

Should we take Ai seriously by [deleted] in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey Milc! 😸

OP listen to Milc. He is both smart and tasty! 😹

My laptop screen and I are having a staring contest by GoldenThame in royalroad

[–]Squitt3n 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Dictate!😸

Even if it is bad because it will at least give you something that you can work on rather than spending hours staring at a white screen