Starting in the early hours of yesterday, the 38-day monthly subscription ended. I never expected the review section to be flooded with angry criticism, so I came here to explain.
This book was never permanently included in the monthly subscription. The site gave it a 38-day promotional event. At the end of January, my editor notified me—or rather, discussed with me whether I was willing to participate. In other words, I could have chosen not to join the subscription program and not to make it free for those 38 days.
But I agreed without hesitation.
Even though news of the Twelve Heavenly Kings had just reached its peak, even though the honor of Sci-Fi Newcomer King had only just made this book known within the industry, I could have refused the monthly subscription and used the rankings from a month earlier to push myself to new heights.
Some people even told me it was a huge loss, that it would be the lowest point for this book's sales.
During these 38 days of free access through the monthly subscription, this book plummeted from the fifties across the entire platform to the bottom end of the hundred-plus rankings. Daily new additions also fell by nearly half, or even more. Yet I never complained about any of this in the author's notes after chapters.
Because when I chose to let everyone read for free for 38 days, I had already prepared myself for the emotional whiplash of those ups and downs.
I especially remember what I once said to an editor: even if the monthly subscription lasted three months, it would be fine. I only hoped more people would read my book. The royalties didn't matter. I just wanted them to keep reading, to finish it. That alone would satisfy me...
So