Saya’s now on Royal Road – better than Wattpad – Join us

Hi Guys,

I’m so excited I had to post this.

I keep hearing how bad Wattpad is and how they don’t protect against people stealing other’s works.  Also, it’s a popularity game there.  I have 0 viewers.  Royal Road probably doesn’t protect your work either, so I would not suggest putting the whole book on if you’re thinking of monetizing your work.

Back to me praising Royal Road (RR).

Royal Road is great for fantasy writers to share their work, even without a following. Even if you don’t participate in Royal Road other than posting your work. That means 0 socializing required. haha  Albeit, socializing would do wonders, such as swapping reviews, sharing who you are (so if possible, don’t stay a stranger), but I haven’t even gotten to that point (swapping reviews).

So how do you gain viewers?
Being on RR’s homepage pretty much guarantees viewership and new followers.

How do you get on the homepage without being popular? 
Post. Every day.
From my experience, my first post received 50 views. I had already received one comment and one follower (I assume it was the poster) before I found out my book was approved! I was ecstatic! The second post gathered 20 views. I kept this up for 5 more times. If you have a lot written, you could post as many times in a day as you please. [edit: two max in a day for maximum exposure]

RR’s FAQ says:
“In order to gain as many readers as possible, we recommend publishing chapters at different hours, which will allow you to gain readers from different time zones. Also, do not publish more than two chapters a day. Instead, do so on consecutive days, which will allow you to maximize the exposure your fiction receives from the Latest Update list.

It’s better this way, rather than pushing out a bunch of chapters at the same time followed by a gap of several days without publishing. Consistency is key and will maximize your exposure.”

As for same post in the same day, the strategy is to wait until you disappear from the homepage and post again so you stay on the home page!

Edit: I just learned how to schedule a release at different times! When you make a new chapter, after the ‘post chapter author notes’ is a bar for ‘scheduled release’. On the far end of it is a little calendar where you can choose the day and time (in increments of 15 minutes) for the chapter to become available. A bit below you can choose to have the draft delete itself on publishing.

Here’s your necessary reading:
How To Gain Traction On RoyalRoad And How To Potentially Turn Your Writing Into A Career#1 
It will take you farther than my post would.

So… I’m shameless to admit. I game the system.
What’s my hack?
People normally post their 2000 word chapter in a single post. But the positive side to my writing is that I break them down into small chunks. I mean super small. I would say 500 words small. But some of mine is as low as 300 just because of the scene itself. Interestingly, on RR’s FAQ, “The minimum word count on chapter length is currently 500 characters.” 🤣 So glad they changed that.

Find me at Royal Road to see what I’m talking about.  Click -> @meltong

Anywho, this may sacrifice me some readers but it has worked for my overall publicity.

How do you know how many viewers you have looking at your work?
Google’s not that great so I asked RR on their forum. Here’s the answer I got. Very thorough.

“In the MyFictions section of your profile or on any of your own fictions you can find your way to the Dashboard of any specific one of your fictions. The Chapters tab has some stats for specific chapters like word count and view count, while the Stats tab mostly focuses on ratings across a graph and stuff. More analytics are available through Author Premium subscriptions that are also snazzier looking as well as being more useful as far as I have been aware. More than that you can just throw the data into a spreadsheet and do some math like OP above having calculated a indicator for “Retention Rate” and the like.

Though, depending on how adapt you are at using statistics, they aren’t really useful as information just by looking at them- a lot of the time at least; and stats can be misleading at times without the correct analysis, interpretation, or context.”

The next step is to find people willing to trade reviews with you on RR.
How? Lurk the RR forums or reddit’s r/royalroad

Also on one of the top forums, they advise:
“3. Promote your book
Actually, mine kind of grew organically so I have no clue other than
1. Add your book to topwebfiction.com
2. I made a post in the forum that was viewed 50 times!
That’s all I did.”

OMG why am I shamelessly starting all these marketing things when I haven’t even finished a single book guys! Stop me! Or help me! hahaha

Good luck!

For those of you who aren’t reading my story yet, here’s the link.
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/33823/still-untitled

Predictive Text – Fantasy Tavern prompt

I love predictive text, in case you haven’t noticed.

In one of my fb groups (I lurk way too many), I got this prompt that I would like to share.

“Using predictive text fill in the blanks.

A dwarf, an elf, and a wizard walk into a tavern
The dwarf sees
The elf hears
The wizard says

The dwarf sees a deer caught in the middle of a great story.
The elf hears the story about the dwarf
The wizard says that it was the only way to get the elf to go to Walmart.”

My answer was:
The dwarf sees a dragon and dragon story treehouse.
The elf hears her friends in a lot and she’s a good friend.
The wizard says the prologue was not entirely clear.

I think it’s pretty clear I have been in too many writing groups.

Intro chapter to my new story 2020

–Before I start, I would appreciate it if you contact me through my new contact page if you are interested in my writing.  I plan to self-publish.  Before then, I would need some beta readers and ARC (advance reading/review copy) reviewers.–

YA Mythical Fantasy with a modern twist (Orcs, elves, fairies, sorry no dragons this time)

Ch. 1 – The Beckoning

Michigan, Camp Allergan, August 1, 1981

Crushing pain startled me awake.  My arms and legs shook outward in panic.  I reached for my head.  A pounding headache.  Why?  A heavy studded boot stepped on the side of my face.  That’s why.  

With my head planted to the ground, I felt the panic spread from my brain to the rest of my body.  Lightning struck and poisoned me, unable to escape my body.  

I was hyperventilating. My brain screamed for escape. As much as I tried, I couldn’t move the weight off my head. I took short breaths, sucking in the moist air of the night. The smell of freshly crushed grass mixed with the vile odor of artificial rubber of my captor’s boot. I tried to pry it off.  I dug deep under the sole with my fingers and tried to lift.

My other senses gradually came back in between pulsating throbs of searing pain. My eyes opened wider, trying to regain focus, and that’s when I spotted the shadowy outline of the prison barracks in the distance. Spitting out bits of gravel and dirt, I fought hard not to scream. 

Remnants of crushed rock macerated into my right cheek. I felt the thick knobby rubber tread of the combat boot pressed against my skull.  The tormentor holding me down shined a flashlight into my face.  I narrowed my eyes.

“Prisoner, explain yourself!” a shout boomed from above me, alarming the nearby crickets into silence.

I knew this voice. Blood raged inside my veins. He lived to taunt and torment. My rage exploded. 

My fists, tight with fury, smacked at his boot.  Get. Off. Already!  Saying that out loud would get me in trouble, but it didn’t hurt to think it.

My captor let out a fake roaring laugh.  That’s how easily he dismissed my vigilance, my counter to his boot.  I stayed silent, knowing my screams of agony would only thrill and excite him into more violence.  This usual pretentious show of bravado could only be gap-toothed Tracy.  Ever since the first day, his commanding voice was an octave lower when ordering us around.  No doubt he had an audience building and was swishing his greasy seaweed bangs to the right, just like on Collection Day.  I clenched my fist, digging nails into skin.

Tracy kicked me with his boot so that I could stare at the stars… and then ruined the view with his face.  I hit him with my best laser death glare.  He held his flashlight towards his chin, and his big nose flared like an enraged bull’s nose.  I focused on his big-gapped mustache to avoid his scowl but he superglued his eyes to mine.  Oh no.

I tried looking away.  I didn’t want him in my head.  

“Hold her face,” Tracy barked at the nearest guard.  

Shaun untied his shirt from around his waist and wrapped it around me, keeping his hands from touching my skin directly.  I knew Shaun.  He wasn’t a power-hungry psychopath like Tracy.  He always turned the other way when Tracy was on his malicious streak.

Even as he gripped my face and held me down, I understood he was just doing his job.  Just trying to avoid Tracy’s wrath.  I wasn’t going to plead with Shaun with my eyes.  Instead, I kept my steely gaze on Tracy, hoping I didn’t look weak enough to prey upon. Shaun tried stopping Tracy before.  That just got the prisoner and himself beat up even more. I was determined to keep my mouth shut and not bring anyone else into trouble.

Tracy dropped the flashlight, grabbed my sleeve carefully and crouched on my chest with a grin, faking a calm and collected demeanor.  I could smell his sweat overpowering the same ivory soap we had in our prison.  At least before our soap ran out.  I was surprised he stomached my prison stench and got this close.

“Making quite the noise tonight,” he paused, scanning the area.  Some prisoners must have come out to see the commotion.  

Tracy clapped three times for attention.  “Showtime’s over.  Billy, corral them back inside.  Zap anyone who wants to linger.”  

Quick as he could whistle with his gapped teeth, Tracy held out his stun gun.  Billy, even quicker, came over to grab it with a reassuring, sinister grin.  You couldn’t trust Billy with his own.  Not after what happened to Wanda.

Tracy turned to me, stroking the edge of his over-parted mustache.  “Now, as I was saying.  What in the blue blazes were you up to in the dead of the night?”  

“I…” Good question.  What was I doing out here?  “I don’t really know.”

“And let me guess,” Tracy leaned closer, never blinking.  “You don’t remember shaking the gates either… and mumbling under your breath?”

I shook my head.

Tracy narrowed his eyes.  “Look here, Purple,”  he threatened.  

My name was Saya.  But ever since I turned purple, the nickname stuck. After years of harvesting Malvaos, I got the purple taint in me, as Mom would say. Purple’s fine.  I wanted them to fear me.  

“I don’t care that you’re leaving here soon.  It’s not soon enough.”  He gripped me harder.  “And they don’t pay me enough.”  He dug his nails into my shirt.  

Grimacing, I took the pain, prepared for the worst.

He quickly released my arms and backed away fast enough to stay safe from direct contact and slow enough to look in control.  He did so only to kick and stomp on me until he was satisfied.

I stayed silent and curled, gasping for air.  It only took moments to be broken to bits.  The pain I held inside was not just physical but emotional.  I was fragile and frail.  Powerless.  But I did not give myself permission to cry.  Cockroaches don’t cry.  Neither will I.

“Do this again, and I’ll have my gloves ready to give you a black eye to remember me by,” he growled.

After a couple of painful moments of rest, I staggered up and looked around to see Billy take over Shaun’s watch of me.  Billy held the taser out.  

Tracy boasted they’d equip all cops with these new tasers by 1990.  They were meant for long-range, instead of the short-ranged stun gun.  The last time Billy had a taser, he shot the escapee Wanda in the back.  She was taken to the hospital and we never saw her again.  We were the guinea pigs before the product was approved for use by the police.  I hoped they would never approve it. 

I backed away from Billy.  When my back hit the fence, I remembered.  My dream led me here, to the small shed on the other side of the fence.  I must’ve dreamed about this wooden shack a dozen times. In my dreams, a mysterious purplish light emanated from it. It pulled on me like gravity, drawing me nearer and nearer. There was an inexplicable feeling inside, that if I reach it, I would be in a safe bubble, impervious to harm.

Now I could see a pulsing purple mist coming out from under the crudely padlocked door.  Déjà vu.  This happened in my dream.  Now it was happening for real.  I gripped the metal fence with both hands as my body flushed hot and tingly.

Out of nowhere, a giant white moth?  Butterfly?  A moth, I decided, flew frantically towards the shed.  

“You should run away,” Billy said, startling me out of staring into the darkness and into his long, flowing Hillbilly locks. “Like Wanda.” He smiled a joker of a smile, a smile so wide the ends reached the tops of his cheeks. “Or stay here, and I could say you ran.”

If I ran away, if I attempted a jail-break, I would only be giving him what he wanted.

I ran anyway.  I don’t mean escaping the prison.  I ran all the way back to my building, scurrying my way out of the spotlight.  The way of the roach.  

Once inside, I tiptoed around the rest of the sleeping tenants to the corner of the barracks, to where my grandmother slept fitfully with chronic, phlegm-filled coughs.  I felt her forehead every night to make sure she hadn’t run a fever.

Months of this lifestyle wasn’t sustainable.  I needed my grandmother out of here.

Predictive text – Inigo Montoya with JK Rowling

One of my previous posts, Botnik for Riordan is one of my more popular posts.

Another writing exercise was Inigo’s famous lines… And you let predictive text take over. Credit to whoever made this picture…

Here is my own predictive text.
“Hello, my name is Mel.  You killed my dad.  Prepare to be a productive day today.”

Mine is not as interesting but I was surprised. I would love to see yours and your reactions as well.

So, I combined this exercise with Botnik’s pre-installed Harry Potter narration. Hopefully the link works, otherwise you can do a google search.

You should be able to recreate this as well. I have chosen the same block for each different iteration/start/paragraph, starting from the first option on the left. The first is good. The others didn’t work so well and looped words, as you can read below.

Hello. My name is our king … he took a deep breath. You killed my book of spells flew toward them. Prepare to the floor where it said happily to harry ‘s questioning look at him over the top of the stairs.

Hello. My name is n’t seem perturbed this was even a few moments before harry ‘s face as though she was going on outside. You killed my third floor of snape was trying not looking up. Prepare to his knees beside the window and stared at harry ‘s face as though she was going on outside in case of fred ‘s and hermione together to the door of their dormitory closely followed the flower ron ‘s and bending his wand back into the middle finger at ron with a snort from the ground with his hands over her shoulder for a few moments before harry ‘s face as though she was going on outside.

Hello. My name is nature name on her sleeve to his face in a corner where he lay back of harry again in defense now he understood and harry knew he would not have known that she looked up from his pocket of the table on his back and hermione were staring down to his knees and then he heard voices ears now and when she had sat at once by a sprinting to harry as the train sped up to him in a corner where he lay back of harry. You killed my want anything he said to the floor on her sleeve to his face in a corner where he lay back of harry again in defense now he understood and harry knew he would not have known that she looked up from his pocket. The end up at once: a little way out a low fierce approval quietly behind them called harry and the rest were all looking around to see where he lay back of harry again in defense now. Prepare to harry as the train sped up to him in a corner where he lay back of harry again in defense now he understood and harry knew he would not have known that she looked up from his pocket

This is my second post with mashups… Last time was Willy Wonka in Dr Seuss form.

Let me know of your own character/book/story mashups!

My First Post (Story Intro)

\\Moonlight Shadows\\

Prologue – Dragons and Red Lightning on a Cliff

Black sinewy wings thrust like heartbeats against the rain.  Two feral dragons circled and lunged at each other, their scaly necks striking like vipers.  Muscles bulged as they clawed on the slippery cliff, finding enough grip to push themselves higher.   They flew in spirals above the side of the overhang.  Claws slashed, jaws snapped, and spiked tails slashed and scraped in the dark silence of the night.

The contest of bared teeth raged on as the smaller silver-eyed beast managed two shallow bites above the shoulder. A few scales fell off Xenres, darkening his golden eyes and intensifying his guttural growl.  Xenres launched himself forward, his hungry fangs missing the narrow flesh between the spikes and scales.  Smoke steamed from their nostrils.

Xenres let out an echoing cry.  Silver tucked in his wings and dove into his opponent, colliding with a sickening crack of scales.  Xenres, flipping over to avoid taking the strike to his back, found he could no longer maneuver as well as his smaller foe, and they brawled in mid-air as they plummeted to the earth below.  Xenres wrestled his way to the top at the last moment, delivering Silver a body blow at the bottom of the rock face.  He stood atop Silver with his wings overextended, chest in the air, posing in victory over the squirming body.  For full effect, he bit off both of Silver’s wings as trophies.

A single bolt of red lightning struck the ancient tree down from the towering cliff and a cascade of rocks slide onto the worn path.  Loose scree came down on Xenres’s side of the cliff, alerting him.  His instinctual recoil, with the strength of his wings, carried him out of the reach of the tumbling boulders.  The avalanche-turned-burial-mound devoured Silver whole.  Another flash of lighting revealed a pool of blood flowing with the rain.

Other dragons raised their snouts to sniff the bloody trail, maintaining a safe distance from the triumphant beast.