Hi guys,
On Saturday, Nov 10 2018, Legend of the Gunslinger Mage became a contracted novel. This is an entirely new experience for me (I've never published anything on the web, and only started writing on WN in September, i.e. about two months ago.)
So, I'm putting together a hypothetical list of responses to questions some of you might have about my plan for LGM. It's half for you guys, and half for me to sort out the thoughts in my brains.
Here we go!
1. When will it go premium?
- An original novel has to have a minimum of 100k words before going premium (a.k.a. have locked chapters after a certain point). The first 100k words are free (preview).
- LGM's current word count is 36k (auxiliary chapters don't count), so it needs an additional 74k words (64k words. My brain was asleep or something. Smh) or roughly 43 more chapters (assuming each chapter has 1.7k words on average) to pass the minimum to be premium.
- To answer the question, you guys all read chapter 11 (The Heartfelt Gratitude), correct? Yeah, so I'll probably switch to premium right before the story reaches a climax (hehe). Possibly during the Christmas tournament arc (spoiler? Nah, I already mentioned that arc in chapter 4. Did I?). So, you know what to expect.
- Seriously though, I'll try my best to find a decent switching point, and you guys will be notified before the switch happens.
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2. What about the release rate?
- Still 5 chapters per week for the next few weeks :(
- Sadly being contracted only means a tiny side income if you guys use paid Spirit Stones to unlock chapters or send me gifts. It doesn't mean I can get rid of my day job and focus fully on writing (I'd really love to do that, though.).
- I'm trying to get a stockpile up and running, but something always came up and devoured those buffer chapters. Believe me, I'm even more anxious for the story to pick up the pace than you guys!
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3. Do I need to vote for you?
- Um, it'd be nice if you can spare the stones. But it's alright if you can't.
- I'm still crap at making extra chapters. Thus, still no rewards to my readers for getting LGM into top 50. Sorry guys :(
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4. What about gifts?
- I love gifts! Even better if they're bought with paid SS (wink wink).
**** EDIT ****
Hang on. If you gift with paid Spirit Stones, be aware that:
(1) Some % of that will be paid to Apple or Google (if you buy it via AppStore or Google Play).
(2) Some more % will be deducted by QI as operating cost (undisclosed).
(3) The remaining amount is split 50/50 between the author and QI.
For example, if you buy me a Grimoire (200 SS or ~2 USD), I will receive less that 1 USD. Probably around 0.7-0.8.
If you guys are willing to donate, these two are cheaper alternatives to the gift system.
- https://ko-fi.com/imbloo_writer
- https://www.paypal.me/ImBloo
**** --- ****
- Still, free gifts are fine. It makes me happy nevertheless to see a growing number of balloons in my list of gifts :D.
- Also, I apologize in advance for being unable to thank every one of you for the gifts. It'll flood the comment section if I do. I can only like them. Sorry :(
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5. You won't pad out the chapters with game system announcements and character stats and other stuff, will you?
- Of course!... not.
- No, seriously, rest assured that I will try my best not to. Most of the lengthy background knowledge, game mechanics, character sheets, and other fluff will be migrated to the auxiliary volumes. I'll try to make the actual chapters as concise as possible.
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6. Is there anything else you'd like to say?
Uh... Thank you guys very much for your overwhelming support, which was the only reason that WN staff notice LGM and offered to have it contracted. Special thanks to my top voters, Shinen, Cyberpuschel585, PrimusxPilus, who have been supporting LGM since it was one of many participants in the writing prompt contest. You guys rock!
(Hah, I sound like I'm winning an award or something. Let's dial it down a bit.)
I'll keep doing my best to improve the novel's quality and make it worth your time. I can't promise it will be the best one you've ever read, but I'll try my best to make it so.
That's all, guys. Have a nice weekend!