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I think paid webnovel writing is always going to have a similar payscale to things like actors or sports players (though for the immediate future much lower all around) - the "top" or at least most well known make far more than everyone else and the rest have to struggle to find a place. After all, writing a webnovel is the same amount of work for ten paying readers as a thousand paying readers, and while it would be nice to think the cream always rises to the top really it seems like it's as much about visibility as writing a better story. Normally you might think things would diversify, with authors splitting the audience with sci-fi, cultivation, litrpg, traditional fantasy, porn, whatever webnovels, but honestly I've kind of come to the conclusion most webnovel readers don't want something different, they just want a steady diet of decently written but broadly similiar stories, because they're familiar and comfortable. P.S. No offense intended to Selkie, I'm a fan of BtDEM.
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Sep 11, 2021 18:13
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Bremen posted:I think paid webnovel writing is always going to have a similar payscale to things like actors or sports players (though for the immediate future much lower all around) - the "top" or at least most well known make far more than everyone else and the rest have to struggle to find a place. After all, writing a webnovel is the same amount of work for ten paying readers as a thousand paying readers, and while it would be nice to think the cream always rises to the top really it seems like it's as much about visibility as writing a better story. Oh none taken! I just wanted to counter the "If you don't get off of trending with a lot of subs you're doomed" thought that seems to circle around. Heck, Fates Parallel will hopefully be another success story like that - the author's plugged away for months without too much success, and now is finally starting to get talked about as he has over 130 chapters.
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Sep 11, 2021 21:41
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I noticed Fates Parallel is running some ads on RR now too. I've always wondered how effective those are.
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Sep 12, 2021 05:38
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Bremen posted:I think paid webnovel writing is always going to have a similar payscale to things like actors or sports players (though for the immediate future much lower all around) - the "top" or at least most well known make far more than everyone else and the rest have to struggle to find a place. After all, writing a webnovel is the same amount of work for ten paying readers as a thousand paying readers, and while it would be nice to think the cream always rises to the top really it seems like it's as much about visibility as writing a better story. Basically, yeah. As somebody who has now been writing a web serial for coming up on two years now (though only with about 1/3rd of that on an actually decent update schedule) that is pretty much the opposite of what is popular, I definitely think it's possible for any type of story to become financially sustainable eventually so long as you keep at it, but it's hard to argue that it's really worth the trouble unless you're deeply passionate about the core concept. It's progression fantasy or bust. I only overtook the income that made the Warlock's Gate guy quit like, 4 months ago. Outside of Wildbow's work, the most successful contemporary I've seen for myself in terms of trying something different and weird is probably Katalepsis, and even it's only a bit over twice as financially successful on Patreon, despite its chapters being meatier than my own. Whereas it's not uncommon to see a new litRPG or cultivation story fly ahead of us both within the month of its release. I honestly really envy the people able to enjoy reading and writing that stuff. Time and time again I return to the idea of forcing myself to for the sake of my finances, but I just don't grasp the core appeal, and the lack of direction and heart shines through in the finished product.
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Sep 12, 2021 05:59
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Plorkyeran posted:I noticed Fates Parallel is running some ads on RR now too. I've always wondered how effective those are. That's an interesting question. https://www.royalroad.com/pages/advertising-faq Depending on how much you buy, its about 0.125c to 0.151c per thousand impressions which on first brush seems Very Very Good, but the click through rate of those impressions would probably be lower than the googles. Users reading through RR will see an add at the top and bottom of every page of a web serial they read, not just on the front page and the search pages. Someone would be far more likely to click an add while they are on the front page or browsing for new stories, VS them been on like chapter 463 of defiance of the homophobic subtext as their eyes glaze past the advertisement at the bottom of the screen and auto-focus on the next page button. RR isn't doing any evil UI design stuff to disguise their advertisements as natural results to the glazed eye either. Yeah, I also wonder how effective these ads are. If there is anyone here with glorious glorious stats, slam them into this thread, sate its curiosity. Rob Filter fucked around with this message at 06:18 on Sep 12, 2021 |
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Sep 12, 2021 06:12
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you might be able to get away with something that plays with the typical litrpg/xianxia/misc. other progression fantasy stuff but which runs against the themes of progression fantasy. beware of chicken, outcast, and quite a few other stories i can't name off the top of my head have been seeing success with that sort of approach - i think there's an emerging hunger for stuff in the popular genres which is thematically very different, even opposed, to the mainstream stories that feature tons of min-maxing or psycho-violent martial artists
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Sep 12, 2021 06:19
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Anyone else subscribed to VoidHerald's patreon and reading Underland? Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia0hLcaifSI so far (all 2 chapters of it) I have to say i am legit excited for this story, and it reads much better than the perfect run at least for now.
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Sep 12, 2021 06:24
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Jazerus posted:you might be able to get away with something that plays with the typical litrpg/xianxia/misc. other progression fantasy stuff but which runs against the themes of progression fantasy. beware of chicken, outcast, and quite a few other stories i can't name off the top of my head have been seeing success with that sort of approach - i think there's an emerging hunger for stuff in the popular genres which is thematically very different, even opposed, to the mainstream stories that feature tons of min-maxing or psycho-violent martial artists That's true - and there are older successful subversions too, like Threadbare. I guess more broadly I mean that everything has to at least orbit the basic tropes of proglit if it wants to hit the big numbers - if not in explicitly doing it, then still scratching an itch for the fanbase surrounding it. It's the foundation the whole community is built on, and by departing from it, you immediately alienate most of the readers already rounded up for you. There are probably tons of people online who would read other stuff in the format, but since there's nothing to unite them all in one place and get a feedback loop going where they're hungry for that sorta content, it just doesn't happen. See also the dominance of romance (aside from fanfic) on Wattpad. PoorWeather fucked around with this message at 06:38 on Sep 12, 2021 |
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Sep 12, 2021 06:29
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Beward of Chicken isn't particularly unusual thematically. "Insanely powerful badass takes up farming and becomes so powerful that he doesn't have to be violent" has been the plot of an oddly large number of stories, and it actually checks a lot of the proglit boxes other than that it's not explicitly in your face with telling you the numbers or codified levels (although the codified levels do exist in-universe). The thing that sets it apart is that it's actually written well and succeeds at being heartwarming and kind without being boring, which is something that none of the similar stories I've tried pulled off.
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Sep 12, 2021 07:42
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I had more luck paying for ads on SA than I did on RR also my theory is the key to making the big money is a fresh theme but keeping as many of the aesthetic trappings web serial folks expect as possible, it needs to walk and quack like a duck even if you're writing your golden goose. Every deviation is a gamble, don't make my mistakes Lunatic Sledge fucked around with this message at 07:49 on Sep 12, 2021 |
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Sep 12, 2021 07:45
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Plorkyeran posted:Beward of Chicken isn't particularly unusual thematically. "Insanely powerful badass takes up farming and becomes so powerful that he doesn't have to be violent" has been the plot of an oddly large number of stories
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Sep 12, 2021 09:43
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PoorWeather posted:Outside of Wildbow's work, the most successful contemporary I've seen for myself in terms of trying something different and weird is probably Katalepsis, and even it's only a bit over twice as financially successful on Patreon, despite its chapters being meatier than my own. I've been doing this for about two and a half years now, and Katalepsis took a long time to gain momentum and take off a bit. Between the discord channel and regular weekly commenters across my own site, RR, and Scribblehub, I think I have a pretty good idea of who the core audience is, and I don't think it's the regular RR crowd. Most of the story's popularity comes from word of mouth in online LGBT community spaces, which makes perfect sense considering it's a cosmic horror lesbian soap opera with major trans themes. That was always the audience I was expecting to write to in the first place.
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Sep 12, 2021 10:49
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Someone sell me on "Beware of chicken" the blurb above sounds interesting
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Sep 12, 2021 12:06
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tithin posted:Someone sell me on "Beware of chicken" the blurb above sounds interesting I just binged it, its surprisingly engaging. Fairly typical premise in that a guy from modern earth gets transmigrated into an alternate universe with magic into the body of someone who had briefly died from being part of Cultivator bullshit. He immediately decides to get the hell away from that and starts his own farm while dealing with the repercussions of having a lot of power and how that affects the world around him. Most of the rest of the cast is various uplifted farm animals he accidentally gives sapience to and dealing with that in various ways. If you aren't familiar with Cultivator stuff its basically people going through fairly arcane rituals to gain power/ascend to immortality. Usually helped along by becoming really amoral and murdering the poo poo out of people/creatures in pursuit of power. The work is basically a slightly comedic 'what if you dropped a normal person instead of a sociopath in' take on a lot of the common tropes of the genre that grows in scope over time.
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Sep 12, 2021 12:48
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Rob Filter posted:That's an interesting question. OUR CAMPAIGNS Title Views Views Left Clicks Cost Beneath the Dragoneye Moons 2114052 0 975 $250.00
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Sep 12, 2021 14:25
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Well, personally I've clicked on the RR banners a few times before, when it looked interesting.
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Sep 12, 2021 14:38
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Megazver posted:Well, personally I've clicked on the RR banners a few times before, when it looked interesting.
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Sep 12, 2021 15:21
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I tend to ignore the ads that just displays a list of genres and some guy looking cool or whatever, but I've clicked on a few that looked a bit more interesting. But overall statistical data is more important than anecdotal data for deciding if ads're worth it, and I'm glad Royal Road provides them.
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Sep 12, 2021 15:22
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90s Cringe Rock posted:same. I've maybe clicked 6 times or so, only ever by mistake. I've got fat fingers. Mulozon Empuri fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Sep 12, 2021 |
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Sep 12, 2021 16:07
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Selkie Myth posted:OUR CAMPAIGNS Thanks for posting this data! Interesting - somewhat low click through rate, but the actual cost of each click-through is still pretty decent, $0.256c per person.
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Sep 12, 2021 16:50
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Mulozon Empuri posted:I've maybe clicked 6 times or so, only ever by mistake. I've got fat fingers.
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Sep 12, 2021 17:09
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Kaja Rainbow posted:I tend to ignore the ads that just displays a list of genres and some guy looking cool or whatever, but I've clicked on a few that looked a bit more interesting. But overall statistical data is more important than anecdotal data for deciding if ads're worth it, and I'm glad Royal Road provides them. The vague list of genres ones are so weird. The information you've decided to convey in your ad for a story on RR is that it's a generic story on RR? Obviously most authors aren't going to have any sort of experience with ad design but even just a cropped bit of the cover seems more effective. Cicero posted:Haven't most of those been translated cultivation fics though? All of the popular ones that I know of are, but there's a big overlap between RR's crowd and the translated LN crowd.
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Sep 12, 2021 17:45
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Deleted message. Nevermind, wrong thread. wingedwolf fucked around with this message at 20:54 on Sep 12, 2021 |
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Sep 12, 2021 19:18
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You might want to try in FYAD
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Sep 12, 2021 19:20
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tithin posted:Someone sell me on "Beware of chicken" the blurb above sounds interesting In addition to what Zore posted above, I want to emphasize how wholesome and good natured the story and its primary cast are. There's no edgy bullshit, there's lots of exploration of genuine kindness and family and friendship and it's just really goddamn heartwarming in a way I haven't experienced in written fiction before. I binged it a few months ago on a whim and it pretty much immediately became by favorite web serial, if not favorite written story outright. I highly recommend it.
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Sep 12, 2021 19:42
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Beware of Chicken is pretty good, I keep up with it and enjoy the story. I have noticed that I shy away from the web serials that are 100% focused on murdering everyone for power, and Beware of Chicken avoids that weirdness.
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Sep 12, 2021 21:29
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Alright, time to binge.
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Sep 13, 2021 08:18
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If you want some actual philosophical xianxia/cultivation rather than the standard murderhobo "adventure" someone in this thread recommended several dozen pages back The Last Ship in Suzhou: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/41852/the-last-ship-in-suzhou The first chapter or two is quite dense and meandering, but I believe it's worth the effort to power through.
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Sep 13, 2021 16:40
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The latest Beware of Chicken is wonderful. “…You are a fool twice over for your words! I don’t hate it! Liu Xianghua, The Young Mistress of the Misty Lake Sect, approves of your foolishness!”
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Sep 14, 2021 02:03
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Enjoying beware of chicken more then I thought I would. 22 chapters in
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Sep 14, 2021 02:06
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90s Cringe Rock posted:The latest Beware of Chicken is wonderful. We've known her for less than 5 minutes and she's already almost my favorite character in the story lol Fajita Queen fucked around with this message at 04:04 on Sep 14, 2021 |
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Sep 14, 2021 02:17
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I love her
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Sep 14, 2021 03:38
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Lunatic Sledge posted:also my theory is the key to making the big money is a fresh theme but keeping as many of the aesthetic trappings web serial folks expect as possible, it needs to walk and quack like a duck even if you're writing your golden goose. Every deviation is a gamble, don't make my mistakes Rob Filter posted:Yeah, I also wonder how effective these ads are. If there is anyone here with glorious glorious stats, slam them into this thread, sate its curiosity. Plorkyeran posted:The vague list of genres ones are so weird. The information you've decided to convey in your ad for a story on RR is that it's a generic story on RR? Obviously most authors aren't going to have any sort of experience with ad design but even just a cropped bit of the cover seems more effective.
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Sep 14, 2021 06:56
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KamikazePotato posted:I'll have plenty of stats to give this thread after the 16th. Book is releasing on amazon then and I'm buying a lot of RR ads.
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Sep 14, 2021 12:39
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TWI Interlude: lmfao pirateaba just introduced an entrely new loving endgame to the serial, this poo poo is never gonna end
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Sep 15, 2021 07:44
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Speaking of TWI the kickstarter just finished. Their goals was $26k, they got $85k (CAD). 5 people bought the $2k reward (it was limited to 5 too). Narmi fucked around with this message at 15:34 on Sep 15, 2021 |
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Sep 15, 2021 15:24
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A big flaming stink posted:TWI Interlude: lmfao pirateaba just introduced an entrely new loving endgame to the serial, this poo poo is never gonna end it's not new. the sleeping god under rhir that created the goblins and antinium has been the endgame to the story the entire time. we haven't heard much mention of it for quite a while but that particular thread has been around since like...volume 2 or 3? very early. and it always smelled like the final boss to me
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Sep 15, 2021 16:00
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Yeah, if anything it sounds like three of the potential endgames are being brought together--the thing under Rhir, the dead gods, and whatever is beyond the Last Tide
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Sep 15, 2021 16:44
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Jazerus posted:it's not new. the sleeping god under rhir that created the goblins and antinium has been the endgame to the story the entire time. we haven't heard much mention of it for quite a while but that particular thread has been around since like...volume 2 or 3? very early. and it always smelled like the final boss to me norechl threw itself into the last tide for something that scared the other gods shitless. they hoped it died because the alternative was so much worse. that's what I'm referring to as the new endgame, whatever lurks beneath the last tide
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Sep 15, 2021 18:43
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man all the TWI end game stuff seems so immensely boring, gimme more slices of life
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Sep 15, 2021 18:58
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