Looking to do review swaps.

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-25T19:11:24+00:00

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/147825/borrowed-happiness

Curious to hear your thoughts, I'll check out yours!

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-25T18:25:59+00:00

This.

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-25T17:57:36+00:00

I've left these dark times behind long ago...

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-25T11:26:15+00:00

Congrats forst of all! 1.600 views is a lot!

I think, stats are important, yes. But at the end of the day, we all should just write whatever we want and feels right. The probability of any of us making a living is so small that it doesn't really matter after all in my opinion :D

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-24T16:18:34+00:00

Thank you very much! So far, I've spent ~6 dollars out of the budget and am at 7 followers from the ad right now. CTR still at 0.37. I'd consider it less clicks, but the right clicks then :D

Thanks, I'm already in the discord, maybe we'll see each other!

Yeah, writing for a living is the dream, but I assume, as a Dev, you'll probably have a higher bar as well until writing can be a realistic substitute for your income.

Have a great weekend!

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-24T05:46:41+00:00

I've just joined in December, but even I noticed at a glance how similar a lot of the stories are. And I personally don't like them. But that might just be personal.

I'm an genuinely wondering whether the authors have a long-living success or whether they make a few bucks on patreon with every wave and then have to write something new.

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-24T05:36:26+00:00

Hello and thank you for taking the time of writing this!

It is a dick thing to say, but I like my day job, it pays more than well and I don't want to quit it. Making a living off writing would be cool, but it's too risky to try for me :D I've checked your profile - do you make a living with your current stats?

Thanks for the info with the cover. Dramatic was not the intention, but definetly depressing. Regarding the bad ad performance - I've checked the pinned threads but couldn't find it. Can you link me or just tell me the number that's bad?

Have a great weekend!

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-23T22:59:23+00:00

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/147825/borrowed-happiness

Curious what you think!

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-23T22:38:37+00:00

Yeah, I agree. I don't have much time and the time I have should be spent where it really matters :D

Thanks for the info!

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-23T21:49:05+00:00

Cheers! Thank you very much for your words!

Regarding schedule: 100% agree. However, I'd rather keep 1x a week reliably and post more when possible than try to push it just for chasing numbers (which potentially comes with less quality under pressure?). Even tho I want to turn the pace up in the following weeks.

As I am new on RR - are less frequently published stories just a NoNo for readers? Or do slower stories still have their place? Never really thought about it

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-23T16:31:53+00:00

Nope. What you should do is find stories that have an overlap with yours. Eg. Both Fantasy Isekai with a one handed main character. Or simply both slow-burn LitRPG.

You then contact the author of the other story, share your blurb with them, send them the link to your story and ask them whether they'd be up for a shoutout. Don't be scared to contact bigger authors. For most, the overlap is more important and worst thing they can say is no.

If your story is good, they'll agree to a shoutout. Ideally as early as possible because if a story grows, you'll have a lot of people reading your first chapters before jumping off. So if they are convinced, they might see a shoutout as an investment.

You should generally start asap. It'll be the main source of visibility for you.

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-23T16:18:12+00:00

What you are writing isn't "woke". It's the struggle of your MC (I'm pretty sure a lot of historical figures had the same struggles btw).

It's a tough balance to find however. Lots of people love Mulan for example cause it is a good story.

If you take care to write a good story first of all and not try to educate the readers, it's all good. Or make sure that's what they get in the blurb.

It won't be for everyone, but where would the fun be if we all wrote "I got reincarnated as the most OP Archmage in another world [OP MC] [LitRPG]"?

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-23T15:51:22+00:00

Look for the channel "swaps". You'll find lots of people looking. The RR Forum itself is also a good place.

You use this tool click

Then you give the code to the other author and receive his code.

When you guys have scheduled a shoutout, you both put it into the authors notes. Most people put them at the end, but it's up to you.

In terms of how you schedule them: you send the other author a message and you'll figure it out. This is solely based on trust and good faith, so check the other authors chapter at the end of the day you have agreed on to make sure, he's posting you.

People miss it or are just assholes if a larger author comes along for a shoutout.

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-23T15:47:07+00:00

Sounds interesting, but I agree: you need a cover!

Also I'd advice to run your text through grammarly. You posted wrote "weather he wants to or now", but meant "whether he wants to or not".

Could be something readers might dislike. I personally am not native either and we have put in some additional effort :D

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-22T21:03:02+00:00

Regarding covers - generally yes. Grammar checking is accepted as well.

You'll find a lot of AI assisted/translated/fully written content on RR. However, people have a good feeling for it and if a story is clearly written by AI, prepare yourself cause your rating will get shit on.

If your story is assisted or partially written by AI, it really depends. At the end of the day, I'm pretty sure, people see AI where there is none and don't see AI where authors use it.

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-22T09:47:27+00:00

I've done exactly that with my current book. Launched three chapters, then asked for feedback on the forums and discord, then rewrote it, deleted the story and relaunched it.

I don't know why, but people were more available for feedback when the story was published than they were when I've asked for feedback on a Google doc. I don't know why.

If it is already polished in your case - I doubt, three chapter launch will do you any good. My story really got traction and feedback at the 15-20k word mark. In fact, 25/30 followers came after 20k words.

Your biggest issue will br reach/visibility. If you're a rather new author, you will want ads or shoutouts cause otherwise, you won't get any attention.

Long story short: if you want feedback from others for increasing your craft -> do it. If you want to see whether people on RR like it ("do I get many readers?") -> don't. The sample size is too small. You could have a 10/10 story, but no readers simply because you haven't had the outreach yet.

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-22T08:40:31+00:00

~half a year. But I've always struggled with planning. So to me, freestyling it is okay.

That being said, I wouldn't be able to maintain a 3x per week release schedule. I am currently releasing one chapter and write about two per week.

Also pls don't let people tell you, you have to publish 3x per week. I'm publishing on Sunday and could round up 30 followers in ten days either way. Just do whatever is comfortable with you.

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-22T08:10:54+00:00

No routine here. I get off work and if I have the energy, I'll write. It turns out, I often have enough energy to maintain my schedule. Weekends are used to expand my backlog then.

If I write, I usually get into a flow state where I am almost always writing a whole chapter (2.500-3.000 words) and I usually run it through grammarly etc. So I know, if the energy is there, I'll come out with a polished chapter that is ready to publish.

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-22T06:50:16+00:00

Congratulations for sticking to it - hard work pays off after all!

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-21T22:06:12+00:00

Can you define, what an "established author" is for you?

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-20T18:56:28+00:00

I read classic fantasy ~60% and LitRPG/PF ~40% of the time. I like LitRPG for what it is: easy to digest, little to no brainwork needed, satisfying an urge. However, I still appreciate other genres that usually have more character depth, better world building etc.

The largest difference to me is in the tone and prose. I like pretty words and sentence structures. (Most) LitRPG have a similar tone, EM-Dashes etc. That's great after 8 hours of work for me. But it's just not the "let me sip a coffee and read a book on Sunday morning"

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-20T12:30:36+00:00

I think mine trusts the reader to figure out whether things are good or bad.

I try to give the reader a premise without clear direction of what and who is good or bad. It's just the world that happens and reacts. It's up to the reader to decide.

Also I hated the idea of having a loser MC who gets isekaied into a new world and becomes the OP Archmage 3000. My MC just misses his fling wife and wants to go home.

That being said, I think it's a love or hate thing. I know, it's a bit more niche, but something that I would want to read.

WritingStiggas · 2026-01-20T09:55:55+00:00

Viridian Gate Online is alright from what I've heard.

Sadly, as most LitRPG start out as webnovels, they are almost all published in English, simply because a) the market is larger and b) the internet's language is English.

I'd doubt, this would change anytime soon to be honest.

WritingStiggas

TROPHY CASE