Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 403 Internal Messages from Qidian

Cao Sheng, who had drunk some alcohol at noon, dialed Baojianfeng's number, briefly explained the situation, ended the call, took his phone, went into the bedroom, and went to bed.

Meanwhile, in Shanghai, Bao Jianfeng, after receiving Cao Sheng's call, was still somewhat dazed.

From now on, Yangtze River Literature and Art Publishing House will select 6 works from Qidian.com for publication every month.
He couldn't believe the news for a moment.

He wouldn't be so surprised if a Taiwanese publisher reached such a cooperation with Qidian, but mainland publishers, although they have tried to publish popular online novels in the past two years, have only published a very small number.

there are many reasons.

For example, piracy is rampant in mainland China. Before a popular novel is officially published, pirated versions are already widely available, occupying more than 90% of the market. Under such circumstances, if an official version is published, it will be difficult to sell and there is a high possibility of losing money.

For example, in mainland China, the trend of renting novels far outweighs the trend of buying them. Few middle-aged people read novels, while most teenagers who enjoy reading novels develop the habit of renting them during their school years. Therefore, unless it is a new book by a particularly famous author, readers have no interest in buying it. Mainland readers buy books more for collection purposes, and works by less famous authors have little value for collection in the eyes of readers.

For example, the publishing industry generally believes that the quality of online novels is too poor, their colloquial writing style is considered unqualified for publication, and there are also many problems such as involvement with organized crime, politics, and pornography.

In short, although there are already quite a few online novel websites, and many works have hundreds of thousands or even millions of clicks, there is still no sign of mainland publishers publishing a large number of online novels.

These publishers are more accustomed to authors submitting their work to them.

Besides, only a very small number of works with great fame or extremely high popularity are likely to be contacted by these publishers.

In this context, Cao Sheng suddenly called to say that Yangtze River Literature and Art Publishing House would select six works from Qidian.com for publication every month, which Bao Jianfeng found hard to believe.

Since he took charge of creating Qidian, he has considered long-term cooperation with publishing houses.

I've tried it more than once.

But let alone mainland publishers, even publishers in Taiwan are unwilling to sign such an agreement with Qidian.

Qidian can only occasionally recommend popular works on its platform to publishers, and then wait for the publishers' review results.

Occasionally, one or two books will pass the review process and be successfully published.

But that's about it.

Now that Cao Sheng has reached such a cooperation between Qidian and Changjiang Literature & Art, Bao Jianfeng slowly came back to his senses, subconsciously took a deep breath, and felt a breath filling his chest, making him feel particularly excited.

Considering the subscription system that Qidian was about to pilot, he felt that Qidian had reached the most critical period since its establishment.

They either follow in Longkong's footsteps and suffer a sharp drop in popularity.

Either soar to the top and become number one in the industry.

He stood up and walked out of the office, clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention in the office area, then smiled and announced the good news, "Everyone! I have some good news to share with you. Just now, our CEO Cao called and told me... he has reached a long-term cooperation agreement with Changjiang Literature & Art Publishing House. Every month, Changjiang Literature & Art Publishing House will select 6 excellent books from our Qidian publication platform for publication, until the end of the publication period of CEO Cao's new book."

A silence.

Everyone had different expressions.

Surprise was the most common expression.

Soon, someone reacted first, shouting, "Great!! That's fantastic!!"

The loud shout startled everyone, but it also brought them to their senses, and cheers erupted from all sides.

Applause followed.

Baojianfeng looked around and saw that everyone had a happy expression on their face.

He understands how everyone feels.

I believe that if Qidian were to announce this news to the public, most authors whose works are serialized on Qidian would feel the same way.

"Powered by love" was the mainstream of online literature during this period.

At least 99% of authors create for free entirely out of their love for online novels.

Only a very small number of people are able to publish their work and earn royalties.

Although the mainland market is huge, the mainland publishing market is dominated by pirates and book rental stores, leaving virtually no hope for authors to publish their works legally or earn royalties in the mainland.

Although the publishing market in Taiwan increasingly prefers to accept manuscripts from mainland China, there are still many barriers between Taiwan and the mainland.

These barriers have left many online writers in mainland China unsure how to submit their work to Taiwan.

Even if a submission method is found, the standards for accepting manuscripts by Taiwanese publishers are still very vague for most mainland writers.

The works that everyone has painstakingly written, which have finally catered to the tastes of online readers and have excellent data, may not meet the submission standards of Taiwanese publishers in terms of subject matter, style, or other unexpected aspects.

For example, novels based on online games are becoming increasingly popular online and have many readers, but Taiwanese publishers almost never accept works on the subject, with only occasional exceptions.

For example, it is currently popular online for male protagonists to have a tragic background and be burdened with a blood feud from the very beginning, or to be dumped by their girlfriends or cheated on from the very beginning. However, many publishers in Taiwan will immediately reject this type of work.

Because what's currently popular in Taiwan is lighthearted and humorous works, works that are melancholic and intense, unless written by a very famous author, have a chance of passing the publishing review.

For example, if a work doesn't have enough female protagonists or the writing style isn't seductive enough, it might be a reason for being rejected by Taiwanese publishers, because multi-female protagonist stories are currently popular in Taiwan.

and many more.

For online writers in mainland China, it is extremely difficult to get published and earn royalties.

When I was unknown, the chances of my manuscripts being approved for publication were very slim, whether I submitted them to publishers in mainland China or Taiwan.

Choose to publish online first! You finally figure out what online readers like, but the work you write may not meet the publisher's submission criteria from the start.

"Boss Bao! Shouldn't we post an announcement on the website as soon as possible? I think we should!"

After everyone gradually quieted down, Hu Jinyi, one of the shareholders, raised his hand with a smile and made the proposal.

Before he finished speaking, a chorus of agreement arose.

"Yes, yes! We should issue an announcement right away!"

"Yes! This news should be released!"

"Boss Bao! Issue the announcement!"

"Send it!"

……

Bao Jianfeng smiled and nodded, "The publicity department should immediately draft the announcement. Once it's drafted, let me see it. If there are no problems, issue an announcement today!"

The head of the publicity department gave an OK sign.

The scene was filled with laughter and joy.

Another shareholder, Li Bin, raised his hand and asked, "I have a question! Mr. Bao, do you think Qidian should charge a commission for works published by Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House after we recommend them? If so, how much would be appropriate?"

This issue brought everyone to their senses. Everyone started discussing it animatedly.

As a result, everyone's opinions gradually came to a consensus.

Almost everyone believes that a commission should be charged because this is a publishing opportunity that Qidian has secured for its writers, and Qidian... is too poor! Since its inception, like other similar websites, it has always lacked a way to make money.

Now that such a rare opportunity to make money has come up, everyone present is reluctant to miss out on even a single penny.

……

So, that evening, every author who logged into the Qidian author backend received an in-system text message.

The text message content is as follows:

"Dear author, our website has recently reached a strategic cooperation agreement with Yangtze River Literature and Art Publishing House. The agreement stipulates that starting today, Yangtze River Literature and Art Publishing House will publish 6 works that were first published on Qidian every month. Therefore, our website will select the best of the best each month and recommend a batch of outstanding works from our website to Yangtze River Literature and Art Publishing House."

Attention! This is a long-term strategic partnership, so every writer on our site who dedicates themselves to their craft has the potential to receive this opportunity. We hope all our writer friends will put their heart into their work and wish you a flow of inspiration!

For most writers on Qidian, this is the second time they have received an in-app message.

The first time I received an in-app message from Qidian was after I created a new work in the author backend and the work passed the entry review.

Therefore, most authors read such a site message very carefully when they suddenly receive it, because after reading it, they don't know when they will see another one.

After all, this is an era where you don't need to sign contracts with websites.

Most works don't even get featured on the website, so many people have never even seen what a notification SMS for a featured work looks like.

Even so, most writers who serialize their works on Qidian were still pleasantly surprised after reading this message.

No one thinks they'll never have a chance to succeed in this industry.

Writers who dare to serialize their works online for free almost all believe that their writing is good. Moreover, since ancient times, writers have been jealous of each other. Even newcomers who are just starting to try writing have this mentality towards most of the current popular works: This book or these books are just so-so! Even if they are better than my book, they are only slightly better. I am just a talented person who is not recognized. Actually, my book is not bad.

In this day and age, almost no one tries to write online novels specifically to earn royalties.

Because these days, the hope of making money by writing online novels is too slim.

Unless it can be published, there is no possibility of making money.

The probability of publishing a simplified version in mainland China is about the same as winning the lottery.

Submitting manuscripts to Taiwanese publishers? Most people don't know how.

Therefore, almost every author currently writing online novels believes they have excellent writing skills, and they are all incredibly arrogant.

Therefore, this internal text message from Qidian ignited the flame of hope in the hearts of almost all authors on the site.

That evening, related discussion threads on the Qidian forum exploded, with many writers unable to resist posting about the matter.

For example: "Has the first batch of recommendations to Yangtze River Literature and Art Publishing House been released?"

"Is 'The Left-Handed Demon God' qualified for publication?"

"Qidian is awesome! They've actually reached a strategic partnership with Changjiang Literature & Art..."

"If I remember correctly, Yangtze River Literature and Art Publishing House is the same publishing house that publishes works by Central Plains A Little Gray, right?"

"Is Qidian following the same path as Longkong? Will they also stop serializing their successfully published works online?"

Is it possible that Rosen's book will be recommended for publication?

"Can you all take a look at my new book? Do you think it's good enough for publication?"

……

Ice Man, real name Wang Xuezhi.

He is 22 years old and just graduated from Yangzhou University this year. He has a good academic background and a solid grasp of professional knowledge.

However, during his student days, he was seen by many as a bookworm, taciturn, and rarely smiled.

Therefore, he is not very popular with others.

After entering the workforce, they couldn't make it in at all, and saw no hope of promotion or salary increase.

Adding to his woes, his girlfriend of two years left him upon graduation, leaving him feeling depressed ever since.

In this state of distress, he wrote a novel called "The Midnight Carriage to Another World".

Although he has a quiet personality, he is a very good writer.

During high school, his essays were often praised as excellent by his teachers. In college, he published more than 30 articles in the school magazine.

Even his girlfriend during college was moved by his love letters.

At that time, she said that he had beautiful handwriting and outstanding writing skills, and she thought he was very talented.

She was conquered by him just like that.

Unfortunately, as they got to know each other better and as time went by, she gradually matured, or rather, became more realistic. She gradually realized that his good writing skills were useless.

She began to see more and more of his flaws, and started to dislike his poor speaking skills and dullness; she began to dislike his poor clothing choices and unkempt appearance; she began to dislike his infrequent bathing and lack of a sunny disposition... and so on.

Finally, as graduation approached, she seemed to have accumulated enough resentment towards him and finally broke up with him.

At that moment, he wasn't too sad; instead, he felt a sense of relief and ease.

However, heartbreak is ultimately not a happy thing.

In addition, after entering the workplace, he saw no hope of getting ahead, and felt lost about the future. This feeling of having no bright future was a constant companion to him.

In this state of mind, he began to immerse himself in a series of highly creative online novels.

Each online novel constructs a magical world for him. When he is immersed in these novels, he can forget the troubles of reality, and his mood will go through various states with the joys and sorrows of the characters in the book.

I've been reading until I'm out of books to read.

When he's in a reading slump, he can't get into any book he hasn't read before, no matter which one he clicks on.

One late night, still unable to find any books to read, he suddenly had the idea to write one himself, and then he actually started writing.

He didn't write "The Midnight Carriage to Another World" very quickly, but his writing style was indeed good, and the pacing of the story was also good. Gradually, his popularity on Qidian.com increased.

And tonight, he also saw this in-app message from Qidian.

(End of this chapter)