The rise of AI-generated books published on Amazon and Amazon’s Kindle is a growing concern, especially with the removal of the “look inside” preview feature. This trend stifles innovation, originality, and creativity.
We have the literary equivalent of DR Horton homes everywhere.
Does the reading public really crave generic dreck? Or are people simply going to quit reading rather than struggle to find the buried gems?
Apologies for the poor audio quality on this video.
00:00:00 – AI Books Flooding Amazon
00:00:32 – Should Amazon Charge Per Upload?
00:00:49 – I’m Considering a Return to Web Serials
00:01:05 – How to Spot AI-Written Writing
00:01:53 – Will AI Eventually Degrade Itself?
00:02:25 – Established vs. Newer Authors in the AI Era
00:03:01 – Readers Are Retreating to Old Favorites (and that’s a shame)
Royal Road is the biggest web serial platform in fantasy and sci-fi.
If you want a real shot at traction there, you need to write with the audience in mind. Because Royal Road is not Amazon, Webnovel, or Wattpad. It has its own culture and its own reader expectations. Some stories are an easy sell to the RR audience, and some are a hard sell no matter how talented you are.
Here are 7 likely reasons why Royal Road readers quit reading your story.
📌 In this video, you’ll learn:
✅ What Royal Road readers consider “amateur writing”
✅ What genres are easiest to sell on Royal Road
✅ Why power progression dominates the platform
✅ Why infodumps and slow openings kill retention
✅ Why multiPOV is a bigger risk than most writers realize
✅ The hidden reason “too much suffering” turns readers off
✅ What kind of romance and comedy works (and what doesn’t)
I’ve read many of the top trending Royal Road series (and I rate them on Goodreads), and I’ve personally hit #4 on Rising Stars. This is my analysis of what the platform rewards right now, and which writing styles (including multi-POV, present tense, and overly literary prose) might quietly sabotage your launch.
00:00 – Easy Sell vs Hard Sell on Royal Road
00:56 – #1: Amateur Signals That Kill Reader Trust
02:34 – #2: Genres That Don’t Belong on Royal Road
03:28 – What Genres Perform Best on Royal Road
04:13 – #3: Literary Prose vs Reader Expectations
05:15 – #4: Romance (What Works and What Doesn’t)
05:40 – #5: Comedy Done Right vs “Trying Too Hard”
06:21 – #6: Why Readers Hate MC Suffering
07:16 – #7: Multi-POV and Present Tense = Hard Mode
08:05 – Final Advice: Study Top Stories Without Selling Out
🔥 Happy writing! And good luck reaching for Rising Stars.
If you’ve ever thought about quitting your job to pursue your creative work full time, this video is going to save you a lot of pain. I’ve done it. I know people who’ve done it. And there are things I wish someone had told me first.
Whether you’re a novelist, artist, game developer, or any kind of maker, this is the financial literacy crash course built for how creatives actually live and work.
0:00 Introduction: financial mindset for creatives
0:47 Quitting your day job: what nobody tells you
1:43 The real competition you’re up against today
2:42 How algorithms favor rapid content generation and volume over quality
4:04 The psychological trap: passion becoming pressure
5:19 What successful creators actually do differently
6:09 Finding the right day job as a serious creative
7:11 Sustainable creative habits that actually last
7:47 Passive income reality check for artists
9:01 Basic investing: ETFs, Vanguard, dividends
10:37 Tracking your creative income like a business
The honest truth: your creative work and your financial health don’t have to be enemies. This video explores how to make money as an artist while striving for financial freedom, acknowledging that everyone’s personal journey is unique.
“Students who read for fun on their own time fell from 27% to 14% in 2012 to 2023. Those who never or hardly ever read for fun on their own jumped from 22% to 31%.”
Timing a great launch window for your fantasy or sci-fi novel series.
00:00 When should you launch a novel series?
01:03 Launching during the Royal Road Writathon, or avoiding it
03:19 Which month is best for a Royal Road launch?
04:36 Is there an ideal time zone for chapter releases on Royal Road?
05:08 Weekends or Weekdays for a Royal Road launch?
Ever wonder why we’re not seeing new ‘mega-name’ authors like Stephen King or J.K. Rowling? This video explores the current state of the book publishing industry and mass media, covering contenders such as Brandon Sanderson and Sarah J. Maas, while also questioning the absence of global superstar authors in contemporary literature and books. It’s a critical discussion for anyone invested in writing and reading.
Here are some hard truths about earning income, and passive income, as a creative in today’s Western countries. I am generalizing for all the arts, but especially the niches where I come from.
Whether professional or amateur, sci-fi and fantasy writers rarely finish the epic series they start. Abby explores the reasons why authors abandon their series, having run that gauntlet herself, as well as having studied the craft for over twenty years.
