kdrobertson
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November Messenger Update (and their future)
🕑 Added 2025-11-16 11:00:17 +0000 UTCSo, some may have noticed that I haven't done any Messenger-specific updates since July, when things got messy. This includes not doing an anniversary update.
Unfortunately, the reason for this is pretty simple: it's been difficult to write these without being overly negative. I used to value being candid and trying to talk about the writing/publishing process. While 2025 has been financial successful, it's been very stressful.
If I was candid, I'd say that most of my lessons this year have been very negative and/or cynical: communicate less; be less honest; don't take risks; focus on what makes money. If I was doing a corporate retrospective, my report would say "just write Mob Sorcery and stop talking about anything other than announcements." I'd make a lot of money and could safely ignore the constant badgering and angry people.
If I was more positive, I'd push through and just post the stuff I want to write anyway. But I've tried that and I'm fucking tired. The amount of half-written and unfinished Patreon posts in my folder is too damn high. I put together a mishmash of them for the anniversary about writing tics, and I don't know if anyone even read that section. I've buried a writeup on Neural Wraith, after I reread the series; explaining another abandoned version of Neural Wraith 4; a rant about book/series length; discussion on author brands; and way more. That's not even talking about the fact I don't do book commentary anymore.
Somebody linked me to a post on the haremfantasy sub where someone talked about some of the themes of Mob Sorcery. It got basically zero engagement (although an earlier post of his about Imperial Japan got the 'anti-politics' police angry at him). Except he picked up on a lot of the themes I do include. The response of the sub to his posts felt like a microcosm of why I stopped doing book commentary posts, particularly for Mob Sorcery. The idea that elements of Mob Sorcery might have more thought put into them than "that's cool" is actively offensive to many people, and it's financially beneficial to me to just never talk about it.
Specifically for this year, I've also struggled with trusting feedback/input from readers and fans. Part of this is Demon's Throne, due to massive tantrum thrown about it being delayed again. It's so tiring that I don't plan to talk about DT until book 4 is ready, because I'm sick of the people badgering me about it.
But it's also general feedback on the books. In Mob 5, I felt I was being pulled in every direction, and ended up taking in so little feedback it was fairly questionable. There was also a weird level of entitlement involved at some points, as if I wasn't the author, as much as a guy writing a story to the exact whims of my patrons. This reached its head during the stuff about Daji's body - the choice of Mei vs Juliet got weirdly heated. I think many people had already decided it was going to be Mei, and Juliet has some fans. While most people accepted Mei's death, I still got some odd comments like "why ask if I wasn't going to accept the result."
The most recent one has unfortunately been the German translation of Mob 1. There's no positive way to talk about this, and it's upset me more than I expected. I'll simply say that, as somebody with no German knowledge, being given a positive assessment of a translation from multiple German readers prior to spending thousands of dollars on it and then receiving nearly zero support or even comments on the release stung a lot. Given German translations often do well for harem and litrpg, I'll point to this example as one of the reasons I tend to be doubtful when people talk me up as a "big harem author."
I could go on, but that kind of wasn't the point of this post. It just gives you a taste of my frustrations, and what I'm bottling up. I also suspect it's not very fun to read.
I'm left unsure what to do with Messenger updates, or posts in general. To some extent, posting Stellarforged chapters will eventually take over the "bonus content" role. But I don't know if/when I'll have something more... positive to write.
Until that something comes to me, this will likely be the last Messenger update in a while. I do want to thank people for their support despite the negative tone of this post, as it's not like I have any problems with anyone. I'm just frustrated and somehow feel like I'm writing books in more isolation from reliable feedback than ever (while being unable to talk about the aspects of writing I love), which is the opposite of what I thought would happen.
Oh, and the Spellblade Epilogue Pt3 will be out this week. I took too long to write it for various reasons, and then Anno 117 came out and distracted me.
I guess to end this on a more positive and interactive note: is there anything you'd be interested in me trying to do or post, that might avoid being negative and therefore running into the above problems? No promises, tho.
Comments
malsukadro
I personally find the ‘author’ stuff interesting so thank you. Feedback is hard - audience appreciation is a good thing and yet the audience doesn’t share your vision. Walt Disney famously complained after the Pinocchio premiere how the audience totally ignored the clock scene which was a masterpiece of animation and applauded the moonlight on water - which was Basic Animation 101. From a creation standpoint, I find taking a break from feedback can be helpful. Or maybe just parse it for particular types of feedback? For example, continuity and typo/grammar miscues while ignoring plot and/or character ‘suggestions’? For us Messengers, if a monthly is too much (and for one-man operations like you, I can see how it might be), maybe just do a quarterly update with a high-level ‘this has been my focus’ and some comments that may or may not be related. I think you’re right not to make promises or mention schedules, but a more generic update would be fun - I like the polls too. That being said, do what feels right. I’m here to support your writing because I like it. Author updates are nice extras but I’ll be here with or without.
[OMEN]
Maybe it's cynical, but some of my favorite authors outside harem barely communicate about their writing or progress on their books. I think part of it is being an author is a creative job and art by comitee is boring, safe and not meaningful. Maybe posts about something else like what movies, games and such you've been enjoying every now and then might be worthwhile. As much as others put out more books and they can be entertaining, the themes and thought you put into your books makes them more memorable and meaningful. Maybe most readers don't pick up on what they are, but the fact that they are there gives your world, characters and plot more depth that they can feel even if they might not know why.
Socratic Don
If feedback is causing you stress and it isn’t actually helping you in any way then you may be better off ignoring it, at least for a while. Consider setting aside some period of time (3 months for example or the time between your next 2 book releases) where you just don’t read any feedback at all and see if that makes you feel better. Doing it for just a little may also help alleviate any fears that ignoring feedback will hurt you.
