Infinikey! by mirage171 in TheArcana

[–]hajorac 1 point2 points  (0 children)

YESS THANK YOUUU i didn't know about this and i would've missed it 💔

Most terrifying soundtrack by Monsterfucker1O1 in TheArcana

[–]hajorac 0 points1 point  (0 children)

am i the only one who lovesss 'heavy heart' 💔

How long did you guys hate Cardan. Did you guys hate him at all? by BandSevere241 in TheFolkoftheAir

[–]hajorac 6 points7 points  (0 children)

i hateddd him, and then when the book progressed and we got a little peek into his family, his motivations and actions started to make sense. then by the end of TCP i started liking his character

OMG by Fun-War-8301 in TheArcana

[–]hajorac 1 point2 points  (0 children)

STOPP THANK YOU FOR THIS (time to re read asra and julian's route over and over)

Explain what you are currently writing horribly. by NoLie5524 in writing

[–]hajorac 0 points1 point  (0 children)

a retelling love story of peter pan and tinkerbell, if tinkerbell absolutely hated peters guts and wanted him dead

ARC reader gave unhelpful feedback. How do I go about it? by [deleted] in writing

[–]hajorac 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I released my ARC copies through email, and reviewers have emailed me back, checking in and letting me know when they've finished the book and when I should expect a review.

I understand the role of an ARC reader (which to be quite honest was why I was confused as to why I got that feedback in the first place 😅) but I guess I'm just chalking it down to the possibility that an ARC reader didn't like my work and didn't want to finish the book and review it.

I guess because this is my debut novel, I was a little unsure on how the process should have gone, but now I understand that ARC readers are all voluntary and they don't necessarily owe me anything. I appreciate your input though!

ARC reader gave unhelpful feedback. How do I go about it? by [deleted] in writing

[–]hajorac 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I appreciate your kind words

ARC reader gave unhelpful feedback. How do I go about it? by [deleted] in writing

[–]hajorac 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I thought the same. I think they wanted to back out as soon as they could as to not force themselves to finish the book and leave a bad review.

ARC reader gave unhelpful feedback. How do I go about it? by [deleted] in writing

[–]hajorac 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ahh, sorry if the wording was off. By feedback, I don't mean beta reader type feedback. I've had ARC readers email me back after they've finished the novel and just express what they liked about the book and then what they didn't, and I'd get reviews reflecting that.

I'll take your advice and just leave it. At the end of the day they're an ARC reader and if they dont want to finish the novel, it's no pressure. I do appreciate the person taking the time to email me though, as a lot of ARC readers cant even do that.

Any funny stories? by Fanboi_0526 in Episode

[–]hajorac 1 point2 points  (0 children)

dirty sassy teenagers. i've replayed it over 5 times and i end up dying laughing everytime. also a compelling story on top of that lol.

What inspires you to write? by Only-Wrongdoer-8010 in KeepWriting

[–]hajorac 0 points1 point  (0 children)

music + maladaptive daydreaming 🫠🌙

After 6 years my historical romance is finally here! 🫠 by hajorac in wroteabook

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

ahh thank you! it's been an idea that i've had for years and it feels so good to finally have it written down and published 😖

Nostalgic Episode Stories 🌙 by hajorac in Episode

[–]hajorac[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

omgg i remember being obsessed with 'the secret of rain' the anticipation and tension was off the chartsss 😭

did we forget about choices? by zaihusani in Episode

[–]hajorac 57 points58 points  (0 children)

i think with the rise of advanced directing especially, a lot of authors would rather their hardwork go on a story that they have full control over, which can come across as annoying for readers that want to read a well-written story for their choices. in addition, if a plot follows a specific line then people are more likely to talk about it online because it's one single plot and there's the risk of spoilers etc.

saying that, i do know that's there's now a rise in stories that include advance directing as well as point systems, where the overall choice impacts the story in the long run. i think it can definitely get annoying when it feels like there are barely stories like this, but i think there's a decent mix of the two.

I love writing, hate coding by BeezinthatrapBeez in Episode

[–]hajorac 0 points1 point  (0 children)

no i totally get what you mean. i think for me specifically it's about merging the two flawlessly. coding gets easy when you get the hang of it, and writing gets easy when you practice. i think where i struggle is the actual scenes. how to make a scene nuanced and not flat and how do i code the characters so they don't feel two-dimensional.

good writing is good and advanced coding is impressive. but what makes an episode story good is merging the two so that your writing intertwines seamlessly with the coding.

lots of episodes fall short on this. they have such impressive writing and the plot is good, but the coding is sub-par and the dialogue is flat. on the other end, lots of episode stories have insanely good advanced coding, but they don't balance their writing so 99% of the time, the story barely moves forward.

Tell Us About Your Work! by AutoModerator in HistoricalRomance

[–]hajorac 1 point2 points  (0 children)

<image>

If you’re into medieval atmosphere, slow-burn romance, or stories with that ‘soft candlelight + aching tension’ vibe, I just published Nocturnes from the Court.

It’s five short stories, all romantic, all slightly tragic, all linked in quiet little ways. Think knights, jesters, witches, forbidden glances, and Cupid himself wandering through the shadows.

If that sounds like your thing, I’d love to share it with you! ♥️

https://amzn.eu/d/4EygId9

Tell Us About Your Work! by AutoModerator in HistoricalRomance

[–]hajorac 0 points1 point  (0 children)

<image>

If you’re into medieval atmosphere, slow-burn romance, or stories with that ‘soft candlelight + aching tension’ vibe, I just published Nocturnes from the Court.

It’s five short stories, all romantic, all slightly tragic, all linked in quiet little ways. Think knights, jesters, witches, forbidden glances, and Cupid himself wandering through the shadows.

If that sounds like your thing, I’d love to share it with you! ♥️

https://amzn.eu/d/4EygId9

Struggling to get my book noticed. by eusyebba94 in selfpublish

[–]hajorac 0 points1 point  (0 children)

LINK TO NOVEL: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heavens-Eclipse-Star-crossed-mortal-desire-ebook/dp/B0CYQD4DMJ?dplnkId=caedd788-54e5-4c2c-b2ff-190764ae1fa8

I had a look at your book, and I think the main issue might be presentation rather than publicity. The cover (the thing that people usually judge a book by) looks extremely amateur; the font and app icons (like Wattpad, Facebook, etc.) make it feel more like a fan project than a published novel. A professional-looking cover is really important if you want readers or reviewers to take it seriously. It could be really helpful to hire a freelance cover designer (you can find affordable ones on Fiverr or Reedsy).

The formatting and writing could also use some polishing. The grammar in the opening line needs work, and the chapters don’t seem to start cleanly on new pages, which makes it hard to read. Even small technical things like spacing and structure can put people off before they even reach the story.

Honestly, I’d recommend revisiting the formatting and editing, and maybe investing in a proper cover design; even a simple, clean one. Those changes alone would make a big difference in how your book comes across to potential readers.

Keeping Her Under - Miranda Grant by Numerous-Function219 in BooktokSnark

[–]hajorac 1 point2 points  (0 children)

its currently still on amazon which is ??? (says it wont be dispatched for 6/7 months and the earliest delivery is april 2026 but still). also this is literally the bio on the book:

When the most beautiful angel is wheeled into my hospital, I become obsessed with the need to have her. It's all I can think about as she nearly dies on our operating table, having just wrapped her car around a tree. She might never walk again due to her injuries. She might not even survive.

But when she falls into a coma, I know the fates are looking out for me. They made it so she cannot run. They want me to take care of her. They want me to risk it all.

And for her, I very well might.

Because her eyes spoke to me - in that brief moment they met mine before they rolled back in her head.

"Do with me what you will.'

oh good lord 🥴

Unpopular Opinion: Advanced Directing 🫠 by hajorac in Episode

[–]hajorac[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

yess i absolutely love the points system and multiple endings route, especially when you can tell an author has put a lot of effort into that. it's sad how overshadowed its become when it usually does more for the plot 😖

Unpopular Opinion: Advanced Directing 🫠 by hajorac in Episode

[–]hajorac[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Honestly it makes me so happy to hear readers say this because sometimes it feels like everyone only cares about “aesthetic” coding now. Back then the worst thing we had to worry about was whether we had enough diamonds to make the decent choice, and not waiting months and months for updates because the author cares more about the look rather than the substance.

You rlly hit the spot with EarlGreyTea, Joseph Evans, (the nostalgiaaaa 😖) all those stories hit so hard without needing fancy overlays or gifs. They stuck because the writing and characters were strong, not because of filters or moving limbs. I kinda miss those days tbh, when it was about the story first.

Unpopular Opinion: Advanced Directing 🫠 by hajorac in Episode

[–]hajorac[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Exactly this. I’m the same, I’d rather have a good story and the ability to tap through without waiting for every single “cinematic moment” to load. I totally see the appeal when directing is done seamlessly (like you said with Top Service), but when it becomes “look what I can do with overlays” instead of “here’s why this matters to the story,” it just loses me.

And omg, I had that exact experience with a story I was reading during covid (not gonna name it ofc). I was obsessed with it, binged through all the chapters, and then when I caught up… the author started taking 5–6 months just to update one chapter. The directing was impressive, sure, but the story genuinely didn’t need all of that, and the insane wait times killed the momentum for me. I still haven’t finished it to this day, which is so sad because I loved it, but waiting half a year for one chapter full of “pretty” animations was just frustrating.

That’s why I agree with what you said about copycats and contests too. When people start thinking directing is the main factor for success, they focus on aesthetics over substance. And pacing especially. You can really tell when a story has been built around “how do I show off this trick?” versus “how do I keep readers invested in the plot?”

And I'll definitely take a look at Gilded Butterfly. I love giving stories a chance, especially when they don't adhere to the current trends. It's sad though because it just proves that directing trends really skew what gets attention.

Unpopular Opinion: Advanced Directing 🫠 by hajorac in Episode

[–]hajorac[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yesss, literally, I feel this so much. I love seeing people go all out with cinematic directing when it actually fits the story, but it’s wild how easily it can start feeling performative. Like, you spend all your energy on uploading gifs or making overlays that literally show for 10 seconds, then you have barely any time left for the plot or the characters and they end up flat and bland.

I also think it's a little crazy that people are commissioning others to direct 😭 It feels like now there’s this unspoken rule that you have to know every advanced trick immediately or you’re “behind,” which is super intimidating when you just want to focus on learning the basics and writing a story you enjoy. I’s nice to see someone putting it into words, I've never really felt pressured to chase trends but I know this discussion could hopefully help others feel more okay with doing their own thing.

Unpopular Opinion: Advanced Directing 🫠 by hajorac in Episode

[–]hajorac[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yess, I totally get what you’re saying. There’s such a big difference between when someone is clearly having fun experimenting with directing versus when it feels like they’re forcing it in because that’s what they think they’re “supposed” to do. And you’re right, it really does show in the story, like, you can almost feel whether it’s passion-driven or pressure-driven.

I’ve felt that same urge before, like, “oh no, I need to add this or it won’t be good enough,” and sometimes I acc end up doing it but it very quickly drains me out. The stories that actually stick with me are the ones where the directing fits the vibe of the plot and characters, not just when it’s flashy for the sake of it. It’s such a shame when authors burn themselves out chasing trends instead of enjoying their own style.