Could someone give me a rundown of RRL?

#1
Hello everyone,

I'm an amateur author looking for a good place to publish my story online. Recently I've stumbled on RoyalRoadL, and I've been wondering whether I'd have any chance to break through here. I've tried to post it on several other websites, including a self-ran blog, but I met with next to no interest. 

I believe it's mostly because my story is extremely niche. It didn't fall very well into the popular genres and conventions, and it deals with themes few readers find interesting. The audience didn't have too many problems with the quality of my writing - the reviews, while sparse, were generally favourable. When it was criticised, it was mostly for being what it is rather than something that the community enjoyed more.

I'm far from resenting anyone for it, or thinking that my story is 'better' just because it can't fit in. Everyone is free to like what they do, and I'm no one to tell them otherwise. At the same time I want to write what I enjoy, and I'm looking for a fair chance to share it. I know my story has some target audience since some people on the previous websites liked it. I hope to find a good place or way to reach it.

At this point, I can't really afford to invest myself into a new community if I have no chance of breaking through, so I wanted to do a bit of research on RRL before I commit to publishing here. I'd greatly appreciate it if you could give me a bit of a rundown on the website, the community and what should I expect here. In particular, I'm curious about:

  • What are the 'good publishing practices' of RRL? Some sites I've tried were very heavy on following certain 'publishing mechanics', to the point where this 'meta-game' became more important than writing. How much does the success on RRL rely on various tricks to rise the popularity rating (being active on the website, choosing specific genres, using the right tags, publishing at specific times, etc.), and how much on the contents of the story?

  • What kind of stories (genres, themes, characters, etc.) are popular with the community? What do the readers expect to read? I've found this thread, but it seems more like a list of things that the authors like - does the general audience agree?

  • What kind of stories (genres, themes, characters, etc.) are popular with the authors? Is the thread I've just linked accurate?

  • What kind of stories (genres, themes, characters, etc.) are unpopular with the community? What do the readers dislike or reject? What is likely to get a negative reception?

  • What should an RRL author avoid at all costs? This applies to both fiction and general website behaviour- Is there anything that's bound to bring fire down on my head?

  • How do completed stories fare on RRL? Does a completed story stand a chance to gain an audience, or is serialization (posting new chapters regularily) required to stay afloat?

  • How good or bad is the community when it comes to troll, personal or angry reviews and ratings? I've seen several threads  about them, and some replies sound like they're a relatively common thing. Should I take getting panned as an expected part of the deal?

  • In general, how attached are the users to their favourite story ideas? How are the stories that don't fit the box received?

Thank you very much in advance for your replies. If I am to publish on RRL, I'd like to do so with my both eyes open; I hope you can help me with that!
"There are two kinds of people: Those who create to become someone great, and those who become someone great to create."
- Katherine Sun

RE: Could someone give me a rundown of RRL?

#2
I find that each of the amateur fiction websites have their own favorite genres which stand out more than others.

Royalroadl is mainly favors fantasy and we specialize in the subgenres "reincarnation", "transported to another world", "VRMMORPG", "Dungeon Master". If your fiction is any of those subgenre's, we've got a large amount of readers interested in trying your fiction out.

Fantasy/scifi in general would be good, but the above is basically what people are actively searching for.

Common extra genres would be "harem", "character growth", "antihero", and "dungeons".

Other genre's are postable, but I don't think I've noticed anything making a its way onto the best rated list before. 90% of our stuff is fantasy.

Unfortunately, the best posting practice is probably one chapter a day. If you have an entire fiction ready, then you are good to go on that front. People like to see fast updates, but not too fast.

Good publishing practices are pretty much the same everywhere. Some websites go out of their way to force them on you, others don't. I could write pages for every "good practice", but I'm not willing to write a ten page answer here. But basically

1)Short and simple synopsis that focus on the setting and crisis of the plot are best.
2)Authors notes go in the chapters, not the synopsis.
3)Less genre tags are better than more.
4)At least spell check the synopsis, title, and first chapter of your fiction.
5)Fiction titles should be vague and not overly specific. (In case you don't understand, there's a fiction called "Main Character Hides His Strength" I still get chills from that horrible name.)

I'd say the biggest thing you can do to screw up a good story is to include rape in it. Most people just don't know how to use it.

I'd say RRL is probably the most advanced amateur fiction website. Our search system is second to none. We have some truly excellent fiction algorithms for the best rated lists, trending lists and so on.

RE: Could someone give me a rundown of RRL?

#4
What are the 'good publishing practices' of RRL? Some sites I've tried were very heavy on following certain 'publishing mechanics', to the point where this 'meta-game' became more important than writing. How much does the success on RRL rely on various tricks to rise the popularity rating (being active on the website, choosing specific genres, using the right tags, publishing at specific times, etc.), and how much on the contents of the story?

- It is all about the content of your story and sometimes if it gets suggested for one of the recommendation lists, you can have a small influx.

What kind of stories (genres, themes, characters, etc.) are popular with the community?

- Main: LITRPGs, Fantasy, Portal Fantasy, Transmigration&Reincarnation, Dungeon, Revenge Type Stories, Merchant& Crafting Stories, Empire Building, and some other fantasy variations.
- Niches: Chinese Wuxia/Xianxia style, Superheros, Japanese Ligh Novel, Anime Adaptions, Yuri, Space Sci-Fi

What do the readers expect to read? I've found this thread, but it seems more like a list of things that the authors like - does the general audience agree?

- I want a good enetrtaining story with sensible characters and a plot which makes sense.

What kind of stories (genres, themes, characters, etc.) are popular with the authors?

What kind of stories (genres, themes, characters, etc.) are unpopular with the community? What do the readers dislike or reject? What is likely to get a negative reception?

- Bad Stories (frequent POV hopping, Logic Errors in World Building, wrong orthography, arrogant author interacting in the comments)

What should an RRL author avoid at all costs? This applies to both fiction and general website behaviour- Is there anything that's bound to bring fire down on my head?

- Netorare and Yaoi stories. Seriously, avoid these two genres with the felt 90%+ male readership here.

How do completed stories fare on RRL? Does a completed story stand a chance to gain an audience, or is serialization (posting new chapters regularily) required to stay afloat?

- Serializiation is required to generate and sustain reader interest over two to three months which can then translate into people buying your ebook as means to support you or to show appreciation by donation via paypal/patreon.

How good or bad is the community when it comes to troll, personal or angry reviews and ratings? I've seen several threads about them, and some replies sound like they're a relatively common thing. Should I take getting panned as an expected part of the deal?

- From what I can see, it is actually rare and gets called out by the community pretty quick.

In general, how attached are the users to their favourite story ideas? How are the stories that don't fit the box received?

- Well, the only pet peeve I have is Gender Bender stories without the Gender Bender Tag. But from reader reactions it extents to NTR and Yaoi.