Update (31/08/2023)

Last chapter updated was about a few days ago, so you guys deserve an update.

I've been working hard on developmentally editing book 1. Those on discord would have already seen the changelog, and you would have also seen the additional chapter 16.5 added to smooth the story in book 1.

Book 1 manuscript was submitted to the publishers on 26th August 2023, which is from Chapter 1 to Chapter 60. These chapters will be uploaded onto ScribbleHub over time, slowly replacing the old version with the reworked timeline.

If you would like the pdf version or the epub version, I can try to make one, but there has been no line edit nor proofreading done yet.

Publishing

As of yesterday, 30th August 2023 I have signed with Moonquill the exclusive right to publish, edit and market A BlackMarket LitRPG. The expected publishing date is sometime around May - July 2024, targeting the summer. It will be published on Amazon, Kindle Unlimited and Kindle.

Depending on the success and sales of Book 1's launch on Amazon, there is a good chance of making the jump over to a webtoon adapation, something that drew me towards Moonquill. They have had decent success with their other flagship title, Lord of Goblins, which is popular on Webtoon right now.

All of you here have already paid more than necessary, and Patreon will not be affected by the contract - chapters will continue to be uploaded as per normal when they are ready. I'm slowly getting back into the groove of things, so am looking forward to resume Kyle's journey.

Posting on Other Sites

Losing RoyalRoad access is quite a blow, it means I lose the followers that I have amassed over the last four months. As such, I have begun to post on the following websites:

Honeyfeed
Wattpad
Spacebattles
QuestionableQuesting
r/hfy(not yet)

If you guys have any other suggestion let me know.

What happens next?

In the process of editing Book 1, I realize that I would need to continue the edit all the way through from Chapter 60 upwards to the current Chapter 200 in order to realign everything properly. There are some glaring plot inconsistencies that I now cannot overlook, so I am working through the chapters.

The goal for the edit is to fix plot details, and more importantly breathe more life into the characters as well as their interactions. Hopefully the edit would make their dialogue and distinct characterisitcs far more vibrant. The lack of emotional attachement to characters is one of the key reasons why I think the novel slightly falls off during this point, though it picks up a lot more towards Chapter 170, the final fight with the Ardent Cretins.

I aim to also do proper buildup of antagonists against Kyle, with Harrison now getting far more screentime than he previously had. By setting the enemy into key characters, it makes it easier for the reader to stay invested rather than feel like he is fighting against a overpowering force.

Timeline is also an issue - some things just happen too fast in terms of in-world events. The fall of the Ilysian Punks previously occured only four months after Kyle was reborn - with the new edited Book 1, it takes closer to seven months overall, providing more time for things to happen and be done.

Chapter 70 to Chapter 120 is by far the biggest offender in causing my readers to lose interest. There's not enough downtime, and it strays quite far from how the entire start of the novel felt. I aim to make the pacing much more paltable, with more side stories of the Seven Snakes back in Raktor to reduce the sinking feeling of helplessness that Kyle faces, especially when he fights against Soren and Rayner.

One review has adequately put it as such:

Like, okay let's start from the weakest and shittiest gang, starting to  fight with a middle-sized gang, just to f#cking throw him in a conflict  agains the corrupt goverment officials and the largest gangs in the  city, just to MC meddling in the middle of a f#cking war between two  countries to (in the goddamn beggining of the war) make him face  reincarnators robot-aliens Illuminati.

Not going to say that he is wrong, because I wrote the chapters over an extended period, while a reader would be reading all of it in a single shot. Binge readers would feel the biggest backlash of this.

Ares was also the 'final boss' that Kyle had to face in his ambition to climb the ranks, but Ares did not have sufficient buildup in my opinion. I aim to add more scenes revealing his apparent strength slightly earlier through side stories of the Seven Snakes if possible.

Does this mean you're not going to release chapters until your edit reaches the current chapter?

No, there will still be chapters released, but mostly 'old' chapters.

The 'old' chapters released will be new additional chapters that help to lengthen the entire period of Kyle's stay in Tenar, which I always felt was far too short. I myself as an author was continuously rushing, keeping up the tension continuously for too much. High tension does not work without enough downtime between such 'peaks', so I will add a few more important but less tense scenes of Kyle working to form his own counter rebellion in the catacombs of Tenar.

This means that it isn't fair for me to charge you guys now.

I previously did not pause when I was working on the satellite, something I should've done. And in the last update, I mentioned that I am going to pause billing for my honeymoon, from 22nd Sept to 14th October.

Instead, I will be pausing billing from 31st August to 31st October. If I do complete the edit pass before then, new chapters will still come out during this period apart from my honeymoon.

Pausing billing will mean new patreons cannot sign up, but exisitng patreons would not be charged either. There is no need to cancel your subscription - Pause billing automatically covers that. 

For annual members who enjoy the 16% discount, your membership will be extended by two months instead.

Summary

May-July 2024: BlackMarket published on Amazon, Kindle, Kindle Unlimited.

Pause Billing dates: 31st August to 31st October.

No upload dates (block out dates): 22nd Sept to 14th October.

BlackMarket now uploaded on multiple other websites.

Thank you again for all the support you guys have provided me once again. There's still so much I want to do for BlackMarket, and I am working hard everyday to make it the best I can.

From this post, there is about approximately a day left to ask for a refund. I have already given out a few refunds, do not hesitate to ask for it.