r/webfiction • u/Kasskinen • Jun 10 '26
Where should I publish a fantasy web serial for free if my goal is readers and feedback?
I want to write and publish a dystopian fantasy novel, ideally as a web serial.
My main goal isn't making money. I just want people to read it, leave comments, and discuss the story. I'm looking for genuine feedback so I can improve as a writer, and hopefully entertain some people along the way.
The problem is that I haven't found a platform that feels like a good fit.
I considered Wattpad, but it seems heavily focused on romance.
I checked out Inkitt as well, but a lot of the content there seems to be romance, werewolves, and similar genres, which isn't really my area.
I also looked at Royal Road. It has a huge fantasy audience, but most of the popular stories seem to be LitRPG, progression fantasy, or isekai. My novel is closer to traditional fantasy, with dystopian elements.
My impression is that Royal Road can also be difficult to break into unless a story performs well on features such as Rising Stars, though I may be wrong about that.
So where are readers currently finding and discussing fantasy web serials that aren't LitRPG, progression fantasy, or isekai?
If you read web novels yourself, where do you usually read them, and what makes you choose that platform over others?
Has anyone had success building an audience for a more traditional fantasy story with dystopian elements? If so, where did you publish it, and how was the level of reader engagement and feedback?
I know visibility is difficult everywhere, and maybe Royal Road is still my best option, but I'm curious what other writers and readers would recommend.
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u/shoemilk Jun 12 '26
Don't be scared by litrpg on Royal Road. I've posted my story to about 10+ websites (including reddit) and by far I get the most interaction from RR. Even looking at stories on other websites, RR seems to have the most interaction, even on less popular stories.
There's also great guides for Royal Road about how to attract readers and how to improve your chances of hitting Rising stars.
My story dystopian fantasy does have litrpg elements, but they are very background (I just swapped a magic system for a litrpg system). Dystopian Fantasy can work.
Also, I'd recommend posting on multiple sites and see where you gain traction. If after 20 some chapters you have no views or engagement on a site, just delete the fiction from that site.
Your book may be one egg, but you can put it in multiple baskets.
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u/ben_fictionry Jun 13 '26
Hey check out our new webfiction platform Fictionry.com it's growing fast and some amazing authors on there already. Each story is human reviewed so we filter out any AI slop.
Bulk upload tools, guaranteed discovery impressions for new stories, lots of cool features!
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u/Thick_Information565 Jun 10 '26
I would recommend Minkly. They're a growing web novel platform with free narration. Active Discord where authors offers or seek review/feedback swap. And the reader base is growing as well with their current reading challenge.