Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 345 Many Rejections
A week later.

Huang Qingya received a reply email from Shuopin, one of the more well-known publishers in Taiwan. Her previous novels published in traditional Chinese were all signed with Shuopin.

This time, the reply from Shuopin was... a polite refusal of her new book, "The Biography of Xiao Qiao".

The reply is as follows:

"We regret to inform you that your new work, 'The Legend of Xiao Qiao,' did not pass our final review. We hope you will try again and look forward to our next collaboration."

Huang Qingya saw the email around 8 p.m.

After reading it, the smile on her face disappeared, and her heart sank.

Before submitting the manuscript, she felt that there was little hope for simplified Chinese publication, since simplified Chinese publication in mainland China has always been more difficult than traditional Chinese publication in Taiwan. She thought that "The Legend of Xiao Qiao" had a better chance of passing the review of the novel channel.

Unexpectedly, I received a rejection email from the publishing platform first.

She sat in front of the computer for a while, lost in thought, before giving a self-deprecating laugh, logging onto QQ, and contacting Bai Fengyin, the editor in charge of receiving submissions for the channel.

She had known Bai Fengyin for quite some time. In the past, she would contact Bai Fengyin every month to submit manuscripts and inquire about manuscript fees, so they were quite familiar with each other.

Tonight, she wanted to ask Bai Fengyin the specific reasons for Bai Fengyin's repeated rejections of her manuscripts. Otherwise, her next new book might be rejected for the same reason.

"Sister Fengyin, are you there?"

A moment later, Bai Fengyin replied, "Yes, what's up?"

Huang Qingya: "I would like to ask why my new book did not pass the final review. Could you tell me?"

After a while, Bai Fengyin replied: "Oh, I know the reason for the rejection. The editor's opinion is: your new book is like an ancient version of a romance novel. It is not the popular Xianxia or Xuanhuan genre. It does not have any supernatural power and does not meet our publishing requirements. So, if you want to publish it, I suggest you rewrite a Xianxia or Xuanhuan genre."

Huang Qingya frowned slightly; she hadn't expected this reason.

After a moment of stunned silence, she couldn't help but ask, "The female protagonist of my new book is a time traveler. Isn't time travel a supernatural power?"

She waited quite a while before receiving Bai Fengyin's reply.

While waiting, Huang Qingya couldn't help but wonder: Why hasn't she replied yet? Is she being so realistic? My new book didn't pass the review, so she's ignoring me now?
After waiting for a while, Bai Fengyin replied: "Rebirth and time travel are just gimmicks. The supernatural power I'm referring to is whether your book has a complete and clear cultivation system, such as an immortal cultivation system, a god cultivation system, etc. Do you understand what I mean?"

Huang Qingya's bitter smile deepened as she read Bai Fengyin's reply.

I lost the will to ask any more questions.

I felt very uncomfortable.

She originally thought that "The Story of Xiao Qiao" was her best work to date, and she was very satisfied with it. Cao Sheng also said that it was well written, but now she is being told that her manuscripts are being rejected frequently.

The reason is not that it is poorly written, but that the book lacks a complete and clear cultivation system.

The manuscript was rejected due to issues with the subject matter.

"Not a fault of war?" The thought flashed through her mind.

But whatever thoughts flashed through her mind, the fact remained that her new book had been repeatedly rejected.

Suddenly, Bai Fengyin sent another message.

"Your writing is good, and your previous works with us sold well. This new book is rejected because the subject matter doesn't meet our publishing requirements. So, hurry up and submit a new book! It doesn't need to be too innovative; it just needs to be similar to your previous two books, okay?"

After reading the message, Huang Qingya remained silent for a moment before replying with "ok".

But for a moment, she felt empty inside, unsure of what to write for her next book. Her mind and energy had been focused on "The Legend of Xiao Qiao" lately, and her thoughts were filled with its plot. Suddenly having to change the subject of her new book was something she couldn't do; she couldn't clear her mind and immediately come up with a good story.

That night, she thought about it for half the night and couldn't sleep until after 3 a.m. before she finally drifted off to sleep.

Reason told her: as Bai Fengyin requested, rewrite a new Xianxia or Xuanhuan book.

But she was very reluctant to part with "The Story of Xiao Qiao," a new book she had been preparing for a long time.

I've written the outline and detailed outline, and the main text has already exceeded 9 words.

He poured a lot of effort into it.

She was reluctant and unwilling to give it up.

The next morning.

She invited Cao Sheng out for coffee.

Cao Sheng was quite surprised to receive the call, because this was the first time she had asked him to have a drink. Usually, she would ask him to go shopping or have a meal, or she would come to his place to see him.

Why did you suddenly ask me to go for coffee?
However, Cao Sheng sensed from her tone on the phone that she seemed unhappy.

With a touch of curiosity, he drove to the coffee shop she mentioned.

Cao Sheng found her in a corner on the second floor of the coffee shop.

When he saw her, she was sitting there alone, gazing out the window at the scenery, lost in thought.

Judging from her appearance, Cao Sheng was once again certain of his judgment—she was in a bad mood.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Cao Sheng pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down while asking her questions.

Huang Qingya turned to look at her, forced a smile, and smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear. She said, "This coffee shop has civet coffee. Would you like to try a cup?"

Seeing that she was unhappy, Cao Sheng wanted to make her laugh.

Going along with her, I said, "Civet coffee? Why use this as a pretext if you want to eat cat poop? I don't want it! Just give me a regular coffee."

"Puch..."

Huang Qingya was indeed amused.

She rolled her eyes at him, then waved to a waiter not far away and ordered Cao Sheng a latte.

After the waiter left, Cao Sheng asked, "What happened?"

Huang Qingya chuckled self-deprecatingly and sighed, "It's nothing. It just means my new book didn't pass the review because it lacks a cultivation system and isn't a popular Xianxia or Xuanhuan genre."

Cao Sheng raised his eyebrows slightly.

It was a bit of a surprise, but after thinking about it carefully, it didn't seem so unexpected. These days, the traditional Chinese publishing market does favor fantasy works like Xianxia and Xuanhuan. This is because young people like to read these kinds of works.

Traditional romance novels have long been in decline, and new books not written by famous romance novelists generally cannot pass the publisher's review.

He had overlooked this point before and forgot to remind her.

The reason is that before his rebirth, there were already many types of online novels. Works like "The Legend of Xiao Qiao" were already very common in female-oriented online novels, and publishers and film and television companies seemed to like this type of subject matter.

Therefore, when Huang Qingya chose to write "The Story of Xiao Qiao", he felt there was no problem with it.

Previously, when Huang Qingya asked him for opinions and suggestions, he was only considering whether female readers would like such themes and plots.
Simply put: he was considering whether readers would like the new book.

But I forgot to consider whether current publishers would like her work.
Seeing that he didn't express his opinion for a moment, Huang Qingya frowned and said, "Bai Fengyin from the news site suggested that I rewrite a new book in the Xianxia or Xuanhuan genre. What do you think?"

Cao Sheng looked at her and asked, "What are you thinking?"

Huang Qingya shook her head and sighed, "I thought about it for most of last night, but I still couldn't come up with anything. Right now, my mind is full of the plot of 'The Legend of Xiao Qiao,' and I really can't think of any other good story. Please give me some suggestions! I beg you!"

Cao Sheng squinted and thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "I'll give you three choices! A: Listen to Bai Fengyin and start a new book. Write a Xianxia or Xuanhuan novel according to her requirements. If you can't think of a new story for the time being, take a few days off, clear your mind, and adjust your state before writing."

Huang Qingya nodded slightly. "And the second one?"

Cao Sheng: "B: Try submitting to other publishers. There are many publishers in Taiwan. As far as I know, each publisher has different submission standards. There should be some publishers that like to publish stories like 'The Story of Xiao Qiao'. You can submit to a few more publishers to try, or I can help you find out which publishers there like stories like 'The Story of Xiao Qiao'."

Huang Qingya's eyes brightened, and she sat up straighter, leaning slightly forward, unknowingly displaying her magnanimous heart on the coffee table. "Where's C? What's C?"

Cao Sheng: "C: For now, don't worry about whether this book can be published or not. Anyway, you're not short of money. If it doesn't work out, I'll give you some pocket money every month. You won't be short of money. You should focus on writing 'The Story of Xiao Qiao' and serialize it online as you write. See how many readers like it. Your pen name 'Qingya Furen' is now considered a relatively well-known author account on the female-oriented platform, right? If you publish this new book directly online, it should attract a lot of readers. After a few months, as long as the book is popular enough online, a publisher will naturally be interested in publishing your work. However, it depends on how confident you are in the book. If you have enough confidence, you can choose this path."

After saying that, Cao Sheng looked at her with a smile.

He didn't think it was a serious matter that her book, "The Biography of Xiao Qiao," was frequently rejected.

Firstly, he felt this was normal.

She has only been writing novels for about two years, which makes her a relative newcomer in the field.

As a newcomer, it's perfectly normal to encounter various setbacks during the writing process.

This is true in any industry! Newcomers will always encounter setbacks.

If you can't get through the tough newbie period, you'll have no choice but to change careers.

He had encountered similar setbacks countless times before.

Secondly, neither he nor Huang Qingya were short of money, so it didn't matter if "The Story of Xiao Qiao" couldn't be published.

After listening to his three suggestions, Huang Qingya lowered her head slightly and frowned in thought.

During this time, the coffee she ordered for Cao Sheng was served. Cao Sheng smiled and stirred the coffee in his cup with a spoon, his smiling eyes always watching Huang Qingya's expression. He was quite curious about what she would choose.

After a long while, as Cao Sheng picked up his coffee cup to drink, she slowly looked up at him, a smile on her face, and said, "Could you help me find out which publishing house in Taiwan is interested in publishing my new book? Once you've found out, I'll submit it for a try. However, before submitting it, I'd like to try your third suggestion. When I get back, I'll publish the beginning of 'The Story of Xiao Qiao' online. If other publishing houses are willing to publish my book, that would be great. If no publishing house is willing to publish it in the short term, I'll do as you said and serialize it online for a few months to see how popular it is. What do you think?"

Cao Sheng nodded, "Sure! That works."

……

That afternoon, with mixed feelings, Huang Qingya sent the first two chapters of "The Legend of Xiao Qiao" to Hongxiu for review. As long as the new book passed the review, the book could be officially serialized online.

However, all current online novel platforms are essentially freeloading authors' manuscripts and do not pay them royalties.

a few days later.

Cao Sheng found out about several Taiwanese publishing houses that accept romance novels. He sent Huang Qingya the information of these publishing houses, including their email addresses for receiving manuscripts, via email.

Huang Qingya sent the manuscript to these publishing houses that very night.

A few more days passed.

She received a rejection email from a mainland Chinese publishing house.

She had not only submitted manuscripts to Shuopin, but also to a mainland publishing house that had published her previous book.

However, her submission of "The Biography of Xiao Qiao" was also rejected by the mainland publisher.

The reason for rejection was that the manuscript did not meet their publisher's submission criteria.

Huang Qingya specifically asked the editor who received the manuscript what the specific reasons for rejection were.
The reason given by the editor who was familiar with Huang Qingya was: "The reviewing editor said that we have never published a romance novel with ancient celebrities as the main characters before, and we are unsure about the market prospects of this book, so, sorry!"

Huang Qingya's mood worsened.

She still insisted on writing "The Story of Xiao Qiao" every day. However, because of her bad mood, she had to spend about an hour adjusting her mindset before writing each day. Only when her mindset was adjusted could she write. If she couldn't adjust her mindset, she wouldn't be able to write a single word for an afternoon or evening.

She experienced the taste of defeat.

What frustrated her even more was that a week later, the Taiwanese publishing houses that Cao Sheng had helped her find out also sent her rejection emails one after another.

Although these publishing houses accept romance novels, they generally only accept works by famous romance novelists.

New artist, new work?

Any publishing house would be very cautious.

However, despite her frustration, Huang Qingya felt a surge of confidence.

Her confidence stemmed from the rapid increase in popularity of "The Legend of Xiao Qiao" on Hongxiu.

After the new book was published on Hongxiu, its popularity was dismal in the first week. However, as the number of words in the serialized version increased, the number of clicks, flowers, and collections all increased significantly.

Several fresh book reviews will appear every day.

Aside from advertising posts, some genuine book reviews gave her confidence.

For example: "Madam has started a new book, and this time she's making Xiao Qiao the female lead. I'm really looking forward to seeing this different Xiao Qiao! Madam, keep it up!"

"Madam, you spend every day with Zhongyuan Yidianhui, and it seems you've absorbed a lot of his talent! The writing in this new book has improved a lot. Can you tell me how you usually absorb his talent? Do you absorb it with your mouth?"

"A different Xiao Qiao! Looking forward to it! Keep it up!"

(End of this chapter)