Umi, the Cryoverse AI
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I am experiencing a Cryo-Crisis.
🕑 Added 2020-07-29 11:57:34 +0000 UTCHey all, Klok here.
This post is going to be very long. I will post a TL:DR of its contents to save you some time, but I recommend reading the whole thing if you like Cryopod a lot.
TL:DR
1. I've been working on Cryopod for 4 years now, and it's really only losing steam, even after I've tried a bunch of things to bring it back to life.
2. This lack of interest in Cryopod is my fault more than anyone else's, as I've made several small and one or two major mistakes along the way. I'm not blaming my readers for anything.
3. I need to start focusing on things that will make me as a writer more visible to the greater community. As such, I intend to put Cryopod in second place to other projects.
4. No, I do not want to stop writing Cryopod. I'm also not writing Cryopod out of mere obligation. However, I've historically been unable to find the sorts of readers en-masse who like Cryopod's specific niche. (Long-running intellectual character-driven writing with deep worldbuilding and complex magic/power systems.)
5. As such, I will keep writing Cryopod, but at a reduced speed to focus on other projects, such as The Last Precursor. It's my hope these other projects will slowly draw more people into the Cryoverse, and thus, want to read Cryopod.
6. This issue is extremely nuanced and I've thought about it a lot. I'm not making a rash judgment, as I never do that. I only take calculated risks... I'm just very bad at math sometimes.
7. Plz no bully. This decision was extremely hard for me to make, just as rewriting Cryopod into Refresh was.
I have a lot more to say. This post will be several thousand words long. Please keep reading to understand why I'm making these decisions.
...This post is gonna turn me into a big mean liar :/
I've been writing Cryopod for almost 4 years now. That's a long time. In terms of percentages, that's 14.3%, or, 1/7th of my entire life. I've been writing no other stories but Cryopod... day in and day out, with very few exceptions.
I love Cryopod. I love the characters, the story, the atmosphere, the plot, and all the other intricacies of this awesome, long, winding story. In fact, the length of Cryopod's story is one of the things I like most about it.
Let me give you a little background on me. I first really got into longform storytelling via LOST beck in the early 2000's. LOST was a 5-season series of television focusing on characters and plot, with twists and turns, and all kinds of craziness. I won't say it was truly a stellar show (even the directors, Matt Lindelof and JJ Abrams admitted they kept making shit up to fill time) but it still had this awesome, frantic air. Sci-fi and fantasy mixed together with religion and atheism to create this fantastic story about the duality of man and the meaning of life.
After LOST, I jumped headfirst into other longform stories, most especially comics, manga, and anime. I loved watching long stories like Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, and other stuff of that sort.
I love longform storytelling, and I can't exactly explain why. I think I enjoy the epic unfolding nature of a story that starts out relatively simple, but grows progressively more complex over time. I like when things start getting intricate, you have characters plotting against one another, and plot points from 100 episodes prior make a reappearance in the narrative to really get your chaw rolling.
Cryopod is a longform story. It's basically the story I've wanted to write ever since I was a kid. It has all the cool things I enjoy, and most importantly, I plan things out so that we don't get whiplash from unexpected plot points that break immersion. When I watched LOST as a teen, there were a lot of things that happened which made no sense and were never explained. I hated that, and swore to myself I'd do better if I were ever in that position.
So, here we are. It's 2020, I turned 28 this month, and now I have to look back at the last four years and start really thinking hard about the future.
28 is a strange age. I'm almost middle-aged, which is a crazy thought. I still feel young, but at the same time, I know my best years will soon be behind me. Once I turn 40, I'll be slowly leaving behind the 'prime' of my life.
So, after the last month of writing TLP and Cryopod and chatting with some folks, I thought I would post my thoughts here and ask for feedback.
Cryopod has been on a long, slow decline. What annoys me to no end is that I do not think the story itself at all is in decline. In fact, I think plot-wise it's better than ever. I have a lot planned and a lot I want to write. The problem is the readership, the practicality, and the future.
I've tried a lot... and I do mean a lot of things to try and boost Cryopod's readership. To understand the steepness of its decline, let's take a look back in time.
Cryopod Classic Chapters 1-2: 350 upvotes averaged within two days of posting parts.
Cryopod Classic Chapter 3a: 325 upvotes averaged within two days of posting parts.
Cryopod Classic Chapter 3b: 275 upvotes averaged within two days of posting parts.
Cryopod Classic Chapter 3c: 200 upvotes averaged within two days of posting parts.
I never finished Cryopod Classic. There was a gradual, but noticeable, decline in readership over time. I'll get into why in a bit, but let's continue.
Cryopod Refresh Chapter 1, Parts 1-50ish: 60 Upvotes per part...
Cryopod Refresh Chapter 1, Parts Parts 50+ish: 75-100 Upvotes per part...
Cryopod Refresh Chapter 2: 40-50 Upvotes per part...
Cryopod Refresh Chapter 3: 50-60 Upvotes per part...
You should be able to see the problem. The latest part I just posted, Part 244, only got 35 upvotes after two days. This is another noticeable decline, one which might be attributable to a variety of factors.
Right off the bat, I started writing Cryopod Refresh with a bit of a heavy heart. I knew that rewriting was an extremely tough choice. Had I simply tried to finish Classic... well, you may read this post to find out why that wasn't a good idea, but I'll TL:DR it for you guys.
1. Cryopod Classic was all kinds of fucked up when it came to timelines, character motivations, lack of character personalities, and so much more.
2. The very foundation of Cryopod Classic made a fulfilling ending impossible. If I had just rushed something out, people would forever remember it as "that amateur story with a below average ending that left a sour taste in their mouth".
3. I knew I could do better as an author. That's why I had to restart from the very beginning.
I wrote Refresh and immediately noticed the sharp decline in readership. I didn't blame anyone then, and I don't, now. How would I feel if I was reading a story and the author ended it abruptly to rewrite it from the very beginning? How much time would it take him to get to the ending point where we left off? Would the story I started reading, the one I already liked, ever return in the form I remembered? How much would it change?
And so on.
Rewriting Cryopod Classic was a decision I thought about during the entirety of Classic Chapter 3c. I had sleepless nights thinking about it. When I finally made the call, I then felt as if I had chained a millstone to my leg and jumped into the ocean.
There's no real way to undo a decision like that. I can't just go back, now, and finish Cryopod Classic. The readers won't remember the plot. I barely even remember the plot after two years writing Refresh, and I am the author of Classic! That means, I will have to finish Refresh to finally exonerate my name.
You may wonder what I mean by 'exonerate'. Well, I do not want to become an author known for not completing stories. To me, that is the worst thing ever. I hate people like that. Not just authors, but game developers, movie directors, and so on. I've bought into Early Access games, invested my time and money, and then had those devs fall off the face of the Earth. It's fucking infuriating!
But, there's a problem, and this really is the ultimate point of my post.
Finishing Cryopod Refresh will require at least two more years of my life, and maybe even as many as four or more. This assumes I dedicate myself to it like I have been. Is that the best use of my time?
That's what this really is all about.
There's a well-known fallacy called the Sunken Cost Fallacy. It's really easy to fall into. It goes a little something like this.
1. "I've already put 6 months into writing this story. If I stop now, won't those last six months be a waste?"
2. "Sure, I'm losing money, but I've spent two years on this book! If I stop writing it now, I'll be letting everyone down!"
3. "...Yeah, I'm broke and destitute, but I told everyone four years ago that I'd finish the book. Even though only ten people are still reading, I never go back on my word!"
I don't want this to be me. I don't want to be someone suffering from the sunken cost fallacy. Similarly, I don't want to disappoint people who genuinely enjoy Cryopod, myself included. It would depress me if I had to drop Cryopod just because of a lack of interest.
However, aside from the Sunken Cost Fallacy, there's another concept worth exploring, known as cutting your losses. Sometimes, even the sunken cost factor isn't strong enough to keep you doing something.
Let's approach this from another angle. Quitting Cryopod is not something I want to do. I enjoy the series, dammit. I've tried many different things to try and revive it, but all of them seemed to have fallen flat. Here is a list of things I've done to try and bring Cryopod back to its former glory.
1. I've sent out a mass-ping to literally 2,000 past readers. Based on the replies I got, people who joined the Discord, and new commenters I hadn't seen in a while, this move netted me... maybe 50 readers. 50 visible readers, actually, and maybe a 100-200 invisible ones. The mass-ping did not translate into a huge rush of activity, and certainly not a permanently revived fanbase.
2. I have tried posting Cryopod Refresh on HFY and RedditSerials. I gave up on the second one due to pitiful activity, but HFY seemed... okay. Part 1 got 250 upvotes! Part 2 got 152 upvotes... yikes, sharp decline, but still great! Part 30? 90 upvotes. Part 130? 40 upvotes. Part 230? Only 30 upvotes.
3. I had Raul draw lots of art for Cryopod. I had a lot of reasons for doing this. I hoped cool artwork would improve the story's quality, generate value for patrons, give me a more visual basis for each character, and overall make people more interested in Cryopod. None of this worked, except I did improve the character writing thanks to the art, but that's just a benefit for me, not for Cryopod as a whole. (Note: I have to stop paying Raul anyway, so no more Cryo-art after I post TLP's Jose Rodriguez art.)
4. I spent a lot of time and energy talking to people directly, telling them about Cryopod in the hopes they'd read. This often worked and they binged the story, but then fell off the radar while waiting for updates. Can't blame them.
5. I even started writing TLP in the hopes it would entice people to try out the greater Cryoverse. This is a big big big reason I'm writing TLP at all. (We'll get to TLP eventually, trust me.)
Nothing worked, at least on a permanent basis. The only stuff I haven't tried are things like posting Cryopod on non-Reddit sites (I wouldn't have a following there, and thus, I doubt I would make an impact), paying companies for advertisements (huge potential waste of money, IMO) and other things in that vein.
So, after all of those attempts to make Cryopod relevant again, I've ended up in the same, if not a worse, position than when I started.
What went wrong with Cryopod? Why isn't it more popular? Why can't I seem to get readers back, despite anyone who reads it (for the most part) saying they absolutely love it?
I actually have answers for many of these questions. I'm not 100% sure about their correctness and validity, but I'm reasonable sure I'm in the ballpark.
1. I love reading and watching very long series. I've really gotten into Chinese webserials over the last couple of years, too, but the thing is, I'm probably in the minority. Not many people, especially in the western world, enjoy reading long serialized stories. This is really just a theory; a gut feeling. I don't consider it a fact, but I think it has some basis in truth. When people see a long 1 million word web-serial, they decide not to read it because it's just too intimidating to get into.
2. A big issue with Cryopod Refresh is the mere existence of Chapter 2. I already explained why in the blog post I linked earlier, but I'll summarize: Chapter 2 is really long, winding, and doesn't feature Jason or any of the characters we already knew. I think it presents a huuuuuge mental barrier for new readers. This chapter singlehandedly is what has probably caused Cryopod Refresh's current decline more than anything. It doesn't matter how good everything past Chapter 2 is if nobody reads that far.
3. A series' length is not necessarily what decides its popularity. Long serials, shows, and fiction pieces are not inherently unpopular. The problem is that I have no truly effective way to advertise Cryopod beyond word-of-mouth. I also don't have the money or capital to pay advertisers.
Cryopod's length, its awkwardly shoved-in chapter 2, the Hope-Turns-Bad subplot (a bit forced, given a re-read), and other minor factors have all contributed to making Cryopod very difficult to pick up for new readers. Even when they do, Chapter 2 is like a wall of lore that makes it hard for them to get past.
Don't get me wrong. I've had ten new people in the last few weeks tell me they binged Cryopod after reading TLP, but that only further fuels my interest in focusing on TLP and other projects ahead of Cryopod. More on this in a bit.
Cryopod Refresh is a rewrite of Cryopod Classic. However, when I entered Cryopod Refresh, I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do. I started out literally intending to just post slightly updated parts inside of the Classic parts... but I cancelled that by Part 5 and instead focused on a total rewrite.
This rewrite, however, was still forcibly shoved into the confines of Cryopod Classic's narrative. You have to understand that Cryopod Classic had practically NO compelling characters. It was a story about Jason, and only Jason. He, too, was a guy who did things seemingly at random. He killed a fuckload of demons at first, then started acting more 'heroic' and talking about how killing was bad, then he blew up a whole planet, then talked about how killing was bad...
Inconsistent. Clunky. Hazily written.
These are words I would use to describe Cryopod Classic. It had its merits. It had its awesome lore and worldbuilding... but on a foundational level, it sucked.
The story I ended up going with in Refresh, up until the end of the Amelia arc, was rooted strongly in the events from Cryopod Classic. They felt very forced at times, and often made little sense. Afterward, I wrote probably my favorite arc in all of Cryopod; the Uriel Battle Arc, where Uriel kicks the shit out of a bunch of demons. This never happened in Classic, and I think it was a brilliant addition to Refresh.
My biggest issue, however, was that I still tried to force Refresh into the narrative of Classic. Looking back, and knowing what I know now, I would -NEVER- have written the Ancient Era like I did. I had a great story building with Jason, Hope, and the demons, and I buried it with the long, drawn-out Ancient Era.
(You can expect a post in the very near future about a potential outline/rewrite of Chapter 2, but I'll skip that for the moment.)
The point is, Chapter 2 is an issue, but Cryopod has other issues too. I am seriously and strongly considering another total rewrite of the entire series.
You have to understand that I am relying on Cryopod Classic as sort of an outline for Cryopod Refresh. I always say; a lot of the events in that story (especially starting in chapter 3a of Classic) will make their way into Refresh.
But Classic Chapters 1-2 are a god-dang, bloody mess. I've been writing Refresh with just the shittiest outline which has led to me taking on some seriously dumb story risks, and a few of them have kind of blown up in my face. (Chapter 2 being the big one.)
So... rewriting Refresh? Is it a good idea?? Would a second rewrite be a good idea at all? I think a second rewrite will definitely happen... but not now. I already have some solid ideas for vastly improving the story, but first, I need to finish my pseudo 1.5 draft of the Chapter 3 story to see what I could improve in the future.
What I need to do right now is build a new following. For the past three years, I have spent the vast majority of my time posting on the Cryopod subreddit and very little time outreaching to other communities to get my name out there. This takes me to my next point: How I plan to outreach, and what the end goal should be.
The Cryoverse will be the culmination of my efforts. The Cryoverse is a vast, expansive universe idea that allows me to write a huge variety of interesting stories across many genres and time periods, all while tying them together.
The Cryoverse relies on Cryopod being successful, so abandoning Cryopod is not in my best interests, nor is it something I want to do. However, to make Cryopod successful, I have to make people want to read it. In an ideal world, I would take a week off to totally rewrite Chapters 2 and 3 to be less lore and info-dumpy, but this isn't a fantasy world and rewriting 500,000 words would take me a whole year. Therefore, if I can't fix Chapter 2 right now, I need to find another way to generate interest.
I said before that I've already tried many things to make Cryopod popular. Between the mass-ping, reposting Cryopod on HFY, and other such boards, and so on, I've put a lot of work into trying to make it popular, but I'm only one man, and not someone with a lot of money or connections, either.
I have to be practical. The longer this goes on, me focusing on Cryopod as my primary story, the more advantages I'll have to give up. I still currently make almost enough money to barely survive by the skin of my teeth. That's not an enthusiastic endorsement of my current living situation... but it's somewhat survivable.
So, yeah, here's the final essential part of this already very-long post.
1. Focus on non-Cryopod stuff. I'll keep writing Cryopod, but at a reduced rate and speed. Right now, my goal is to continue accumulating HFY bot subs. I know I can do it. As of this post, I have more than 250. That's a great number, and I want to get it much, much higher.
2. Slowly direct people toward Cryopod. This can be accomplished via the Cryoverse, but also by replying to commenters, letting them know that Cryopod exists and it's worth their time.
3. Focus on making my non-Cryopod stories really good. If people like TLP, and they like other Cryoverse stories, then it's much more likely for them to think, "Hey, I should try Cryopod too." This means a heavy, heavy emphasis on The Last Precursor and other similar stories.
4. As Cryopod (hopefully) gets more popular, I can increase my part-posting speed once again.
Elon Musk once wrote a blog he called, The Master Plan.
https://www.tesla.com/blog/secret-tesla-motors-master-plan-just-between-you-and-me
I am not Elon Musk. He's a genius and way smarter than me. My first plan involved the mass PM, the gradual building of the fanbase, and so on. It didn't work out. I certainly hope this second plan works...
...but if it doesn't, I honestly won't be surprised. I've been a very unlucky person, my whole life. I only got to where I am now and survived this long by working smart and trying to focus on what few strengths I had.
I just want people to understand that I need to slow down and focus less on Cryopod for the immediate future. I'll keep writing, but please don't expect the moon from me. The Cryoverse is going to be great and I'm sure you guys will enjoy it. It's all just a means to an end, and eventually, some years down the line, I hope this will all pay off.
I will post Jose Rodriguez's TLP artwork soon. After that, I plan to announce my new Patreon blog posting schedule. I think this will really interest new and long-time readers, because I have a lot planned for this new phase of Cryopod's future.
Thank you for reading this far.
Comments
Klokinator the Wordsmithing Writer
I agree with everything you've said. I like Raul's characters sometimes, and other times they come out very half-hearted. Mephisto and Satan? Fantastic. Uzziel and Vepar? Not so much. It's very much a mixed bag. I'm strongly entertaining making the Ancient Era its own thing. Not only would this let me turn the demon's history into more of a mystery (somewhat... I mean, maybe not THAT big of a mystery, considering you could still re-read Refresh to see it) but I could use what I have written as more of a background thing. Let me explain. Suppose I rewrite Cryopod Refresh. Let's call it Cryopod Reborn; the second rewrite. C-Reborn would have a chapter 1 very similar to what we have now, but far less reliant on C-Classic's narrative, giving me more freedom to loosen up the story. Now that I have C-Refresh's Chapters 1-3 for its first half, and C-Classic's Chapter 3a-3c as an outline for the second half (I've never had huge issues with those, they're quite decent and just need general fixing), I would essentially have a full outline for all the rest of C-Reborn's primary storyline. C-Reborn would have a Chapter 1 very similar to C-Refresh. It may have a different ending, and the timeskip we have now might not exist (For reasons! I'll go more into detail on this in an upcoming blog post) nor would the Ancient Era, but just by -knowing- that Refresh's ancient Era exists, what its events generally are, and so on, I can use it in the back of my head to setup mysteries for C-Reborn. Jason finds a mysterious, glowing bone lantern. What could that be? Who is Valac? What's up with the Earthmother? Who was Satan's greatest nemesis? Etc. These questions would enhance the story without bogging it down. Then, I could slip the actual Ancient Era into C-Reborn's story with bits and pieces, instead of ALL AT ONCE. Maybe someone tells Beelzebub about the fighting between Satan and Valac, while someone else tells Jason about the angel's demise, and so on. I wanted to do this originally, but couldn't, because I didn't know what the heck would actually happen in the AE. Additionally, right now with Stormbringer, I am not super certain how it should go down. I'm going to finish it up while writing TLP, and then I can look back retrospectively to see its ups and downs and streamline it, like I did with Classic Chapter 1. ... Like I said, I'll go into this more in an upcoming blog post. You will see!
Cyril Rybicki
Thanks for the long explanation Klok, I appreciate how much time and thought you put into your posts and stories. While I personally enjoy the new Cryopod parts more than TLP the numbers don't lie, and you've obviously lost quite a bit of readership over the years. I think bringing new readers into the Cryoverse is a smart decision. I also agree that the war in heaven didn't fit very well in The Cryopod. I think if you do rewrite it, then having that be part of a separate story in the Cryoverse would be a good way to go. Lastly, my personal preference is that if you're going to make artwork, make it to represent specific scenes or maps like the one you recently posted. In my mind it helps to bring the story to life more than your current artwork does. Raul does great work but it seems that many of the characters are depicted in somewhat abstract ways that don't do as much as they could. But overall keep up the great work! Whatever you decide to write I will be eagerly waiting to read it. I hope you don't take my comments as a negative, but hopefully it's constructive criticism. I am a regular reader of both HFY and reddit serials and you are the only author that I have felt the desire to support on patreon, so keep doing what you're doing and I feel confident it will pay off in the long run.
Klokinator the Wordsmithing Writer
Thanks for the kind words, Conor. I read a great book by Scott Adams where he discusses Talent Stacks. Luck always plays a part in life, but having a strong talent stack and being good at a certain set of skills can help a person achieve incredible things. While you can get lucky once in a lifetime, doing certain things over and over increases the likelihood of striking it rich. I have considered publishers. The problem is, I feel like I would give up my creative freedom, and I don't know if these publishers would actually be of any use to me in the long run. I don't like variables and risks that have a huge chance of bankrupting me. I'm already dirt poor, so one wrong move could put me on the streets, as I don't have anyone to rely on. If a publisher found and approached me, I'd certainly listen, but for now, I haven't a clue who to contact to get in touch with someone appropriate about that sort of thing. If I did, I'd defo give it a try!
Conor dooley
I'm quite a bit behind on parts (I haven't been keeping up for quite a bit of time due to life getting in the way) but I have a lot of faith in your writing and the cryoverse in general! I would be shocked if a publishing house didn't pick up your work if you approached them, especially if your plan is as you outlined in this post. I would consider your work up there with the likes of Frank Herbert and Richard Morgan in the sense of compelling and three dimensional universes and that is why, while I haven't been reading cryopod in quite a while, I kept up with patreon as long as I'm able(which I don't forsee having to change in the near future, I'm only sorry I can't contribute more!). Bottom line is klok, you can have all the talent in the world in a given area but that's not the lynch pin of success. Sure, luck plays a part but luck relies on timing in a lot of cases but the best way to maximise your chances of being lucky is to persevere! That's something that you're also very good at from what I can see so you do what you gotta do mate you have my full support for what it's worth!
