Hello to all Artificial Fantasy readers on Wattpad! It's been a while since I released an Author's Note exclusively here. However, this news might be a bit on the bad side regarding the future here.
After taking some consideration, I made a tough decision to stop posting new chapters in Wattpad after next week's chapter. As much as I want to keep posting, there were several factors behind this decision, and I know how difficult it is to come to this conclusion.
I really love writing Artificial Fantasy, and I've been posting chapters here since Day 1 after I participated in NaNoWriMo. It's thanks to this platform that I can tell a story about two brothers having fun in a fantasy MMORPG while playing some tropes found in VRMMO and isekai stories. And thanks to your support, I expanded to Royal Road and opened up my Patreon!
However, as time goes by, I slowly saw the limitations of what Wattpad has to offer and the difficulties of posting on two platforms at once. Of course, I have to list out the reasons to simplify things.
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The 200 chapter cap: As I found out from my last writing stream (yes, I'm now a streamer. PNGtuber Twitch streamer, to be precise), Wattpad has a 200 chapter cap that when I reach it, I won't make any more chapters beyond it. Of course, AF is almost at 160 main chapters, so there's a chance to extend it beyond 200 chapters. I expected this story to be a long and big one, so this limitation from Wattpad wasn't enough to accommodate it. I would try making a Part 2 of AF, but that's where the second problem comes in.Difficulty of posting in 2 platforms: Ever since I released the story in Royal Road, I've been continuing to update AF not only there, but also in Wattpad. Even with the introduction of schedule posting here, there's a chance I might forget posting one due to IRL circumstances. Plus, it's draining my energy, and while I still get some readers in, it's not enough to motivate me to post on Wattpad any longer. Just comparing the read count between it and Royal Road says a lot about the audience here, along with the recent ones.Limited editing tools in Wattpad's in-app writing processor: I can't compare too much here, but between Royal Road's editing features and this one, the latter doesn't get too much beyond font edits and positioning. Whenever I copy the finished drafts into the chapter, I still need to make more editing, and I had to highlight one word from each paragraph just center some of them. It's a bit tedious and too annoying to do every day. As for Royal Road, I get the normal benefits from what I usually get in Word and Google Docs. There was still center positioning, but I don't have to highlight one word in each paragraph. Plus, lately, I made some paragraphs the LitRPG flavor starting in Virtual Lycan and will be editing the previous chapters of Artificial Fantasy there to reflect it soon.Readership: And there's the topic of readership. Compared to the views from Royal Road, it doesn't match a lot in terms of engagement and views. Sure, promotion does affect it. But the reason why AF didn't get a lot here is that not every Wattpad reader are LitRPG readers. I can't blame the audience for this. But with this, I knew AF won't get any more traction beyond promotion and cross-platform.
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Because of these factors, I made my decision and ultimately moved this story exclusively to Royal Road. However, Artificial Fantasy will remain on Wattpad. While I want to discontinue releasing new chapters, it doesn't mean I want to delete this story. It's full of memories, writing this since 6-7 years ago, and it would be wrong for me to erase a part of my writing history. So, whether you still want to read it here, feel free to do so. Remember that it will be a completed story, and if you want to continue reading beyond Chapter 162 (which will be released in two weeks) outside of my Patreon, you can always visit my Royal Road version of my story, complete with exclusive [Lore Break] chapters.
With all of that said, I'm grateful to all readers who read Hayate and Kazuki's adventures in a VRMMO from the Day 1 launch to their new adventures in a new expansion patch. This isn't the end of the story. It's the start of a new journey towards Royal Road.
Thank you guys so much for reading. I will be putting out a notice once the last chapter of the Wattpad version is released. Until then, see you back in <Isekai Online> on the new road.
- SpinnerNite
YOU ARE READING
Artificial Fantasy
Science FictionWhile the revolutionary discovery of Advanced Dive Virtual Reality (ADVR) lead to the birth and trend of VRMMOs, 18 years old Hayate Palmer only cares about his future for his younger brother rather than living out his fantasies in a virtual world...
