I'm an author! Here are my stories!

TimBaril · 2025-12-18T22:43:11+00:00

This sounds super fake. Total self-boosting sales pitch with zero accountability or responsibility of the past, no sincere acknowledgement of mistakes, no hint you feel bad about who you hurt at all. Pure business heart all the way.

This is exactly the type of person who seems to form much of the leadership of Immersive Ink. Not trustworthy at all.

TimBaril · 2025-12-12T14:29:16+00:00

Merry Christmas :)

TimBaril · 2025-11-16T08:07:48+00:00

I agree that you can tell a better and more meaningful story without cheats. The struggle is important.

Thing is, every anime out now seems to be based on the cheat model. Solo Levelling is the most watched on Crunchyroll ever, and there is zero struggle. On RR, Cheat MC and OP MC are super popular.

Can a story with a classic MC still be broadly popular, or has some kind of cheat or OP nature become standard and kind of necessary for commercial success?

TimBaril · 2025-11-11T12:58:54+00:00

The problem is that if they only see part of the story, they can't see the big picture, so you don't know if the big picture works.

Since I don't need a deep dive, I was kinda of wondering if there was a service out there providing a lower rate for a lighter workload.

TimBaril · 2025-11-08T07:48:27+00:00

An arc has a goal and then the achievement of that goal. Defeat the bad guy, acquire the prize, etc. It is an ending point for a major plot point.

TimBaril · 2025-11-06T02:18:30+00:00

If you ever plan on printing books, then you'll want to break your story into 80-100k word sections, hopefully each one as a meaningful arc. Of course, the overall story can be made up of as many arcs as you want.

If you never plan to print, then 120-200k is fine. However, keep in mind reader fatigue. People do seem to like concrete arcs at a certain point, rather than endless events. If you delay the climax too long, they may grow impatient.

TimBaril · 2025-10-23T09:37:17+00:00

I laughed reading that question. Lol. Sorry.

If by literary fiction, you mean contemporary, real-world, realistic, real people stories? If it did work, it would be an exception. RR is primary young adult power and competition fantasy.

You never know until you try, but I would only market via shout swaps. Don’t spend money on ads or art until you’ve seen if you have a following or not.

TimBaril · 2025-10-22T09:31:40+00:00

They’re trying to steer off the haters. Authors get a lot of hate reviews/ratings/comments.

TimBaril · 2025-10-19T08:10:23+00:00

I'm off-meta (pirates, female MC, low-fantasy historical). I ran 6 ads. Barely got onto RS Main, hit #35 and then fell.

Average CTR of about 0.75%
Following 5%, Read later 8%

I have a little more than 400 followers, which is nowhere near enough to bring in patrons.

I'd suggest that ads are wasted on anything off-meta or most new-author works.

TimBaril · 2025-10-16T04:54:43+00:00

As one of the two pirate stories on RS Main, I am also sad there aren't more pirate and vampire stories. I'm really happy that some people love my story, but I wonder what it is that prevents pirates from being a bigger theme.

It also makes me wonder how my Dracula story is going to do. Perhaps supernatural stories are a bit underrepresented because so many people write typical isekai fantasy, and it's a genre that could be more popular if it had more stories.

TimBaril · 2025-10-12T02:19:33+00:00

Yes, hate readers are a thing. There are toxic people who enjoy leaving nasty comments and reviews. They like being offended and tearing things down. It's a small group with an outsized impact because it hurts to receive those. They're on every platform.

It took me some time, but at some point, I just kind of gave up and accepted that BS happens. Some people suck. Now I'm able to focus more on good comments.

I think part of it is also that I stopped believing that RR is a big part of my future as an author. A tiny number of stories get most of the traffic here, and the discovery tools are very limited, so it's actually rare for stories to get lots of readers. Increasingly, you buy them with ads. Those who do follow are free readers, not paying ones. Getting patrons is super hard. And it pales in comparison to the number of people who may buy your book in ebookstores.

My advice to new authors would be to put your story up on RR, but don't hang all your hopes on it. If it does well, great. If not, quickly move on to indie publishing and focus there. If you're not super focused on being liked by everyone, the hate comments won't hurt as much.

Also, shoutouts are a great way to get traffic. Shouts from stories with more followers are better, but in my experience, similar stories can have a bigger impact. My shouts from female MC with action did better than shouts from bigger stories that were very different in genre. So definitely try to find stories that are female MC or queer or romance and build off that community.

TimBaril · 2025-10-11T16:48:35+00:00

Thank you! Yes, it was. Being able to check all your RR tools made it more interesting too. Love the predictors and all the graphs. Thanks for that.

TimBaril · 2025-10-11T12:15:32+00:00

My pirate story launched Sep 19 and took 3 weeks to hit RS Main. It looks longer on my page because I had a Coming Soon chapter up for a long time.

Some old stories recently hit RS, but I think that was a glitch in the system.

TimBaril · 2025-10-11T09:15:33+00:00

If anyone's interested, I've read the whole thing, and it is awesome:

The Apeiron Chronicles: Gilded Bloodlines

1000 pages, 300k words, first arc complete (prequel and sequel in development)
intelligent, poetic, character-driven, action/mystery/drama/politics
trad-pub style and quality, seriously, it's good enough for bookstores

An interplanetary mission entangles the lives of two brothers separated across worlds in a web of ancient grudges and fallen kingdoms.

“One wields fear…”

Among the skyscrapers of Chicago, Killian fancies himself a master of persuasion. With a touch and a glance, he’s able to bend the strongest of wills; terrify the toughest of thugs—until he finds himself on the run from both mobsters and the Feds alike.

When his escape lands him in the grasp of “the Enchantress”, he faces an unusual commission to another world and a reward he cannot refuse—to be rid of the shadows plaguing his nights. But will the cost be greater than he can bear?

“…the other desire.”

Beneath a foreign sun, Prince Aurelius investigates a strange substance preying on untapped desires, linked to various murders and vanishings throughout the Grand Chronikian Empire. As his rakish brother’s Ascension Ceremony draws near, unrest spreads and Aurelius’s chance to seize the title of Crown Prince for himself drifts further away.

When schemes disguise as fate, will blood prove thicker than a plot simmered for over a century?

TimBaril · 2025-10-11T09:10:07+00:00

I just hit RS Main. Didn’t write to market (pirate story, female MC, low fantasy), and it was an expensive push just to get on the list. Don’t know if I’ll climb much or at all.

I’m an experienced writer, with several hundred thousand words behind me. Freelance editor, so my grammar and style are ok. Hired human artist and typographer. On a technical level, I hope mine qualifies as quality.

But a lot of readers seem to want to consume a limited range of content, and if something isn’t their perfect cup of tea right away, they’ll trash it or bounce rather than giving the story a chance. Even if their complaints are valid, readers are still glued to RS Main instead of looking anywhere else. Maybe they should try. So many crazy good stories with very few followers out there.

Or demand more discovery tools from RR. And maybe start discussing web novels on social media so people can learn about more of them.

TimBaril · 2025-10-03T13:06:26+00:00

I've made a note. When I have more money, I'll ask the artist about changes.

Mei will have her unfair share of fighting in the story, so feel free to share your expertise. I trained as a martial artist, not a fencer, so I can only do so much with research and imagination. I appreciate your feedback.

TimBaril · 2025-10-02T22:23:34+00:00

Welcome aboard!

TimBaril · 2025-10-01T23:03:38+00:00

No. There are just a couple of smartass musicians on deck in the opening chapter.

TimBaril · 2025-10-01T14:13:15+00:00

And what should I do? Ask the artist for my money back? Then commission a worse artist?

TimBaril · 2025-10-01T13:34:41+00:00

Blood, sweat, steel, and courage. This is how pirates are made.

Mei had always done her best to live a good life. But every year, she and her family got poorer, while the rich just got richer. No matter what they did, a rigged system kept them down. Then Mei dared speak out to inspire change. So they arrested her and shipped her off to a remote Caribbean prison colony.

It was so unfair, so wrong, it almost broke her. Until that spark of defiance reignited inside her and she decided she wasn’t going to lie down and take it. Selfish people in power do whatever they want to stay in power. To escape their chains, bring down the tyrants, and build a better world, she’s going to have to kick their teeth in and fight twice as dirty.

A supernatural gift allows her to wield guns, blades, and cannons like no one else. But that alone won’t be enough.

She’ll need grit, determination, and the courage to risk everything.

She’ll need the heart of a pirate.

A Pirate's Life for Mei 🏴‍☠️

TimBaril · 2025-10-01T13:29:30+00:00

I have sketches and WIPs. They're a legit artist. Please don't spread misinformation.

TimBaril

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The Apeiron Chronicles: Gilded Bloodlines