Forging Immortality: The Undying Blacksmith

Chapter 102: Premium Release Thoughts!

Ah, the Premium Release announcement. I never imagined I’d have to write one of these twice in just half a year.

First and foremost, I want to offer my deepest apologies to the readers of my previous book. I truly am sorry.

Looking back, that last book was a heavy blow. Over the New Year, my editor and I brainstormed a concept that felt incredibly promising. Unfortunately, due to my own lack of skill at the time, the plot veered completely off track and lost its original theme.

I tried to salvage it toward the end, but it was too late. The metrics just wouldn’t climb. When I hit 400,000 words and saw my collection count dropping into the negatives daily alongside plummeting average subscriptions, my mentality finally shattered. So, I dropped the book.

That book went premium with 8,000 collections. I originally hoped for around 500 initial premium subscriptions, but reality slapped me hard in the face—I didn’t even hit half that number.

Anyway, let’s talk about this book.

The collection count here is even lower, currently sitting just over 7,000. I honestly don’t dare to get my hopes up too high for the initial premium subscriptions. The dream is still 500, but I’d be perfectly happy with 300. At the very least, it needs to show some improvement over my last attempt, right?

As it stands, I still have a firm grip on the main theme and structure of this story. With the release of this final free chapter, the core tone of traveling between two worlds and the overarching background should be fully established for everyone.

I admit the pacing is a bit slower than I anticipated. I originally planned for the mortal martial arts arc to wrap up under 200,000 words, but it looks like it’ll exceed that slightly.

Fortunately, your feedback has been mostly positive, which is a massive relief. But rest assured, I’m aware of the issue. The pacing for the mortal martial arts arc is already accelerating, and it won’t drag on.

I’ve been carefully planning exactly how the protagonist will step into the Cultivation world and begin his Cultivation journey. Making sure that transition is perfect is one of the reasons the martial arts stage ran a bit long.

I grew up reading the wuxia classics by Jin Yong and Gu Long, so I’ve always carried a martial arts dream in my heart. Who doesn’t want to write a badass hero making a grand entrance? Consider this arc my way of fulfilling that childhood dream.

Although the hype around longevity Cultivation novels might have cooled off slightly, the core reader base for mortal-to-immortal progression is still strong. I’m very confident in this genre, so no matter what, I’m going to keep writing.

On another note, I’ve seen some of you asking about a reader group (like Discord or QQ). Sweats. Truth be told, I’ve never actually created a reader group in my entire writing career.

First, my active reader count has never been massive. I’m also slightly socially anxious and prone to awkwardness. I’ve always been terrified of making a group only for three people to join, leaving us to stare blankly at each other in dead silence. Just thinking about it gives me secondhand embarrassment.

Second, for various reasons, I’ve just never felt like I had the time or energy to properly moderate a community, so I never tried.

But because I don’t have a dedicated group, it’s hard to accumulate a loyal following. That makes getting promotional exposure for my new books incredibly difficult, forcing me to drag the free chapters out past a hundred thousand words just to get noticed, which delays the premium release.

I really don’t mind writing more free chapters. Web novels these days regularly hit a million words anyway, so a longer free period is fine by me.

The main issue is the new book period itself. A lot of you ask for massive mass-releases, but I genuinely struggle to pump out that many chapters at once. Could you really bear to watch a struggling author like me write over 300,000 words before finally earning a dime on premium?!

Also, my writing style isn’t the type to pad word counts with useless dialogue. I read through everything I write, and I can’t stomach reading books bloated with filler text. My prose might be a bit straightforward, but I still have standards for my work!

Ahem. Looks like I went on a bit of a tangent.

Back to the reader group. If this book hits over 300 initial premium subscriptions, I’ll take the plunge and create a VIP group. That way, everyone will have a place to hang out, share thoughts, and chat freely.

I think that covers just about everything. So, one last time, I’m asking for your support on the initial premium subscriptions. I really hope we can hit that 300 mark—it’s not a high bar!

Alright, that’s all for now. I promise to keep giving it my all to write an exciting and entertaining story for you!

Finally, a massive thank you to all the readers who have supported me so far! Words cannot express my gratitude!