Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 346 is intended to be related to Cao Sheng's new book.
As Cao Sheng said, Huang Qingya's pen name "Qingya Furen" already has a certain reputation on Hongxiu. Her previous book, "Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms", was very popular on Hongxiu. At its peak, it topped many lists such as the weekly click list and the monthly flower list.

In the hearts of many readers of Hongxiu, Qingya Furen is one of the great masters of Hongxiu.

Therefore, after her new book, "The Story of Xiao Qiao," was published on Hongxiu, it received the treatment of a top author on Hongxiu.

Many readers spontaneously gathered to preview her new book.

Although the book was rejected by publishers in Taiwan and mainland China, the publishers' standards and readers' tastes are not aligned.

Many books that readers consider good actually do not meet the publishing standards of publishers.

For example, popular online games based on the original timeline are difficult to publish, even if they are very popular online, publishers will not consider them.

For example, urban rebirth novels set in the original timeline rarely get published, except for a very few super popular works.

Even if fan works become wildly popular online, publishers will not publish them due to copyright issues.

and many more.

This is also one of the reasons why Cao Sheng suggested that Huang Qingya post "The Story of Xiao Qiao" online.

He knew very well that works rejected by publishers might still become popular online.

The publishing house's review standards have never been the standard for whether an online novel can become popular.

In the first week after "The Legend of Xiao Qiao" was released online, due to its short length and insufficient exposure, the growth of various data was not significant, making it seem similar to playing a single-player game.

However, as the word count increased, the number of readers of the book grew, and the growth rate of various data points increased significantly.

The key is that the new book reviews added every day are almost all positive.

This gave Huang Qingya some confidence.

What gave her even more confidence was that a few days later, Hongxiu gave "The Legend of Xiao Qiao" a featured spot.

Place her book in the "New Works by Famous Authors" recommendation section.

The increased exposure has attracted the attention of many readers.

From the moment it reached this recommendation position, the growth rate of various data for "The Legend of Xiao Qiao" was like it had been boosted by a cheat code.

In terms of various data, it is in no way inferior to other popular new books on Hongxiu. Its ranking on the new book list has been rising again and again. It broke into the top ten of the new book list in just a few days, and the upward momentum is still strong.

The outstanding performance of "The Legend of Xiao Qiao" on Hongxiu made Huang Qingya feel particularly complicated.

She couldn't understand why this book, which had been rejected by several publishers, was so popular with readers on Hongxiu.
The fact that readers like it so much means that her book is well-written, but... if her book is well-written, why was it rejected by so many publishers?

She was puzzled.

So she went to Huizhou Teachers College, to the teachers' dormitory that Cao Sheng rented, and asked him to ride her.

After he finished riding, she lay on his chest, closed her eyes, and whispered the question that had been bothering her.

"Dad, have you seen the recent data for my novel 'The Legend of Xiao Qiao' on Hongxiu?"

Cao Sheng smiled, surprised that even at this moment, she was still calling him "Dad".

This was, of course, a little bit of fun between the two of them.

It was also a nickname that men liked before his rebirth.

"I see, the data looks great, what's up?"

he asks.

Huang Qingya: "You mean... since readers like it so much, why are publishers unwilling to publish it?"

Cao Sheng chuckled, "Isn't this normal? Haven't you noticed that many popular novels online haven't been published? Are the authors just writing out of passion?"

This is a common phenomenon in the online literature circle of this era.

Only a very small number of authors are able to publish their work and earn royalties from publishing houses.

Most authors, even if their works are very popular online, do not have the opportunity to be published.

Creating works of love does not mean that all works created with love are of poor quality.

Huang Qingya: "Why? So many readers like it, why are publishers unwilling to publish it? Don't they choose works based on readers' preferences?"

Cao Sheng: "Well... there are many reasons, and it can't be explained in just a few words."

Huang Qingya opened her eyes, looked up at him slightly, and said, "Then tell me in detail!"

Her smile hasn't been as bright as it used to be lately.

The inability to publish "The Story of Xiao Qiao" made her unable to laugh.

Cao Sheng looked at her, thought for a moment, and said, "Let me give you a simple example! For instance, if you have a basket of apples, very ordinary apples, and you set up a stall to sell them, not many people will buy them. But if you give them away for free to passersby on the roadside, do you think many people would be willing to try them?"

Huang Qingya nodded slightly, "Of course, it's free, so I'm sure many people will be willing to try it."

Cao Sheng: "The novels we write are like this basket of apples. When they are given away for free, many people are interested in reading them. But once they are published and put on the market, few people may be willing to pay for them. This is probably one of the criteria publishers use to select works. They believe that some works may be popular with readers when they are free, but they will not sell well when readers have to pay real money to buy them."

Huang Qingya frowned. "You mean... my 'The Story of Xiao Qiao' is like this? Readers only want to read it for free? If it's actually published, no one will buy it?"

Cao Sheng shook his head. "No! That's not what I meant."

Huang Qingya asked suspiciously, "Then what do you mean?"

Cao Sheng: "What I mean is: the publishers who rejected your book may be thinking this way. They may also think your book is well-written, but they are afraid that if your book is put on the market, there will be few readers to buy it, because there are not many successful precedents for this book in the publishing market."

After a pause, Cao Sheng added, "Also, your pen name isn't famous enough. If you were more famous and had more readers, publishers would probably be willing to publish any novel you write."

Huang Qingya smiled self-deprecatingly and nodded, "Yes! You're right. Just like you, I believe that no matter what novel you write now, publishers will be willing to publish it."

Cao Sheng smiled.

But I also know that what she said is true.

Given his current popularity, no matter how niche the subject matter of his new book, there will probably be plenty of publishers eager to publish it.

……

Two days later.

More than 9 o'clock in the evening.

In a rental apartment with a simple yet sophisticated decor.

Bai Fengyin, the editor who receives submissions for the channel in mainland China, is dressed in comfortable home clothes and sits at a round table on the balcony.

On the table was her work laptop, a bottle of red wine, and three small dishes of snacks.

As a strong woman, she was still working so late.

But as a Taiwanese who works in mainland China year-round, she felt quite lonely on such nights, so she gradually developed the habit of drinking some red wine while working in the evening.

These days, it's quite popular for urban white-collar women to drink some red wine before bed.

It's said to have beauty and skin-nourishing effects. She also thinks red wine has good beauty and skin-nourishing effects.

Every time I finish drinking it, I stand in front of the mirror and look at my rosy complexion, and I feel that red wine really has a beauty and skin-nourishing effect.

At this moment, her laptop was displaying the homepage of Hongxiu.

As one of the leading female-oriented online novel platforms, Hongxiu is a place that Bai Fengyin logs in to check out every few days.

I'd like to find a few works suitable for publication on Hongxiu.

Of course, as the editor who receives submissions for novels on mainland China, she usually searches for works on male-oriented novel websites.

However, she is, after all, a woman, and when reading male-oriented novels, she always feels a little less immersed.

Especially the most popular online novels often contain plots that are not suitable for children.

In male-oriented novels, it's common for the male protagonist to have a harem.

As the male protagonist wrote, he started taking off the clothes of each of the female protagonists.

She knew that many male readers liked this kind of storyline, but she always felt a little uncomfortable reading it.

Especially when she saw those male protagonists who were dating multiple women, and even after the female protagonists discovered their philandering, these women were still devoted to them, she felt even more that her intelligence had been insulted.

What left her speechless was that the male protagonists in male-oriented novels were generally exceptionally gifted, with abilities that were unsuitable for children becoming stronger and stronger.

These plot points left her speechless.

She felt that as a woman, she had never met such a fierce man.

Therefore, the novels she usually likes to read most are actually female-oriented novels.

Although the plots of female-oriented novels are actually quite similar to those of male-oriented novels.

They just add several male leads, like the first male lead, the second male lead, the third male lead, and so on, all of whom are infatuated with the female lead. Each female lead is also exceptionally talented, and every man under her spell is willing to die for her.

but……

As a woman, she watched this kind of plot without caring about its plausibility; as long as the plot was exciting enough, that was enough for her.

At this moment, she was drinking while browsing the various lists on the Hongxiu homepage.

As she read, she came across "The Legend of Xiao Qiao," which was ranked sixth on the new book list.

The Legend of Xiao Qiao?
Bai Fengyin was a little surprised when she saw the book title. She remembered it; it was the title of the new book that Huang Qingya had submitted to her a few days ago.

However, the manuscript was rejected by the peer reviewer.

She recalled that afterwards, Huang Qingya asked her on QQ for the specific reasons for rejecting the manuscript.

I also remember giving Huang Qingya advice, suggesting that she rewrite a new book in the Xianxia or Xuanhuan genre and then submit it again.

She originally thought Huang Qingya would definitely take her advice.

After all, these days, novels that can't be published won't make money.

Having published two novels and tasted the joy of fame and fortune, how could Huang Qingya be willing to write a novel that wouldn't earn her a single penny?

But what's with "The Legend of Xiao Qiao" on the new book list?

Is it the one written by Huang Qingya?
Driven by curiosity, Bai Fengyin opened the book and saw that the author of "The Story of Xiao Qiao" was indeed Huang Qingya's pen name: Qingya Madam.

After a brief moment of surprise, Bai Fengyin couldn't help but chuckle.

Shaking his head, he said, "This is utterly absurd! It was rejected, yet they still published it..."

After saying that, she frowned slightly, thinking: Could it be that her book has been approved by another publisher?
Her expression changed slightly upon considering this possibility.

Because she felt that Huang Qingya's abilities were quite good.

In particular—Huang Qingya is Cao Sheng's girlfriend, and it seems that Cao Sheng has always guided Huang Qingya's works, making them quite outstanding in terms of creativity, storyline, and so on.

The previous book, "Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms," sold very well in Taiwan.

Therefore, if Huang Qingya's new book is signed with another publisher, it means that the publisher will probably lose Huang Qingya as an author in the future.

Moreover, in Bai Fengyin's heart, she had never given up on her idea of ​​getting Cao Sheng. She always hoped that one day in the future, when Cao Sheng no longer wanted to cooperate with Xinchang, she could sign Cao Sheng's new book through Huang Qingya.

She felt that this was not impossible.

But if Pin misses out on Huang Qingya and can no longer work with her, then... Pin might not have any hope of signing Cao Sheng's works in the future.

Thinking of this, she got up and paced back and forth on the balcony, frowning in thought.

A moment later, she stopped and turned to look at her laptop again, at "The Legend of Xiao Qiao" on the Hongxiu New Book List.

After staring at it for a few seconds, she sat back down with a serious expression, put down her wine glass, logged onto QQ, and sent a message to Huang Qingya.

--"Are you there?"

After waiting a while and not receiving a reply from Huang Qingya, Bai Fengyin frowned and sent another message.

"Qingya, our publishing house can actually sign you for 'The Legend of Xiao Qiao,' and the royalty rate can be comparable to your previous 'Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms.' All you need to do is persuade Cao Sheng to sign his next book to us. Have you thought about it? Don't worry, the royalty rate we offer him will not be lower than the royalty rate Xinchang offers him. I think this is a win-win-win situation, beneficial to you, to us, and to him. I hope you can think it over carefully and wait for your good news."

The message has been sent.

Bai Fengyin took her hands off the keyboard, picked up the wine glass on the table with her right hand, took a thoughtful sip of the wine, and narrowed her eyes slightly.

This was an opportunity she had just thought of.

An opportunity to sign Cao Sheng's new book.

Although she has not yet reported this plan to headquarters, headquarters may not agree to sign Huang Qingya's "The Legend of Xiao Qiao".

But she was confident that if Huang Qingya agreed to help, she could get Cao Sheng to agree to give them the new bookmarks, and headquarters would likely approve the plan.

After all, that was Cao Sheng... a mere speck of dust in the Central Plains!
If they could sign Zhongyuan Yidianhui's new book, the benefits for them would be numerous.

This would not only boost the reputation of the online novel platform in the industry and among authors, but also severely damage Xinchang's reputation, attract many authors to submit their work to the platform, and Bai Fengyin would likely receive a promotion and a raise as a result.

In comparison, what does signing Huang Qingya for "The Legend of Xiao Qiao" even mean?
Even if "The Legend of Xiao Qiao" doesn't sell well after its release, it will simply be another book added to the list of loss-making works on the novel channel.

……

It was around 11 p.m. that night.

In Huizhou, Huang Qingya finished writing the last chapter of her manuscript for the day and, as usual, logged into QQ to see if anyone had left her a message.

As a result, I saw two messages sent by Bai Fengyin.

After reading Bai Fengyin's message, Huang Qingya looked surprised and her brows furrowed slightly.

She hadn't expected Bai Fengyin to offer her such a condition.

Could you help me secure a deal with Cao Sheng's new book? With my "Biography of Xiao Qiao" as a bonus? And help me get it published?

(End of this chapter)