This really confuses me.

Take Peak Elf Performance for instance. The warnings in the summary are: [Graphic Violence ] - [ Sensitive Content ] - [ Sexual Content ]

Yet when they reach said chapters featuring sex they act as though they've been flashbang'd. Then they post crazy reviews like "Oh, this is awful" "I wish it didn't have sex" or "This is the author's sexual fantasy".

Like...he warned you beforehand. The tags exist to give you an idea of what to expect!

Believe in your dreams, because one day you might actually finish them! One step at a time.

After feeding it, nurturing it, changing countless metaphorical diapers, and dealing with an unreasonable amount of shite, I proudly present my baby:

It still has some growing up to do, but I’ll let you know when it’s ready to face the wild worlds of Reddit and Royal Road..

I'm bored and I want to give one a try since the genre's so popular over here. Feel free to drop your own links down below if you want

Fantasy dominates the realm, and I think that’s wonderful—we need new authors to fill the void J.R.R. Tolkien left behind. But is there space for sci-fi?

No, this is not the title of romantasy novel, even though it has some anime vibes. This should be a warning based on an article published recently on substack. The author of the article calls herself Vivian, hence the title.

The article describes her journey and experience with developmental editors, which seem to be "experts" offering you help with polishing your books.

There are several points to note.

First and most important, she paid more than she ever got back. Since this is the warning for RoyalRoad authors, you should understand her situation. Just imagine yourself in her shoes: Paying for feedback and help that actually brings no benefits, no ROI if we want to use terms of financial gurus.

Second, even the most helpful one (spoiler alert) didn't make her novel Godbreaker into a (at least partially) successful book.

Third, the money extorting is part of the scheme as she got to learn in the course for such editors.

Now when we are talking about extorting, it is not a mistake. These people will usually extort you with emotional threats. You have probably seen them before: if you want to stand a chance, your book needs - insert whatever gets you hooked: grammar, spelling, plot, good dialogues, etc.

Just a small reminder. If those editors really knew how to write a bestseller or partially successful book, would they need to scam authors, who usually are not the rich?

Judging from sales of the average books, the authors pay the editors more than their books earn in the whole decades.

Do not fall for the trap. There is no miraculous remedy for your writing, especially the one you need to pay for.

Or you think otherwise?

The article in question is here. Hanpari is not affiliated with the author.

I was bored. Tried to do a google search about my novel. Typed the name and found the links.

But the AI description tells something that never happened.

Like it pointed out even the character names correctly and yet this part kills me everytime I look at it.

Like where did you get this stuff from?

(Also I didn't know if it would be a self-promo or not so I just marked it as a self-promo)

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/181690/the-tales-of-destruction-apocalypse

Hello, I have received mixed reactions from other authors when it comes to advertising your own fic on Reddit sub (so this sub and like other genre specific genre).

One thing that I got a lot was that you might get review bombed if you advertise it on Reddit especially if you have an AI made cover.

In my case, my cover is fully human made so I guess I have less risk? But yeah, just wanted to get you guys opinions too.

Hi guys,

I have submitted my first novel on RR - ngl, the process is a bit long compared to other platforms, and im waiting on approval.

The thing is, i have my work published on other platforms, would that be an issue ? i heard that i need to prove ownership, i dont have a proof of ownership. I rarely keep old drafts because it cringes me out and my ocd wouldnt let me keep old thoughts taking up space.

Im not sure what could be used as 'proof of ownership' or proof of author- any ideas ?

Hi all, I have a question that is pretty much what it says on the title. I am nearly done with volume 2 in my series and I am unsure of how to proceed with regards to the hiatus I will be entering before I start publishing volume 3.

Part of my struggle is that I put a lot more work into marketing during the second volume so I've been able to gain a lot of followers recently. When I went into my first hiatus I really had no plan whatsoever because I was a lot less strategic about how to market and now I want to be sure I plan accordingly.

I haven't even begun writing the next volume, so I am not sure how long I would stay in hiatus. I would like to build a decent sized backlog of chapters before I start posting, so I was curious to hear what are some strategies to think of as I go into this hiatus? Should I try to write as fast as possible to get out of the hiatus ASAP, or should I try to build as big a backlog as possible before restarting posts?

Curious to hear thoughts!

hi everyone, as the title says I am looking for a book that I saw once but can’t seem to find. in it a group of strangers wake up without any memories only to discover that they where the most infamous supervillain group, except they may not have been as evil as people think. if anyone knows what I’m thinking of, then please tell me in the comments!

Check the bottom of this post for helpful links, including a downloadable pdf of this post and links for downloading my templates.

Author's Notes and Acknowledgements: I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. This is for educational purposes only.

Now that that's out of the way, let me warn you, this one's a long one and it's full of legal jargon. Hopefully I made it easy to understand. Because of the sensitive nature of my claims in this post I have meticulously tracked down every single law or statute I reference and cited them here to back up my claims.

Why do I know this crap? ADHD and a rabbit hole---what can I say?

So, most of us remember the recent strings of Google Play scraping and theft. I think you're going to want to read this, check my work, and look into it.

Prologue: Copyright

In the US, Canada, and the UK your work is protected by copyright law the moment you type or write it down. What you get out of that protection varies, though.

In Canada this is taken very literally. You can sue an infringer for statutory damages and legal fees without filing a copyright registration. However, having a copyright certificate gives you "presumption of ownership," making it even easier. Easiest mode, and so literally any writer in Canada should be looking into suing scrapers and infringers every time they so much as sneeze your way. Your statutory damages are $500-$20,000 CAD per commercial infringement.¹,²

In the UK---*as long as my rabbit hole meanderings weren't wrong---*it's my understanding that they don't really have much of a copyright registration system in the same way the US does. You cannot ever sue for statutory damages. You may only sue for actual damages.³,⁴

In the US however, you're required to file for a copyright either within 3 months of first publish, or prior to the infringement occurring, in order to be eligible for statutory damages and legal fees.

This doesn't mean your property is not protected. You can DMCA takedown requests and force them to take down your stolen property. You cannot sue for damages, legal fees, attorney fees, etc, without an approved-or refused-registration. You may begin a claim with the CCB, provided you have a pending registration, however that claim will be placed in abeyance until the Copyright Office grants the certificate. If the Office refuses, the CCB will dismiss the claim without prejudice.²⁴,²⁵,²⁶

Limitations of Copyright: The following may not be protected by copyright. Do not confuse this with trademark law.

In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work. ²⁷

• Ideas
• Character names (not specific characters)
• Book titles
• Short phrases
• Tropes
• Mechanics
• Plot concepts and broad themes
• Facts & historical events
• Proprietary terms & made up words
• Brainstorms & discussions
• Metaphor concepts

To be eligible for copyright, the work must be authored. Meaning it must be fixed within a tangible medium. ²⁷

There is far more to that "fixed" wording than meets the eye.

Under17 U.S.C. § 101, a work is legally fixed when its embodiment in a copy or phonorecord, made by or under the authority of the author, is sufficiently permanent or stable to permit it to be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated for a period of more than transitory duration. ²⁸

Chapter One: Registering

So what do you do? Honestly, you don't need to do anything unless you just plain want to, or you're on Amazon, in which case you probably don't need this guide. For the sake of education though, you can file what is called a Group Registration of Short Online Literary Works. Form GRTX.

You can file from 2 to 50 chapters at a time, provided they were first published within 3 consecutive calendar months of each other. Not 90 days, if you publish on Jan 31, you only get to file items published through March, absolutely no April dates. Filing this GRTX results in listing each individual chapter as its own property. Well, that kind of sounds like a lot of work, doesn't it?

Okay, then later on, you can do a standard filing for whatever chapters are in the volume you release on the compilation and changes between the RR/Patreon versions, and the finalized KDP version. This only covers the edits and the compilation (the book). While the prior GRTX still covers what it covered, it's never overwritten*.*

Do those extra fees from before really matter? Yes. Lawyers are expensive, the process can take years in federal court, and nobody is going to take a case where all they can sue for is $15 in potential lost Patreon dues and a couple bucks gross Play Books sales. So after filing the copyright and being eligible for these damages, suddenly your attorneys fees are paid by the infringer, the legal filings fees are paid by the infringer. Most lucratively, the statutory damages pay between $750-$30,000 per item, $150,000 if your lawyer can prove willful infringement.

In order to be eligible for statutory damages from an infringement event, you must either:

• File the stolen property's copyright within 3 months of first publication. This means you can retroactively file a suit against copyright theft if you get the chapter registered within 3 months of first publication.

OR

• Have filed the stolen property's copyright prior to the infringement event.

Look at that top bullet again. What happens when you do the annoying GTRX filing is: you get up to 50 individual properties. Valued at a standard minimum of $750 in statutory damages each, and it climbs to $150,000 per work in some instances.

You can take 50 .docx files, enter their file names and matching chapter names into an excel spreadsheet with the first publication date and the word count of each individual document. You can pay the copyright office $65 to make that legal today. Then you can sue anyone who touches your IP again. Like we just had that string of during the last couple months. The statute of limitations is 3 years for copyright claims.

Again I'm not a lawyer but that sounds to me like any one of us could have 50 chapters of a fiction up that got scraped and dropped onto Google Play Books for $0.99. At a full file minimum, that's $37,500 in statutory damages in the US, $7.5M in maximums.

Now the reality is, that should you sue the scrapers, and win. You probably won't manage to get that much. You'd be owed plenty, for sure, but you can't get blood from a stone, a fake ghost, or an offshore shell company.

So if we can't get blood out of a stone, why file and deal with the registration hassle?

Well, for starters, not every thief is a small time scraper. If a large scale operation steals from you and you sue, you actually get a pay day.

Remember that you do not sue the store, you sue the thief. Google did not steal your fictions, the "author" did.

Chapter Two: Civil Action

So we have our copyright, but what do we actually do?

You have 2 path's ahead of you: Federal Court, and CCB(Copyright Claims Board). Federal Court is a final destination and locks you out of CCB. CCB is a quicker and cheaper alternative to Federal Court, with a nuanced lockout, I'll get into below.

Federal Court: The Big Money.

You strap in, this process takes years. Oh and, don't expect a lawyer to actually jump at this. Mainly because suing a ghost isn't exactly profitable.

Make sure you have your approved copyright registration, call a lawyer, and setup a contingency agreement. This is where they agree to take your case on contingency, an agreement where they take no money up front. Think of this like getting published. The publisher takes on the financial risk and costs of your advance, editing, covers, narrators, ads, etc. You both get a cut once certain costs are covered (usually the advance). Same idea for your contingency lawyer.

Just make sure you CYA.

You make sure your agreement states that they will front the case costs and work "for free" until you get paid. In return, they take a large cut of your winnings, something like 30%-50% depending on you, your deal, and them. That % cut usually does not include case costs, just the lawyer's pay.

Make sure this agreement explicitly ties their payment to recovery, stating they only get paid if you get paid and that this includes all case costs. Remember, lawyers are sharks after all. You need to protect yourself from them just as much as the thief. So make sure all case costs, and attorney's fees are part of this recovery contingency. This is a "Full Contingency" contract.¹²

It'll say something like this:

• The law firm will advance all case costs and expenses.
• If there is no financial recovery, the client is not responsible for reimbursing the firm for advanced case costs.
• You owe no attorney's fees if there is no recovery.
• In the event of recovery client owes firm 33% of recovered monies in attorney's fees plus all accrued case costs.

Double check your contract to see what happens if the court awards fees separately, as that can impact final payouts.¹⁵

CCB: The Path of Least Resistance.

If you decide to go this route, things can resolve much quicker (sometimes within 6 months to a year), and with less headache. The trade-off is the final maximum payouts, and that the thief can opt out.¹³,¹⁴

Under this path, the maximum statutory penalty for individual works is $15,000, with a maximum of $30,000 per claim, no matter how many works.¹³

Doing this, you don't need a lawyer. You do it yourself with far more ease than navigating federal court.

You start by filing for a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) § 512(h) subpoena with federal district court local to the subpoenaed party. For Google, that's the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division for best proximity.

In order to file for the subpoena you need the following:

• Form JS-44²³
• (Application for Issuance) - You will write this yourself. It is not strictly required.
• Exhibit A: The DMCA takedown request*
• Exhibit B: A Sworn Declaration of Intent*²¹
• Exhibit C: The proposed subpoena, form AO 88B*²²
• Exhibit D: Your list of works xls file submitted to copyright registration. It is not strictly required.
• Schedule A: Documents to be Produced. While not strictly required, it's technically part of the subpoena since you would need a font size less than 1 to fit everything

I will include templates of all of these documents at the end of the post.

You will merge everything down into 2 files, File A is your application, Exhibits A, B, and D. This is your supporting documentation to the court so they know what you are doing and why. As stated, the cover and Exhibit D are not strictly required. You can send the packet without them. File B is the subpoena and schedule A. This is what will be signed and stamped by the clerk and then sent to Google.

The DMCA takedown request is able to be your email thread with Google regarding the takedown when you did all their clicking. You likely did this several times. Pick the earliest email with the response that said "We've passed your request along to the appropriate team here at Google for further investigation." Print that entire email thread to PDF. If you had to send more stuff during that process, include it in the Exhibit A packet.

The proposed subpoena, form AO 88B, this is what will receive the stamp and be approved, to then be served to Google.

Sworn Declaration of Intent. This is a freeform document you draft up and sign. It tells the court that you are just requesting the information to protect your legal copyright.

You get the stamped and signed subpoena back and then hire a Process Server to actually go and serve Google with your subpoena. Expect to tell them where to go. You then wait 30 days to receive the requested information.

Next, you create an account and file the claim with the CCB on their portal.¹⁶ Provide all your copyright docs like your registration number, or even your pending application number. Yes, you can file while still waiting for the answer from the copyright office.¹⁷

Submit the required discovery information to prove your claim. Follow any and all instructions from the CCB as the process moves forward. Then you wait.

Eventually, you will receive a Final Determination. 3 Copyright Claims Officers will review all the evidence and documentation that was provided by you and the scraper, then issue a written Final Determination. This will state exactly how much the scraper is required to pay you in damages, up to that $30,000 cap.

Chapter Three: Payment

I won my federal suit, now what?

Since you have a lawyer, they'll be setting this up. They want to get paid after all. The money goes into a client trust account-an IOLTA,¹¹ and is then distributed based on the contract, usually looking like this.

• Case costs are paid in full first. Whether you got a lump sum or have to wait for trickled garnishments or payments, nobody gets a dime until the case costs are paid. Just like a lot of publishing deals. The case costs were your advance.
• The split. Once the case costs are paid off the firm will split the incoming money based on your contract. Just like royalties. The firm takes their 33%-50%, and you get your 50%-67%.

Just poke your lawyer every 10 to 20 years, as judgements do expire if you don't file a motion to renew. This varies based on the state the suit occurred in.⁹,¹⁰

So, the CCB gave me a piece of paper...

They did. Now you need to take that paper to your local District Court, have it filed and confirmed. This'll cost you some fees which vary by state, but these may be added to the scraper's debts.¹⁹,²⁰

Now the scraper has 90 days to pay your or file an appeal. In the federal court path, the lawyers handle all this, but in this solo world, you get to do it!

If, after 90 days, the scraper hasn't paid up, you then get to file for a Writ of Garnishment. You must do this within 1 year of the Final Determination. You hire a process server or the U.S. Marshals to serve the writ to the garnishee. The garnishee is the bank or employer who has the scraper's money, and you must file a separate Writ and serve each one individually to collect money from them. From here you start hopefully collecting your damages.

Chapter 4: The End

Thank you for reading my dissertation. I hope this has been an enlightening and educational journey for you.

I believe that, armed with the included information, independent authors and writers are shown the tools to carve out just a little bit more justice for themselves. The tools have been there; we just didn't know how to use them.

This information was compiled and presented in good faith with the intent to educate those eligible for copyright on their rights. It is not my intent to misinform, misguide or lead anyone astray in any way shape or form. (I'll save the misinformation for the fictions, right?)

Resources & Citations:

Cover images:
Scale of Justice (public domain image from Wikimedia Commons)
Flag Background (public domain image from publicdomainpictures)
Gavel (public domain image from publicdomainpictures)
Book (free use license w/ attribution. Designed by Magnific www.magnific.com)

Register Your Copyright! Remember published “Group of short online literary works.”
https://www.copyright.gov/eco/grtx/

CA.
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-42/section-38.1.html ¹
https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canadian-intellectual-property-office/en/copyright-infringement ²

UK.
https://www.gov.uk/copyright ³
https://emlaw.co.uk/a-guide-to-copyright/ ⁴

US.
https://www.copyright.gov/rulemaking/shortonline-literaryworks/ ⁵
https://www.copyright.gov/title37/202/37cfr202-4.html ^6,7
https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html ⁸
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/1962 ⁹
https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_69 ¹⁰
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_1_15_safekeeping_property/ ¹¹
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_1_5_fees/ ¹²
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/1504 ¹³
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/1506 ¹⁴
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/505 ¹⁵
https://ccb.gov/ ¹⁶
https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?hl=false&edition=2024&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title17-section1505&num=0 ¹⁷
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/1508 ¹⁸
https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?hl=false&edition=2024&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title28-section1920&num=0 ¹⁹
https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_69 ²⁰
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/37/221.1#:~:text=If%20the%20Copyright%20Claims%20Board%2C%20in%20its,certificate%20of%20registration%20or%20the%20registration%20number ²⁴
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/411 ²⁵
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf/17-571_e29f.pdf ²⁶
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/102 ²⁷
https://lookup.law/uscode/17/101 ²⁸
https://www.copyright.gov/eco/grtx/

Forms.
Public Copyright Subpoena Templates
https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/ao088b.pdf ²²
https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/js_044_-_civil_cover_sheet_1.pdf ²³

Additional US sources not explicitly captioned.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/412
https://www.cotmanip.com/articles/how-quick-should-you-register-copyrights

DOWNLOAD THIS POST AS A PDF FOR LATER
ZIP of the .docx templates

If those links don't work here is the free post on Patreon with the direct downloads at the bottom.
https://www.patreon.com/Sanzensekaiseries/posts/copyright-law-on-167989459?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

\I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice*

Edit: Some erroneous information was discovered and has been corrected and cited.
An additional point was made about copyright protection eligibility.

Second attempt to get this right. Sorry!

Okay, yeah, the title and the cover are both a wee bit ridiculous. In my defense, I have no defense. I just like it. After working on this for over a year, I'm happy to finally be able to share it.

Anyway, the blurb:

Evil, like coffee, brews best in the kitchen.

Fired from his job as a mindless kitchen toadie, Bhoul vows vengeance on his former employer and reenters the ranks of organized villainhood—this time not as a minion, but as his own boss. Thanks to a newly acquired magical gemstone, Bhoul finally has the means to claw his way to the top of the villain hierarchy.

That is, until the baby dragon he brings home for dinner eats it.

The magic transforms the dragon into an oversized monster gifted with sapience, intelligence, and… the personality of an entitled housecat?

Bhoul now faces a difficult choice. Does he buy a bigger oven? Or does he use the dragon to climb the ranks of organized villainhood and take revenge on the boss who scorned him?

Join Bhoul on his improbable path to villainhood and total world domination as he goes from zero to hero villain one unconventional fight at a time.

(Cover art by me, Wandering Brain Spasm)

Read here

The book will be getting its own YouTube comic dub series soon, as I think this style of humor will work perfectly in that format. The artist also drew this badass panel of the MC for the project and kindly allowed me to use it as the Royal Road cover.

If you're wondering what the book is all about, check out the blurb here:

The Knighthood shall die with me.

Not because I would slay them. They were already dead, the useless lot, and I was the most useless of all. For I, Sir Henry Hildebraud of Mostenstein, was the last of the Knights of Saint Merin.

And I was about to die.

If only I had a sliver of magic, I could have fought back against those mages. But I had none. In a world full of magic, what could a knight like me possibly do with swords and shields?

Ah, but what luck! Suddenly, a rock fell on my head, granting me a system . . . and I became a hundred times more intimidating. The not-so-lucky part, though . . . I didn’t get any stronger. The only stat that got multiplied was my Intimidation, an attribute I had never once asked for and could not, for the life of me, seem to turn off. Which would have been fine, if every time I spoke, I didn’t threaten to massacre the local populace against my will.

Left with no choice, I, Sir Henry Hildebraud of Mostenstein, would have to survive by pretending to be the strongest man in the world.

Fate, in its infinite mockery, decreed that I seek out the woman who supposedly knew how I could rise above this mess and restore the Order of Saint Merin to its former glory.

Shame she was, by all reputable accounts, a total weirdo.

The entire Book 1 has undergone an extensive editing pass, so I assure you you'll get top-notch quality if you start now. Check it out here: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/143298/maximum-intimidation-knight-book-2-completed-editing

I've been posting on Royal Road for quite a while and have really enjoyed the process. I love my readers and the interactions with them. My series is well established and I'm preparing to release book 4 on Amazon in 10 days. However, I have NOT yet finished posting all the chapters included in that book.

We're close. The book grew and my posting schedule did not quite get us there in time. Not sure how I messed this up.

So - how bad is releasing the book while my readers are still getting the last chapters?

And - how would you deal with that?

I've considered dumping the remaining chapters here at the end so folks can get it, but would that be odd too?

Any insights are welcome. Thanks!

¡Hola!, Ha pasado algo de tiempo desde la última vez que pasé por estos foros. Actualmente he terminado de escribir el segundo volumen de mi webnovel con más de 100k de palabras en tan solo cuatro meses, no es mucho en realidad, pero para mí fue... bueno, muy cansado. Pero ese no es el punto. El día de hoy quiero pedirles algunos consejos a los más veteranos. Soy alguien ambicioso, y aunque ya termine de escribir el volumen aún tengo un plan para su lanzamiento bajo mi manga.

Verán, soy muy fan de las novelas ligeras y he visto como mucha gente recurre a ilustraciones... Con IA. ¡Eso no me gusta!. Entonces yo también quiero ilustraciones, pero sin IA. Obviamente, eso tiene un costo y es por eso que mi plan es el siguiente:

Primero, debo traducir mi obra. Yo habló español de forma nativa, y escribí la obra en español... Entonces tengo que empezar el proceso de traducción para tener al menos un colchón de cinco capítulos en inglés al empezar a publicar la obra en español. El plan con esto consiste en que puedo abrirme un Patreon y ahí la gente puede pagar por leer algunos caps adelantados si realmente logro capturar su interés (Que eso espero). De forma gratuita estaría publicando mínimo dos o tres capítulos entre lunes, jueves y domingo, podría ser— 

En este volumen escribí Dieciséis capítulos, y a partir del siete subí la cantidad de palabras a 10k, que antes estaba a 3k-5k.

...con esa extensión por capítulo, la cantidad de contenido en texto es bastante sólida.

Mi objetivo principal con el Patreon es reunir el presupuesto necesario para contratar a ilustradores independientes humanos para las portadas y las hojas de diseño de personajes (o Settei), ya que me rehúso a usar IA y quiero darle a mi novela una calidad visual profesional que le haga justicia. 

Recapitulando mi super idea:

Traducir un colchón de 5 capítulos al inglés (usando un flujo de trabajo de traducción asistida y pulido en inglés) antes de empezar a publicar.

Publicar 2 a 3 capítulos por semana de forma gratuita en plataformas (Royal Road, Webnovel, Wattpad).

Abrir un Patreon accesible ($3 USD) para ofrecer esos capítulos en acceso anticipado y destinar lo recaudado 100% al arte de la obra.

Ahora. Las preguntas para los más conocedores...

Dado que mis capítulos son largos (3k-5k al inicio y de 10k en el tramo final), ¿consideran que un colchón de 5 capítulos en Patreon es suficiente para arrancar un tier de $3/mes, o el lector de webnovels en inglés exige una cantidad mayor de capítulos (por ejemplo, 10 caps) independientemente de la longitud de palabras?

Para los que financian arte o portadas con su comunidad, ¿les ha funcionado mostrar bocetos del proceso en Patreon como recompensa para incentivar a los mecenas?

Dado que mis capítulos a partir del 7 tienen 10,000 palabras, ¿me recomiendan dividirlos en sub-capítulos de 2.5k - 3k palabras para publicar con mayor frecuencia en Royal Road y Patreon?

¿Qué consejos me darían para la transición de lectores gratuitos del Volumen 1 al Volumen 2 sin perder retención en el camino?... Con respecto a está última... necesito que sepan algo que pase un poco por alto y aún no entiendo el porque, quizá fue por mi poca promoción o el nulo atractivo que tenía la portada del primer volumen, pero tanto en Royal Road, Wattpad y en Webnovel acumule varias vistas, pero como decirlo en términos generales... nadie leía mis caps... tampoco la guardaban o comentaban y mucho menos calificaban. 

Mi historia es un isekai (Que novedad) pero es uno un poco diferente. Funciona en un ciclo de día y noche en el que queda el MC, por el día esta en un mundo de fantasía y por la noche en un mundo cyberpunk con dos identidades diferentes, además de no ser el clásico MC soberbio de poder, antes de morir, no era precisamente alguien patético, entonces al reencarnar pierde todo lo que tenía en su vida.

En conclusión, estoy un poco nervioso con toda esta situación porque realmente amo lo que hago, y pues también me parece un poco grosero pedir del bolsillo de alguien a quien le llegue a gustar lo que hago para poder mejorar mi creación. Entonces quiero saber que opinan. Muchas gracias a todos los que puedan colaborarme. ¡Nos veremos luego!.

PD: Ilustración hecha por mí para evidenciar que no estoy de acuerdo con los covers IA (Por si no quedo claro XD)

Nina Pyre, ex-assassin, breaks free of her conditioning and unlocks her magic in order to protect her new family. This dark fantasy is inspired by The Last Airbender and Lord of the Rings. Check out The Flame Within: Ember’s Escape on RR.

Almost done with posting Book 2 😊

I have been seeing a lot of posts about books hitting Rising Stars and those that don't. My question is, does the success of a book really depend on it?

Are there no books that did not hit RS, that became a hit on Amazon on launch?

Started out wanting to write a nice, simple isekai.

You know. Guy gets sent to another world. Gets powers. Goes on adventures. Maybe fights a demon lord or two.

80+ chapters later:

A masked man is three steps ahead of everyone.

Noble houses are involved in a conspiracy.

There are demons infiltrating a kingdom through cracks in a divine barrier.

Someone built a suspicious magical mechanism underneath a canal.

My protagonist is casually beefing with the concept of fate.

Gods are arguing in court.

The God of Fortune basically told an entire divine council, “I’m done with this meeting.”

And I still somehow have to remember this was supposed to be an isekai adventure story.

At this point, The Gambler's Isekai has become less “haha fantasy adventure” and more “why is the kitchen on fire and why did I write it this way?”

The worst part? I have no regrets😭

Check out the chaos: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/134390/the-gamblers-isekai-a-spin-of-fate-into-another

Pretty much what the title says. I got a message from that Discord server this morning saying I had been kicked since I didn't verify right? Even though I had when I joined? Anyway, it says I was kicked, not banned, so I tried to join again... and it just won't let me through their Onboard process. It keeps freezing me at the finish stage and eventually just kicks me again. I've tried rejoining about ten times now, and it's just not working. I don't know if this is the right place to reach out, but I don't know what else to do.

Before anyone asks:

No, I didn't misspell "world", it's supposed to be "The Word Of Evil"

Yes, I was trying to go for the "Coughing Baby vs Hydrogen Bomb" look

Please leave me feedback!

(Also this isn't marked as "self-promotion" since it's only a concept for now)

I know how important it is to have a plan for your work. I realize there are key aspects—like building connections with other writers, getting mentions, and swapping reads. But what doesn't really appeal to me is the release schedule: dropping ten chapters on day one, then publishing non-stop for 14 days, and eventually slowing down while maintaining consistency until hitting, say, a hundred thousand words. That feels too mechanical to me. I want to publish my work gradually, regardless of whether it might affect its potential success. What do you all think?

My return to consciousness happened slowly, and in discrete steps.

It began (at least, I think it did) with the end of a dream, in which I held a sword aloft in challenge. A sword, of all things.

It ended with the arrival of a headache of a kind with which I was becoming disconcertingly familiar. At my age, waking up hungover after yet another evening in a tavern was not what I had planned for my life.

Yesterday had been… odd.

The day began with excitement and expectation: we were finally heading into the crypt beneath the ancient bathhouse. We had picked up the trail of its buried treasure several weeks earlier, but had putoff the expedition for fear of what might await us below.

Corso appeared in armor far too shiny ever to have been tested in battle. For reasons unknown, even Dast decided to come along (a bad idea, I know).

We followed my Unique Skill, found the stairs, and descended into the crypt. The smell of centuries of undiscovered treasure awaited us below.

Then… things happened.

There were ancient ruins, built and razed centuries before my birth. An ordinary helping of monsters and dangers. There was gold, a scattering of gems, and one particularly magnificent Relic.

But this account is not about what happened below. If that is the story you want, you can read it here

 https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/184972/the-beggars-ring

This is about what happened when we emerged into the light.

We were laden with loot and entertaining newly improved dreams for our immediate future when we discovered a man in courier’s leathers waiting for us.

“Huh,” Corso said, eloquent as always.

“Messirs Vale and Corso?” the man asked.

Dast came huffing up the stairs behind us. He had clearly heard the question, because he placed a firm hand on my shoulder and answered on our behalf.

“Perhaps,” Dast said. “Depends who’s asking.”

“Advocate Dast, I presume?”

Our advocate made a vague gesture that neither confirmed nor denied it.

“I am from Royal Road,” the courier announced, “and I bring happy tidings.”

“Really?” I asked, before Dast could stop me.

“Indeed.” The man smiled. “I know you have struggled for some time, but our latest census has arrived. Your story has reached the fabled Rising Stars lists—not only Historical, where you currently stand second, but Action and Adventure as well!”

We could only stare at one another.

Over one too many glasses of mead, we had occasionally speculated that this might happen someday.

But now? So soon?

“Are you sure?” Corso asked.

He stepped forward with such eagerness that the courier retreated a pace. The man quickly reached into his satchel and produced a sheet of paper.

“Yes! Look here.”

Dast snatched it from him and read it carefully.

Then he grinned.

“It is true,” he declared. “We are on Rising Stars!”