Let's Talk About Maps in LitRPG Books

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On to other, more important matters! Small smile. In all seriousness, I wanted to get some feedback from LitRPG readers and authors about maps for books in the genre. Are they necessary? Helpful? I’m going to share some of my thoughts, but I’d love to get some feedback.

Here’s a map I’m designing for Goblin: Tower of Gates Book One. It’s still in the initial stages, but what I’ve discovered is that building it helped me build a more realistic world for my novel. Perhaps that sounds like common sense, but it pleasantly surprised me.

The map above (Grabisco Isles circa 1242 CE) is only one small portion of the realm. One thought I’ve had is giving readers only partial maps as the world is explored. The big problem is that image files are costly when you publish on Amazon’s KDP program.

Wouldn’t it be cool, though, to have a map with mostly everything enshrouded in darkness except for the areas the readers (and players) are in at the time? It would add more to the sense of being in a video game, I think. Again, it’s hard to do with publishing at Amazon.

A solution would be to send the maps to readers who sign-up for my author newsletter. This is something I’m seriously considering. If you’re a reader and this would or would not bother you, I’d love to hear your opinion on it.

Maps can add a lot to a LitRPG novel, but they’re only one small part of the total package. Anyway, like I said, if you have thoughts about maps in LitRPG books, leave a comment below and let me know. I’m interested in hearing from readers and authors in the genre.