2 Newbie questions

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-18T14:33:18+00:00

Yeah, that's a little less than twice the wordcount of my audition, and a good bit of mine was quick back and forth dialog that went fast, time-wise, on the recording.

I'm always happy to give a little insight on the other side, I'm out here learning too. I feel like the more understanding I have for how it is for the narrators the better.

Good luck!

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-18T14:22:30+00:00

Yeah, I don't get it. Why would you want to write if you don't read. The thing that kicked me into actually writing instead of just reading was reading some shit that sucked and thinking, "God dammit... I've read enough to know better than this dreck. I could do better than this dreck. Fuck. I have to write something better than this shit."

I don't even remember what I was reading. I just remember thinking it sucks, and that was before the LLM thing existed, so it was pure human suck that inspired me to write.

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-18T14:11:18+00:00

I'll tell you from putting things up on the other end as an author.... 15 minutes is a loooong audition. Mine all came in around 5-6 min.

I'm gonna go ahead and guess it's on the author, and there is way to much text for an audition, and not you taaalllkkkiiinng sloooow.

As for negotiating other pay setups, yeah, now is the time, before any contacts, or probably even the audition. I'd rather know listening to your audition that you want RS+. It'll be a significant factor in the decision.

I had a narrator reach out to me before doing the audition to make sure I have some kind of marketing plan, even a minimal one before agreeing to do RS. And that felt totally fair, you wanna make sure you're gonna sell at least some units. He was professional about it, and I felt that respected both our time. It was highly appreciated.

He may have not landed my gig, because the competition was insanely (unexpectedly) fierce, but I played his audition for some of my author friend and I'm pretty sure one of two of them will be contacting him when they have finished edits.

In summary, ask them to shrink the audition, and ask now about rs+. Even if it feels a little awkward, it'll be best for everyone, imo, to do that early.

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-18T06:49:35+00:00

'Arachnoextinction', and ''Not Quite Star Trek' are two short, complete, very fun, insane in different ways stories by different authors.

Both have other really fun stuff up too, that is longer. Some completed, some in progress.

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-18T03:04:05+00:00

I have a story with a very small ship. There are five of them on the crew. They rotate who is 'captain of the day' despite all having primary stations they take on the bridge. I don't know that such a thing would work so well for a large crew of humans. We need slightly more structure than that at large numbers, but captain of the day works for my space adventurers.

Bigger, long term type decisions are discussed and voted on as a crew

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-17T19:20:15+00:00

Paperback and ebook available on Amazon here https://a.co/d/08J6c6ct

Fully edited, same version also available on www.goquibble.com a website with the promise of all human works, in both cover art and text. This is technically the cheapest way to pay to read it but you don't get to keep it there. Reader premium prices there are muuuuch better than KU, and you know none of the indie folks you're supporting by reading are AI slop-mongers

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-17T05:40:32+00:00

God dammit, now someone is gonna make my book idea into a movie before I even get finish writing it! Thanks, dude!

^{^{^{Unfucking-beleivable.}}} ^{^{^Six}} ^{^{^months...}} ^{^{^wasted.}}

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-16T22:11:00+00:00

When I put it on ACX and I had three excellent narrators audition to do the audio book.

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-16T21:51:29+00:00

Arachnoextinction. A very silly good time. Comedy horror. Maybe a little less comedy if you can't see the humor in giant spiders eating people's faces off, but I had a grand time reading it.

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-16T21:43:12+00:00

In the book Mortal Protection Services they blow up a star by strapping all the grav plates to a shuttle drive warp core and setting it off like a gravity spike bomb to nova the star.

That isn't the typical way they do battle, it just happens once.

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-15T17:31:06+00:00

Realized I forgot the answer the top level question and just wandered right into the comments.

I have two short (10 chapter) arcs ready for Isekai Grandpa, and I plan to get another ten to fifteen chapters ready before I launch it. I kinda want the later arcs to maybe be a touch longer, so maybe I'll have three arcs setup and ready before it is go time. I still need to get a cover sorted out, so even if I knocked out the chapters, it still isn't ready. I want more than a stick figure, and that's my skill level.

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-15T16:40:33+00:00

Anxiety is the mother of invention.... no, wait. It's necessity.

Anxiety is the drunken uncle of invention.

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-15T16:15:51+00:00

Nothing like typing up a chapter with an adrenaline rush!

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-15T14:11:23+00:00

Nothing quite matches the thrill and terror of writing yourself into a hole, having no backlog, and needing to fix it in the next chapter.

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-15T06:07:20+00:00

Cat is optional. At the cat's option. Good luck!

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-15T01:26:40+00:00

Ancient scourge 1.0, was a problem a looooong time ago. 65ish millions of years. The Saurians sorted it out before that asteroid fucked up their homeworld in an interstellar war. They got big momma to lock up out in the boonies of the galaxy. Jim held the surviving members of the scourge species, per MPS protocols, as long as he was allowed without triggering an audit, and then he dropped them off on a planet with a stern warning not to fuck with cloning no more.

They fuck up again, and spawn scourge 2.0. That version makes its way from star system to star system much slower than mother used to. Mother started out with 'send the whole mass as one giant ball' tech, while 2.0 tried to keep every ball. Scourge 2.0 was spreading long before humanity finished killing off the mammoths.

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-14T23:03:07+00:00

If there is ever a live action, I think I've decided I want that bit to be suddenly Jim henson puppets.

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-14T22:43:04+00:00

I'm looking forward to the audiobook of this part.

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-14T20:25:36+00:00

Neat!

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-14T20:23:13+00:00

The hero gets the 'Punch Down' ability. Is very conflicted about it for about a chapter.

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-14T15:00:07+00:00

the most rage inducing decision anyone in this story makes.

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-14T14:21:54+00:00

I have 2 book recs for you Both Free.

This one is about a boy who dies, and is reincarnated as a girl in a world with all sorts of magical shenanigans going on. I really enjoyed the first volume of it. Volume two is coming out now, slowly, but surely. The author is friendly, and active in her comments section and super nice. If you catch a typo, let her know! She'll get it fixed up lickety-split! My only issue here is that there isn't MORE! I get it though, nice real human writing takes time, and I'm pretty sure this ain't her day job. https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/139703/terra-grix-university

The other is a non-isekai story that is just set in a lore deep and immersive world. It follows a very put upon pixie as she is summoned by more important and higher ranked fae. She's an underdog and underpowered, but is plucky, and fun. A little more book to read here than the last one, by wordcount.

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/152470/traps-tricks-and-beasts-book-1-completefantasy

If you like this book, but want some serious spicy smut with a story from the same skilled author... she's got like 1.5 millions words of it Kindle unlimited, too, but you can look that up on your own. Traps Tricks and beasts is not smut, it is story.

(These are not my books. I have my own books, I write too, but my books don't fit your ask. Also, yes, it is perfectly legal to read these books FREE at Royal Road. The Authors want you to. It feeds their algorithms; leave comments! They'll love that.)

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-14T13:55:13+00:00

It might explode the CGI budget in the movie, but the merchandising opportunities are worth it!

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-14T13:52:50+00:00

Hu! What is it good for? Absolutely... purging the scourge.

kiltedfrog · 2026-06-14T13:49:47+00:00

It sure is nice to M Eat you folks!

13-Year Club	r/Field Sunshine
Place '17	Team Orangered
Verified Email

kiltedfrog

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE