How To Promote Your Web Serial or Writing

Discussion in 'Community Fictions' started by ClearMadness, Oct 4, 2016.

  1. ClearMadness

    ClearMadness Well-Known Member

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    Hello everyone! I’m ClearMadness, the author of The Iron Teeth web serial.

    I’ve received several requests from people on this website asking me how to promote their writing and get an audience going for a web serial, so I’ve decided to write this post. I hope it helps prospective authors out. I know how frustrating it can be not having an audience.

    To write this article I talked with some other authors and asked for their input. In particular, Blaise Corvin helped out a fair bit. He’s the author of Delvers LLC and just published his first e-book on Amazon. It’s doing very well.

    As of right now there is no instant way of getting popularity. I used a bunch of methods that may or may not work for you. Just remember, it takes time to build up an audience.


    Where To Post First


    If you're just getting started on writing then RoyalRoadL is probably the best place to host your work. Just releasing chapters there will get you some exposure, while it is harder to be noticed on Wattpad and other places. It also has a large user base.

    There’s no reason not to post in as many places as possible but updating them all can be a pain. It probably isn’t worth it if you’re just getting started.


    When to Start Posting

    A lot of authors on RRL will wait and save up a few dozen chapters before releasing them in quick succession, this will get you more views all at once and a chance to get on the monthly popularity list. This strategy can work, but it also might get you some harsh reviews and hurt your long term rating.

    Of course, waiting until you have a fair bit written before putting it up online isn't a bad idea in itself. Most authors like having a buffer of unreleased chapters. It makes it easier to edit and take sick days.

    Also, I would suggest writing until you have your style and direction solidly down and then going through and editing it all before posting. This will give you a big chunk of story you can build off of and allow you to explore your plot and characters a bit. After writing for a while you may discover that your original idea should be changed or that you enjoy writing something else.

    There’s no rush to publish your work online. Just keep writing until you're happy with where your story is going and know how much you can produce each week.


    Other Places You Can Post

    I also suggest signing up at WebFictionGuide. That will get you a few more readers but it can take weeks to get accepted. Getting on WFG will also get you up on TopWebFiction, but that toplist is much more competitive right now then when I first started. Still, even getting onto the bottom of the list will get you a few views every day.

    Wattpad has a much larger audience than RRL but they are set up in way that makes it extremely hard to get noticed at all. My story was up there for months without getting a single read, and that is hardly unusual. To get views there you need to be very active in the community and engage with other authors. Wattpad basically functions like a social network for authors. You need to slowly build up followers or get mentioned by someone with a lot of followers to get views for your story. It's a lot of work. You can also get noticed on Wattpad by applying to be featured or by having an existing reader base come over there and upvote your story a lot.

    Your own website will help you look professional and attract more readers. The WebFictionGuide userbase likes this and are more likely to read your story if you link to a personal website. Most authors use Wordpress. It's not completely necessary though, and only worth doing if you are willing to put in time and effort to make a nice site.

    Several web authors also post on Reddit. There are a bunch of subreddits you can link your work on, and some authors build an audience by posting a lot of short stories or small posts on the writing subreddits, then linking back to their main website or personal subreddit. Just make sure to obey the rules of reddit and the subreddits you post on.


    The Secret to Getting Noticed

    Mobilize your reader base. No matter where you post, remember to act professional but don’t be afraid to ask readers to vote for or review your story. The more votes or reviews you get the better. If you can get onto a toplist somewhere you will get a lot more traffic.

    Constantly push your readers to share your story on social media, upvote you, or review your story. Find out how you can get exposure and mobilize the readers to help you. A lot of people will say a good story will spread by word of mouth on its own, that’s bullshit.

    Aim for the top and don’t stop.


    Other Advice

    Don't be afraid to go back and edit your earlier work. The stuff I have up now is like version four of my story. :p

    Scheduled weekly releases help you retain readers, and two or more releases a week is even better. Your chapter size isn't all that important as long as they aren't tiny. Bigger is better but don’t overexert yourself.

    Joining a writing group is very helpful. It’s nice to have people to talk with about writing. RRL has a few and joining them can get you some exposure as well. There are a lot of other places you can interact with other writers on the web, NU is even one of them. Make some friends.

    You can save yourself a lot of work and possibly even make a friend or patron by asking questions. Most writers are more than willing to discuss tips and tricks with you; they’re passionate about writing. Just don’t be too annoying. ;)

    Learning everything on your own will take months. You can shave weeks off of your education sometimes by finding a knowledgeable, established writer who is willing to share hard-won experience.

    This is one area where a writing group is even more helpful. Sometimes bouncing ideas around a few different people can result in a much better outcome than doing everything on your own. Even professional writers usually have a writing group.

    Having art can help you attract readers. The first page a reader sees when they link to your writing is called the landing page. You want as many of them as possible to stick around so an attractive landing page is a plus.

    Edit: After the latest RRL update a lot has changed. The new way to get on the trending list is to get a several reviews within a period of time, so make sure you ask your readers for them. You will also need a cover to make it onto the list.


    Making Money

    As an original author there are two main ways to make money. The first is building a Patreon page and receiving donations. Secondly, you can publish an e-book. Having ads on your website won’t bring in a lot of money unless you have a truly massive amount of readers.

    You can create a Patreon page at any time but without a lot of readers you won’t make much. Good rewards are also a must, and putting effort into your page pays off. The more professional it looks, the better.

    Most authors, even of web serials, make most their money from e-books. The reader base for novels is just much much higher than serials. Keep this in mind while you’re writing. This topic is too complex for me to go into much here, but professional editing and a great cover help a lot.


    Paying for Promotion

    I’ve talked to a lot of other web serialists about this and the conclusion is that it isn’t worth it. Personally, I’ve done Facebook ads and ads on Project Wonderful. Neither of them was a huge success. It’s a different story if you’re marketing an e-book, though.

    You can also pay to have your story featured on RRL. I would suggest this only after you have written a fair bit and matured as a writer. It won’t help a completely new author out much, or an already super popular super. However, if you think your story deserves some more exposure this could work for you.


    Questions

    If you have any feel free to ask.
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2016
  2. saffu

    saffu dead

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    Please sticky this thread in OC, mods!
     
  3. Cien

    Cien 『Omnivore Reader』Inactive

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    updating for all those places are indeed pain in the ass
     
  4. xlefr7

    xlefr7 Well-Known Member

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    Wasn't there also a fiction grill or am I mistaken?
     
  5. Greedyspree

    Greedyspree 『Exile within the back room』

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    This is the way to garner proper attention. Make a post, with your friends, explaining it. So much attention.:p
    Love the works, Keep up the good work, always look forward to it. :notworthy::notworthy:
     
  6. Clown333

    Clown333 「Altiora Petamus Volente Deo Lucete Stellae」

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    I have tried to make some stories but, it won't gets noticed....

    Maybe my story is boring lol
     
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  7. NovelsJapan

    NovelsJapan |||Master of T-shirts|||「死にたい」「助けて」

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    I think if your work is of good quality it would be famous someday
     
  8. saffu

    saffu dead

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    oh, and don't forget the most important bit of advice:

    MAKE YOUR STORY QUALITY
     
  9. ClearMadness

    ClearMadness Well-Known Member

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    Fiction Grill is by invite only. They basically wait until an author is already popular and then tempt them over with ad revenue. Personally, I dislike their methods, and as I said in the article, ad revenue is not a major source of income anyway.
     
  10. Aternus

    Aternus Well-Known Member

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    Cultivate the Dao of Shamelessness


    Though seriously great advice bro thanks for this.
     
    Last edited: Oct 4, 2016
  11. LaDyViL

    LaDyViL New Member Staff Member

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    Stick it!!!
     
  12. Kata-ngahan

    Kata-ngahan Well-Known Member

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    I've read iron teeth and its pretty good
     
  13. Lithit

    Lithit Desu~'s Little Griffin

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    [​IMG]

    I'm sorry
     
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  14. ClearMadness

    ClearMadness Well-Known Member

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    I know quite a few authors who are more talented than me and have a lot more experience, but they get almost no attention. Promoting yourself is important if you're an indie author.
    Thank you. :)
     
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  15. Arcturus

    Arcturus Cat, Hidden Sith Lord

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    I would say your work has the most potential of the many webnovels I have read though.

    And to all writers out there, don't be afraid to ask for help or advice, particularly in the Original compositions section of the forum. Though having more than a prologue is useful for us to give you good and accurate advice. (Try to either have a good basic outline of what you're thoughts are with the prologue, or have a few chapters written out so we can get a look at what you're doing)
     
  16. Bonnie L. Price

    Bonnie L. Price Well-Known Member

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    Without work it's unlikely. Kindle gets thousands—tens of thousands—of new books/releases each month. Without promotion, building a prior audience—which requires more promotion or sheer luck—or having a godly literary agent and going with traditional publishing, the chances of success are slim.

    When someone goes the traditional publishing route, their publisher—if they find one—does most of the promotion for them. You also lose control over your edits, cover, etc.

    Even if you're not planning to publish, you still have to know the right places to post your work on—or link to your work on.

    One of the reasons both CM and Blaise have been quite successful so far is because they're not afraid to promote. They understand the statistics they're fighting back against as indie authors.
     
  17. ClearMadness

    ClearMadness Well-Known Member

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    I believe Blaise has said that the average self-published e-book gets around a hundred sales. Every web serial writer I've ever talked to who has published an e-book has blown that number out of the water. It's funny that a lot of authors are afraid of putting their stuff online because they think that no one will buy their book then. That is not the case at all.
     
  18. Shio

    Shio Moderator Staff Member

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    Stickied.
    @ClearMadness do you prefer if this thread stay at novel general, or is it ok to move it to Original Composition?
     
  19. ClearMadness

    ClearMadness Well-Known Member

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    I like it here, but wherever you think is more appropriate is fine.
     
  20. TooLazyToThink

    TooLazyToThink Well-Known Member

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    How to promote? SEO, reddit, social media like fb and twitter, promote it here in novelupdates, promote to other translator site. You can't rely on donations in the beginning so it's more profitable to construct your own website and expect there will be more money on advertisement. If anyone needs a web developer or consultant then you can talk to me. Translators spending hundreds of dollars on their website when they can only spend $10 monthly for a fast vps server and $10-20 annually for domain.
     
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