The week was marked by several significant adjustments to plans. Here’s the breakdown:
Transitioned development to a public stage
Published the website (in both Russian and English), set up Discord, posted a map and a call for feedback on Reddit in r/worldbuilding — a flop: 14 upvotes and one encouraging comment.
Possible reasons:
- The post was stuck in moderation for a day and a half, and after approval, it immediately sank deep into the feed. Over 5 days, it got 700 views (for comparison, another topic I posted without moderation delays gathered the same number in an hour).
- The map is a WIP, and r/worldbuilding seems more like a place where people want to talk about their worlds rather than look at someone else’s. Especially an unfinished one. My mistake.
- Maybe it’s just not as cool as I think. I refuse to consider this option.
In any case, it was a relief: working in isolation for months is psychologically taxing. Now that I’m publishing everything immediately, I feel a sense of progress and completion: do it → post it → feel satisfied. Surprisingly, having a real audience doesn’t impact this feeling much. Getting feedback would be nice, but…
Reconsidered next steps for development, promotion, and priorities
If the map post had “blown up” — say, 200+ upvotes, dozens of comments, or even brought a few people to Discord — I’d have felt energized to push the “public worldbuilding” angle further.
Since that didn’t happen, I faced a crossroads: what’s next?
Several options emerged. The first — which I considered primary for a couple of days — was to invest time and effort into promoting the project in its current state, seeking alpha readers, etc. Possible tools:
- Engage in 3-5 subreddits, actively participate, help others. After a few months, gently promote my project and request feedback.
- Start a blog or YouTube channel. Either chronicling the project (which no one needs) or sharing “DM experience” content to funnel traffic to Taliskarn — but such channels are a dime a dozen, and…
All of this feels unpleasant. If I genuinely wanted to engage on Reddit or run a blog, that’d be one thing. But right now, my sole focus is finishing the first Taliskarn books, which consumes all my time and attention. Pretending to be “active and cool” feels hypocritical. I hate this approach.
Plus, I’m working solo with no budget, so any extra tasks steal time from creating the actual product. Bad idea.
Conclusion (reached yesterday): Return to the original plan — no promotion until the first novels are ready. The website stays up as a workspace and project chronicle. Discord remains as-is. If organic traffic brings someone — great. If not — so be it.
Second conclusion: Pause the English version to avoid double work. No English audience exists yet, and none will magically appear in the coming months. I’ll translate materials during the pre-beta wiki phase, perhaps. News might still be bilingual (in Discord too — needs more thought).
Decided how to handle feedback
The main issue with the “no promotion until release” approach is the lack of audience and feedback. I pondered solutions, but the answer is brutally simple: there is none.
I can’t hire people. Offering mutual reviews isn’t feasible — no time. Finding genuinely interested folks is vague and time-consuming. Begging friends to “look at my stuff” feels gross. Unfinished, niche work naturally lacks appeal.
I’ll keep working solo. Occasionally, feedback still surprises me: this week, Nikolai — unprompted! — gave feedback. Made my day (or two!). Huge thanks to him :)
So, my companion for the coming months is creative self-reliance. Write it → post it → reread it the next day → pat myself on the back. “If you want something done, do it yourself” 💪
Structured future guides
After refocusing on core content, I breathed freely. Started organizing planned books:
Guide to Malkona
Regional Guide
Looks solid for now. Structure may change later.
Added regions
Well, one and a half: fleshed out Brun’s lands with subregions and details, moved to Verda. Published the alpha for The Ashen Frontier. After posting this diary, I’ll tackle the Monti Hills.
Continued learning to draw
Nothing major to report. Stuck on skull anatomy. Front and side views are fine, but ¾ angles and rotations stump me. Grinding through it.
Plans for the week
- Focus on regions. Ideally, finish Verda — but it’s massive.
- Draw. Master skull basics, move to ribcage.
- Day job obligations: a major release is approaching.
With that, I conclude another diary entry: thank you, dear diary, for existing! Until next week.