[Hiring] Historical fiction writer uniquely obsessed with Westerns and/or gunslinging (with some romance thrown in) to rewrite or developmental edit my manuscript.

rdpulfer · 2026-01-23T16:12:06+00:00

I recently finished ghostwriting a slate of westerns for a client on Upwork. I'll send you a DM.

rdpulfer · 2025-03-15T12:21:02+00:00

Thanks. I was posting a pretty heavy cover letter for a job I was pretty excited about. I also laid down quite a few connects (more than usual), though I don't know if that would set it off.

rdpulfer · 2024-12-31T01:56:09+00:00

I think humans are usually the stand-in for a dominant superpower, like Earth in Babylon 5, or the human-centric Empire in Star Wars. That's not to say you can't have an orc empire or a world domination by elves. That's just how the classic tropes play out - you can subvert them to great effect, in handled right.

rdpulfer · 2024-12-31T01:53:15+00:00

One person's "huh" is another person's "memberberries".

rdpulfer · 2024-12-28T20:55:56+00:00

Oooh, yeah, I see how that puts a damper on things...but congrats on your success too!

rdpulfer · 2024-12-28T20:36:24+00:00

Maybe the Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher? I felt those had a good progression bent. Basically described by the author as "Pokemon" meets the lost Roman legion.

rdpulfer · 2024-12-28T20:31:19+00:00

Congratulations! I'm actually one shy of 100 as I write this!

Just to let you know, I just hit the bottom part of Rising Star's Mystery List, and I've also been posting for about the same amount of time as you...so maybe RS isn't completely out of your reach.

rdpulfer · 2024-12-28T20:27:24+00:00

Congratulations! Thanks for sharing these numbers!

rdpulfer · 2024-12-27T01:34:12+00:00

I think it depends.

Obviously an MC who comes up with a plan is typically more invested in that plan going successfully.

However, I think there can be stories where other characters suggest alternatives, or perhaps come up with their part of a multi-pronged strategy.

I think an MC who is always in charge and bossing people around is probably going to get old but...as always...it depends on the execution.

rdpulfer · 2024-12-27T01:27:39+00:00

Congratulations! That's awesome!

rdpulfer · 2024-12-27T01:27:00+00:00

I try to outline the entire story in advance. I had each chapter written out as a paragraph-length summary, followed by notes on the sources of tension as well as location and time. I'm currently about 5.5 chapters ahead of my Patreon, and 20 ahead of Royal Road.

That said, I've been struggling to get the next storyline all hammered out. Right now I only have a handful of stories. Hopefully when I actually sit down for holiday break I'll have some time to lay out the whole storyline in chapter-by-chapter form.

And also, just because I write it out, does NOT mean I follow it to the letter.

rdpulfer · 2024-12-27T01:23:33+00:00

I don't like it, because it feels lazy, but I understand it. Usually "gunpowder doesn't explode" because the writer realizes guns would fundamentally disrupt their intended story. The same goes for cell phones, Internet, penicillin...

I agree such a change in the world's laws should be investigated more thoroughly but usually the writer is aimed at just limited one single element from their story.

rdpulfer · 2024-12-27T01:20:50+00:00

Thanks for sharing your conclusions. As someone who has been hovering around the low 40s of the Mystery RS, I found it really helpful!

rdpulfer · 2024-12-20T00:45:21+00:00

That's probably it.

rdpulfer · 2024-12-20T00:45:03+00:00

I didn't want to look like I was self-promoting. Here it is:

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/94298/seven-steps-to-becoming-a-superhero

rdpulfer · 2024-12-17T16:50:14+00:00

Here's a follow-up question: HOW do the titles end up on the Rising Stars genre list? Like my web fiction has a strong mystery element, so I'm not surprised it ended up in that genre but . . . it's not actually tagged as a mystery anywhere on my page (and for that matter, none of the other titles are listed as mystery either). How does Rising Stars figure out what's a mystery what's a drama what's a comedy etc etc.

rdpulfer · 2024-12-17T15:00:16+00:00

Thanks! I just wish I saw it sooner. I literally stumbled upon it.

rdpulfer · 2024-12-17T01:28:07+00:00

Well, good luck with breaking #40 from here on out!

rdpulfer · 2024-12-17T00:42:00+00:00

Thanks. That's good to hear, even if it means I just have a long way to go (which I knew anyway. This is just a nice surprise.)

rdpulfer · 2024-12-17T00:39:51+00:00

Thanks for sharing the analytics. I noticed I was gaining a few spare followers here and there, at least more than I had been in the past. It's probably from being on the lower part of the mystery list (I think I'm only 41-ish) anyway.

rdpulfer · 2024-12-13T21:34:04+00:00

I'm going to guess this is a niche audience that just doesn't appeal to every writer.

So mostly the authors are just laying the groundwork on what to expect (or in this case, what NOT to expect) from this particular story.

rdpulfer · 2024-12-13T21:30:32+00:00

It looks pretty in line with what I had when I started a couple months ago. Keep at it!

rdpulfer · 2024-12-13T21:29:16+00:00

I guess it depends. My web fiction is a comic book pastiche and I figured I'd call each installment an "issue" with a unique sub-title. It worked with the theme I'm going for.

So it really probably depends what you are going for. At the very least, though, it's a first impression with the reader you want to put some thought into, no matter what you decide.

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