Parallel Vol. 4 [LEGACY EDITION]

Novel Update 4.1: Future of Parallel

PAID STORIES AND THE FUTURE OF PARALLEL

Hi There Guys, in the interest of complete transparency with my readers, I have to inform you of some important, upcoming changes.

As some of you might be aware, around November of 2018, I received a generous offer from Wattpad to make Parallel a Paid Story. At the time, I turned the offer down, and provided you guys with the update, promising not to leave Parallel locked behind a pay-wall.

I took this decision, not because I'm against making money, (I'm in desperate need. lol), but because I did not like the idea of locking Parallel behind a permanent paywall, especially because it was you readers who made it possible for Parallel to get this popular.

As such, in December 2018, I made a thread on the Wattpad forums, proposing that Wattpad adopt an alternative method to earn coins (the currency for unlocking stories). I proposed having readers willingly watch ads in order to earn coins. These coins could then unlock chapters. With this method, those who could not afford chapters would have a free alternative.

Now, I can't take full credit (I certainly do!) but, I'm delighted to say that Wattpad recently adopted this policy. Readers can watch ads to earn free coins! Now, there's no longer a permanent paywall, which was the main obstacle blocking me from making Parallel a Paid Story.

Once again, I have been approached, very recently, with the offer to make Parallel a Paid Story. I plan on accepting the offer this time. There are several reasons for this. 

The first and most important is quite simple: Money. I am more than grateful to every Patreon who has supported me this far! You guys are the only reason I could do this, this long. Unfortunately, however, I'm not earning quite enough on Patreon to pay my bills, so I do need an additional source. 

Some of you would have noticed I've also taken up Youtube, but that takes time to get the ball rolling, and I'm not sure when, or how much I'll earn from that. This is why I've ultimately decided to take the Paid Story route. Parallel will be promoted to more people, which will give me more money, and thus more freedom to explore many other opportunities for Parallel.

Which brings me to my second reason: Parallel Webcomic. For the longest time, I have been trying to get Parallel into a webcomic format. Unfortunately, most artists I have found, either have obligations or can't commit to Parallel full-time because they have bills to pay. I hoped to make enough so I could at least pay off the first couple weeks before, hopefully, our audience builds. Unfortunately, as you can see on my Patreon Page, I barely make enough for myself. I can't afford to pay artists right now. 

The Parallel Webcomic project is something I have dreamed of since starting Parallel, and honestly, I would do anything to get it off the ground! 

Now, I know a lot of you will be upset by this, and I do understand this. However, I can promise you the following:

1) I will complete Volume 4 before I turn Parallel into a paid story.

2) Parallel Volumes 1 - 3 will remain free. (100 chapters in Volume 4 is a fuckton of chapters! No need to be greedy)

3) I'm working on editing Volumes 2 and 3, to make them much better. I'm not sure if I will be done by the time the Paid version goes live, but I will work hard to improve them, even if only one chapter a day.

4) You will be able to earn coins by watching ads. So, technically, it's still free for a lot of you. The countries with ad-unlock capabilities are as follows:

United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland

Unfortunately, my country, Nigeria isn't here. But, Wattpad has promised to slowly increase the range to more countries over the near future. For now, unfortunately, those who live in unlisted countries will have to pay. I apologize for this inconvenience. Hopefully, Wattpad fixes this soon.

But, it's not all doom and gloom! Once Parallel Vol.4 is done, I plan on taking a break to focus on editing the previous volumes and writing Parallel United Front. Which, yes, will remain completely free!

Now, for a message to my Patreons:

I cannot thank you all enough for your support thus far! I completely understand if this has ticked you off, and made you want to stop supporting me.

However, I please implore that you continue to support me. Paid Stories is like an unknown frontier. I do not know what I will encounter when I get there. I hope you all keep supporting me, so I at least, have a stable ground in the event this doesn't work out. 

Also, if Paid Stories does pan out, I can then focus all my Patreon money on getting a webcomic out as quickly as possible!

Alright. This is it. Thank you all for reading this far. Parallel Vol.4 will be ending in the next few chapters... Can't wait! Thank you for joining me on this crazy, wild, ride!

Also, also, if you would like to see a Parallel Webcomic in the near future, head on over to my Patreon page, and pledge as little as $1 a month. That's less than a cup of coffee. If 200 people donate $1, I will have $200 extra to pay an artist. So, please don't think what you have is too small. Please head over to www.patreon.com/renoe_k and help make my dream a reality.

Thank you! Stay Safe y'all!