Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 415 First on the Three Lists?

In fact, Cao Sheng's "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" is not as popular on Qidian as it is on Rongshu.

Because every book Cao Sheng has written since his debut has been first published on Rongshu.com, he has the most fans there, and that's his fans' stronghold.

Therefore, when the number of words in the online serialization of "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" exceeded 10, the number of collections on Qidian exceeded 5, and it rose to third place on Qidian's weekly recommendation list, the number of collections on Rongshuxiao had already exceeded 9, and it had long topped the three important lists of new book list, weekly click list and weekly recommendation list.

The book review section here is even more popular than the one on Qidian.

Every day, a ton of new posts are added discussing the plot, the characters, the martial arts levels in the book, and even advertising.

This place still attracts a large number of Cao Sheng's book fans.

These book fans subconsciously believed that this was the official website for the first release of Cao Sheng's new book.

But Cao Sheng no longer pays much attention to the data and book reviews here.

Although his book was published on two websites simultaneously, he had a larger stake in Qidian, and more importantly, Qidian was about to pilot his proposed paid reading model.

This is a momentous event that will surely be recorded in the history of online literature development.

This will fundamentally change the entire online literature ecosystem.

This can be considered a real way out for online literature.

Otherwise, with tens of thousands of online articles published each year, relying solely on the very few works published in Taiwan and mainland China, even the most prosperous industry will have limited potential.

The vast majority of online writers don't earn a single penny.

How long can one persist with a hobby that doesn't generate income?
Moreover, the publishing standards of Taiwanese and mainland publishers are not the same standards for whether an online novel can become popular online.

In Cao Sheng's memory, some authors he knew in the original timeline who went through publishing channels published one book after another in Taiwan. These works were also published on Qidian. However, these works that could be published in Taiwan had very low popularity on Qidian. The total number of clicks could not even break 10, and the first subscription data within 24 hours of being released could not even reach 100.
What does this mean?
He felt this was sufficient to illustrate the standards of the publishing market and should not be used as a trend indicator for online literature.

In other words, the tastes of online readers and those of readers in physical stores are not the same.

Or perhaps... it's because readers in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other places have different tastes than readers on the mainland.

Therefore, he believes that if online literature wants to usher in its golden age and a period of rapid, unbridled growth, it is essential to establish a true trendsetter for online literature.

He believes there is only one true indicator of trends: the number of subscribers.

Whether a book is popular with readers should not be judged by a single editor at a publishing house.

It shouldn't be up to an editor at an online literature website to make that judgment.

Instead, we should look at how many readers are willing to spend real money to subscribe and support us.

After all, when it comes to things that require one's own money, everyone will make their own decision based on their conscience. Except for a very few people who don't value money, everyone will be cautious.

In the era of paid subscriptions, the works with the most subscribers become the industry's trendsetter.

With such a trendsetter, online novels will not go astray and will continue to cater to the tastes of the majority of readers.

Some people compare online novel authors to prostitutes.

Actually, the logic is correct.

However, online novel authors are selling their own works.

Since you're selling something, you should sell what the buyer likes.

……

The recommendation process for "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" on Qidian is faster than for other works.

Other works need to be featured in three or four consecutive recommendation slots in the category channel before they have a chance to be featured on the Qidian homepage.

However, Cao Sheng's "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" only stayed on the recommended spot on the Qidian Urban Category page for two weeks. In the third week, when the total number of words in the work exceeded 10, Qidian arranged for "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" to be recommended on the newly launched Sanjiang Pavilion.

Every book in the Sanjiang Pavilion during this period had professional commentary from the chief editor.

When "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" appeared in the recommended section of Sanjiang Pavilion.

Out of curiosity, many people clicked on the editor's comments for this book.

For example: Huang Qingya.

This Sunday afternoon at 2 pm, after changing books at Sanjiang Pavilion, she took a break from writing at home and came to the Qidian homepage. She saw "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" on Sanjiang Pavilion and curiously clicked on the editor's comments.

Editor's Review: I feel quite hesitant to review Zhongyuan Yidianhui's new work, because as everyone knows... Zhongyuan Yidianhui is the pioneer of online literature and the most accomplished author in the field today. His previous works have achieved top-tier results and reputations. In the online literature industry, he can be considered my mentor. Therefore, I can only say that this book maintains Zhongyuan Yidianhui's consistently high standards and is worth reading, studying, and researching.

In front of the computer.

After reading the editor's comment, Huang Qingya couldn't help but chuckle.

He muttered to himself, "Is this the editor-in-chief's comment? Is this the editor-in-chief flattering him?"

……

Wang Jian is a novice reader.

In this era, readers like him are called "newbies".

He is 17 years old this year and recently learned how to use the Internet and read books on Qidian. This afternoon, he also saw "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" on Sanjiang Pavilion, as well as the editor's comments.

At 17, he didn't realize that the editor-in-chief was flattering Zhongyuan Yidianhui.

Because he practically grew up reading Nakahara Ichidoku's works.

However, whenever he read Zhongyuan Yidianhui's works before, he would always rent pirated copies from a bookstore near the school.

Even pirated books can't keep up with the daily updates on the internet.

Therefore, after he learned to use the internet and discovered that he could read many online articles every day, he gradually developed the habit of finding books to read online.

Today, at the Sanjiang Pavilion on Qidian.com, he saw Zhongyuan Yidianhui's new book, "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts," and saw the editor-in-chief of Sanjiang Pavilion highly praising the book.

So, without hesitation, he plunged in.

From a reader's perspective, the first chapter of "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" did not disappoint him. He enjoyed reading it and felt that the beginning of the book was written very smoothly, and the story unfolded naturally.

The concept of martial arts that appeared in Chapter Two was refreshing to him.

Chapter Three, Chapter Four...

He quickly became immersed in the world of the book, gradually losing himself in it.

……

Jin Hezai logged into Qidian that evening and saw Cao Sheng's "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" featured in the Sanjiang Pavilion's recommended section. Out of curiosity, he also clicked on the editor's review.

He smiled knowingly as he read this comment.

He resonated with the editor's comment.

He felt that if he were to comment on Cao Sheng's new book, he would probably write the same thing.

Although he did not grow up reading Cao Sheng's works, he was enlightened by them. Every book by Cao Sheng was a subject of his study, and he studied several of them repeatedly.

Therefore, he dared not comment on Cao Sheng's works casually.

……

Guo Xiaosi did not participate in the New Concept Writing Competition in this timeline.

Influenced by Cao Sheng's highly creative works, he has long been transformed into a genuine online novelist.

It must be said that he has a very quick mind. When writing online novels, he always manages to come up with something interesting.

For example, his work, "Senior Sister! Senior Sister!"

This book has successfully attracted a lot of critics.

The success of this book inspired him, and he soon wrote another book, "Master's Wife! Master's Wife!"

Although "Senior Sister! Senior Sister!" is a story set in a modern city, it is quite popular online, but publishers are not interested in it.

In order to cater to the review standards of Taiwanese publishers, he specially created a novel with an ancient cultivation background called "Master's Wife! Master's Wife!"

The story mainly revolves around a male protagonist who is born prematurely, is weak and thin, and gradually falls in love with his master's wife, who is exceptionally beautiful and highly skilled, after becoming an apprentice of a cultivation sect.

Surprisingly, Taiwanese publishers actually fall for this.

His book passed the publication review very smoothly.

Furthermore, after its publication, the book's sales continued to rise.

It was this book that made him discover his talent for writing.

He felt that he portrayed the male protagonist very well, and that the characters of his master's wife and master were also quite good.

For example, the male protagonist is short and weak due to premature birth, but he is very smart. This kind of setting can make many readers feel a good sense of identification.

The master's wife he created was not only stunningly beautiful, but also the most beautiful woman in the entire sect. Her cultivation level was also among the top-tier experts in the sect. As for the master... although he was tall, handsome, and had a first-class temperament, and his cultivation level was also the number one expert in the entire sect, he only had the Great Dao in his heart and regarded his stunningly beautiful wife as nothing.

Even when his wife came to see him, the protagonist found that his master was very impatient with his mistress, always complaining that she was disturbing his spiritual practice, and always impatiently ordering her to leave.

The male protagonist sees his teacher's wife's grievances and melancholy.

At first, he felt sorry for her and sympathized with her, so he would visit her every few days to check on her.

Gradually, the male protagonist discovers that his teacher's wife is gentle, intelligent, exceptionally talented, and yearns for love but cannot have it.

If love weren't the most important thing to her, with her talent, her cultivation level would definitely surpass her master's.

Thus, the male protagonist fell in love with his teacher's wife.

Guo Xiaosi felt that this kind of love was very sophisticated, with the charm of Qiong Yao's works.

In an era when Qiong Yao's works were all the rage and extremely popular, his book not only saw soaring sales but also received quite a good reputation.

Moreover, he felt very immersed in the story while writing this book and enjoyed the process immensely.

He was really looking forward to the scene where the male protagonist, having grown to a certain level, would overpower his master for the sake of his master's wife.

He believed that such love, which was willing to betray his master and ancestors, would surely move many people.

This evening, he also saw the editor-in-chief of Qidian Sanjiangge's commentary on "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts".

After reading it, he chuckled to himself and muttered, "This editor-in-chief is no good! He doesn't even dare to comment on Zhongyuan Yidianhui's work? Doesn't he understand the principle of 'I love my teacher, but I love truth even more'? Shouldn't every teacher's greatest wish be for their students to surpass them?"

……

Under the watchful eyes of the industry, as the days go by, the various data of "The Legend of Chinese Martial Arts" has ushered in another wave of rapid growth.

On the first night after arriving at Sanjiang Pavilion, "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" surged to second place on the weekly recommendation list.

Once midnight passed, the data on the weekly recommendation list was reset to zero, and the data for the new week was recalculated. "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" immediately jumped to the top of the weekly recommendation list and the weekly click list, and together with the top spot on the new book list, it suddenly became the number one book on three lists.

This phenomenon is truly unprecedented since the founding of Qidian.

In the past, even if a book was very popular during its new release period and managed to top the weekly click chart, it was extremely difficult for it to top the weekly recommendation chart.

Because the works on the weekly recommendation list are basically the most popular works among all the works currently being serialized on the entire Qidian website.

Very few of these are new books with fewer than 20 words; almost all of them are works between 50 and 150 words.

The works that simultaneously top both the weekly click chart and the weekly recommendation chart are not the works that can be listed on the new book chart.

On the very day that Cao Sheng's "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" was recommended by Sanjiang Pavilion, it soared to the top of all three lists in the early morning.

This resulted in Qidian achieving an unprecedented number one ranking on three lists.

The authors and readers who noticed this scene in the early hours of the morning were all stunned.

"So fierce?"

"Holy crap! Number one on all three lists?"

"Truly worthy of being called the 'One Ash of the Central Plains'!"

"So this is already number one on all three lists?"

"Damn! Is Zhongyuan Yidianhui manipulating data?"

……

I wonder how many people, in the early hours of this morning, looked at the top of the three charts on the Qidian homepage, and at the title of the book "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts," and expressed all sorts of feelings and questions.

It's worth mentioning that all three lists are located on the far right of the Qidian homepage, and the Sanjiang Pavilion's recommendation spot is also on the far right of the homepage.

Therefore, at first glance, the first place in the four works lists on the far right of Qidian's homepage is "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts".

The reason for this phenomenon is that Sanjiang Pavilion also ranked "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" first in this issue.

So, at first glance, it's not that he's number one on three lists, but rather number one on four lists.

Of course, after the initial shock, some people quickly came to their senses.

Some people say, "This is the ranking that was just changed. It might not be the same by tomorrow morning!"

Some people say, "Won't someone try to climb the rankings? Someone'll probably add more chapters to try and climb the rankings, right? They should be able to push 'The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts' down one ranking spot..."

Some people also said: "Can Zhongyuan Yidianhui hold onto the top spot on all three charts? Can the other authors tolerate this?"

……

In fact, quite a few works did have extra chapters released in the early hours of that day.

Some books add extra chapters in order to boost their ranking on the new book charts.

Some of the extra chapters are added in order to improve their ranking on the click charts or weekly recommendation charts.

Many people are adding extra chapters because their work has been featured on a recommendation list, and tomorrow is Monday, so they want to boost the numbers to make tomorrow's data look better.

By the next morning, as dawn broke, more and more people across the country got up, went online, and saw the outrageous phenomenon of "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" dominating the charts.

Number one on all three lists?

He's number one on all three lists?

Still number one on all three lists?

……

When Lao Zhu, the author of "Nine Sons," logged on at noon that day, he saw that "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" had pushed his "Nine Sons" off the weekly recommendation list. Surprised, he silently posted two chapters and asked for recommendation votes and collections at the end of the second chapter.

He wanted to try and see if he could turn the explosion around.

(End of this chapter)