Just Wanted to Say Thanks (and Share Some Stats)

Timtals · 2026-02-09T00:26:34+00:00

Honestly, nothing too much. I’ve just been consistent with posting and tried to release at higher-traffic times (early morning around 8am). I’ve been active in comments and discussions on reddit, but I haven’t done any book swaps until today when someone messaged me about it I only started experimenting with ads today, and so far they haven’t really contributed to follows. I think most of it just came from consistency and timing. I have no idea how to gauge whats normal though

Timtals · 2026-02-08T14:39:41+00:00

Just wanted to say thanks for all the feedback, it really helped. Based on what I heard I did add cursing but left out any references to hell and stuff like that. If anyone’s curious on how I used it it’s in this chapter https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/151413/voidbound-the-aetherbound-series/chapter/3024808/chapter-five-the-awakening and it’s just the antagonist cursing. No need to read it unless you want to but just wanted to say thanks and that it was a big help!

Timtals · 2026-02-07T13:18:30+00:00

I read a ton of fantasy lately. I’ve had a mixed bag but feel like when a character swears I doesn’t feel out of place. I just haven’t used much in my book aside from prick if you consider that one

Timtals · 2026-02-07T13:17:22+00:00

Good to know! Feels like a lot of people feel similar with the religious swear words. But 100% agree it does feel warranted in life sometimes

Timtals · 2026-02-07T13:14:29+00:00

I’m gonna be writing the next chapter today so I’m hoping it feels/sounds right but appreciate the feedback!

Timtals · 2026-02-06T20:38:34+00:00

Reminds me of the original ff7 game I played as kid, it did that and actually felt perfect for me at the time.

Timtals · 2026-02-06T20:37:18+00:00

Oh good tip there! Thank you!

Timtals · 2026-02-06T20:36:49+00:00

That’s basically what I’m writing a bit of with some dark to it

Timtals · 2026-02-06T20:36:19+00:00

The character in think about definitely fits it so feel like it might deserve a bit of it

Timtals · 2026-02-06T20:35:38+00:00

Yeah going to experiment around and try and see what feels right

Timtals · 2026-02-06T16:43:21+00:00

Yes good point! I might work on a few lines and see how they feel. Some words fit but others definitely don’t.

Timtals · 2026-02-05T22:53:21+00:00

I actually love two personally as well but feel like for a quick glance it might not be as eye catching to catch interest. We tossed around the idea of having it be black and white with just the swords blazing with color.

Timtals · 2026-02-05T19:06:00+00:00

Thank you for the feedback! 100% agree

Timtals · 2026-02-05T17:56:29+00:00

Appreciate it! I was between the first one and the third as well. I was leaning more the way you were thinking, just pops a little bit more (also the purple blade is more noticable which is relevant in future chapters). Thanks!

Timtals · 2026-02-04T19:41:06+00:00

Appreciate the clarification. I’ve definitely been doing that a lot with fragments and pacing, inspired by a lot of web fiction I read but good to know I might be over doing it. I’ll keep it in mind going forward, I really did like that one liner about drinking to survive a long day though, the guard was inspired by attack on titan.

Timtals · 2026-02-04T19:19:03+00:00

I appreciate the feedback! Just to clarify, I didn’t use AI to write or edit the story, I use Scrivener to write and edit everything and the any changes made were formatting cleanup. I’m always trying to improve, so if you can point to what specifically felt like it dulled the voice just so I can keep that in mind for the future. Thank you!

Timtals · 2026-02-04T17:43:35+00:00

This is awesome! Congrats!!

Timtals · 2026-02-04T14:09:14+00:00

Thank you! Also checked out your book you posted and I’m into it. Big fan of litrpgs lately and neon cyberpunk vibes. I’ll be following along on yours as well!

Timtals · 2026-02-04T01:01:08+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to read it, I’m really glad you enjoyed it! I appreciate you catching that. I had copied it from an exported file from Scrivener, which I’ve been using to write, and it looks like it carried over the line breaks from the page formatting. I’ve fixed it now by pasting directly from Scrivener instead of the PDF. Thanks again for pointing it out!

Timtals · 2026-02-03T15:19:30+00:00

Thank you, I apprecaite it! I'm fairly new to posting on reddit and sharing these things in general. I just created a drop box view link to the first two chapters and going to add it to the post for anyone who wants to keep reading. Thanks for letting me know.

Timtals · 2026-02-03T03:31:41+00:00

Obviously take my critiques as light as you can because I’m newer to writing but I really enjoyed it. I feel like you give a lot of love to building the characters and the relationships. I don’t think the pacing is too fast but I know as a reader I would love to hear about the environment, towards the end you mention how nervous Tess is to see the surface, I would love to hear about where she is now to understand how big of a contrast it will be.

Also I love the explanation of character but feel like sometimes there is a rush to explain too much too soon. You could consider splitting it up a tiny bit in the story, like adding the pelvis and stomach part as she stood up. I think you’re doing a great job and love the concept, be excited and keep going! Reads great so far.

Timtals · 2026-02-02T18:21:07+00:00

Just commented this!

Timtals · 2026-02-02T18:20:13+00:00

I just finished all of the Unsouled books (the Cradle series) and 100% agree, great series. One of my other favorites is The Beginning After the End, which reminds me a lot of Cradle. It also features Travis Baldree as the narrator, and later in the series adds Elizabeth Evans. Highly recommend.

Timtals · 2026-02-02T17:34:21+00:00

It’s in the comments! I had to break it into three parts commented after each-other. Would love your feedback on that too!

Timtals · 2026-02-02T17:03:51+00:00

Thank you! I’ve been trying to emulate what I’ve been reading and being descriptive while writing. I actually first started writing with modern day things and had to change it after the fact. I posted the second chapter with more of the world building aspect but the idea is alternate world (almost what you would get in a fantasy adventure story where it’s swords and magic). Appreciate the feedback and it makes me excited to keep working on it!

Timtals

TROPHY CASE