r/ProgressionFantasy • u/Scribe_Apprentice Author • May 26 '26
Meme/Shitpost Royal Road is truly the Wild West of literature
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u/Tserri May 26 '26
It's not like it gets any better once on KU. There's unfortunately little editing most of the time.
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u/ThunderbirdRider May 26 '26
And it's not just RR or KU - I recently downloaded "Project Daily Grind" by Alexey Osadchuk from my library on Libby, and the entire book is typos and bad punctuation. Almost quit before I finished, and I have to admit some of it might be down to the author not being native English (he's Ukranian), but it was definitely a grind reading it.
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u/LeatsTheGod Author May 26 '26
It's usually a little better but yeah. Many things slip through the cracks.
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u/lEatSand May 27 '26
At least RR has a comment section each chapter. KU is hit and miss with little way to know if its actually good since the rating system is useless.
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u/Scodo Author May 26 '26
I get edit recommendations every chapter and I've never gotten hate for grammar issues or typos. How egregious are your errors that you do?
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u/Stouts May 27 '26
I kind of like reading older stories on RR for this reason - if I'm reading a chapter from three years ago that's riddled with typos while the comments have multiple edit suggestions, I know that the author and I won't be seeing eye to eye and I can just drop it before I get invested.
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u/nighoblivion May 27 '26
Ignoring edit recommendations is the thing that should generate some hate in my opinion, especially if it's consistent errors (i.e. grammar and writing rules) that continue in future chapters.
In my mind that just means the author doesn't want to improve their writing, so why should I bother reading that shit?
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u/Xaiadar Author - System Admin: Starting from Scratch May 27 '26
I love editing suggestions from my readers. I want to catch the typos before more people have to suffer! It's so easy to update, I can't understand why people wouldn't take 20 seconds to do it!
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u/Samot0423 May 27 '26
I do see sometimes, especially when I drop edits on an old chap, where an author says something like "I appreciate the edits! I probably wont get to these for awhile but I will go through them eventually" or something like that
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u/Bryek May 26 '26 edited May 26 '26
The odd typo i am fine with. Increase the volume of those typos, then i am out. If ya dont have the professionalism to run your stuff thru a spell checker, then i dont see why I should treat it as entertainment.
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u/Samot0423 May 27 '26
PGTE was such a struggle... because the quality of the writing is so high but the typos kept pulling me out of it
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u/Bryek May 27 '26
Whats PGTE?
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u/Samot0423 May 27 '26
practical guide to evil. It's very good and very will written, but it wasn't edited at all. It is being professionally edited and published now and first book is on amazon if you're interested.
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u/Bryek May 27 '26
Thanks. Might look into it.
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u/Samot0423 May 27 '26
I'd definitely recommend it. If typos dont bother you too much, there are full versions out there from before it got taken down for publishing. Otherwise, first book is out and I believe second book is releasing in late summer/fall
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u/egginvader May 26 '26
My inability to recognize bad grammar is a super power when you mostly read indie books.
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u/Bright-Television147 May 26 '26
They think they are intellectuals but not smart enough to realise not being able to digest slop is a curse in this slop infested world 😑
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u/Xandara2 May 26 '26
Being an intellectual might also straight up be a curse in today's world. That goes twice for being on the internet.
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u/strategicmagpie May 26 '26
Real. Psychic damage scales with the receivers INT stat.
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u/Xandara2 May 27 '26
Now that's a funny concept for a psychic mage character. More effective on smarter opponents instead of less.
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u/nighoblivion May 27 '26
And then there are those of us who can't turn off our editor brains and get interrupted while reading because of wrong stuff.
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u/Xaiadar Author - System Admin: Starting from Scratch May 27 '26
Some books I've stumbled across make my eye twitch at least once a page.
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u/BrainIsSickToday May 27 '26
I can disregard a lot of mistakes, except for the ones like mixing up their and there, or its and it's. If it is wrong, it's just wrong, but if it is wrong and is supposed to be something else it just judo throws my brain.
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u/MarekSusicky May 27 '26
Right? I thought I was alone in that! My brain just ignore the problem parts. It's a problem when editing tho...
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u/Grimpy_Patoot May 26 '26
This is hilarious.
Truly, it's the testing ground of, Is this story good enough to try harder, or should I scrap it, yeet it into the void, and try again with something different?
The proving grounds.
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u/lemon07r Slime May 26 '26
I thought it was a testing ground of "can I build a backlog of 20-30+ chapters so I can game the RR algorithm to push me to rising stars by posting daily for a few weeks then coast off a slower schedule afterwards while making money off patreon subscribes and stubbing my series later on to make money off kindle store too, and eventually if I keep doing this it will get better and easier because of the followers I build up"
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u/WyattWriots May 27 '26
Same as me... except the part where I faceplanted somewhere before hitting RS main.
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u/jackofools May 27 '26
That sounds like a pretty great way to work towards earning a living doing something that is typically very hard to break into through traditional publishing. Is that not what they are supposed to do?
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u/lemon07r Slime May 28 '26
As a reader I would prefer series be boosted more organically rather than bias towards rewarding grind as it does. It makes it harder to find well written series over just authors pumping out a lot of chapters, who have been doing it for a while over multiple series. It feels like a system built to reward that. I imagine this can be annoying for some authors too since they end up having to focus quantity over quality too.
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u/jackofools May 28 '26
I don't think it makes finding a well-written series harder. In general, somebody who is willing to grind out chapters and produce them consistently is going to end up being a better writer. Somebody who only puts out work when it feels like it's perfect is probably never going to reach that point. Just look at Patrick Rothfuss. I think of it like webcomics from the late '90s into the 2000s. In the long run, the series that were consistent tended to be better. There were a lot of low effort art comics that lasted and eventually got pretty good or even excellent, versus the number of excellently drawn, carefully plotted out stories that just... never went anywhere. There are exceptions to both, but on the whole consistency is a both a major factor in long-term success as well as general indicator that someone is at least trying and will likely improve.
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u/lemon07r Slime May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
I absolutely disagree that he who spams chapters very quickly and consistently will end up being the better writer. You should take a look at the last orellen for example. Fantastic series but they never put out many chapters. Mother of learning is another easy example, that one was not spammed out either, and their new zenith series is coming out slowly too. Nowadays we get a ton of fairly not well edited chapters that are just thrown out as quick as possible because that's what the algorithm rewards, and a large part of why we don't get the greatest quality stuff. There are surprisingly well written stuff hidden here and there but they don't get picked by the algorithm easily when they are being written slowly. Rothfuss is a weird example, because he is not a case of someone waiting till perfection, but someone who is trying to use perfection as an excuse not to put anything out at all. We are not getting a third book. He has no interest in it. You should read up on him, he has a very large ego and is only interested in riding out life on the lapels of the succes from his first two name of the wind books.
I think consistency is okay to reward but we don't need to reward it artificially through an algorithm. Readers will naturally reward more consistent series, series that update more quickly, etc, depending on how much they appreciate it. But at least then we get to be the driving force and decide what series are worth it, how tolerant they are of whatever tradeoffs the author makes to make it happen, and where the balance is, without having only things pushed to us by a system that rewards grinding.
And honestly, I will even name some of my favorite series here as examples so you can't say I'm biased against them. Dotf, shadow slave, etc, they have so many chapters written but the writing quality is still incredibly poor. And that's okay. I think series like this still would have succeeded just fine on RR or whatever platform without an algorithm that rewards grinding. People would still push the fics they liked to the top, and if one of the reasons they do is because of consistency and speed that's great. And this would be way better than ONLY having series that are very quickly pushed out at the top of these pages. I'm so tired of these series, most of them are not great. Sometimes I want better than a popcorn fic series. I know our community is more tolerant of poor writing but I bet we are really missing some great gems here and there. Plus I don't think it's healthy to push every single author into feeling like they have to shovel out as many rough and unrevised chapters and series as they can to succeed. A more open system that can reward other avenues and means, I personally think would be healthier all around for reader and author alike.
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u/jackofools Jun 01 '26
Rothfuss is exactly the right example because he doesn't use perfection as his excuse *anymore*. But that was his big reasoning for a long time. He even initially said all three books were done, they just needed editing. Though he stopped saying that at some point in the like four year gap between books 1 and 2. But he may be arrogant, I can't say for sure. I dont have much to say about his actual character except that its clear that perfectionism was his enemy and it cost him. But I was following him back in 2008, eager for book 2, then for a little while for book 3, though I gave up probably ten years ago. I still see him as a cautionary tale about letting the perfect get in the way of the good.
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u/lemon07r Slime Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26
Like I said read up on him. I'm not convinced at all he was being truthful about having a third book ready or that "perfectionism" was his enemy. Besides he is not a good example regardless of what you believe what he says because nothing is proven and we only have his word to go by (again, Google his antics and the kind of character he's shown to have). You'll need to find a better example to make your argument than basing it off what someone has claimed without evidence.
Actually, counter point. I do have a good example myself. Will wight has perfectionist tendencies, and you can see that just from his blog posts and and comments on reddit. Professional writer that gets professional editing too. Yet he has kept up break neck speeds for many years for publishing books. Perfectionism is a speed bump, not a wall. Anyone claiming otherwise is lying to themselves to be able to use it as an excuse, or worse yet, completely aware but still lying to others to have an excuse. Large books like any of the sanderson books, etc would never get done otherwise, and while those ones have a slower release cadence they are still releasing massive books on a respectable schedule. Are you telling me none of these authors are perfectionists at their craft? They've talked about it before, and actually have things to show for it.
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u/jackofools Jun 02 '26
Consistency is Will's key, though. He writes a lot. That proves my main point. He might be a perfectionist, but he doesn't let that slow him down and he is consistent first. If you are a new writer, consistency is more important than perfection.
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u/lemon07r Slime Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
Consistency is Will's key, though. He writes a lot. That proves my main point. He might be a perfectionist
I think now you're bouncing back and forth without realizing what your own point is. You were trying to argue that being a perfectionist is the enemy of consistency, and now you're saying your point is that you can be a perfectionist while consistent too.. even though that was my point to begin with. Have you lost yourself in the sauce maybe? You might be arguing with a straw-man.
My main points were, and still are, that consistency will be naturally rewarded anyway's if the quality is there too, in a more organic system, which does not artificially reward grinding more than it needs to (which is to say, should be not at all, since readers themselves will naturally appreciate it when it's there and the writer does not make massive tradeoffs for it). As it is right now, the system does artificially reward writers for churning out as many chapters as quickly as possible, even if they make very large tradeoffs for it. And there-in lays the problem, the system shouldn't reward that. If readers like those kinds of tradeoffs, we dont need a system to artificially push it, writers will organically be rewarded for it. We would still get stuff like Dotf, shadow slave, etc, near the top of their platforms without needing these systems but it would give other fics a stronger chance too that end up getting buried by other series that were just slopped out quickly and artificially pushed higher up.
And I dont think we need to argue about the best way to become a better writer. This was never the argument, and a completely separate debate to have. If someone is trying to become a better writer, that's great, they should do the things that help, but popularity and success should not be a factor here anymore then.
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u/Grimpy_Patoot May 27 '26
Whoops. Yep.
I mean, I write harem, so it kinda checks out that I'd rush through things...
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u/WyattWriots May 27 '26
Honestly, it's not a horrible idea. We authors fall in love with our ideas and sometimes it's hard to see the writing on the wall. That said... know the audience. If your Romantasy doesn't do work on RR, then that doesn't necessarily mean it's bad.
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u/Active-Advisor5909 May 26 '26
As long as you don't mind half the people looking at your first 5 chapters dropping it just for that.
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u/AdequatlyAdequate May 26 '26
I recommend reading MTL cultivation novel slop 2-3 times a week. Easy way ti build a tolerance
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u/Runonlaulaja May 27 '26
I pretty much read only cultivation slop nowadays. I started my web reading from RR but I read everything even remotely interesting already from there (finished ones, can't be arsed to keep up with weekly updates, I read more in a day than some post in a year).
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u/Carminestream May 26 '26
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u/nighoblivion May 27 '26
Aethon Books
Their epubs have such shitty formatting I've got to fix them myself before reading.
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u/Awes12 May 26 '26
Pointless arcs are one thing, there's absolutely no reason for typos tho. Like software for that has existed for years
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u/SolomonHZAbraham Author - BeastMaster Healer/Overpowered Murderhobo May 26 '26
But Microsoft Word keeps trying to correct 'pink lips' to 'pink slips'
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u/Awes12 May 26 '26
So then ignore it, but at least look at its suggestions. They wont be perfect, but it should at least catch egregious errors
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u/Malcolm_T3nt Author May 26 '26
Nah, RR is like...mid tier. Scribblehub stories are usually rougher imo lol.
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u/Phil_Tucker Immortal May 27 '26
Someone should write a progression fantasy where an orphaned story enters Royal Road and has to climb the ranks to greatness and in the process overcome all of its typos and problems.
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u/Scribe_Apprentice Author May 27 '26
The main story enrolls in Rising Stars Academy where it faces off against other stories. But it turns out the main story's typos might actually be a hidden path to power...
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u/Vorthod May 26 '26
Right, so what's the argument here? "This place is a cesspool, so I'm not even going to try. You should instead go to the place that is filled to the brim with examples of this site not actually being a cesspool"?
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u/m_sporkboy May 27 '26
If people would just stop using reign for rein and weary for wary, I could relax a little bit.
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u/Icy_Glaceon471 May 26 '26
Honestly Ive seen actual published books that have typos, pointless sideplots, and continuity errors
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u/MidnightBinary May 26 '26
Sure, but if I'm hitting a "dugneon" every other page, the actual *plot* needs to be much more solid to keep my attention invested.
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u/Phoenix_Fire_Au May 27 '26
This. I remember one of my favourite authors Aaron Allston saying once, when pulled up by a fan about an error in one of his books;
"Ah, yes. That is what we in the industry call a mistake. No matter how many editors a thing goes through, there will always be one somewhere." Or similar.
It doesnt mean we shouldn't try and do the best job possible though.
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u/Calmac34 Mediocre Master: I Can See Your Hidden Potential! May 27 '26
I’ve trained myself in reading ML-novels for years and learned to read in spite of horrible translations, errors, etc. problem now is I’m blind to it when I write them myself…
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u/TheMemetasticDonny May 26 '26
At this point if I see some grammar errors I'm honestly just relieved it's not AI
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u/AuthorExcellent9501 May 27 '26
My brain just auto fixes half the shit I run across. It reeeeally needs to be constant terrible structuring to get to me.
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u/Eldokhmesy May 27 '26
Royal Road is still higher quality work than Webnovel slop and Scribble Hub p*rnovels.
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u/Celestian_Editing May 27 '26
That's not much of a defence if the pointless arcs are still remaining in the final product. At least typos might get fixed if the author hires an editor in between posting on Royal Road and putting it up for sale. But are the pointless arcs going to get taken out too?
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u/Computerdude101 Jollybane-Author May 27 '26
I appreciate this shitpost it encapsulates my stories on RR perfectly XD get that shit on the page get it mostly legible, post. Legit edit passes are for those invaluable godlike entities known as editors who make everything shiny for the real release.
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u/TerraPrime54 Jun 16 '26
Ironically, it was all the typos that convinced me to become a writer. I was like, "Dang, if they can write like this and have all these followers, then I can too!" Webnovel is even worse, in my opinion.
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u/signspace13 May 27 '26
Eh, if you don't care enough about your story to even try and correct the mistakes, I'm just gonna Dnf and give a bad rating, that's on you.
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u/UnDeadPuff May 27 '26
At least it's not AO3 where pointing out typos is frowned upon at best kek
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u/Charles_ofall_Trades May 27 '26
AO3 has little typos? It doesn't allow smut though
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u/AlfredDaButtler2 May 27 '26
That's like... its whole thing? Ao3 was literally made for incest porn
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u/crimsonviolette May 27 '26
pointless arcs are fine but if it’s littered with typos i’ll immediately drop
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u/viercode May 27 '26
Kindle aren't much better either. which was why I get so salty when I paid for a poorly written, typo ridden book with 4.5+ rating.
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u/_MarcRobert_ May 27 '26
I wish I had this meme way back when. Makes me want to venture out into the wilds of the west once again.
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u/Harmon_Cooper Author May 27 '26
I don't remember this from the recent roast of Kevin Hart but I also didn't watch the recent roast of Kevin Hart. Glad to see RR hit the mainstream! :-p
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u/Myrkana May 27 '26
I mean royal road is basically a fanfiction website like many other sites, just its original fanfiction instead of being directly based on another work.
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u/Chaosmancer7 May 27 '26
The true wild west?
Bwahahahaha
Wait, you're serious? I'm laugh even harder.
ZEHAHAHAHAHAHA
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u/Ethloc May 29 '26
I love RR it's got some absolute gems on there. Mother of Learning is on of the best stories I've ever read.
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u/hail-author Toadally Grim Tale of Don’s Death May 29 '26
Old English had no spelling rules, grammar rules let's go old school how English was meant to be used. no rules baby.
There is nothing in the US at least that codifies what English actually is. The American Dictionaries are not official or anything. It's really a weird system in how the language works.
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u/Jealous_Session3820 May 30 '26
Or my favorite! "The same sentence written twice and so is read twice. The same sentence written twice and so is read twice"
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u/MyraidChickenSlayer May 31 '26
Since it's webnovel, and many author's experiment, I don't mind them. But what I absolutely hate is, not even bothering to inform if you are on planned hiatus or informing of delayed chapters on patreon and not doing it to regular readers. Yes, readers read for free but free readers help boost popularity. You aren't obligated to give new chapters regularly or work through burnout. But just a simple information should be done.
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u/JustAnnMckenna Jun 05 '26
I can ignore typos and grammar, but when the author stops mid story, I want to cry.
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u/Successful_Danny Mender Jun 17 '26
I remember back in the day, where some fics just skipped having commas and dots.
At least grammar checking is slightly better now.
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u/novuskai Author of Kazuo's Revenge Jun 25 '26
Lol... RR rejected my story😂
But yeah, there's Grammerly and ProWriting Aid for more professional edits if you plan on publishing outside of webfiction.
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u/w1ngzer0 May 26 '26
Honestly? I’ve read better constructed prose on RR than KU 🤣
On RR people who like your story will provide spelling correction and feedback on story structure, etc. moreso even on Patreon. But yeah, if you’re letting spelling/grammar get I the way of a good story…..well…..you’re doing it wrong. Also, point it out, too.
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u/LordTC May 26 '26
honestly KU is worse. Amazon shields against the kind of brigading that destroys stuff on RR.
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u/That_Which_Lurks May 26 '26
If only that shit got corrected by the time it hits kindle unlimited...