Bang! Zoom! It's Barsoom!

[Elok]

Okay, so the Dormition Fast is effectively over (not going to sweat about a couple of hours).  So, a lot has happened with this book since you were last notified about it.  I mentioned it on the most recent Slate Star Codex classified thread, where it got a couple of bites, and somebody mentioned r/rational, the rational fiction subreddit.  I didn't think much about it, because I'm not a rationalist and I'd never used Reddit, but I mulled it over and decided I'd give it a shot.  I posted about it on r/rational, and, uh, see attached image for the results.
I now get about 300 readers for each update, AFAICT, though very few comment on the site (I do get some commentary on my subreddit posts).  "Rational fiction" means basically "story with very deep and consistent worldbuilding, plus characters who work to exploit said world's rules in an intelligent manner."  I'm not sure if PB counts, but a lot of people there do seem to enjoy it and the story now stays in the bottom third of Topwebfiction's main listing, which is quite good for a seven-month-old serial.  Ratfic fans are really good at spotting consistency errors and plot holes, though none have been all that fussed so far about things like the economy of Urapu (I have a dodge for that if need be).

I've concluded that it's not worth the hassle of keeping up with a FB page for the time being; since the bulk of my fans are active elsewhere and FB demands payment to perform the page's intended function of letting fans know when I post, it seems like a model that'd be useful only if I got a lot bigger (on the level of thousands of fans with word-of-mouth going berserk).  I'm thinking about branching out in Reddit, which does the networking parts of Facebook better than Facebook IMO, but I don't know a lot about it.
You have mentioned the Waltons before, but I'm still not familiar with them.  I will probably want to fix Ram's lonesome beginning in the final version; that's something I've received consistent criticism about (the problem is substantially reduced if not eliminated in later chapters).  Possibly Izilbeshi will get actual lines.  I was definitely unhappy with how Darun came out in the original version, and she's hopefully much more of a person here.  Lori's been helping me along--he hasn't read it that I know of, but he's been my sounding board and science consultant, and very helpful at both.

That's about it, I guess.

[Buster's Uncle]

I've been noticing you come by at least once a day since I posted, you anxious-for-feedback fellow, you.

Busy working on my sister's website all day, and only finished my morning internet rounds 20 minutes ago - except comics, and it's new comic day, but I read Pyrebound 5.3 instead.  Ram wins something, and don't worry about the lonely beginning, since in this version, he's gotten a fair bit more agency a lot sooner.  A little triumph here and there makes a big difference in stringing the reader along happy.

 

[Elok]

Design question: I'd like to have an emblem for each of the five major deities/belief systems (including the Sul, which is also a worship system of sorts for a few really sick humans).  I've got Haranduluz, Nidriz/Nythrys, and Tegnem covered.  I think Kuara should have some sort of egg-related symbol, perhaps a circle with a cluster of smaller circles inside it.  But I'm stuck on the Sul.  It is plot-relevant, or will be eventually, but I can't think of anything that says "psychic bond between large groups of reshki."  Something involving conjoined claws?

[Buster's Uncle]

Like fingers laced?  That sounds good.

[Elok]

Now I'm thinking something more akin to a pair of clawed hands holding each other's wrists.

[Buster's Uncle]

Two apish/goblin heads leaning into forehead contact?

[Elok]

I'm looking for something more minimalist; the Moonchild Eye of Nythrys is just two crescents around a circle, for example.  More symbol than picture.

[Buster's Uncle]

But Monkeys!

[Elok]

So ... promotional difficulties.  You can see in the attachment to reply 45 that pageviews are steadily waning.  This trend has continued, and will probably go on until we reach a sustainable baseline.  It's to be expected; the huge initial rush was due to half of r/rational binge-reading about thirty pages each, and it tapered off as more and more of them had read it all and had no cause to binge.  Now I'm thinking, where else could I find regular readers?  Facebook is just a desert without money to dump into boosted ads, and I have no promo budget as such, so I'm trying to think of target audiences to inform.

I considered hardcore nerd forums like SpaceBattles, but they're such arcane messes of weird rules that I'm frankly terrified of posting there.  Yes, even though the worst that can happen is a ban.  I already committed one faux pas on SB, and retreated with my tail between my legs.  r/fantasy has an open self-promotion thread every other Monday; however, it's a crowded field and I can't write copy for crap.  I'll keep trying, but it's sort of like the Pool of Bethsaida--somebody's always stepping in before me and getting the miracle.  There's r/worldbuilding, where I've gotten a trickle of hits sharing my weirdness.  The best way to get attention there is with visual media, so I'd want to make a decent sketch of moonchildren or bazuu or something.

Any other ideas?

[Buster's Uncle]

...Let the back of my head work on it and see if I have good notions tomorrow...

[Buster's Uncle]

One thing I'd suggest is to remember the power of cross-promotion.  The audience for Pyrebound is also the audience for The Curse of Life.  Promoting one work tends to promote the other.  It's fresh meat.

And don't give up on Facebook too easily - posts there do really well on search engines, even if they're screwing you as far as 'friends' seeing them right away.  I've been flogging JKStudio w/ a post every morning since the beginning of June, and I DO feel your pain.  -But Rusty 'liked' everything for the last two weeks last night, Uno occasionally likes something, a couple of my cousins like posts sometimes - and every time I 'like' anything as that page -God forbid that I comment- I might get noticed by someone new.  *Because I keep plugging away for as long as an energetic mood and my supply of photos hold out; if someone stumbles over the page, there's content to look at.  That's job one.*  It all leads back to the website.

Mylochka's show sites?  Leads back to JKStudio, ultimately.  Not always, but if I keep playing the numbers to draw traffic, I'll skim off a certain percent, provided there's something to look at when they get there.  It takes time and persistence.  Flog personal contacts, of course.  I offered Ginger Mayerson a link exchange with her collage art site last night.

Keep plugging away, and DO post something new at least a couple times a month on your author page.

[Buster's Uncle]

You have mentioned the Waltons before, but I'm still not familiar with them.

Aside from finding out what I'm on about, I recommend this show to you, as a family man with kids.  CBS show about a rural family during the great depression, ran about seven years, wholesome, pretty good for 70s TV.  The parents' shortcomings watered down for primetime into near-nonexistence.  If you can track it down to watch for free or at least very cheaply, do give it a try and see what you and Shelock and the boys think.

[E_T]

"Good night, John Boy..."

[Buster's Uncle]

See?  It's where "Goodnight, John-Boy" comes from.  For old guys like us who remember -definitely Rusty, too, and maybe even as young as Uno- it's part of the national language/cultural referent-set.

[Elok]

Mentioned it to Shelok; she's aware of it, but nothing more.  Dunno how we'd watch it, as we're on a limited internet connection.