Hello, hello friends! It’s been a while since I posted a blog or writing tips. I’ve got free time this weekend so I decided to address this topic now that I have more experience and started noticing a few things.

I’ve asked people before if they prefer traditionally published novels or web novels. Personally, I’ve always preferred traditionally published works. Not only do I find them more entertaining and engaging, but I also struggle reading stories online. I get easily distracted when I’m on my phone or the computer, so I prefer curling up in a chair or on my bed to read. I’m busy so I can’t keep up with a 300+ episode novel that updates 7 times a week. Traditional novels simply work better for me. When I asked others what they preferred, a common response I received was; I prefer web novels because there’s so much more you can do with them.

I understood this stance and wholeheartedly agreed… until I started writing web novels professionally and realized; oh, there isn’t more you can do. There’s just different expectations of what should be in a web novel that suits their interest more than tarditionally published.

I realized this through writing with Tapas and must stress reader’s expectations differ based on genre, the platform on which they’re reading, and whether or not they’re pay to read or free to read novels. This is already a difference with traditional novels since they have more over all general rules. I’m going to speak from a romantic fantasy writer on Tapas with pay to read novels perspective.

When I started writing Villain’s Lackey, I was informed by Tapas staff that premium romance novels do best if the love interest is introduced within the first three episodes. The LI should also pursue the MC in some way. It doesn’t necessarily have to be romantic, but having them interact so it’s obvious that they’re acknowledging each other. However, the more romantic the advancement is, the better the story is likely to do. This is something you work towards when writing a pay to read web novel because you want to bring in as many readers as possible. However, this takes away from what you can do in those first three episodes.

When I was writing Villain’s Lackey, I had much more world building in the first 6 episodes compared to what it is now. Even my descriptions were more elaborate, but I had to cut and tweak them because readers are also more likely to drop a story if there’s a lot world building in the first few episodes. They don’t expect or want a lot of descriptions. They want to go, go, go, get the story started, then slow down later. Build up isn’t really necessary and you can be much more blunt. Yep, I was very shocked because, like, that’s one of the best parts! But I’ve definitely noticed a difference in engagement. I know most reading my blog probably won’t understand this since you read my stories and I tend to have a decent amount of world building, but the general populace of Tapas seems to believe this in terms of novels, whether they realize it themselves or not.

However, this world building, longer descriptions, and holding off on introducing the love interest would have worked great in a traditionally published novel. It’s what would be expected, not only from publishers but also readers. Obviously there are exceptions. Some novels can still do well when not following what’s expected of a web novel, but it’s a general rule that’s actually true.

Another thing in web novels are filler episodes, like with anime. You can have filler episodes in web novels because it’s another expectation. Have a beach episode or take the time to learn more about side characters. Readers are earnestly invested and want that, but they also expect it. Yes, that means your story is more likely to do better if it has this, so if you’re a writer that doesn’t necessarily enjoy that, then you’re stuck on a, “should I do this for the readers or should I do what I want and skip it?” It comes down to whether you want to risk the chance of a smaller viewership or not.

Writing chapters for web novels is a lot different, too. Traditionally published novels you write a chapter until it’s done. Web novels you write what’s expected of an episode. For Tapas, it’s between 800-1200 words and that can be incredibly stifling to the progress of your story. You often have to cut descriptions, rearrange an episode so it doesn’t end in a confusing manner, or drag out certain moments to reach the expected word count threshold. Then you need to remember, most of the people reading are probably reading a dozen other things. You have to try to end your episodes in a manner that leaves readers wanting more (cliffhangers, mostly) so they come back during the next update rather than swipe it out of their library feed to check later. You don’t have to worry about this with traditional novels because the reader purchases the book and they have it. You end the book on a big cliffhanger for book two.

There’s plenty of other instances I’ve noticed that differ, but I don't wanna drag this out too long. I’ve been writing free to read novels much longer and definitely notice a difference. There’s a lot of things I could do to get more readers because they work well with web novels, but I’m simply not interested. I guess I just find it fascinating to realize web novels, even when they seem to have so much freedom, are actually as constricting as traditional novels, just in a new way. I’m always stuck between writing web novels because this is obviously where my viewership is. I need to put food on the table. At the same time, I love traditional novels and the way they’re written much more so I want to practice towards that, but I’ve yet to break into that world so I don’t know what to do.

Anyway, just to preface, there are always exceptions. Free to read novels also differ a lot. You can do way more with them because they're free, but if you want a career in web novels, it isn't as free as you originally might have thought. I don’t know if this was advice, stating the obvious, or if I was just rambling lol If you have any requests for other blogs, let me know! I'll do writing tips, but I usually don't know what to write about unless someone asks lol Also, I made a TikTok. If you'd like me to do writing advice on there instead, let me know. My username is tw00ny on there ^^

Until next time, toodles~