u/MaleficentSearch5759

Hi everyone,

I’m a first-time writer looking for some honest advice from people who have experience with publishing, marketing, or the romance/web novel industry.
Over the past week, I accidentally ended up writing what has become a very large manuscript (around 250,000+ words, which I’m now restructuring into multiple books). It originally started as an AI roleplay purely for fun, but somewhere along the way it became a complete story with recurring characters, long emotional arcs, callbacks, and a proper plot.

I’m now editing it into a real novel series with original character names, a fictional idol group, and an original setting.

The story is a character-driven romance/drama with slow-burn relationships, emotional tension, found-family dynamics, humour, workplace drama, and high emotional payoffs. It’s heavily inspired by the feeling of Korean, Chinese and Japanese dramas rather than Western romance novels.

One thing I realized while writing it is that I’m not trying to create a perfect literary novel.
I’m trying to create a story that makes readers think:
“Just one more chapter.”

I want readers to become attached to the characters and keep reading because they genuinely care about what happens next. I know the manuscript isn’t perfect, and I’m already working through the biggest issues like pacing, repetition and editing. But I do believe the emotional core and the character dynamics are strong enough to build on.

I also think there may be an opportunity here because I don’t often see stories that combine romance, idol culture, found-family dynamics, workplace drama and long-form emotional storytelling in this way. Whether readers agree is something only publication can answer, but that’s the niche I’m aiming for.

My biggest challenge is that I have almost no budget.
My current plan is:
Split the manuscript into multiple books.
Professionally edit Book 1.
Release it as an ebook first.
If readers enjoy it, continue the series.
Produce an audiobook later if the project can fund professional voice actors.

Long term, I’d love to reach readers beyond India. Because of the style and themes, I feel the story may resonate with audiences who enjoy East and Southeast Asian dramas, so I’m curious whether markets like South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, or even China would be realistic to explore. I’m not assuming it will succeed there—I genuinely want to understand whether that’s a sensible direction or whether I’m overlooking something important.

I’m also interested in eventually finding a publisher, literary agent, or someone experienced in marketing internationally, but I’m unsure whether I should self-publish first or try approaching publishers before releasing anything.
I’d really appreciate honest advice from people who have gone through this process.
Some questions I have:

If you were starting with almost no money, what would your publishing strategy be?

Would you self-publish first or approach publishers before releasing the book?

Which international markets would you realistically consider for a story like this?

Are there publishers, literary agents, or platforms that specialize in romance, drama, or serialized fiction?

Is there anything you think I’m missing before I take this seriously?

I’m not looking for validation, I know editing is still a huge part of the journey. I’m simply trying to understand the smartest path forward before I invest months turning this manuscript into the best version it can be.
Thanks in advance for any advice. I genuinely appreciate it.