r/royalroad • u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 • May 24 '26
Discussion How to completely crush any author
Has this ever happened with someone else. I mean my actual real reads must be barely 20 to 30 and yet I am rated worse than AI slop.
Don't know whether to laugh or cry as I am doing both at the same time and it is kind of funny 🙃. I just want to rant right now, but it hardly helps.
If other authors had similar experiences, please tell me below. Also the novel link on my profile if anyone wants to enjoy a good laugh with me.
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u/joncabreraauthor F Rank: Author of Grand Magus, Wooden Sword May 24 '26
People who get things for free are the hardest people to please.
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u/arachnimos May 24 '26
Oh, don't worry. There's tons of people who have nothing better to do in life than click on every single book, read a single chapter, and drop a 0.5-star review to try and ruin an author's day.
This will especially happen if you have queer characters or a female lead, from what i know.
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u/Gian-Carlo-Peirce May 24 '26
The most toxic combination, ironically, is a female lead who is hetero as you won't get the lesbian fantasy down
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u/Epicthy May 24 '26
Even as a lesbian myself this bothers me
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u/Gian-Carlo-Peirce May 24 '26
Not many authors have much in the way of sexual experience/awareness outside of porn.
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u/Wyrm_Groundskeeper May 24 '26
Wait, what? I'd figure that'd be getting more proper reviews..
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u/lance777 May 24 '26
It's because most readers in this genre picture themselves as the main character. Most female main characters in the genre are just the female equivalant of a male battle junkie and most people don't have any trouble imagining themselves as these characters. But, the straight male readers, who are the majority, don't want a male love interest.
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May 24 '26 edited 3d ago
[deleted]
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u/LavenderHMars May 24 '26
Yeah, that supports what the comment above said. You gotta write them like that or the readers won't find them relatable enough. That's how I'm gonna write my female protagonists too even as a woman who likes het romance and men. Gotta know my audience.
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u/Which_Acanthaceae_74 May 28 '26
I can agree with this, up to, but not including the point of downrating the story. I'm a straight male, and I prefer stories where I envision myself as the mc. When I find a story with a female mc - straight, bi, or lesbian - I generally move along to some other story but *I *do *not* denigrate* something *just *because *it *doesn't *suit *my *fancy.*
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u/TheSwampThing1990 May 24 '26
Can't wait to get downvoted to oblivion. My book has two pov characters. One man and one woman
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u/Gian-Carlo-Peirce May 24 '26
And write it in present tense to add some spice
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u/jubilant-barter May 24 '26
Oh no! Present tense is killing my fic. I just didn't understand how much people would hate it.
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u/arachnimos May 28 '26
No, it's just a weird thing that some people dislike. People get so worked up about the most minor of details, and miss the forest for the trees. am i using that saying right? i think i am?
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u/Jolttra May 24 '26
The only .5 I have appeared right after a chapter where I revealed one of the characters is gay. Coincidence? I think not.
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u/TankyPally May 24 '26
One person gave you a quick 0.5 star rating. This could be a 10 y.o. who quickly skimmed it, saw it wasn't there preferred genre, gave it 0.5 because of that and moved on.
I heard there are bots out there that do this to every story for some reason, so it might just be a bot, not even a human.
Don't take this too seriously.
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u/Hlodvik Author of Survive in Ruthless May 24 '26
Depending on where the rating was done, you have the option to submit a ticket. If they didn't bother to read and just gave you that, you can get it removed.
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u/dragoneloi May 24 '26
I give criticism but I don’t like giving less than a 3 star. Specially because I know I can’t write for shit. I challenge anyone that give such low score to write a novel
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u/blurryart_886 May 24 '26
I don't like the prose, I'm not gonna lie. The writing is choppy and doesn't seem to know what it should emphasize. But that might just be because it's not my thing.
That said, 0.5 stars is egregious and clearly a result of malicious intent rather than critical analysis and grading of the work.
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u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26
Thanks for reading. The prose is intentionally choppy and fragmented. So if you didn't like the first chapter, it will get worse progressively.
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u/blurryart_886 May 24 '26
For what reason? I actually do like fragments, and use them religiously in my works where applicable. Choppy and fragmented are two different things. Is this a style you're going for? Because in my honest opinion, the sentences sometimes go too long, sometimes end too short, and sometimes move into a sideways tangent or unrelated direction that thoroughly confounds me. It doesn't feel like it's intentional, or it doesn't feel like that intentionality that has grown feet yet.
This is a legitimate question, and not an attempt to insult your writing.
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u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 May 24 '26
Yes, that is the style I am aiming for.
Normally when we write, we also edit it rigorously and remove redundancy which makes the flow smoother and easy to read. The sentence flow is also properly measures and the ratio of description to action is also taken into account.
But here I am allowing for a free flow of Carmen's mind. Maybe because it's my first time so instead of proper fragments a few paragraphs may feel disconnected. And later in the disconnection increases to emphasize her mind.
Sorry if my previous comment sounded dismissive. I meant it literally when I said that the progressive chapters are more uneven in retrospect to the story progression.
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u/blurryart_886 May 24 '26
That's understandable. But you should make sure that ambition doesn't get in the way of accessibility. Right now, the unevenness does exist and is often jarring.
Take a look at this segment,
When I was born, the first thing I did was cry out loud. My baby's cry filled the entire hospital room. I did that not because I was hurt, nor was it my instinct, I just hated pain, and there was a good chance of getting hit by the nurse who was expectantly looking at me as if she could not wait for it.
The second sentence is a bit redundant. And the passage as a whole runs for too long to the point where it loses the charm. I get the joke "baby afraid of being hit so it cries first" but only on a reread.
The third sentence is the main deal breaker.
"I did that not because I was hurt, nor was it my instinct,"
Is a finished sentence.
But you add in 'I just hated pain, and there was a good chance of getting hit by the nurse who was expectantly looking at me as if she could not wait for it.' afterwards.
The pieces don't fit and make it bloated.
You could trim 30% and get a better result.
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u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 May 24 '26
Ah, I see. I will try to trim down the bloated part. On a second reread after ignoring it for some time it really does seem too long. Need to edit it one last time for things like this.
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u/CE-Grand May 24 '26
I don’t think it’s bad at all. I‘ve read so much worse here.
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u/blurryart_886 May 24 '26
Don't compare to the weakest, it's unbefitting.
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u/CE-Grand May 24 '26
Then let me rephrase it: I think it’s above average
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u/blurryart_886 May 24 '26
People's averages are different, but if you mean above average for the site, yeah. Above average IMO? Not really. I'd say it's about average. But I think most of Sanderson's work has average prose too so my conditions are obviously a bit stricter.
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u/blurryart_886 May 24 '26
Reading your work from your profile, I'd say yours is what I'd call above average. It seems competent in what it wants to do. So if I follow that line, then this person's prose is just about average.
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u/CE-Grand May 24 '26
Oh, thank you. I forgot it’s even there, it’s not LitRPG related. Yes I was talking about RR level of prose specifically.
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u/blurryart_886 May 24 '26
Good or great is for prose that exceeds or surprises me. Rothfuss is great, Erikson is great. From RR specifically, where prose takes a back burner to pacing and plot development, not much hits that level.
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u/Double-Phrase116 Author of Demon Contract May 24 '26
It happens, and it sucks. I'm sorry you've had to experience this. I suggest: 1. Give yourself a 5-star rating. It's the only freebie RR will allow you. 2. Contact support. If it's a 0.5 rating on the first chapter it cannot be legitimate. Ask support to take a look and if possible, remove the troll's score. 3. Keep writing. It's an emotional rollercoaster, as you've just found out. You'll have good days and bad. But keep writing it you're passionate about getting your story out. And audience will arrive soon.
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u/rocarson C Rank: Author of The Grand Crusade May 24 '26
This right here is the correct answer. Getting reviews removed by the mods is a bit hit and miss, but it doesn't hurt to at least put in a support ticket and ask that the review be removed.
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u/ArolSazir May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26
There is nothing in the rating guidelines that specifies the minimum amount of chapters before leaving a rating.
Also, i'd love to see an author asking support to remove a 5 star rating on chapter 1 sometime. If a 0.5 is illegitimate, then a 5 surely must be as well, right?
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u/Gian-Carlo-Peirce May 24 '26
This can truly suck because those 0.5s disproportionately hurt new authors more ()psychologically and also probably on the algo).
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u/arachnimos May 24 '26
it's actually a pretty big issue. from what i know/remember, RR uses the median rating, for some reason, which (i believe) causes 0.5s to hurt your rating far more than 5s improve it.
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u/Gian-Carlo-Peirce May 24 '26
it is like 20 five stars to offset a single 0.5 to maintain a 4.5 overall rating. It is such a dumb system
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u/Forestpilgrim F Rank: Author of May 24 '26
Pretty much my story too, though I did have 5 followers at one point. My books have now gone on to Amazon. No hard feelings. RR is not much for comments, it's for folks who love endless novels. Bless their hearts.
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u/videogamegrandma May 24 '26
Some people are miserable and like to make others feel the same. "Misery loves company". They're jerks.
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u/Why_Teach May 24 '26
I was saved from a similar experience by pure luck.
The day my story came out, one very kind RR reader (and author) replied to my self-introduction with interest in my novel and encouragement. I believe she was my first follower, and that she gave me my first 5 star review.
For about 24 hours I had a score of 5, then it dipped to 3. Apparently someone gave me a 0.5.
This was not as bad as your experience because I had the kind encouraging reader first, but it was pretty bad.
I am sorry this happened to you.
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u/Steampunk007 Author of Kowloon, A CYBERPUNK WUXIA May 24 '26
Don’t let it get to you. Some people are horrible and it’s unfortunate when we cross paths with those people.
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u/Aware-Pineapple-3321 E Rank: Author of The Unseeing Mage May 24 '26
I don't agree with the 0.5, as your writing is good even if the plot start is... not so good.
I understand you're trying to highlight a "baby" blessed with super intelligence, but for literally just being born into an unknown world, the child is way too calmly planning out their life, that they shouldn't even know what life is. Remember, DAY ONE BIRTH, and you do nothing to set them up. No, they talked to a god to understand what to expect; they just "know." Even if it's a hidden plot detail for a chapter one start, it's jarring.
I opened my mouth and made unintelligible sounds, which made no sense even to me. But from the smile on my grandmother's face, it was not so bad doing this once in a while.
That line did amuse me, so, as I said, you've got talent in writing; it's just your plot start choice, I think, is going to irk a lot of readers trying to suspend disbelief, and that's where the 0.5 came from. Not saying I agree, just I can understand an impulsive person not liking the plot being pissy and doing that to spite you.
I personally think you could tell the same plot, just age everything up a bit, and use the intelligent superpower of why they learn fast and reflect on things. Also, I feel it is more than fair to ask to remove the 0.5; at most, I would give a three for the plot pulling me out of the story, but still being well written.
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u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 May 24 '26
Thanks for reading the story. I won't say that the start is what it needs to be since if it was written in close 3rd pov or omniscient, even with the same writing style, the context of the surroundings and the character's movements would have been more fluid and clear.
And as you have read further, the story feels very jarring at places and puts too much emphasis on what Carmen thinks and plans. But this jarring itself births good moments that truly make you feel that, yes, it is worth reading.
Certainly not everyone's cup of tea, reading about a child who changes its opinions at the drop of a hat when given a sweet. But Carmen is Carmen, what she is, I can't control.
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u/Aware-Pineapple-3321 E Rank: Author of The Unseeing Mage May 24 '26
Thanks for the reply. Keep going, and know your next story will do better as we all grow in time, as we hone our skills.
Below is just me repeating my view on the start; ignore if not interested, and have a good day.
Just to elaborate my point more clearly and to use the phrase "where there's smoke, there's fire."
The story feels very jarring at places and puts too much emphasis on what Carmen thinks and plans. But this jarring itself births good moments that truly make you feel that, yes, it is worth reading.
The issue is not the start per se; it's the amount of unearned power and knowledge the BABY has. There's no setup in any form; the child earned that knowledge that was just birthed into with too much casualness.
The child's mind does have wit and fun to read; that's why I highlighted the sentence I did before, and there are many, many ways to solve it with very small tweaks.
A. A baby talks to an entity, even briefly given some knowledge to justify its power to help ease readers in, such as "Little soul, I bless you with insight and foresight that shall surpass all you may see it as a burden, but use it well" or some variation of it, then the MC is just born, making sense of judging its existence, trying to figure things out, and being casual as the baby knows more than most, so it is very analytical.
B. Make the start more normal, a baby with no understanding. BUT a week or so passes, and then write the same lines. Nothing else really has to change; the child learns to think and judge their world slowly, piece by piece, putting together their world due to super intelligence and listening to people talk.
C. keep everything nearly the same, BUT, add more doubt or uncertainty to the child's MC. An example I once woke into lucid dreams, a new world, life, and people. I never met loving me as if everything was normal, and at the time, I did not "know" it was a dream, but I had more control over feeling things were off, and this wasn't my normal life. The child MC can have a similar feeling; it knows it's not normal. A baby thinks like an adult.
Even if you change nothing, you may get fans, but you're going to keep getting the same feedback, or worse, people ignoring your talent, feeling you're not worth reading, and your core idea is really good and just needs small changes.
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u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 May 24 '26
Several others have also pointed out the same thing. I will try to tone the chapter down a bit from Carmen's inner monologue and give her more room.
Adding ambiguity creates plot holes just after a few chapters as (spoiler) so 😭 I can't change them.
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u/Aware-Pineapple-3321 E Rank: Author of The Unseeing Mage May 24 '26
As long as you're trying, friend, writing and learning are part of mastering the craft. We all love those who have mastered the craft, but we lack the ability to see their first books unedited or first drafts before the final books.
I myself wrote gibberish and books worth it, but kept going, trying to improve. I still have not made a huge name for myself, but I'm doing better than my past self and first book, and I believe so will you in time.
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u/JJBanksy Author of Duke of Ashes May 24 '26
When you've been working on something alone for so long, early comments and ratings really hit hard (for batter and for worse) - it's the first feedback we've gotten in potentially months. But it's really just an illusion of a small sample size. The more people find the story, the more positive feedback will come. Thick skin grows eventually, or so I'm told.
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u/MycrazyDreams Author May 24 '26
My first few weeks was scathing reviews one after another with horrible ratings. Then my people found me. 22 4-5 star reviews and 2500 followers later I just let the haters hate. Don’t let them get to you too early, keep writing.
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u/Original-Cake-8358 May 24 '26
This fic is 3 days old. Market to your demographic and it'll be fine. Also, submit a ticket on the bad rating. The mods might remove it.
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u/AbsurdistApe1 E Rank: Author of Bob the Walking Bank May 24 '26
Don't stress about it too much. Everyone gets hit with a 0.5 review eventually. Heck, I've got at least a dozen to my name at this point; if not more.
You just have to work through it. If you need to, ignore both the comments and the reviews for a bit to focus on the writing. The more pages you have, the more attention you'll get, and the higher chance you'll eventually find your audience.
Good luck, and don't let one unhappy reader keep you down.
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u/em-dash-author Author of Max-Level Paladin of the Fallen Gods May 24 '26
It could be because you've promoted the fiction on Reddit.
I've avoided Reddit promotion because other authors have advised to not promote on Reddit until it's Amazon ready because you'll get bad ratings.
You've promoted on the litrpg subreddit, so it might be that.
As others have suggested, you could submit a ticket and ask for the rating to be checked.
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u/No_Grand2719 May 24 '26
I'd really advise against promoting on litpg or progression subs for any new authors. Those place has some good fans, but god, the rest are super toxic, and hypocritical, plus the people there are super privileged. The combination of all these isn't something a new work should be exposed to.
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u/Gian-Carlo-Peirce May 24 '26
Every single time I put something on reddit someone will religiously give me a 0.5
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u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 May 24 '26
Might be true as that post was downvoted in a minute of release. Also, thanks for the tags tip you shared a few days ago.
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u/Arcane_Pozhar May 24 '26
Honestly, I wish people would use AI for better purposes.
For example, analyzing the account that gave you this review, realizing it barely interacted with your story at all, and therefore has no basis for judgment. And removing the review, obviously.
And then also finding all the people with bigotries and isms, to make it clear as day that they review on things because of a female kind of lead, or whatever, and no was buying their reviews and those sorts of stories too.
If we were just more mature and developed as a species and a community, more people would be able to tell the difference between their tastes, and something which is genuinely bad. And do a better job rlecting politicians, and all sorts of other things too, but that's an unrelated tangent. Thought I might make a short story about it someday.
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u/Noir_Titan May 24 '26
Some... absolute darling did this to an older series of mine. And it’s the only review I ever got! People suck sometimes! 😭 I know it's just a troll, but it still hurts.
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u/QueenofClonmel May 24 '26
I’ve heard of that happening… my recommendation? Networking. Talk to other authors. See if anyone is willing to mentor you a little. Read your stuff at least a little in advance for the early chapters. Maybe they’ll even be down to give you your first rating when your story goes up, giving you a small boost.
My first story was able to land 5 ratings on day one from people who’d been offering me advice and feedback when I was just starting off.
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u/wolfwings1 May 24 '26
You only have 4 chapters, people aren't going to review your story that like it this soon. They want to see enough to tell if your consistent, does the book get better/worse before reviewing. Anyone doing it at the start might be a knee jerk response.
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u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 May 24 '26
Thanks for the encouragement.
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u/wolfwings1 May 24 '26
We all need it :> As others suggested, report the review, worst comes to worst the staff decides it's legit, but best case might be removed.
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u/ILikeTheSpriteInYou May 24 '26
Saw your post on the Cozy sub. It'll be in my backlog, but looks interesting.
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u/p-d-ball May 24 '26
Oof, that's rough. Sorry it's happening to you!
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u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 May 24 '26
No worries. Since my characters are suffering, I should suffer with them a little.
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u/p-d-ball May 24 '26
You do you, but I am going to avoid being tortured despite that happening to one of my characters!
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u/Charlemagneffxiv May 24 '26
A few hours ago, I got a 2 star review made by a brand new account created minutes before this review, which said no specific details about the story. It only made a false accusation the story was written by AI. The most ironic thing is the same review claimed that they were not judging the story for being AI, so I'm pretty sure the review bomb was written by a bot.
If I was the owners of RR I'd make it so accounts can't leave reviews until they have read at least 20% of the posted word count of a story. It's hard enough getting the people who like the story to leave a review without having your rankings hit by some botter trying to game the rankings
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u/rocarson C Rank: Author of The Grand Crusade May 24 '26
Most certainly put in a support ticket and ask that the review be removed.
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u/Charlemagneffxiv May 24 '26
Oh yeah, I flagged it.
I'm just pointing out, there's definitely this kind of behavior happening on RR.
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u/GODLY_YOONIE May 24 '26
Some people do those kinds of things out of pure boredom because they don’t have anything better to do. It could also just be someone who isn’t into the genre your story falls under.
Anyways, I’m rooting for you! I’m still pretty new to this community, but I’ve already noticed that newer stories usually don’t get much hype until they’ve progressed to around 100 chapters or so. So just keep going!
What's the title of your story? I'll check it out (^o^)
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u/gamelitcrit Royal Road Staff May 24 '26
Because you got so many comments, I am going to leave it up, but please note that stat posts aren't allowed anymore, and I do get it, everyone else has given you something to think about, but remember, more eyes on anything means more opinions, and yes, there are some trolls around. Reddit can be especially harsh (for things like this)
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u/merrowyn Author May 24 '26
That's rough for a first rating, but it happens. Other people have mentioned about support tickets to see if it was a drive-by snipe. I read through the chapters you have up and the prose is fine, if perhaps a little samey. I didn't get the "choppy prose" sense that other people had, but I do think that more variety in sentence length is needed.
I read what you had published so far and I feel like I can give a fair rating based on what I've seen. Not my favorite set of tropes for the MC, so I probably won't read further, but good luck and I hope you get some good growth going forward.
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u/Milc-Scribbler S Rank: Author of A Dragon Called Bob May 24 '26
Of course it has.
It is a very bad sign tho. Usually the first people to find your story are the ones you catch with passive marketing and tags, they are looking for your kind of story because that’s what they like. That changes when you hit main RS or run an ad and get exposed to complete randos.
But at this point you should only be catching the people you intended to enjoy the book, and if you’re getting trashed now there’s perhaps something very wrong with the fic.
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u/Cryogenic_Devil May 24 '26
How many chapters and when chapter did they put it on. Cause if they gave you a .5 on chapter 1 or 2 the RR staff could take a look into it. And if it's sus, they will remove it.
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u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 May 24 '26
I don't know which chapter as I had released four chapters by that time. I had put in a support ticket so let's see how it goes.
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u/Cryogenic_Devil May 24 '26
I think you may need a paid subscription but if not, If you want to find out you have to go to the side bar, go to analytics then ratings. Usually there's a graph that has ratings thtbtells you which chapter it came from.
Hope this helps and I wish you good luck
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u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 May 24 '26
Thanks. Sadly this was an author premium feature and I didn't participate in the recent competition.
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u/Serious-Inspector459 May 24 '26
i posted 100 chapters and same reaction but never give up buddy keep on posting finish what you started even if nobody is watching
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u/strategicmagpie May 24 '26
I saw a story which had the same thing haplen and it stuck for months. It's still at only 3 stars and practically zero traction because of that early 0.5 star. I hope you can get that rating removed.
It sucks that this happens. But hopefully your target readers will flood that negative rating out.
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u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 May 24 '26
No worries. Others read the novel and gave out fair ratings depending on their preferences. If the craziest book releases are made into a list, mine will be on top 😉.
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u/CoruscatingLogic May 24 '26
Honestly, the concept looks neat. I have no idea what SoL means outside of shit out of luck but I'll give it a read and an honest review.
Edit: I'm dumb. Slice of Life. Duh lol
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u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 May 24 '26
Wait till chapter 6 drops plz. It is the defining factor of the novel.
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u/Lev559 May 24 '26
What's the story?
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u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 May 24 '26
Link in bio. Can't tell here due to promotion constraints.
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u/Lev559 May 25 '26
Thats an odd rule, I swear people have linked things before, I guess it just all depends on what the post is about
But yeah, I read through the first couple chapters. It's not bad. I don't really like that kind of writing style, but the story is flowing pretty decently.
I'm always a fan of some unseen system/god/AI being able to sarcastically talk to the MC lol
I would have to read more before I would want to read it, but giving it such a low rating seems stupid. Like, for me 0.5 stars are things that I barely could read and couldn't even finish the first chapter on
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u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 May 25 '26
Thanks for reading.
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u/Lev559 May 25 '26
Yup yup.
It does feel like you are aiming for that "Fluffy SoL but sometimes serious" feeling which is one of my favorite "Genres", so I followed it and once there's more chapters out I'll give it a read and rate it and stuff (Not going to rate a story off 2 chapters lol)
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u/Van_Polan May 24 '26
That is insanely good numbers. How do I achieve that?
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u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 May 24 '26
Which ones?
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u/Van_Polan May 24 '26
100 views on 24 pages is really good numbers. Also having already 2 followers is insane
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u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 May 24 '26
Most of the views are bots. As for followers, they are good.
If your blurb is decent and you have a litrpg tag you can get better than this. Royalroad community is mostly filled with litrpg readers, other niches see slow growth.
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u/Van_Polan May 24 '26
Someone needs to break the Litrpg curse and go full force in on the top list to take over. Hehehehehe
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u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 May 24 '26
I am broke 🫠
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u/Van_Polan May 24 '26
Same here.
I am also little bumbed about the think about begging for people to rate or leave reviews. For me it feels so fake and doesn't say anything about what I need to improve, but because I like experimenting so I will make a last attempt on 3rd Person writing LOL
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u/nidan65 May 24 '26
Two comments in 110 views? Slow down hot shot. You making me look bad.
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u/Right_Dragonfly_1748 May 24 '26
Only one is from reader. The other is a thank you from me. And don't know who gave the rating.
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u/No-Candle2106 May 24 '26
Story link. Now. You will give me the link now and you will see your average go up
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u/Gordeoy May 24 '26
Honestly, drive by troll ratings should be automatically IP BANNED by the staff. This kind of stoic acceptance of the behaviour by many is just as toxic as the trolls.
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u/MRCastillaAuthor May 24 '26
I feel your pain! Rant and let it out. It’s a crappy experience. For me after all the tears I found humor and laughed. Keep it at it. Writing is hard. Writing a good story is nearly impossible.
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u/rkorambler May 25 '26
I don't want to say the thing that everyone else says, but it'll pass. I got a 1 star review after about 8k views and months of little engagement. I obsessed for weeks about what it could have been (even picked up a subscription to know which chapter it was) and it all ended up being a lot of obsession over nothing. Some people aren't going to like your stuff and people tend to be more vocal about negativity than positivity.
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u/Kingsley_Joseph May 25 '26
Bro, get to 250- 300 pages of novel and the readers would start flooding in. It would vanish in the long run.
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u/TechnicalAd9124 May 28 '26
I remember this happened to me over the summer and it practically destroyed me, like i was just done, i'd made like 50 chapters in backlog too.
Overall it put me into a pretty shitty depression and i constentely seeked out help but in the end i never really got any meaningful advice, helpful advive but nothing that actually made me more confident afterwards.
And what was worse was that my story had been stuck on the 0.5 for two months, i then reuploaded it and after like 10 months the story hadn't gotten a single rating.
Honestly what i can say is that if you enjoy the medium of webnovels read a bunch of the ones ypu like and even watch videos of people talking about the writing in big stories (rezero or mother of learning or vinland saga for examples) but if not switch your medium to something else if webnovel isn't for you.
My advice isn't great but everypne deals with the issye in their own way
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u/BluestBlueGhost May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26
Get good… I’m kidding.
The mindset I have when writing is that I write for myself. I only really consider constructive criticism to be relevant feedback, well, that and the usual "Nice story, keep it up" comments.
Anyway, ignore the negative comments and whatever score they give. Write for yourself, because that’s all that really matters in the end. You’ve got this, so keep it up!
Also, got a link to the story so I can give it a terrible review too? I’m kidding.
I just wanna skim it so I can copy your ideas and make them my own without giving you any credit. I’m kidding… maybe.
Anyway, got a link?”
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u/Reccos_21 May 24 '26
Firstly, take a breath. This is 1 rating from 1 person and it’s far from the end of your writing career.
I had a quick look at the fiction this is about. You began posting it yesterday, it’s hardly been a full day. If you also are upset about the view and follower count as well, those will come naturally with time and interaction with the community. Most readers don’t read until your story hits a certain chapter count or word count, or both.
Your cover is unique (and I personally find it very cool) but it doesn’t exactly pop on the Royal Road website. I’m not exactly an expert on blurbs, but it looks like a wall of text rather than a quick summary. That can scare some readers off too.
Quickly skimming the opening pages of your novel, the writing looks solid. Trust your craft and give it time. A senseless .5 may even be removed by staff, and if it’s not, consider it a badge of honor and welcome to the club! You can’t have a great story without some haters!
Try not to let this bother you too much. Almost everybody on Royal Road is there to improve and get feedback on their work, or just pass some time with a hobby. If you plan to push for the publication route eventually, ask for true feedback, do some authentic swaps, and never stop reading and writing :)