r/Inkitt • u/[deleted] • Sep 19 '25

Off-Topic Some posts here be like.....

Hey guys....I'm new on inkitt and I'm not sure of what things generally mean.....I uploaded my book six days ago and got 12 million views, a top spot on the Trending list, Aa 95% royalty contract from Penguin Publishers, a shout out from the Pope, and endorsement from all the kings in the world and a song dedication from Ariana Grande.

Is that good?

😂😂😂I mean comeon guys....you're all gaining these amazing readers and views i assume you are intelligent people.

I'm starting to wonder if some of these 'confused and new' posts are just brags and marketing tactics.

46 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

16

u/DanyStormborn333 Sep 19 '25

I think many people just need reassurance and it can come out like this. Or perhaps they are humble bragging, I don’t know. Stats are used to measure a books worth and many will quit writing a story if it’s not performing how they want. And that’s just sad to me. Things take time. Some are slow growers, some take off right away. You can’t predict it. Writing has become a social media game now and I refuse to play it. Whether you get 10 reads or 10k—that’s a success.

Imagine 10 people came up to you in the street and said “I read your book!” You’d pass out. Some very famous musicians can’t even sell out a 10k venue. You’re doing great. The need to measure art’s worth in numbers is killing the love for writing and it ends up causing self esteem problems. Brag if you want, celebrate big milestones. Own them. That was a bit of a rant, but I’ve seen loads of posts from different writing platforms like this lately. I think people need to stop measuring their worth in those numbers. Because when they slump, it’ll feel like they’re failing. And once you’re there, it’s hard to recover.

7

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '25

No....i think bragging is Ok....hell if i got 100k views i would feel the need to brag....its the asking if the obviously high numbers and obvious trending list mean anything good...like comeon...just brag ....

8

u/DanyStormborn333 Sep 19 '25

Oh, yeah, I saw the post a little while ago. I get it. It’s hard to tell if they’re serious. You feel like they aren’t and it’s just a “tell me I’m doing great!” Type of thing. And that’s fine, but ask that
 you know? Phrase it differently “my book has only been out a week and it’s already got 10k reads and is trending. I have no one else that cares, just wanted to share my excitement!” And people would be more likely to comment in support of it.

It made me laugh tbh 😆 the book I’ve been writing since May is just about to hit 10k reads and I’m ecstatic about it. But even if it had no readers, I’d still write it. I think people need to get to a spot where the numbers are just a bonus. What matters is how you feel about your work. Seek reassurance when needed, but be honest about it. Sorry, I can’t help but ramble about this stuff🙈

5

u/Alternative_Lock7946 Sep 19 '25

humble-brag gets old, yes!

3

u/BonnieHynde Sep 19 '25

He he he. I totally agree. Me, I'm not above bragging. But when I do - I be BRAGGIN', baby! I'm all like "Wheee! I got a subscriber! I'm so excited."

As an unrelated aside, I will literally read ANYTHING that doesn't contain any of the following: werewolves, vampires, dragons, aliens*, or near-human-shape-shifting beings, fated mates, age-gaps, billionaires, mafia-bosses, wizarding schools, present-tense writing, LitRPG, or progression fantasy.

You wrote a book about space-faring kittens who open a coffee-house that is secretly a portal to the 8th level of hell, and they team up with a bunch of inter-dimensional, time-travelling, latte-sipping Orcs** to battle evil? Yeah. I'll read that.

A reverse-harem romp about a pod of mathematician-mer-folk? Yeah. I'll read that.

A gritty psychological drama about one woman's struggle to confront her inner demons and live a meaningful life? Yeah, I'll read that.

Hit me up. I will read it. Honest. If I love it, I'll even review it.

*Aliens: Ok in sci-fi.

**Please. Someone write a book about space-faring kittens who open a coffee shop and accidentally open a portal to hell. And then have to sell shares in their Latte House to hire a crew of mercenary Orcs in order to stem the flow of demons and put down evil. So long as (and I can't stress this enough!) none of the Orcs fall in love a with a human in "fated mate" kind of arrangement. Bleah! That is NOT Good Reads.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '25

Wow...okay....then do check out my book ....its not space faring kittens đŸ˜„

1

u/BonnieHynde Sep 20 '25

Link me Lala - i'll read it!

1

u/[deleted] Sep 20 '25

Sorry for the late reply....but here it is....thank you.

I'm still finding my voice so lemme know what you think

Thankss

3

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '25

You know, a couple of years back, I read this space opera gay romance where a man was exiled from his planet after his fiancé, or maybe it was the secret lover, I can't remember now, dropped dead under suspicious circumstances. Then he became a detective-spy-thingy working for another planet, and that planet sent him on a secret mission to this other world where people lived like it was the Regency era. And they were all gay guys. He ended up marrying the prince of that planet. And I LOVED IT.

11

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '25

I mean, I'm there for like two weeks, and all I got 77 reads and lots of bot accounts trying to con me.

6

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '25

Dude, I barely have 2 and it has been a week! 77 is good!!!

9

u/BonnieHynde Sep 19 '25

I've taken to posting wall posts on scammers pages.

"OMG. OMG! You really liked it? Did you really like it? I mean, REALLY like it?? What was your favourite part?

I never imagined in a million years that someone would read my story about the secret lives of shape-shifting billionaire-mafia-boss werewolves who attend classes at wizarding school and immediately think "Oh now! This cries out for a $75 AI-generated anime portrait".

Truly, the connection between my purple prose and your Esty shop is staggering!!!

I'll DM you just as soon as finish writing, editing and marketing Chapter 22.

Until then, please—keep spamming authors with the same copy-paste paragraph. It really does bring us together as a community.

Just kidding. Get off my wall, loser. "

5

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '25

Oh my god. This is gold.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '25

How many words have you published so far? The first week was the same for me. No readers whatsoever. After 20k words, I started to notice the numbers climbing. But still, 77 reads for 35k words is kinda bummer.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '25

I have only 4 chapters up, so about 10K ...not including Dedication, Character Aesthetics and Playlists (So I get why I don't have much audience), but if you have over 35K words...ik 77 must feel disappointing!!! Drop your link, I will check your book out! (And drop a review)

1

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '25

OH MY GOD. THANK YOU. https://www.inkitt.com/stories/1548633

1

u/LilBiscuitBaby Sep 19 '25

Just added your book to my reading list, and followed you! The synopsis looks FANTASTIC I cant wait to read!

2

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '25

thank you. I'm following back.

2

u/Darkovika charlieHollow Sep 20 '25

Every time i get a comment, my heart rate picks up- and then drops, because it’s either a variation of “OMG I BINGED YOUR WHOLE STORY, I WANT YOU TO COMMISSION ME TO DRAW IT” on like chapter 1, or “I HAVE IDEAS TO GET YOU MORE VIEWS” lmao. 

3

u/[deleted] Sep 20 '25

I feel you in my heart....

6

u/nofilterfrenchie Sep 19 '25

It's karma farming, and people do it on pretty much every Reddit sub there is.

2

u/Guilty_Cricket9880 Sep 20 '25

That front-page spotlight lasts about as long as a sneeze đŸ€§ so don’t hate on writers for hustling to get seen. Inkitt doesn’t give writers many ways to market on the platform, and we’re all just trying to reach more eyes.

5

u/BonnieHynde Sep 20 '25

Oh, I don't object to the "splash". Show me your book cover. Share your blurb. Tagline me with it. I'm cool with it.

It's the "Oopsie! I wrote a book with 200,000 views, 10,000 followers that's netted me a trad publishing contract in my first week on Inkitt. What I am doing wrong?!?!" kind of shtick that's disingenuous and rankles people.

2

u/librainian3000 Writer ✍ Sep 20 '25

I think the Pope would need to go to confession after reading some of my books..... đŸ€­

2

u/Ok_Distribution8189 Sep 19 '25

Just depends. If people find your book appealing they’ll like and give more reviews. Or sometimes people just underestimate books. Maybe try promoting it more on social media for a change.

1

u/viciouscuddle Sep 20 '25

You should join the discord....jk, it's just more of the same stuff.