Chapter 62: Thoughts on the Launch
Streamlining: Launching at 12 AM, planning to start with daily updates of 10,000 words on the first day, and aiming for over 6,000 daily updates thereafter. Please support my first subscription ORZ.
…
It’s going live at midnight, so let’s chat a little.
This is the third book written by me, a newcomer, and the second book after becoming an author.
My first book, “Soft Rice System,” started with a first subscription of 100 and eventually reached an average of 8,000, which was a good start for my online writing career.
The second book is “Miss Witch,” which had a first subscription of 5,000, peaked at an average of 17,000, and finished with an average of 14,000. It was also my first book to reach a 10,000 average subscription and my first completed work of over a million words, allowing me to achieve various milestones including reaching author level LV5.
However, during the process of writing the first two books, I discovered a problem.
That is, my books often have a top-heavy structure. I tend to release all my emotions and inspirations explosively in the early stages.
Once I reach the mid-late stage, I often find the emotional threshold raised too high, and I struggle to produce better updates, ending up stuck in a cycle of repetitive tropes.
I was most satisfied with the climax of “Soft Rice System,” which I completed at 120,000 words.
Before I started “Miss Witch,” I spent a month refining my ideas, so the strongest climax was pushed to 300,000 words, where Shaya refuses the Borgia family’s marriage proposal and states, “This story is not as perfect as written in the book.” Readers familiar with my previous works might remember this.
But it wasn’t enough.
My attitude towards writing remains the same: “A novel is like a child; I must give it a complete life, no matter what.”
Even though I have done my best to provide a complete ending for my past works, upon reflection, they still suffer from the flaw of being top-heavy.
Perhaps this issue is acceptable in the realm of common web fiction, where stories often go unfinished, but it is far from perfect.
I want to write a complete story and am willing to sacrifice many things for this “completeness.”
Thus, this current book was born.
I spent half a year carefully pondering and refining the main outline of this book.
At the same time, I began to experiment with restraining my previous impulsive style, where I would generate high emotions without considering the consequences.
I started trying to balance the story’s completeness, aiming to touch readers with the content of the words rather than merely release emotional outbursts.
For instance, at the end of the first Deep Blue Harbor chapter, if it were the old me writing this, the male lead would have already become a sword god in the ten-mile slope, dominating all as others looked on in shock.
But now, I believe that the moment Rast, submerged in seawater, states to Hiltina, “9.5 points; I deducted 0.5 points because I’m afraid you might become too proud,” is my most satisfying ending for that chapter.
I still have conceived many climactic moments and emotions for this book, some of which stir my heart just thinking about them, far stronger than any scenes in my earlier works.
But these will not suddenly erupt in the early stages; rather, they will emerge naturally at the right moments.
Just like my favorite novel, “The Esteemed One of All Eras,” the line “One kn*fe and one sword reflects life’s intent” and the phrase “Go to hell, you infinite life mother!” and Gu Xiaosang’s bittersweet smile… Even years later, I still remember them vividly; it was this longing for such novels that sparked my desire to become an author.
So no matter how inexperienced or flawed it may be… I hope my novels can leave behind some of these qualities.
…
Of course, I am also quite aware that the success I’ve had with my earlier works was built on the fast-paced gimmicks and ideas. Now, I want to change and abandon some of my previous successful experiences, which feels a bit greedy and arrogant.
Fast-paced plots and novel ideas tend to attract readers more effectively than slow ones, and readers are not obligated to understand the author’s intentions.
The so-called foreshadowing and buildup… Let’s be frank, before you really tie up those foreshadowing threads, it’s nothing more than “self-indulgence,” “novelty,” and “enigmas.”
Thus, I am trying to find a balance that considers both readability and completeness. It’s a challenging line to tread, but I will keep working at it.
Before starting this book, I had already prepared for the possibility that the results might not be ideal. When friends asked about my expectations, I mentioned that I anticipated a first subscription of only 1,000.
Many thought I was joking, playing a ‘hiding one’s strength’ game, but this was my genuine thought. For instance, I know that the end of the Deep Blue Harbor storyline, transitioning into attending Starry University, would likely lead to a drop in numbers due to the slower pace. But after much contemplation, I felt it still had to be written.
If some worldviews and settings are not laid out in the free chapters, am I supposed to write them in the paid chapters to trick readers into subscribing? That would make it even less acceptable for readers.
Fortunately, this book’s current performance is quite good, and I’ve received all the recommendations I was supposed to get.
Honestly, this far exceeds my expectations before launching, and I am filled with gratitude.
Regardless, writing this book, connecting with readers through a novel, is one of the luckiest things in my life.
Now that the early setup and transitions have passed, we can finally enter more exciting and compact plotlines, and the rapid updates after launching will accelerate the story’s progression.
Launching at 12 AM, seeking first subscriptions and automatic subscriptions! This is really important to me, I beg you.
Bang bang bang~ ORZ.
(End of Chapter)
