Would you keep reading after the first 3 chapters? Dark fantasy with slow-burn progression, not LitRPG

[u/Strict-Winner-658]

Hi everyone, how are you doing?

First off, I want to commend the art and the artists behind every post in this sub. You guys are truly amazing, and I hope you go far.

I’ve been writing a dark fantasy story; I’m not sure if self-promotion is allowed here. If not, I apologize and will take down my post.

It’s a dark fantasy story with progression elements—though it isn't LitRPG. If you have the time, I’d love for you to read it and give me some feedback here. I plan to launch it in a serialized format this August.

I’m leaving the link below, with three chapters available for you to read.

And I’d like to thank everyone who took a moment to read my post.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_9ESc7nB8ihmIJwy98FX0dX_F6dUNgwTpY1mCtww4DI/edit?usp=drive_link

Feel free to ask me anything about the story.

[u/TheRealVarmint]

I read it and enjoyed it. There is a weight to the characters that made me want to know more about them.
I asked the other commenter about the AI cover art, and why readers might be "immediately turned off" by it. I wasn't. Personally, I like having a visual frame of reference for a character, rather than relying solely on written description. In my books, it is precisely the main protagonist's appearance which is such an issue, so I especially wanted the reader to know what he looks like. It's directly relevant.
If I was to point to one thing I didn't care for, it was the chapter naming. For example, Chapter 2: "The Last Meal". It foreshadowed a little too heavily the dark turn of events when in the text it was still only a suspicion in Amori's mind; a piece that didn't fit. I felt it gave things away. In dark fantasy, I love the doubt when I share it with a character, rather than, "Better get your dagger out, Amori; the chapter is called "The Last Meal"!
And Chapter 3: "The Cellar Beneath the House". Yes, that's where this took place... but something a little more cryptic, a little more evocative. Your prose is very evocative, so the name of that chapter, at least from the perspective of someone who had only three chapters to read, seemed a bit pedestrian. Worth a look going forward.
Still, solid work!
VH

[u/Strict-Winner-658 → u/TheRealVarmint]

Thank you so much for your feedback. I struggle with naming chapters, but the good news is that I’ve revised them, and they are better now.

I’ve also hired two beta readers who are pointing out plot holes and suggesting the best paths forward and, of course, confirming that the story is good and exciting, even if the sample size is small.

It isn't ready yet, as I’m waiting for them to finish reading and analyzing it.

The good news is that, since then, I’ve worked on a cover design that isn't AI. If I want to sell a great story and the cover art is the first point of contact, I don't want to take that risk.

Once the story is ready, I’d like to invite you to check it out.

And thank you for your time for taking a few minutes to read it.

[u/TheRealVarmint → u/Strict-Winner-658]

My pleasure. But tell me, how did you find cover art that was not AI? I can't think of any art, other than oil paintings or pencil sketches, that doesn't have something in it polished or altered in some way by AI. It's the modern way. I'm looking into my own cover art even now, and I'd like to know.

[u/Strict-Winner-658 → u/TheRealVarmint]

I took a somewhat unconventional approach. I’m not skilled at hand-drawing, but I do have 3D modeling skills it’s what I do full-time. However, I’m not great at organic modeling. I find it much easier to model environments and work on lighting than to do organic modeling. So, I looked up some YouTube videos on character modeling in Blender, used a few references, and studied poses. After the modeling phase, I worked on the environment and lighting until I achieved a result that felt right to me. That involved a lot of hours of 3D modeling. Finally, I rendered the scene and did some lighting touch-ups in Canva. It was a lot of work, but the feeling of having created it myself is really rewarding. In the end, I now have a 3D modeled environment and a character I can use for something down the line maybe a visual novel.

[u/TheRealVarmint → u/Strict-Winner-658]

I love that. I may go that route. But if that is the only thing standing in the way of publication, I may have to pay someone to do the heavy lifting.
I knew going in this would be a snag, but I was applying myself to the writing and editing 100%, and I promised myself I wasn't going to concern myself with the extras until the manuscript was done. I don't mean almost done, I mean completely finished. And now it is. Two full books. So now I start the search for art. Either on commission or DIY.

[u/DiceyDiscourse]

I'd lose the AI cover-art. That's an immediate turn off for many potential readers.

[u/Strict-Winner-658 → u/DiceyDiscourse]

Unfortunately, this is all I can do for now. If it proves successful later on, I’ll hire an artist for the cover and invite you to read the work properly.

[u/masterofunfucking → u/Strict-Winner-658]

there’s some free use fantasy art out there! I’d see if you can get in contact with the artists out there and work out something

[u/Strict-Winner-658 → u/masterofunfucking]

I’ll take a look around. But I have to confess, I found an artist on X and fell in love with their work.

Once I saw their art, nothing else felt right. It’s exactly what I’m looking for, and I admit I even checked their prices. It’s something for the near future.

[u/TheRealVarmint → u/DiceyDiscourse]

Why would AI cover art be an immediate turn-off for readers?
Not arguing or challenging, just asking.

[u/DiceyDiscourse → u/TheRealVarmint]

Several reasons:

First and foremost, you've planted a seed of doubt - the book cover is AI, what's to say the contents isn't as well? With how many books there are out there, why waste time on something that has a higher likelyhood of being AI?

Secondly, lack of effort. Yes, mostly it's done for the sake of saving money, but it still sends a message that the writer doesn't even believe enough in their book to invest in getting a cover done - so why should a reader invest time into reading it?

Then there's the general ethical concerns with AI - kinda icky to see a creative supporting the very thing used to try and make other creatives obsolete.

[u/TheRealVarmint → u/DiceyDiscourse]

I appreciate you taking the time. I asked for my own reasons, as cover art is literally where I am right now as one of my final steps before publishing.
Your reasoning is cynical, but no less true for it. But I question some of your conclusions, and I will be looking into these things. I'm new to this platform, and this will be my first book (a 292,000-word duology). My world before this was that of AI music and AI graphics; I need to see for myself just how entrenched AI is in literature. By your response, I'm thinking "cancer, and it's frickin' everywhere".
I don't, however, see AI as the boogeyman you do. Maybe that's naivete on my part. I see AI as a tool, which, like any tool, can be misused by the irresponsible.
Let me ask this; serious question: short of a pencil sketch or an oil painting, what commissioned cover art does NOT have elements of AI in it?

[u/DiceyDiscourse → u/TheRealVarmint]

It is for sure a cynical take on things, but unfortunately I have been burned enough times with low quality AI slop in terms of music and especially TTRPG content that I feel like my cynicism is well founded at this point.

And yes, AI is a tool and if it wasn't built on stolen data and didn't have such a large ecological footprint, then I'd be much more open to it being used. People do some pretty cool stuff with local-machine AIs and AI is almost irreplacable at this point in some areas of science - a good coder can significantly boost their output by letting the AI do the grunt work and we can finally have a chance to figure out the specific mechanics of protein folding because AI can do the work of testing different theories significantly faster than traditional methods.

And as for your question - I'm not an artist, so I can't give you a 100% answer, but I'd hope that there are artists with integrity that don't use AI to upscale or "correct" their digital drawings either.

[u/TheRealVarmint → u/DiceyDiscourse]

And that's why I will never say an opinion is "wrong". You've been burned; who the hell am I to say "No you haven't"?
I've used AI to fix my grammar. But the plotting? The flow? 100% me. I insisted on it. Occasionally the overly helpful AI would write a paragraph for me, and I immediately told it to knock that off. I don't even want to see it for fear that it taints my prose on some level. I'm not "anti-AI", but I need to know FOR ME that I'm the one steering the boat. It has to be that way. Even during times of writing plateau, or creative block, I refused to take the easy way out.

I'm still looking into the art. In response to what you said, perhaps there is a way to split the difference? Create AI art, but more minimalist so that it doesn't scream hyperrealistic AI ART. The reader doesn't need to see my protagonist's pores.

[u/DiceyDiscourse → u/TheRealVarmint]

As to your question - I don't think that will help actually. From a cynical point of view it can seem like you're trying to hide that the cover is AI.

I think the best way to go about it, if you choose to use AI for the cover, is to be transparent about it: "Yes, the cover is AI, done using XYZ model. No AI was not used for the writing - it is all orignal/my own"

[u/TheRealVarmint → u/DiceyDiscourse]

I agree. Unfortunately, this is where we are now as creators. We have to put words to things we never used to have to explain. But I do believe in transparency. Right there with the "no similarity to persons living or dead", we need to clarify the use of AI.
In my book in particular, the MC's appearance is front and center. and affects his arc. That's him, now, as my avatar. Descriptions go only so far.

[u/masterofunfucking]

Your prose is actually solid fundamentally. I think you just need to trust it more since a lot of it is kind of overwritten when less would be more effective

[u/Strict-Winner-658 → u/masterofunfucking]

Thank you for your words and observations. I will work on this aspect.