Community plays a crucial role in both writing and reading, as it provides a support system and a platform for sharing ideas and feedback. In writing, being a part of a writing community can help to motivate and inspire writers to continue their work, as well as provide valuable feedback on their writing.
Members of a writing community can also offer constructive criticism and suggestions for improvement, which can help to refine a writer's skills and ultimately improve the quality of their work. Furthermore, a writing community can provide a sense of camaraderie and solidarity among writers, who can relate to the challenges and triumphs of the writing process.
Similarly, being a part of a reading community can enhance the reading experience, as it provides a forum for discussion and sharing of ideas about literature. Reading communities can also introduce readers to new books and authors, as well as provide a platform for critical analysis and interpretation of literary works.
Additionally, reading communities can foster a sense of connection and belonging among readers, who can come together to share their love of literature and engage in meaningful discussions about the books they have read.
It makes sense then that there are a wide number of communities that have sprung up since the advent of the internet for readers and writers to share their work. One such company is Royal Road. In this review we will take a look at exactly what they do and whether or not they are worth consideration for a writer looking to have their work made available to its community of readers.
What is Royal Road?
Royal Road self describes as the home of web novels and fan fictions. It goes on to say that it is a community where you will find talented individuals who write either as a hobby or professionally, artists who create art for them and many readers who provide all of the above with valuable feedback, support and encouragement.
There are two main ways to engage with Royal Road. One as a reader and the other as a writer.
The reader can browse for free on the website and find a large number of titles, most of which seem to be free and also sit in the fantasy, sci fi genre. There is also a paid option for readers looking to elevate their experience on Royal Road. For $2.99 a month users can browse the website without advertising, receive push notifications for updates on favourite authors or new books, receive early access to new features and more.
The writer, will likely use Royal Road to have their work self published or listed on the site to increase the number of readers and reach new audiences.
It is not immediately clear whether all books on the site are free which would limit sales obviously, but there are a number of support options so any such queries should be easy to deal with. The prospective writer also has a premium option available to them which costs $4.99 a month and provides them everything in reader premium as well as detailed analytics, customisable fiction header and easy exporting process to help with their work.
What Books are Featured on Royal Road?
As mentioned above, the primary genres of books listed on Royal Road seem to be Sci Fi and Fantasy although it is not clear if that is exclusively all they list or if they happen to be the most popular genres. A selection of the most popular titles as per Royal Road’s website can be found below to provide further insight into these types of works.
- Magical Girl Gunslinger – Mikasane
- Ghost in the City – Seras
- A Journey of Black & Red – Mecanimus
- Nowhere Stars – Anemone
- Cyber Dreams – Plum Parrot
- Death Loot & Vampires – Benjamin Kerei
- Dungeon Devotee – Nixia
- Mother of Learning – Nobody103
- The Perfect Run – Maxime J Durand
- Rock Falls, Everyone Dies – Zechamp
As you can see from the titles, there is absolutely a consistent theme regarding the genre and vibe of these works, so Royal Road is likely most suited to writers operating in that space.
What are the Alternatives to Royal Road?
It will come as no surprise to learn that there are many websites that offer a community type feel to both the reader and writing process. There are simply to many to list here, but an online search reveals hundreds.
The best way to view this is to try and be as specific as possible with the type of community one is looking for, whether that is based on geographical location, language spoken, genre etc.
Of course, there are alternatives to these type of platforms entirely. Traditionally, for readers these would have been things like book clubs or online forums in the early days of the Internet. Now these could be more digital and exist on Reddit or Discord. But the principal remains the same of groups of likeminded readers and writers coming together to enhance their experiences.
For example, you could join Reece's Book Club or Oprah's Book Club online!
Royal Road Review – Final Verdict
In conclusion, Royal Road clearly has a loyal and wide ranging community of both readers and writers that are able to benefit from its platform. The fact that the vast majority of its website is available for free makes this a great entry point to engaging with such types of content and books without any commitment. They also clearly have passion and genuine care around that they do which is always beneficial to those they work with.
That does not mean however that it is automatically going to be a platform that every writer should use or even consider. Writers firstly, may feel that their work will sit better elsewhere, perhaps due to the genre of the work or even the fact they wish to charge higher price points for it.
Perhaps the best way to sum up Royal Road is as follows, a potentially great website for a relatively sub section of the writing community but only an option or maybe even not relevant for the rest.
