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Marketing lead to reading industry articles and even having some direct conversations with publishing professionals. It was all very informative and I'm really glad for some of the contacts, but the executive summary is "The publishing industry is depressing."

I got a chance to exchange some private messages with a fantasy genre veteran (who was very generous to give me some of his time), and he seriously challenged whether some of my plans are viable. I learned some pitfalls to avoid, and it's better to know than to not know, but I'm going to have to seriously reconsider some things. Will probably make a post about this in time.

In the short term, I'll just focus on several stories that I think are interesting and worth writing. New Game Minus is intended as quick fun, but I hope to make it an enjoyable trilogy. I have something else coming that I think will be an interesting change of pace. And of course I'm grateful to have so many of you caring about TLS, which is a story I really want to tell. That's an experience many authors would kill for.

On a lighter note, we have another picture courtesy of Retromancer via artist EvilEirs! This one is just a fun alternate universe sort of take on familiar characters, so don't draw any conclusions about clothing/schools in TLS. XP You can consider it canon that succubi would be big fans of sexy schoolgirl outfits, though!

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Comments

Lamsey

I appreciate the artist's craft, but I'm going to go ahead and assume that either Trin or Yarra is involved, since I can't imagine Robin being up for any part of that scenario... Sounds like you're going through a difficult period with the writing, but I think you're taking the right approach in honing your craft on lighter-weight projects so that you're better equipped when you decide to take on the heavier projects that are closer to your heart :-)

Captain Hair

Hey, it's the modern AU version of that "Devoted Daughters" synergy skill between Simon, Robin, and Nalili I suggested back when you were taking ideas for said synergy skills! Still hoping that idea comes back. :P

Desertopa

I've heard some similarly distressing things about the present state of fantasy publishing. Paraphrasing one writer from memory, "I've never seen another environment this fucked up, and I've been in prison." I'd like to say, if there's anyone I think could make it in fantasy publishing, it's you, but honestly, more than most fields, I think it's a place where your past work might come back to bite you. But, it seems like the industry is in very bad shape financially, and maybe still in a state of flux trying to compete with various online media, so who knows if the state might not be quite different in a matter of years. If you don't end up getting involved in traditional publishing though, I don't know anyone else for whom the field would suffer as much from their absence.

sierralee

I appreciate the encouraging words!

sierralee

I still remember! I need to get to the scenes where their relationship advances more before they'd get a synergy skill like that, though.

sierralee

That paraphrase sounds really familiar, was it about the Amélie Zhao situation? In any case, yeah, things don't look good. The industry isn't suffering so much as a whole - fantasy is pretty big right now - but conditions are getting uglier for authors who aren't at the very top. I've been spending time looking at Amazon rankings lately and decided to look up professionally published books, and some of them are shocking. Thank you for the kind words! Thanks to you and everyone else, I'm not in a position where I have to take terrible contracts from publishers. I'm not sure yet what path will be best for me going forward, but I'm in a good position to walk it.

sierralee

Yup! It's a big subreddit and many of the people who might see the book there would be outside the ones I've already shown the book to, so hopefully it will get a little traction.

DukeLeto7

Change of pace question. The grognards in the speculation forum are speculating on the meaning of the fact that the non-combat harem members have gone from 7 slots to 6 and the leaders have gone from 7 slots to 8 since 0.40.5. Since there was reportedly a bug with the harem list in 0.41.0, it occurred to me I should check to ensure this was the intended behavior.

Trevor

I've always disliked Amazon's ranking system and how it recommends titles. My "reccomended for you" is always full of infinity +1 squeals for books I may have only picked up once and never finished, while trying to search for new works is a nightmare. Definitely seems to favor established authors who can put out 5-22 books of average quality. Neat picture. Makes me think of the whole harem in a school setting. Qum as the sexy nurse, Yarra as another teacher, Janine as the student body president ect. The whole situation fits very well. Something in Robin's expression worries me though and I cannot place my finger on it. She almost looks bored?

Decanter

Until your comment, I didn't realize that was meant to be Nalili rather than a generic blond/white hair succubus. What would a "devoted daughters" synergy do?

Desertopa

I don't remember which author said it, but no, it predates the Amélie Zhao situation by at least a couple years I think. It's true, the industry seems to have become extremely top-heavy lately. I remember one writer on/fantasy recently wrote an explanation of George R. R. Martin's blurb-writing habits and motivations, and how he's definitely not doing it for money, because he, the other author, could offer GRRM 100% of his advance on his next book to write a blurb for him, and it still wouldn't be worth GRRM's time financially. I'm not too clear on what you mean by the professionally published books being shocking though. In what respect?

Desertopa

Qum is a healer-type, but I have a hard time envisioning her a school nurse. Maybe a doctor's assistant, but not a school nurse who has to operate autonomously. The picture doesn't strike me as true to character though for Robin; it seems like she's going for a slutty delinquent aesthetic, which really doesn't seem in-type for her. Earnest student with a teacher crush seems much more her style.

Decanter

Perhaps they are roleplaying.

sierralee

Sadly, the midlist has been dying for a while, which makes the field a lot harder to get into. I've learned of a few things that at least offer another chance, though, like the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off. >I'm not too clear on what you mean by the professionally published books being shocking though. In what respect? Sorry for being unclear: it's their Amazon rankings that are shocking. I expected books that are traditionally published with ARCs to big reviewers and copies in libraries to be at a much higher level than self-published books. But that isn't the case: there are recent releases with numbers that are pretty bad.

Trevor

Qum can be bad at operating autonomously, but she is very good at fulfilling given directions. "Stay in this room. Heal/help anyone who comes in hurt, and if you can't go to person X for help," is all that a school nurse really needs to know aside from the occasional need to be guided to a someone who can't be brought to you. Plus she has the empathy and bedside manner down pat.

sierralee

While I might have bungled something, I believe it was intentional. The problem is that the line between "Non-Combat" and "Leader" categories isn't entirely solid.

sierralee

Unfortunately, as I understand it, being a successful author is all about working the ranking system and recommendations. And yes, they strongly favor volume. One of the ideas I'm working on in the background is potentially a serial of novellas that would help with that, but my epic fantasy is in a really awkward position. The cast in a school setting is a fun idea. ^-^ Orcent is the school janitor, overlooked by many but wise beyond his station. As for Robin's expression, in the original concept she was supposed to be shy.

sierralee

I think School Nurse Qum could do a decent job helping anyone who came to her with injuries, but if left alone for too long, she would get distracted, wander into the hallways, and start prescribing hugs to any students who looked sad. I'm not sure who Megail or Sarai are in this scenario.

Trevor

Sarai and Megail are on the board or part of the PTA, they're outside the official school structure but still have a degree of influence/interaction. Megail is concerned with fundraisers and budgets while Sarai is a moral guardian type.

DukeLeto7

I have a er... uh... highly optimized... save... so my list at present is: Combat: 1. Yarra 2. Aka 3. Qum D'umpe 4. Hilstara 5. Varia 6. Altina 7. Carina 8. Nalili 9. Robin 10. Uyae 11. Riala 12. ????? Non-Combat 1. Megail 2. Trin 3. Balia 4. Dari 5. Wynn 6. Iris Leader: 1. Janine 2. ????? 3. Sarai 4. ????? 5. Lynine 6. Orilise 7. ????? 8. ????? And then 6 unknowns in the Other category. Does that look kosher to y'all? EDIT: The preceding version from 40.5 had a line between Wynn and Iris in the Non-Combat list and two slots between Janine and Lynine.

Darthjake

I'd be interested to see what pitfalls he gave you advice on.

DuckTogo

I don't see why this can't be canon. Common non-rich and pampered succubi have to learn the trade somewhere.

Secular Reason

Well, Robin DID go to school for a good portion of the beginning. She probably still has the uniform. Now we just need Yarra to get the idea and present it to Nalili... Shame that we'd just be proving that "crazy guard" right after all this time. Heh, he really should have protected the girls dormitory better. ...Wouldn't it be ironic if he WASN'T projecting his perverted desires on everyone else, but instead was a relative of some girl who got abused and so went overboard? The nearby town does have that inn that is a high-class brothel after all.

sierralee

This is a very logical approach that I struggle with a bit, possibly for irrelevant or irrational reasons. The thing is, I really like the format of a huge fantasy brick and I wrote accordingly. I could break it into five parts, but the individual sections aren't really structured like novels themselves. Having said that, it's a possibility. I will also be experimenting with a serialized novel later this year, so we'll see how that goes. Smaller books are almost a certainty regardless. I have several ideas that lend themselves better to standalones.

sierralee

The big one for me personally was that he didn't think publishers would think LitRPG sales data was compelling if I tried to pitch them an epic fantasy. Which had been my plan. D= More generally applicable, he said that small press is a much worse option than either large press or self-publishing. Sounds like it's sort of the worst of both worlds. One that surprised me was that publishers are increasingly trying to grab audio rights, which are apparently incredibly lucrative. For people with a certain degree of success, anyway. I also got more information about series vs standalones (all markets favor the former). Those are the ones that stick out to me offhand.

StalkerRoguen

Hey Sierra, it's been some time since I played the game(Is topped when Simon got his castle, more or less). I heard that Bertricia is included in the last updates... Are there any plans to... hum... "see more" of her?

Decanter

Well, we do see more of her in the recent updates about the council of high priestesses, but I think the "see more" you mean is more applicable to Sarai.

Leveler All

Now that this is mention ill be nice to get a flashback of her in her youth,, she is such a boss.

Leveler All

It will be so easy for you to do random what if scenarios like this, your writing is so solid and funny when you want to.

Fulminato

a thing i stumble when i was searching in the world the synod change when i was going to the lady rose, it triggered the dialogue wit simon asking some informaton about stenai, trip i have done some time ago. Edit: i noted a little thing (it's not important now and can be 'works as intended, but...) in the chapter 4 iterate event there is a tradersmasher guild +1 if tak'kan major is triggered, but the cap for pron return it's still 6

DukeLeto7

I just assumed Tradesmasher having 7 boosters with one being optional was the intended behavior.

sierralee

A serialized project with quick releases is definitely happening! Expect a post about it before too long.

Retromancer

@ Trevor I like your expanding on the idea of TLS in a school - I picture Trin smoking the cigarettes behind the corner, Carina being the religious girl who everyone likes but also tries to avoid, Hilstara being the school security, and Aka and Riala being the punk girl and scary teacher everyone wants to avoid. Never gonna happen but fun to think about.

Retromancer

And Lynine as cheer coach, Orlise as school librarian, Wynn as the goth girl, Balia as the nerdy scientist student who excels at chemistry, and Iris as the hottest school secretary ever. This would actually be a terrible school, though. I'd never get any work done :)

Rachnera

It's cool, if animes have taught me one thing, it's that you can spend all your school years flirting and fighting and still graduate without any hassle at the end. (do not try this at home kids)

Trevor

The school idea is a good one. Maybe it will be an offshoot or a fever dream in the mind of one of the characters one day. The only real question is what subject Simon teaches. Civics?

No Escaping Destiny

You have a new scene for the game! You know the princess would be all over that type of role-play!

sierralee

Tradesmasher is going to stay as is for now, but thanks for reporting it. Fixed your report about House Rose - sorry for missing it earlier. Too many threads. -_-

Decanter

Or possibly "fencing". Not Chosen-wrangling, that's for sure.

Retromancer

Oh come on! He's the Headmaster, or Principal or whatever it's called in other countries. Although if this was an anime about a young Simon, then yes, a star "fencer" would fit, of course.

Tanner

Why do I keep picturing the Princess as the "bad girl" who somehow managed to drag/convince her "good girl" childhood friend to join her in breaking the rules.