Make Money by Writing a Novel on RoyalRoad

Jul 10

Written By K.

The writing world is full of hidden gems - authors you've never heard of who are living comfortably thanks to their novels. Yes, it's possible to earn money as an author, but possible doesn't mean easy.

Passion alone won't cut it. You can pour your heart and soul into your work, but without the right approach, you will struggle to attract readers. Passion helps craft a great story, but it doesn't guarantee an audience.

We all have a sense of what we enjoy reading. Some love romance, others only read for action, some others are looking for people being reincarnated into a Hoover. Why not, right?

The market is vast, but readers tend to group around specific genres. Knowing these is essential. We’ll also look into how to convert the attention you story gets, into money. Because passion is nice, but it won’t fill your refregirator.

But before anything else, let’s see how to write a good story.

How to Get Good at Writing?

Writing is a skill, and like any skill, it improves with practice. Here are some tips to improve your writing:

Read - a lot - in your chosen genre. You need to understand what works for you. What do you like in the stories you read? Get inspired by stories that worked well and that you enjoy. It needs to be both. If you like something in the story or in a character, you are most likely not alone, and it means that this detail works.

Study storytelling techniques and plot structures. The best way to learn is not to follow courses. Experience is king, and you'll never learn as well as by trial and error. As Jacques Rancière said, "To explain something to someone is first to show them that they cannot understand it on their own." It's fine to give directions and tips, but the core of it should be learned through your own experience. So go write a lot.

Develop a consistent writing routine. You may have a full-time job, a family, or limited time, but you should be able to find a set amount of time to fully dedicate to writing. Be it 15 minutes a day or 3 hours, consistency is key, and you need to get used to writing a lot. I've heard of some authors writing 10k words a day. That's too much, in my opinion. Try to find your own sweet spot. Personally, I wrote 1500 to 2000 words a day, and it was the right amount for me.

Join writing groups for feedback and support. Reddit, Facebook, X… There are lots of places where you can find like-minded people who would gladly give some of their time to help and be helped. One of the best ways to grow as a writer is through feedback, so go for it.

What’s the Best Genre for a Novel?

On Royal Road, certain genres perform better than others. The top two genres are Xianxia and LitRPG.

Xianxia is a subgenre of Chinese fantasy fiction. It revolves around the concept of cultivation, where characters aim to become immortal and gain powerful martial arts abilities. The story usually follows a protagonist who starts off weak and underprivileged. They discover a hidden talent or opportunity to start cultivating. As they progress through different stages of cultivation, they unlock new powers, face challenges, and engage in battles. Xianxia stories are often long, with hundreds or even thousands of chapters. They often include elements of romance, politics, and adventure.

LitRPG, on the other hand, is a subgenre that combines fantasy or science fiction with gaming elements. In these stories, characters are often transported into a game-like world or virtual reality. Game mechanics, like levels, experience points, and stat screens, are a core part of the story. The protagonist progresses by completing quests, defeating enemies, and leveling up their abilities. LitRPG stories often explore themes of personal growth, teamwork, and the blurring of lines between reality and the game world. It appeals to both gamers and fantasy/sci-fi fans.

The common thread between Xianxia and LitRPG is progression. Both genres feature a clear system for characters to grow stronger and gain new abilities. This progression keeps readers engaged and invested in the character's journey. Whether it's through cultivation stages or leveling up, the protagonists are constantly striving to improve and overcome challenges. Readers get to experience the satisfaction of growing stronger alongside the characters, which contributes to the popularity of these genres.

While Xianxia and LitRPG are the top genres, the setting can vary a lot within these categories. Xianxia can take place in a fantasy realm or include sci-fi elements. LitRPG can be set in virtual reality, a fantasy world, or a sci-fi universe. In the end, it's the progression system and the character's journey that define these genres, not the specific setting. This allows for a wide range of creative possibilities and has led to the success of many stories on Royal Road.

The Do's and Don'ts of a Good Novel

Do:

Create compelling, multi-dimensional characters. They need to be relatable, so they need to fail or have failed.

Establish clear stakes and conflicts. There needs to be a direction. Even if your story is a chill one, if it feels stagnant for too long, the reader will not feel connected to your story. Tension sticks. This ingredient is needed, like gluten in bread. (Except if you are intolerant)

Show, don't tell. Good world-building is subtle. It's a story hidden in plain sight. If you want your main character to be traumatized, depict a panic attack instead of explaining. If you want to explain the hierarchy of your fictional army, the best way is to start presenting it by having soldiers of different levels interact. It's easier to explain a system that's already partially seen in the story than giving all the info straight up. Remember the Jacques Rancière quote? Well, you could also use it here; experience always beats explanations. Make sure your story is first and foremost an experience.

Edit ruthlessly. We all make mistakes, so read and edit again and again. My personal way of doing things is writing a full chapter and letting it rest for a day or two before reading it again. That's something painters do; they change the position of their art to see mistakes. Our brain gets used to what we see, that’s why we need a fresh pair of eyes to spot imperfections. So never put out a chapter just after writing it. Last thing: use Grammarly or AI tools like ChatGPT to check for spelling mistakes.

Don't:

Info-dump excessively. "Show, don't tell" has its limits. Sometimes the best - or only - way you find to give the needed information to your reader is through an info dump. And if it's rare enough, it can even be appreciated. I've read stories where I LOVED info dumps. Why? Because I loved the world and wanted to know more about it. Info dumps are fine, but like in a relationship, don't start talking about yourself extensively on the first date or before you are set in a loving relationship.
Neglect pacing. Nothing happens, or everything happens and you can't catch a break. Those are the two extremes you need to avoid. Find ways to break the pace when it gets too fast or too heavy. Take Berserk as an example; the themes are very heavy, but the author gives breaks to readers by adding pressure release with funny and cute characters.
Ignore reader feedback. Well, you can actually ignore some feedback. I've received critics that didn't make sense, like really. If someone complains that your story is bad because your MC doesn't have any memories in chapter 1… Well… Just don't read the story; it's not for you. Some people will not be the target audience and will give you feedback that will be more than changing a few key details, but to entirely change your genre. Understand when there are things to learn from feedback and when to discard it. It will save you a lot of time.
Rush your launch. For this one, just read the next part.

How to Launch Your Story on Royal Road

Rushing can seem like a great idea until you understand it's not. Ever.

Don't rush something that needs hundreds of hours to be ready. One of the worst things for an author is to waste a good idea on a bad story, or in a rushed one. You’ll always feel like you could have done better, and that’s fine. But feeling like you wasted time and a great opportunity is another level of disappointment.

Build a buffer of chapters:

Finish the first tome of your novel before putting out a chapter. This might vary depending on your story; this could mean 100 chapters, or it could mean 25. It doesn't matter how lengthy your chapters are. What matters is that you finish a full arc and give your story a (probably not final) conclusion. There are several reasons why.

First, you may never finish your story, no matter the reason. It's very frustrating for your readers and even for yourself. The best way to prevent that frustration from happening is by giving a conclusion to your story.

Second, a full tome represents a lot of chapters. That's an amount you'll be able to use as insurance. What if you get sick and can't write for a while? Or what if, for some time, you feel demotivated? At least you'll have chapters scheduled that will keep your readers protected from the dreadful reality of an abrupt end.

Lastly, finishing a tome means closing a few intrigues you started. You'll have an overview of your characters and how they evolve. How many times did I regret making my characters do certain things or even creating some of them? Things that wouldn't have happened if I took the time to write a full tome before my launch.

Polish Your Novel

Editing is one thing. Another thing you can do to really polish is to make your friends or family read your work to give feedback.

You need to be ready to rewrite a lot of your work before launch. Some things you feel are important may be cumbersome to the story. Everything should be replaceable.

I've seen it happen many times; you get attached to an idea and lose flexibility, you lose your grip on your work. "This moment is essential to the story," or "It's my style." Sure, if you want to write for yourself, fine. Do your thing. But if you want to make money out of it or if you want people to enjoy it, you need to be open to the idea of changing things around. Once your story is out, it's not just your own anymore. Take into account feedback; your enjoyment might not match that of the readers.

This also applies to your own opinion. Take your time, think your ideas through. I've had ideas I loved, and a few days later, they didn't make sense anymore. A cool idea, if it doesn't fit, shouldn't be added.

The one thing your attention needs to be focused on is coherence. I've never seen anything as universally hated as incoherence is.

So take the time to put yourself on the shoes of you characters and ask yourself: ‘What would they do?’

The Release Schedule of a New Story

The first few weeks should have a faster pace. Afterward, you can set a pace that fits your speed and comfort.

When you launch, I find it better to have at least five chapters out the first day, so new readers can get attached to the characters and get a feel for the world and the story. Then a chapter a day, at least, is a good way to create a habit in new readers to come back and check every day.

Another reason to have a good pace at launch is Rising Stars. It's a list of the top 50 new stories on Royal Road, divided by genres, with one ranking being the top new stories no matter the genre.

The selection is based on blurry reasons but more or less related to the number of readers engaging with your story. The more chapters you have out there, the more views you're likely to get, and that means more chances to get on the Rising Stars list. And if you manage to get to the top 7, your story will be featured on the front page of the website. That's a huge push on views, trust me.

But Rising Stars only allows a story to stay on the list for a few weeks max. So you gotta make the most of it while you're there. Once you're out of the Rising Stars, you can start slowing down. Maybe upload 2-3 times a week, or even just once if that's your sweet spot.

Of course, not everyone makes it onto the Rising Stars or reaches the top 10. But it's fine; there are other ways to attract readers. We'll look into those later in the article.

Goals Make or Break Stories

Motivation is a weird thing. When you have nothing, it's high, and when you get results lower than what you expected, it's low, even though bad results are better than no results.

What's happening in your head is taken into account as if real. That's what makes expectations dangerous. If you have high expectations, nothing good will come out of it. You either get those results and don't gain any more joy than if you had low expectations, or you get worse results and lose motivation.

And then, depending on your personality, you might give up all the hours of work you put into your story because your self-esteem is threatened.

To prevent all that from happening, here are two pieces of advice:

First, find a way to separate your self-esteem from your work. If people don't like your work, it doesn't mean you are a bad and boring person. It doesn't mean your brain doesn't work properly or that you don't have any talent.

Pressure makes diamonds beautiful. Talent is very often raw and unusable. It needs the pressure of failure to really shine, so learn to accept failure as a process to get better.

The second thing you need to understand is that goals are supposed to be helpful. They are here to create motivation, not to destroy it. That's why you need to keep them in check.

Your first few stories will probably not work well. That's why you need to start by doing short stories that are easy to finish.

When I started learning how to draw, someone said that it was crucial to finish a drawing even if it sucked. Why? Because you need to go all the way to the conclusion to be able to learn. You'll never learn if you don't accept putting out an imperfect piece, or to make mistakes.

Write a few stories, get feedback, understand yourself and the way you work, and then, when you feel ready, make a longer and more ambitious story.

Plus, I've seen short stories being loved and giving a head start to their author for their next story. Don't underestimate the importance of putting your name out there first.

Safe Guide to Launch Your Novel

Choose a catchy title and eye-catching cover:

The first thing readers will see is your cover and your title. Those are the two things that will make someone click or not. That's where the biggest conversion happens. If someone doesn't click, you are losing a potential reader, someone who could have enjoyed your story, commented, and liked every chapter. But maybe the chosen title and cover will instead attract someone else who will be disappointed and leave a bad review.

So what's a good cover/title?

First of all, it's adapted to your story. That's the most important point. It's better to have fewer clicks than having confused readers. I've seen stories having a thirst trap as a cover, even though there were no characters that fit the image. Be sure that the image chosen represents the story well. Don't hesitate to ask people on the forum for help if you have doubts.

For your title, you have two choices: abstract or concrete. You can give a mystery vibe by using a made-up word from your world or a name. It's pretty good for stories that have a rich and complex universe. The downside is that it doesn't give any hint about your story.

Or you can go the concrete road and use your title as a small description of the story. "Reincarnated as a Washing Machine," for example. The good thing about it is that it makes it very clear what your story is about, and you lower the chances of having confused and disappointed readers. The downside is obviously the ugly title it will be, and the lack of scalability; it will stay niche, which is fine if you just want a Royal Road or Kindle Unlimited audience. I mean, what if Dune was named "The Sand Planet That Saw a God Arise" or Lord of the Rings be "Two Small Men on a Hike"? Who knows, maybe it's not that bad now that I think about it.

Find what works for you. You can also change your title along the way to see if results get better or worse.

Where to find images?

There is a lot of free art on the internet or free AI tools to create your vision. You can also commission an artist to make you a cover. You can find artists on Reddit, DeviantArt, the RoyalRoad forum, Instagram, Fiverr, Upwork… There are artists everywhere, and they'll be happy to work for you.

Once you choose your cover, make sure the quality and format are adapted. A clear image makes wonders. You can also do a quick search to see which covers work well for other stories, or look for colors underused (bright blue is not seen that much, red-black is overused).

Write an enticing blurb:

A blurb is a summary of your story, what it's about. It should be short, explicative, and give a hint of mystery. After you finish reading a blurb, you should feel enticed, or you should know the story isn't for you. If you get a confused feeling after reading it, the blurb isn't good.

If there is a place where you need to be concrete, it's there. Explain the genre, the themes, what there is and what there isn't. Obviously, you can also go full mystery, but take into account that Royal Road is a market, and time is precious. You need to give reasons to potential readers to spend their time on your story and not elsewhere. So explain why your story is worth the time spent.

Time your release strategically:

When a new chapter is out, it will appear on the "new chapters" list. This cannot be underestimated. Find out an hour when people don't put out chapters or a time when people are on the website the most. The more eyes on that list, the more chances to get readers. If you have a lot of chapters to put out, space them out 30 minutes from each other.

How to Market Your Novel

Use social media platforms:

There are a lot of different platforms, and not all of them are good to invest in. Instagram and TikTok are very lenient toward new users. If you manage to find an interesting video concept around your story, you can definitely have great results. It could be putting bits of your story or quotes from a character with a dark background and music, for example.

X (Twitter) is also an interesting platform, but I didn't find a good way to go viral on it.

Pinterest is very underrated, but being a platform mostly used by women, you might have more success there if you are writing a romance novel or poetry.

Social media is also a great place to connect with your readers, so definitely think about creating one, even if it's to post rarely. Better a bit of connection than none at all.

Participating in Royal Road forums:

On the forums, you can have a signature with your story on it. If you post a lot and help other users, it's a great way to have more eyes on your story. It's also great to connect with other authors.

Collaborating with other authors:

A shout-out from another author can bring you a lot of eyes. It's free marketing that many authors use, as RoyalRoad isn't a really friendly place for stories that aren't new nor successful. You'll have another option to get support from other authors by doing review swaps, which means exchanging a review on your story for a review on their story. This can boost your rating and visibility. Don’t abuse it, I’ve seen readers post a bad review just to balance out positive review swaps (They are marked as a swap so everyone knows).

Ads: Yes or No?

RoyalRoad has an ad system that is pretty cheap. I used it a few times, and it's definitely something I would recommend if you have money to spare.

The best way to use ads is to take the $55 option, in rectangle shape (Apparently, the leaderboad doesn't work as well).

You should launch it as soon as you have enough content for readers to get attached to the story and characters (10-15 chapters minimum).

The objective of this ad would be to get you on the Rising Star list. Once on the list, if your cover, title, and blurb are good enough, and of course, your story finds its audience, you should be able to go in the general top 50.

How should your ad look?

A lot of authors use memes to get new viewers. I've heard it works well. I personally prefer a more classic look: a simple sentence and an image related to the story that creates mystery. You can also go concrete and write a bullet point of 3-4 facts about your story, like the fact that it's system-based, that the MC is overpowered, or that the genre is progression. This is the type of ad that will get you the least new viewers but also the highest quality because no one will be disappointed once they click.

No matter the ad, if you want to use the more expensive options that will fetch you more impressions, you should always start by testing your ad with the cheapest option first. Test a few ads and stick to the ones that work for you.

Of course, ads aren't necessary to make it on RR. But it's a nice push if you have the money.

Here are my results. The more mysterious ad worked better than the badass and provocative ones.

Monetizing Your Novel

Set up a Patreon for exclusive content:

Most authors use Patreon to monetize their story on Royal Road. They give access to a set number of chapters in advance in exchange for a monthly payment. Some ask for $5, some for $20. It's up to you to set a price that feels fair.

You should add your Patreon offer in the note at the end of each chapter. The more people know about it, the more chances you have to get readers to participate in it. Money is kind of essential in life, and it's also a great way to stay motivated.

Amazon Kindle Unlimited:

Kindle Unlimited is a subscription service on Amazon where readers pay a monthly fee to access a vast catalog of novels. If you enroll your story in Kindle Unlimited, you'll receive a small royalty for each page read by subscribers. While the per-page rate may seem low, it can add up to a good income if your story gains popularity.

But take into account that Kindle Unlimited requires exclusivity. If you choose to publish your story on Kindle Unlimited, you cannot distribute it elsewhere, including on Royal Road.

Amazon's bots will scan the internet to look for any trace of your novel, and if they find it available on other platforms, they may remove your book from their service.

To comply with Kindle Unlimited's terms, you'll need to remove most of the chapters you've published on Royal Road. Amazon allows you to keep a certain number of words as a preview, generally the equivalent of the first three chapters.

Consider audiobook:

Audiobooks is another way to monetize your story. Some authors successfully adapt their novels into audiobook format and make them available on platforms like Audible, iTunes, or Google Play. This can help you reach a new audience of listeners who prefer audiobooks over reading. Keep in mind that if your book is on Kindle Unlimited, you won't be able to distribute the audiobook version on other platforms due to the exclusivity agreement.

Going wide vs. staying exclusive:

When it comes to ebooks, you have the choice to either "go wide" by distributing your book on multiple platforms or remain exclusive to Amazon through Kindle Unlimited. While going wide might seem like a good way to reach more readers, most authors find that sticking with Amazon exclusively is the better option. Why? Well, for starters, Amazon dominates the ebook market, so the vast majority of your potential readers are likely to be there. Plus, by enrolling in Kindle Unlimited and being exclusive to Amazon, you'll get a higher royalty share for each page read. It's a win-win situation - you reach the most readers and get paid more for it. Of course, the choice is ultimately yours, but it's worth considering the benefits of staying exclusive to Amazon

End Words

This is in no way a complete guide, because the biggest part is experiencing everything by yourself. But if you take everything written here into account, you’ll have a good headstart.

Becoming a successful author is not easy, but it doesn’t mean the journey is a bad time either. Everything you’ll learn, and every small victory will feel rewarding. The first 5 star review, the first ‘first’ comment, an other author complimenting you. There are many steps that will carve your experience.

You need to be pragmatic and know that in this world, the better story is not always the most successful. Understand the market and adapt yourself to it. It doesn’t mean selling your soul for money, you can adapt a popular genre and mold it into your own. Remember that what differentiates a writer from an author is their audience. You need to take them into account and get rid of the fantasy that a good writer is one that can’t be understood.

Make sure to be understood, because the world deserves knowing you and your story.