Help me I'm stuck! - Guest Blog - Discord Cat
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Guest Blog by Discord Cat - Squitt3n
'Help me, I'm stuck!' - The Ultimate Guide To 'Unstucking' Your Fiction
Hello lovely people,
Squitt3n, the 'Immersive Ink discord cat' here! 😸
Lately, we've been having more and more threads pop up from new, or even experienced authors, worried that their fiction got 'stuck'. This can mean stuck in views, followers, basically any form of growth. If you find yourself asking ''Reddit, am I cooked?'' or ''Should I delete my fiction?'' or even ''Why aren't my numbers growing?'' and you're looking for a way to, as I've elegantly put it, 'unstuck' yourself, this is the guide for you!
ALSO, IF YOU'RE JUST LAUNCHING, READ THIS GUIDE!
I will be including some important links, make sure to check them out.
WHO AM I AND WHY AM I WRITING THIS GUIDE?
I'm Squitt3n, the one who writes the moderately adequate 'The Dungeon Broker', a story about an NPC dungeon manager who turns to a life of crime to pay the bills. Small compromises become a lifestyle and, by the time you blink, harmless smuggling deals turn into full blown dungeon heists.
Like many of you who are just starting their journey on RR, I'm new to the platform and I've been scouring the internet for hints and clues on how to properly launch...and then proceeded to expertly botch all of them, something I'm sure RR should give me an achivement for! 😹
Am I a big author? No 😹
Have I done EVERYTHING wrong? Yes, not because I didn't listen to my own advice here, but mostly because I'm a stubborn idiot.
My launch day lasted an entire week, my ad has a shameful CTR, I have no really big shoutouts, most of my traffic comes from 'Latest updated: Page 11'...and somehow, as of writing this, I'm on RS for 7 genres and about 50ish spots away from main.
The point is, I've messed up a lot, so you don't have to! Following the further outlined advice helped me grow and, hopefully, it will help you too.
PRELUDE
1. IMPORTANT READS
Let's start with what I think are some of the most important fundamental reads here on Reddit, especially for those of you who are just getting started.
Bog Standard Launch - Tread this as your gosspel
At least the first two should be your fundamental readings, regardless on why you're writing your fiction. Some write because they want a career, others write for themselves, but the bottom line is that everyone wants readers, otherwise they wouldn't bother putting their work up. There's nothing wrong with this and these guides are meant to help you find your readers. They also include a lot of things that I'll be covering here!
2. TWO TYPES OF BEING STUCK
In my opinion, there are at least two different types of being stuck. We'll call them Stuck A and Stuck B. If you're stuck, one of these likely applies to you (never both unless something really went wrong).
Stuck A refers to having a fiction page with at least somewhat of a regular growth (views, followers) and a posting schedule (or at least something akin to it). Those in stuck a category have been on RR for a while, doing their own thing but their numbers, despite all of their efforts, aren't going up anymore.
Stuck B refers to having a fiction page with almost no followers or views whatsoever, no posting schedule (or maybe an irregular one) and overall dead traffic. Those stuck in B category are usually new authors or authors who have been posting for a few weeks/months but their numbers just aren't going up.
In further text, I will emphasize the points tailored to each type of being stuck.
3. IDENTIFY YOUR GOAL
This is the last point that we need to cover in this 'prelude'. What is your goal?
Now, I need you to be fully honest with yourself. Are you writing as a hobbyist or are you doing it to earn money and, hopefully, live from your writing? Before you start doing anything, get this goal sorted out and tailor your expectations accordingly! Whatever it is, I'm sure that I can at least somewhat help you out, but you need to get this sorted out, if nothing with yourself.
There are different solutions to your problems based on your goals. Same goes for metrics. Bad metrics for someone looking to be a career writer might be great for a hobbyist who just wants to post stories.
Correct goals and right expectations will also help you avoid stress, burnout and the feeling of frustration when you compare yourself to other authors, especially those who aren't writing for the same reason that you are. That context is important!
THE MAIN FACTORS BEHIND GETTING STUCK ON RR!
Luckily for us, getting stuck rarely happens randomly!
It involves one or more of the following factors:
- Launching too early (too little chapters out)
- No or extremely irregular/slow posting schedule
- No marketing/promotion
- Bad cover/blurb
A reasonable argument can be made that there are even more factors but I'd say that these are the most common occuring ones.
WHEN TO LAUNCH YOUR STORY AND HOW DOES THIS IMPACT THE 'STUCK' FACTOR?
Starting off with the basic question, 'When do I launch?'.
This is, believe it or not, the most common problem that new authors run into and the main culprit behind getting stuck (any type).
Launch when you feel like you're ready! NO, DON'T DO THAT!
Launch when you have at least 10 chapters ready to go and a about 20+ more in the backlog? YES, DO THIS!
Why this matters?
Aside from algorithmic effects, having at least 10 chapters out helps get in the early readers! As you've probably heard by now, lots of new stories get flat out abandoned at some point. This became a common enough occurence for reader expectation's to shift.
If you scroll through the subreddit and check some older threads, you will find that a lot of readers say something along the lines of 'I won't read a new fiction unless there are 100 pages out' or similar.
How pages work?
275 words - 1 page
27,500 words - 100 pages
Releasing with 20k words or more both showcases your comittment to the project as an author and correlates with reader expectations regarding new fictions.
Why write more than 'needed' for the launch?
There are two major benefits to this:
- Creating a big enough backlog to sustain you for the next few coming weeks.
- Creating a big enough backlog to further push your chapter release schedule.
The fact of the matter is that life sometimes happens and, for whatever reason, has a habit of disrupting our plans. If you're anything like me, that happens too often, so it is best to plan accordingly.
A big backlog of ideally 30 chapters or more will help you survive the 'life happened' periods without causing your to drop off in momentum or to burn out.
Now, if you're feeling brave about it and your initial launch didn't go well, the other big benefit of a huge backlog is that you can increase your chapter release rate. I'm doing that for 'The Dungeon Broker' by releasing 2 chapters a day instead of one and it did wonders with helping me recover steam post-launch.
I don't recommend doing this unless your backlog is massive or you have too much extra time on your hands. If you're using dictation, it will help produce your chapters faster, but it isn't magic and editing will still take time!
WHAT TO DO IF YOU SCREWED UP THIS STEP?
Ok, you've messed up, it happens. You've launched a bit too early and now you're thinking 'Crap, how will I ever get traction with no chapters out?'. Don't worry, this is the easiest thing to fix.
In this section I will assume that you don't have a backlog. In that case stop posting new chapters and go write more instead!!!
There's a key thing to keep in mind: until you have 20k words out, you're practically invisible. So, before you burn yourself out trying to write and publish multiple times a week or you make matters even worse by creating an irregular publishing schedule, stop!
It is better to write now and publish more later than to try improvising a schedule on the fly.
But what to do with my fiction page in case this happens to me? (mostly impacts stuck B)
Alright, don't panic, this isn't the end of the world.
If you have 2-3 chapters out now and you don't have a backlog or any significant following, my advice is to delete the chapters and re-launch once you've written enough of them.
You can still use your fiction page to generate a shoutout code! Having chapters out isn't a requirement.
So don't worry, even empty, your fiction page can still be useful to you.
HERE'S WHY THIS PART MATTERS!
If you leave your chapters out and come back after 2-3 weeks with more chapters, your front page will look like this:
Chapter 1 - 3 weeks ago
Chapter 2 - 3 weeks ago
Chapter 3 - 5min ago
This is bad optics.
Though you've had a good reason to postpone releasing more chapters, your readers don't know that. They can't possibly know, so they can only judge based on the information that is available to them. Unfortunately, this 'release schedule' immediately signals inconsistency, which is one of the main turn off points for most readers.
On the other hand, if you delete your early chapters and re-launch with more, your front page will look like this:
Chapter 1 - 2 hours ago
Chapter 2 - 1 hour ago
Chapter 3 - 5min ago
This is good optics
This immediatelly looks better! It tells the reader 'ok, this is a new fiction, it just launched and it is releasing chapters steadily'.
IF YOU'RE IN STUCK A: You might be in too deep to consider flat out deleting your fiction. A relaunch is an option, but I'm not qualified to give advice on that topic. However, I'd imagine that most authors who are encountering this problem are in stuck B.
IF YOU'RE IN STUCK B: This advice is especially important to you! A later stream of consistent chapters won't fix your optics if the first bunch is months or weeks apart. You're gaining more reader trust by deleting your page and starting all over again!
Please don't ask me about re-launching, I'm not qualified to talk about that. However, if you're adamant on doing a relaunch, the posting advice still applies to you! Get that schedule in order otherwise you'll be running in circles.
MARKETING AND SHOUTOUT SWAPS
Shoutouts are your best form of free advertisement. They are free to set up, they help both authors, and you can get a lot of them ready for launch. I know that there are a bunch of questions about shoutouts so I'll be as detailed as I can.
How many shoutouts do I need?
When releasing a new fiction, the ideal number is somewhere around 1.5-2 months in advance. That's about over 30 shoutouts or more, depending on your release schedule.
How many did I have when I started out? 5 💀
Don't be like me, get your shoutouts in order ASAP. 😹
HOW TO MAKE SHOUTOUT CODES!
Let's start with what might be the most confusing part.
Follow this link, insert your fiction URL in the appropriate box, hit generate and BAM, shoutout code completed!
Afterwards put your code in a google doc and pin it! When doing swaps, always send the URL to the google doc, it is a proper, safe way for authors to exchange codes.
HOW DO I INSERT A SHOUTOUT CODE?
In your author's notes (above or below) click on the <> button. This will open a new window. Paste the code specifically into that window! If you're still not seeing it, then something is wrong either on your end or with the provided code.
WHERE CAN I GET SHOUTOUT SWAPS?
Join these discords: Immersive Ink, RR Writer's Guild, find them all in the blog post here.
They both have swap channels. Network with other authors, let them know that you're looking to do swaps, open a thread so that you're easier to find...it sounds like much but it really isn't.
The upside is that these communities are absolutely awesome and filled with lovely people who are more than happy to help you out! (the cat being one of them) 😻
DO SHOUTOUT SWAPS ACTUALLY WORK?
Yes, yes they do**,** though their effectiveness depends on the size of fiction and audience.
What do I mean by that?
If your book is 'The Dungeon Broker', which is a heist LitRPG about robbing dungeons, and you're advertising on a romantasy slice-of-life story about a retired orc chef who is looking to live a quiet, simple life, then there's a chance that you won't be getting a lot of followers from that fiction simply because of the audience mismatch.
Should you try anyway? Yes! Finding matching swaps can be challenging and almost any swap can net you at least 1 follower, hopefully, which is 1 more than what you've previously had.
Regarding size, some swaps will hard carry people to RS in record time due to the sheer volume of the author's audience. This happens all the time, that's how books usually hit the main list. These are, of course, the ones that you ideally want to get, best of luck with that.
Smaller swaps can and, hopefully, will still get you a couple of followers. I've done exactly 0 swaps with any of these insanely massive authors and I'm slowly clawing my way up there regardless by filling my swap calendar and shouting out fellow authors.
That's the best thing about swaps, we're all in this together and swaps help out both authors!
The point is: shoutout swaps work. Do them. A lot! Help yourself and your fellow authors!
IS THERE A POINT WHEN SHOUTOUT SWAPS DON'T WORK?
Yes and this part is crucial to understand!
If you're in stuck B, swaps will likely do nothing for you! Your main issue is sorting out that posting schedule! If a swap gets a 100 clicks and these readers see the poor state of your irregular release schedule, they won't follow you. At least, a majority probably won't.
If you're in stuck A, swaps are the way to unstuck yourself! Your main issue is likely visibility more than anything else. An irregular posting schedule can be somewhat offset if there's a big amount of chapters already out and you've been doing this for a while.
WHAT ABOUT ADS?
Yes for type A, not for type B.
Ads cost money and you need to make actually good ones (not like my shitty 0.88 CTR) but they do their job. You still want to combine them with shoutout swaps.
If you have money to burn, run 2 or 3 different ads. If not, 1 will also do the trick.
I've heard that memes and stick figures do well.
THE COVER/BLURB TOPIC!
People judge a book by its cover. That's an objective fact and, on RR, 99% of readers will judge your fiction based on the cover alone. Blurb is also important, but a good cover comes before the blurb.
Why? Because I don't see your blurb until I click on your fiction. I do see your cover, though.
So, about covers...
I will not be opening this can of worms but I'll try to give some general guidelines.
Any cover > no cover, but a really good cover >>>>>>>>>> any cover > no cover
That's the general rule. You might hear advice, for example, that 'no cover is better than having X cover' and, trust me, that's horrid advice. Never, ever launch without a cover!
If you don't want to use an AI cover, that's fine, there are free tools which you can use to make your own cover. Better yet, if you have money to burn, you can get an artist to make the cover for you.
Important note on marketing on reddit and AI covers: If you happen to have an AI cover, this subreddit is more opened to it that r/litrpg or r/ProgressionFantasy. You might experience a vocal backlash if you post your fiction there, it isn't a guarantee but it is worth keeping in mind.
HOW TO WRITE A GOOD BLURB:
I...have no clue, honestly, but that's why discords are the place to go and ask for help!
Research a couple of guides on how to write blurbs and study blurbs of successful stories, then make a couple of your own and ask for feedback in the discord servers.
SO, CAT, AM I COOKED?
No, you're not cooked.
The majority of the time, unless you're in stuck B, you can unstuck yourself.
99% of the time, from my experience, the main issue is visibility and marketing, followed by a posting schedule. Though I've mentioned blurbs and covers, I think that they are often the lesser factors.
If you're in stuck B, the good news is that your road to recovery is pretty simple. Delete the page, launch properly and you're already half-way there.
WILL THIS ADVICE HELP ME UNSTUCK MY FICTION?
Well, I hope so! 😸
In most cases it should work. However, I can't vouch that it will work for you, specifically. Sometimes things just don't work out no matter what you do, or a problem is something that I've completely missed. However, even if that's the case, I hope that I've provided you with guidance to at least get started on fixing your 'Help, I'm stuck' situation!
Thank you for reading my guide, if you have any question, I'll try answering them in the comments! 😻
Squitt3n, the Discord Cat, off to play Silksong! 😹
Discord Cat's Fiction can be found here
