Authors Making Bank With Meh Stories/Writing

[HouseOfUkiro]

Am I the only one who comes across writers who are killing it on Patreon with an alright story and alright writing (not trying to diss anyone).

Jessica spent years worldbuilding, really laying down the ground work. Timmy’s writing doesn’t land quite right.

Timmy is making something like $3000 monthly on Patreon, while Jessica, publishing fully polished works, is struggling.

 

[AliceMoonvale]

Timmy is likely writing smut full of tropey tropes.

 

[Placeholder]

... ah, smut ...

 

[DismaiNaim]

Timmy isn't making enough to buy a latte, but by telling everyone he makes $3000 he gets the attention he craves

 

[Envylope]

Timmy is responding to the demands of the market. No, you don't need smut to make that much. You can click on some popular works on Royal Road and find authors who make more than Timmy without smut. By the way, if you really want to make Patreon money, RR has the whales.

 

[Alski]

Timmy is writing for his peers, the brain addled young adults of today.

 

[AliceMoonvale]

RR whales that will eat you alive if you write anything other than litrpg.

 

[Envylope]

RR whales that will eat you alive if you write anything other than litrpg.

Not only LitRPG, but the royal sloppers do enjoy their numbers.

Also, people don't mention this, but you can do two things at once. Write one story that you really love and another for the market.

 

[HouseOfUkiro]

Timmy is likely writing smut full of tropey tropes.

Ngl, when started reading webnovels, I dabbled. One moment I was reading the synopsis next thing I’m face deep in…

... ah, smut ...

Wait a minute, fr? ?

 

[LeilaniOtter]

Not only LitRPG, but the royal sloppers do enjoy their numbers.

Also, people don't mention this, but you can do two things at once. Write one story that you really love and another for the market.

Exactly what I've started doing. I wasn't happy with the domination of furry works I have on Scribble Hub, and want to branch out into other stories, human, following the brand-genre isekai that people like. The challenge is to make them unique and as good or even better than the "whales" do. ?

 

[HouseOfUkiro]

Timmy is responding to the demands of the market. No, you don't need smut to make that much. You can click on some popular works on Royal Road and find authors who make more than Timmy without smut. By the way, if you really want to make Patreon money, RR has the whales.

That’s where I saw Timmy. I remember thinking to myself, “Timmy must be the pen name of a goblin cause what the heck am I reading.”

checks Patreon income.

Timmy is raking in $3000 typos, narrative betrayal and all.

me: “F^€~ You Timmy” ?️??️

 

[AliceMoonvale]

Not only LitRPG, but the royal sloppers do enjoy their numbers.

Also, people don't mention this, but you can do two things at once. Write one story that you really love and another for the market.

Personally, I like being able to enjoy all things I write. Writing for the market using the most boring, soul-crushing genres I wouldn't touch with my line of sight isn't worth it.

 

[BearlyAlive]

Timmy is what's wrong with the publishing scene in general. Either he writes smut for men ($$$), gay shipping fanfictions for women ($$$$$) or monster smut for women ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$) for direct and instant gratification. Or they write Excel sheets for incels ($$) who want to feel intellectual by reading a book, but at the same time want to 'see' a Let's Play.

And I'm not even joking, sadly. I went to my local bookstore, and outside of a few old classics and ongoing series from years back, all "fantasy" novels were either "romantasy" (which means smut, but minors can read it as well for some reason) or outright porn. And the YA section looked exactly the same, which is even more shocking...

 

[HouseOfUkiro]

Timmy is writing for his peers, the brain addled young adults of today.

Goddam economics ?

RR whales that will eat you alive if you write anything other than litrpg.

Lol I’m going to make my bread there. I enjoy SH’s forum a lot better though tbh.

 

[Envylope]

Personally, I like being able to enjoy all things I write. Writing for the market using the most boring, soul-crushing genres I wouldn't touch with my line of sight isn't worth it.

For me, I view it as the same thing as working a job to afford what you want to do. You write the thing that will be popular as your job, and then you write what you want as your hobby.

 

[HouseOfUkiro]

Personally, I like being able to enjoy all things I write. Writing for the market using the most boring, soul-crushing genres I wouldn't touch with my line of sight isn't worth it.

I agree fr. I want to write stories I low-keyboard want to experience. I’m honestly writing for me tbh not the reader.

I’ll never tell them that. Readers are mental ?

 

[JayMark]

For me, I view it as the same thing as working a job to afford what you want to do. You write the thing that will be popular as your job, and then you write what you want as your hobby.

Everytime I try to write something for the market, I can't control myself. I know I need one slightly new twist to flavor a formula I should just research to otherwise write like everybody else. But I have to go and start my projects, challenges, and grind the grand revolutionary idea mill fast to challenge the status quo and show people something different can work. I end up writing something that I feel could be master-class but it's not in its time and thus everybody hates it.

I just need to fucking appeal to the lowest common denominator for once without getting sarcastic about it! I know I can do this! I have it in me!

Also my prose stays kind of clunky until after the 4th draft. But I've seen much worse prose get way more popular.

 

[HouseOfUkiro]

Timmy is what's wrong with the publishing scene in general. Either he writes smut for men ($$$), gay shipping fanfictions for women ($$$$$) or monster smut for women ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$) for direct and instant gratification. Or they write Excel sheets for incels ($$) who want to feel intellectual by reading a book, but at the same time want to 'see' a Let's Play.

And I'm not even joking, sadly. I went to my local bookstore, and outside of a few old classics and ongoing series from years back, all "fantasy" novels were either "romantasy" (which means smut, but minors can read it as well for some reason) or outright porn. And the YA section looked exactly the same, which is even more shocking...

Yeah that monster smut is a whole other world. I saw a TikTok of people thirsting over the Predator AND the Alien. Some dudes be fantasising about the Queen alien, acidic blood and all. ?

Everytime I try to write something for the market, I can't control myself. I know I need one slightly new twist to flavor a formula I should just research to otherwise write like everybody else. But I have to go and start my projects, challenges, and grind the grand revolutionary idea mill fast to challenge the status quo and show people something different can work. I end up writing something that I feel could be master-class but it's not in its time and thus everybody hates it.

I just need to fucking appeal to the lowest common denominator for once without getting sarcastic about it! I know I can do this! I have it in me!

Also my prose stays kind of clunky until after the 4th draft. But I've seen much worse prose get way more popular.

I can’t do it. Im going to write what I want and find a deity to pray to ??

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

That’s where I saw Timmy. I remember thinking to myself, “Timmy must be the pen name of a goblin cause what the heck am I reading.”

checks Patreon income.

Timmy is raking in $3000 typos, narrative betrayal and all.

me: “F^€~ You Timmy” ?️??️

There are much bigger nyanemies than Timmy in this world~.

 

[JayMark]

Yeah that monster smut is a whole other world. I saw a TikTok of people thirsting over the Predator AND the Alien. Some dudes be fantasising about the Queen alien, acidic blood and all. ?

I can’t do it. Im going to write what I want and find a deity to pray to ??

Honestly, I think the cheat code is to just find something really popular, and write that with a slightly different setting and character names, change a few irrelevent details like making an elve a fairy, plus one twist theme in the plot or ability to make it slightly different while having a hook.

I told myself I was going to do this last time. I didn't do that. I have to go and be too different from the meta always.