Chapter 29: Release Announcement

This book is going premium.

I wanted to write this announcement in a more cheerful tone, but having just finished the "Canary" ending, and with it being the middle of the night, I’m finding it hard to be upbeat...

Let’s just get straight to the point.

I’ve loved this book since its earliest concept, even though Western Fantasy is a really niche genre. A friend of mine bluntly told me, "You should write something that can actually make money." But there’s a saying in author circles: a good story can overcome anything.

’Even though I’m a total flop, who knows?’ I thought. ’Maybe this will be the book that finally makes some money?’

Holding onto that hope, I dove in and completed the character designs for the three male leads of the first playthrough.

When I first started writing, I couldn’t get it to a place I was happy with. My expectations for this story were so high, and I was terrified that my lack of skill meant I wouldn’t do it justice. After almost twenty thousand words, I hit a wall and couldn’t write anymore. I decided to submit what I had—if it was accepted, I’d continue; if not, I’d start a new book. In a way, I was leaving it all up to fate.

As it turned out, everything went smoothly. The editor said there were no problems and the future outline was good to go. My confidence was through the roof. ’I’ve finally written a decent book!’ I thought.

And then I got punched square in the face by reality.

It failed the initial promotional trial, and it failed the follow-up test, too. It was clear to see that it wasn’t attracting readers. To this day, I only have a little over a hundred follows, and the number of active readers is too embarrassing to even look at.

Rationally, with numbers this bad, I should just give up. After all, failing the promotional trials basically means no more features from the platform. Even if I go premium, I’ll be lucky to get first-day subscriptions in the single digits.

Not earning any money is one thing. But on top of that, the lack of feedback makes you start to doubt the story, and that just breeds negativity.

As I was wrapping up the kidnapping arc, I even started pasting my writing into an AI just to get some validation. Seeing it praise my work to the high heavens would suddenly make me feel a glimmer of hope... Then I’d open my author dashboard, see the numbers, let out a helpless sigh, and fall into a fresh cycle of self-pity.

But, there’s nothing to be done.

It’s my own fault for loving this book so much, isn’t it?

So, I’ll write.

At least I’ll finish the main storylines I’ve already planned out.

Actually, my editor told me at the beginning of the month that I could prepare to go premium. Since there would be no more features during the free period, there was no point in delaying. But at the time, the plot had only just gotten to meeting Lucian, and it was still a long way from the end of the first playthrough.

So I told my editor I wanted to wait, to finish the first playthrough before going premium, so that readers could experience a relatively complete story arc.

I just felt it would be more satisfying that way.

It’s probably just some weird compulsion of mine, haha.

I had originally planned for the first playthrough to be around 100,000 words. It’s a little over that now, but not by much. Overall, it’s still under control.

CLAP CLAP CLAP. A round of applause for me.

Now that the first playthrough is done, the book is going premium tomorrow... oh, wait, I mean today. Although I fully expect the launch to be dismal, it’s still a milestone, so I wanted to write this announcement to commemorate it.

Ah... maybe it’s because it’s so late, but I feel like I’m rambling. I only slept for two hours last night, was out all day with errands, and didn’t even get to my computer until almost ten. I then wrote 3,000 words until two in the morning... I’m so dizzy now. It feels like my brain has been completely hollowed out...

Anyway, that’s the gist of it!

DING DING DING. Tapping the blackboard, here are the key takeaways.

First, it’s going premium tomorrow.

Second, on Monday, previous Chapters will be paywalled starting from around the 60,000-word mark. For all you readers who are saving up Chapters to binge, make sure to read them before then, or you’ll have to pay!

Third...

Alright, never mind, there’s no third point.

Thank you all for your continued support!

I’ll keep doing my best from now on!

Good night!