Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 8 Nothing to be afraid of
Ken Sakamoto considered what he should buy after receiving the royalties.

First is the computer, an essential device in modern society.

Although I chose to draw by hand, I still need to prepare a drawing tablet and digital pen.

Then there are better original paper, brushes, halftone paper, and other painting supplies, since I'll be creating art professionally in the future, and professional tools are very important.

It would be best to buy another scanner, otherwise you'll have to bring your manuscript to the convenience store to scan it every time.

Hmm... I'd like to move to a different place.

Although I've lived here for several years and gotten used to it, the environment is still a bit poor.

Ken Sakamoto could tolerate the lack of a private bathroom, but what was annoying was the constant, incessant sounds of lovemaking coming from one or even several directions after nightfall, which severely affected his creative process.

That'll cost a lot of money...

I submit one chapter per week, about 25 pages, and the fee stipulated in the contract is 30 yen before tax.

However, the first chapter is a full 50 pages long, and he can earn 60 yen as a reward.

All told, the total royalties for the first month would be 150 million yen.

For other authors, this is not much.

After all, a typical weekly serialized work requires two to three assistants, and the monthly remuneration paid to the assistants exceeds 70.

If the artwork is marketed as a selling point, the expenses in this area will be even greater.

Digital creation is doing alright; for example, his comic from last week was created remotely with two assistants via the internet.

Otherwise, we would need to provide them with a full set of work equipment and consumables, and if their commute is too far, we would have to pay for transportation, and even rent a larger house.

More importantly, no one can guarantee that a comic can continue to be serialized indefinitely.

If your income is cut in half, you'll enter a period of zero income, during which time you'll have to rely on your savings.

Therefore, if a comic artist cannot publish a single volume and relies solely on serialization fees, they are essentially an office worker with moderate to high pay, extremely high workload, and no job security.

Although Ken Sakamoto was working alone and all the royalties went into his own pocket, he still wanted to earn more.

On the other hand, he hopes to release his work more quickly, and thus release the collected volumes more quickly.

Thinking about the live stream I just watched, Haruna announced that she would update two episodes every week. In fact, he could definitely do it, and if he worked overtime, he could even finish three episodes.

Since Haruna can do it, it means the editorial department is flexible.

So, Ken Sakamoto sent an email to his editor, Keiko Kaji, expressing his desire to update two chapters per week, just like the author named Haru Mitsuki.

It was already past closing time, and I thought the editor wouldn't reply until tomorrow, but Sakamoto Ken received the email from the editor in just five minutes.

Keiko Kaji: Sakamoto-sensei, I just heard that Mitsuki Haru-sensei is required to publish two chapters per week. Are you sure you want to do that? The workload will be very heavy.

Ken Sakamoto: Don't worry, editor, I'm fine.

Kaji Keiko: Okay then, I'll bring it up for you tomorrow. Sakamoto-sensei, you can try it for a few weeks first. If it really doesn't work, then switch back to weekly updates. After all, quality is the most important thing.

Keiko Kaji: Please check if there are any adjustments needed for the first four chapters. If it's finalized, send me the final version so I can arrange the serialization schedule for you.

Ken Sakamoto: Editor-san, please, I'll send you the electronic version right away!
Ken Sakamoto: By the way, I'd also like to know about that new author, Haru Mitsuki. Do you know anything about her? A complete newcomer is getting the treatment of a live-streamed new book launch.

Keiko Kaji: I don't know either. My colleagues in the group are all very curious. She's not under our editorial department's jurisdiction at all. I guess only the editor-in-chief knows.

Could it be that the editor-in-chief particularly favors her work?

That shouldn't be the case; he knows very well the quality of his own comics.

Even if the lack of popularity in the previous playthrough was due to the niche nature of the magazines where it was published, the artwork, plot, and other aspects of the game weren't actually that great.

Is this enough to win the editor-in-chief's favor? She even said that it's already confirmed that it can be published in the main JUMP magazine, which is not the usual treatment for a newcomer.

I have no memory of what happened back then.

Although Mikazuki Haruna is also in the art club of Kanzaki Art Academy, she is a year ahead of him and her dream is to become a manga artist.

But because her family was so wealthy, she drew comics just for fun, purely as a hobby. Last week, she didn't publish any works at all, she just kept urging him to update.

If you start over, everything changes.

This is probably the butterfly effect. If the flapping of a butterfly's wings can cause a storm, then the changes caused by something like being reborn must be even greater.

The focus now is still on the manga manuscript. Once Sakamoto Ken puts pen to paper, it's a final draft. He's doing the questions by referring to the answers, and there's nothing that needs to be revised.

So I sent the completed electronic manuscripts of the first four episodes directly to the editor's email address.

Now all we have to do is wait for the royalties to arrive.

Shueisha pays royalties on the 25th of each month, and if it falls on a holiday, the payment date will be postponed.

It's mid-February now, and I won't receive payment for the manuscript submitted this month until March 25th.

Before I receive my royalties, I have to work at a convenience store to make enough to pay next month's rent.

……

Mikazuki Haruna hummed a lighthearted tune as her sleek black leather shoes clicked on the floor.

She walked out of the Shueisha gates, accompanied by the editor-in-chief of JUMP, who watched her get into the Lexus LM that had come to pick her up, and even bowed slightly to the car until it drove away.

As soon as she got into the car, Mikazuki Haruna took off her leather shoes to let her warm feet relax. She then placed them in front of the air conditioning vents to let the air blow on them, and her toes felt so comfortable that they couldn't help but stretch out.

I lay back in a comfortable chair, picked up a tablet, opened the digital version of the comic book manuscript, and flipped through it page by page.

I've lost count of how many times I've watched it, and I'm always very satisfied with it.

Then switch to the JUMP+ homepage.

Although the managing director and editor-in-chief are both editors-in-chief, JUMP is a physical magazine, and the entire process of typesetting, printing, logistics, and sales is very complicated, so you still have to wait for the schedule.

The magazine's serials are mostly by famous writers, so even the editor-in-chief can't ask them to give up publication space for her.

Moreover, the editor-in-chief left her some leeway when he spoke to her, saying that if she didn't have any particularly outstanding new works recently, he would definitely let her publish them in the main JUMP magazine.

This means that if, by chance, a certain work suddenly becomes a hit this month, she may have to give way and continue to wait for its release date.

Of course, Haruna didn't care much about these things. She didn't care about royalties; she just wanted her readers to see her work as soon as possible.

Therefore, the only platform that can be published immediately right now is an online platform like JUMP+.

On the "Serialized List" page, there are a total of 12 works scheduled to be updated tomorrow, including her "Young Lady, Sniper Rifle, and Pantyhose!", the first chapter of which will be released at midnight.

The JUMP+ platform has only been online for a year, and she has already read through all the ongoing comics, but there are no particularly outstanding works.

Refreshing the page again, Haruna noticed a new title in the list.

There is no content yet; it will be updated at midnight tomorrow.

"チェンソーマン?"

Haruna softly pronounced the name in katakana, and it took her a few seconds to realize that the corresponding English word was Chainsaw Man.

I can understand katakana, but what kind of name is Chainsaw Man?
Is it a copy of Western superhero comics?
Superman, Hulk, Ant-Man, etc., they're all too common now.

Not enough to be afraid of.

(End of this chapter)