The questions about RoyalRoad started coming up when I started this year’s in person events. Why RoyalRoad? Are you writing LitRPG?
No. I’m not writing LitRPG (although I have an outline for one), but I am writing a serial story.
What is RoyalRoad
While fantasy dominates the site, readers are there because they enjoy serialized fiction. It’s like crime podcasts for fiction. Readers are rabid for the next episode.
I decided to use RoyalRoad to write a thriller because of my most common criticism of my fantasy series, The Dragons of Dorwine. Pacing.
Sometimes I get in the weeds and things drag and slag a bit. It’s not horrible. It passed through multiple beta readers and my editor, but I heard the complaint enough to address it.
How do I go faster and not leave out important stuff? I needed to be more economical with my words.
I’m a Jack Reacher fan. Those stories move along at a nice clip. I’ve had Nolan Keller living in my mental basement since 2010 and decided to put him to work. I decided to write his backstory.
The Story Fits Serialization
At the time I decided this, I was reading a few popular stories on RoyalRoad and realized that this story really lends itself to a serial. Writing this story, in this space helped me address my pacing. It also taught me how to end a chapter better. Every chapter should end with a cliffhanger. A little something to make the reader say “It’s 1:13am and I have to work tomorrow, but I can’t stop here!”.
The cadence of a regular episode (which I have been horrible at delivering) reminded me of comic books, or waiting on the next episode of Knight Rider to come out. It’s how I saw the story unfolding in my head.
I Wanted Feedback
Another beautiful thing about RoyalRoad is feedback. For better or worse, I hear about it from my readers. Just this week a reader asked about a slight style change they noticed between chapters. I read a book about writing thrillers between those two chapters, and it showed.
Readers find typos and grammar mistakes. And they aren’t shy to tell you about them. That is valuable for writers trying to hone their craft and make the best product possible. And they do it for free. 🙂
I Like Building a Community
This may be the best part. Watching my tribe huddle around the fire to hear me spin another tale is a dream come true. You have real communication between authors and readers on RoyalRoad. That’s exciting. Readers want that access in today’s market.
I decided to separate my Nolan Keller and Dorwine Reader Lists. My thriller list is growing at more than twice the pace of my fantasy list and the book isn’t even done.
I get emails every week and the interest keeps scaling. It’s tremendous.
Closing
Maybe The Devil on Klack Mountain is a little unusual for Royal Road. But I think it stands out for that reason.
I’m a little different. And so are my stories. If I’m guessing correctly, y’all who read this are a little different, too.
If you’ve come this far and haven’t read The Devil on Klack Mountain go read it now for free.
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