Writing Developments (Patreon)

So far this year, I've done a good job focusing on the things that matter to me. Though it'd be premature to call the new habits a success, I think it's been positive for both my happiness and my productivity. However, it does lead to a variety of thoughts, so you're going to get those now.

Several things have been decided since last time. I'm not doing a large number of pen names, just a simple NSFW/SFW divide. As for trad vs self...

Traditional, Self Publishing, and Audiences 

After spending a lot of time considering factors and looking at new data, I think I'm just about ready to permanently set aside the idea of trying to go with a traditional publisher. The advantages are smaller than they once were, the disadvantages are real, and the process is time-consuming and headache-inducing.

The thing is, I still want to reach the epic fantasy audience. This is a group I've been part of for most of my life and one of those I think would be most interested in TBS. Unfortunately, based on the market data I've gathered, LitRPG readers and xianxia readers are not (on average) epic fantasy readers. Less surprisingly, gamers aren't necessarily epic fantasy readers, though actually they're more likely than the general population.

How do I reach this audience? I'm not sure, but I do have some thoughts. However, those will wait until after I bring up some other things that are relevant to all this.

The Situation With Redd 

I haven't updated people on this officially yet, so I should. Basically, Redd initially expressed interest in doing the dragon idea, but then said that she wanted to stop doing commissions and focus entirely on her own work. Though disappointed to hear that, I figured that was fair enough and let it go.

However, last week Redd came back and asked to work together again. Though I still think highly of Redd's quality and speed, this strikes me as a red flag. I thought the few issues I had with Redd could be resolved if we did a 50/50 Patreon, but this makes me reconsider. Right now, I'm afraid this could end up being a headache. Not sure how it comes off to others or if people have opinions.

Nothing will be decided until we talk again later, in theory toward the end of the month. My default reaction will be to not go forward with anything, which means I would have a lot of available creative time. Hence all my thoughts about writing.

Haremlit Serials 

Though these would very likely be commercially successful, my enthusiasm has waned a bit. There are three primary reasons I'm still considering these: I've already invested some writing time into them, I have a couple ideas I do think are neat in some ways, and they might draw in new TLS fans.

I have an older piece that was 80% complete that I have reviewed/revised. It's sex-heavy and a bit straightforward, but I'm pretty sure I'll finish it. If only because I have nearly 100k words of perfectly good smut and it would be a shame to throw it away.

I have 30k on a new project, a reimagined version of my zombie idea. Though I think this story has more good ideas in it, it would require a heavy investment of writing. I set this aside a while back to work on TLS and I'm not sure when I'll get back into it.

Honestly, though, part of my decreased enthusiasm has nothing to do with how I feel about the stories themselves and more to do with the fact that I'm afraid they wouldn't attract very many of the fans I'm interested in. Most likely at max I would do these two serials, unless something unusual happens.

Old Novels 

I've been reviewing some of my other prose work. There are three novels that I think have stories worth telling, though unfortunately there seems to be no real market for stand alone books. I might put them out as Sarah Lin anyway, just in case they attract a few epic fantasy readers.

Necrosurgeon: This is a book I wrote for myself a while back and then shelved for various reasons. It's a smaller scale conflict in a city where necromancy is just a way of life. The protagonist is a woman who loses her husband, sets about resurrecting him, and gets involved in a political conflict. (100% finished)

Ironside: An older novel, an attempt at doing straight low fantasy grimdark. While I don't think it's massively inspired - in that the story is basically just a political situation turning violent  - I do think it's a decent story and probably worth revising. (100% written, 0% edited)

The Waxing Light: The tagline is "An immortal king goes on a quest to become a peasant." I think this one has some fun ideas, and I tried to do a novel-feeling take on the classical four elements, but it would require more rewriting than the others on this list. (100% written, 0% edited)

The Brightest Shadow 

As I've said before, this is an epic fantasy series I believe in as much as TLS. I don't want to delay a huge amount of time before releasing it, but I also want to do it right. There are a lot of uncertainties here, notably about what the best distribution method would be.

I've managed to talk to some pretty successful authors who actually write epic fantasy, not some other subgenre. Unfortunately, their advice conflicts a little. One thing common between them is that they aim for a much more explosive start than I've attempted, though. Apparently their goal is to have enough ARCs that they get 25 reviews minimum within 48 hours. That's a tall order.

Over the past week, I've spent a while trying to think about what's most important to me with this. Money and awards don't matter, but readers do. While that might lead toward the conclusion that a free format would be better, it's balanced by the fact that I want an audience that actually reads this kind of book. Here are the options as I see them:

Normal Release: The whole 294k book as one release. Advantages: it gets the core fantasy audience, this format was my intent for the story, and apparently longer books sell better. Disadvantages: potentially fewer readers and long periods of silence between books.

Five Part Release: Divide the book into its five parts and release them in sequence. Advantages: rapid release gets a lot of attention, the completed book can be sold as a box set, and the active period is increased. Disadvantages: shorter individual books, and some of the parts would be a bit depressing on their own.

Serialized Release: One chapter at a time until the book is done, then publish. Advantages: longer active period, more exposure, and more readers. This one has just one big disadvantage: I'm not sure I'd reach the audience that would like the book for what it is. For whatever reason, web serials and epic fantasy don't seem to mix.

Reverse Serialization: A sub-option of the above, and a bit of a weird idea: publish a complete part of the book on Amazon and then begin posting those chapters publicly. It would be similar to Patreon, in that people could pay a small amount for early access or just wait for the free versions. I'm not sure if this has been done before and I don't know if it's a good idea at all.

In Conclusion...

I've pretty much caught you guys up on developments and my current thinking. Feedback would be welcome, as these are some big decisions that would take me in fundamentally different directions. Right now I'm trying to stay productive and move forward on core projects while just putting thought into all this.