I Became an All-round Artist

Yinlan Library didn't have someone like He Mingxuan, who deliberately lingered in bookstores to observe readers. After the large-scale distribution of the Rising Star series in Qinzhou's bookstores, the only real gauge of market performance was reader feedback.

At first, feedback trickled in slowly. After all, reading takes time.

From the publisher's perspective, scattered comments weren't of much value. However, as the first batch of readers finished the novels, reviews of the five Rising Star works began to accumulate on the message boards of Yinlan Library’s official website.

What worried the publisher was...

The highly anticipated Demon King from Another World, which ranked first in the Rising Star contest, wasn’t receiving great feedback. Most readers gave it a score below five out of ten, and it seemed like people weren’t really impressed with its format.

"A recycled plot with no real innovation."

"Come on, the protagonist reincarnates as a Demon King, but still feels like a weakling. If you're going to write from a Demon King's perspective, can you at least not make the protagonist so lame? It’s like the author can’t write a story without making the main character useless."

"I regret buying this book."

"Just cancel it already. I’m not interested."

In Qinzhou, novels are published in volumes, so the sales of the first volume are crucial. Novels that don't perform well are often abruptly cut short. The publisher will notify the author to wrap things up, and what was originally planned as a ten-volume series might be squeezed into just three to five volumes to quickly conclude. After all, publishers need to free up resources for works with more potential.

Many readers were venting their frustrations.

Of course, not all reviews were negative. Some readers found Demon King from Another World’s perspective to be refreshing: “Sure, it’s a new spin on an old story, but at least the protagonist's identity sets it apart from the usual otherworldly adventure novels. It’s not bad enough to be canceled."

Maybe the story will pick up later?

This wasn’t unheard of.

In fact, there was a hugely popular novel on the market right now that had a similar journey. When it was first released, the reviews were mediocre, and the sales were lackluster. The publisher had even notified the author to cancel it. But after the second volume, the story took a surprising turn, and sales exploded, leading the publisher to cancel the cancellation. That novel is now on its 22nd volume and still going strong.

But such cases are rare.

If the first volume doesn’t grab readers, it’s hard to get them to stick around long enough for the story to redeem itself. Only when a novel captures attention from the start can it continue smoothly.

It wasn’t just the first-place novel that had poor feedback.

The second through fourth-place novels also received mediocre reviews. Only the second-place novel managed to score a five, but in the novel market, a five is just passing. It’s hardly anything to get excited about.

“This year’s going to be tough,”

During Yinlan Library’s department meeting a week later, one editor sighed as they looked over the reviews: “I thought Demon King from Another World was going to blow up, but with readers having seen so many otherworldly adventure novels, their standards have gotten higher.”

“You’re right,”

one person chimed in.

“It’s not that this year’s Rising Stars are worse than previous years; it’s just that readers' tastes have evolved. No wonder the chief editor has been pushing for new genres to rise. Readers are tired of the same old tropes. Novels need to offer fresh excitement.”

“……”

A few years ago, TV dramas loved to rely on ridiculous plot devices like car crashes, cancer, and abortion, and audiences ate it up. But now, if those same clichés appeared, viewers would roast the director.

It’s the same in the world of novels.

Just a few years ago, Adventuring in Another World with a Smartphone—a story about a protagonist who could use a magical phone in another world—was a hit. Looking back now, the plot seems unbearable, but back then, readers couldn’t get enough of it.

“It’s not all bad,”

Yang Feng tried to comfort the group: “The Prince of Tennis may have ranked last in the Rising Star contest, but its reviews are stellar. Its rating has already climbed to 8.5, which is remarkable.”

Yang Feng wasn’t wrong.

While the first four Rising Star novels had disappointing reviews, The Prince of Tennis was receiving high praise, with the message board flooded with positive comments from readers.

“This is the best one!”

“I didn’t expect a tennis novel to be this exciting. I picked it up casually in a bookstore, and once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. I’m officially hooked on The Prince of Tennis.”

“It’s a breath of fresh air in the Rising Star lineup!”

“I got tired of the same old otherworldly adventures. Switching genres turned out to be a nice surprise. I’ve already recommended The Prince of Tennis to several friends, but most of them aren’t interested. They’re just like I used to be—they don’t understand the appeal of sports novels.”

“……”

The editors, of course, knew about The Prince of Tennis's high score and the overwhelmingly positive feedback. But for Yinlan Library, this novel was more of a consolation prize. The genre was too niche, and the chances of it becoming a bestseller were slim.

“It’s not going to work,”

one editor sighed.

“The genre’s too cold.”

“It’s a critical darling but won’t sell.”

The editors weren’t too excited. Every publisher has novels that are critically acclaimed but don’t sell. Publishers generally support these kinds of works, even if they don’t perform well, because they add prestige to the company—just like how movie companies need artistic films for credibility, but rely on blockbusters for profit.

“Don’t be so down,”

the chief editor said, displeased with the team’s mood.

“The sales numbers aren’t out yet, and reviews aren’t everything. Some novels may have mediocre scores but still sell extremely well.”

“That’s true.”

“There’s still a chance!”

“Reviews aren’t everything.”

Hope flickered in the editors' eyes. After all, there are books that, despite poor reviews, manage to sell well, and The Prince of Tennis could be one of those rare critical hits. But the other Rising Star books might just as easily fall into the category of low-rated bestsellers!

They’re so easy to fool.

The deputy editor smirked to himself.

Critical darlings that don’t sell are rare, but so are poorly reviewed novels that manage to rake in sales. In the end, market trends often show that good reviews and high sales tend to go hand in hand.

“Let’s wrap it up.”

The chief editor waved dismissively.

After the meeting, the chief editor looked more troubled than the staff had been moments ago. “It really seems like this year's Rising Stars have flopped, unless a miracle happens.”

“A miracle?”

The deputy editor chuckled bitterly. “Let’s take a trip to the statistics department. They should have the first-week sales of the Rising Stars by now. We can see if that miracle is there.”

The chief editor fell silent.

The two of them walked side by side to the relevant department. The chief editor and deputy editor both looked at the female head of the statistics department.

"The first-week sales of the Supernova series should be out by now, right?" the chief editor asked.

"Here already?"

The female supervisor's expression was cold, clearly annoyed by the two of them. She said one line before turning away to continue her work. "The report is on the table, take a look for yourselves. If you don't understand something, ask me later."

"Did we offend her or something?"

The chief editor and deputy editor exchanged glances before picking up the sales report. A single glance was enough to crush their last bit of hope. The best-selling title, Demon Lord of Another World, had only sold 180,000 copies.

This was supposed to be the Supernova series!

In previous years, any book released under the Supernova Award wouldn’t dare to show its face unless it sold over 300,000 copies in its first week. But this year, the top-seller had barely reached 200,000.

However, one thing was at least accurate: the sales rankings perfectly matched the order of the top five titles from the Supernova competition.

The chief editor tried to find some humor in the situation. "At least our sales predictions weren’t wrong. If the sales numbers are bad, we can always blame the readers!"

"Exactly, exactly!" The deputy editor nodded along in agreement.

Just then, the female supervisor returned, overhearing their conversation. She was instantly enraged, spewing a stream of curses. "You two idiots think you were right?! My phone hasn’t stopped ringing, do you know that? Every bookstore in Qínzhōu is hounding me for more stock! Now, every time I pick up the phone, the first thing I hear is ‘Net King! Net King! Net King! They're driving me crazy! Do you even know how insane it's been trying to keep up with demand? Do you know how close I am to having a nervous breakdown? I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in days!"

Her eyes were bloodshot, and her words fired off like bullets, leaving the chief editor and deputy editor trembling as they were sprayed with her saliva.

"Um..."

The two cautiously glanced at the report again, double-checking the figures. "But Net King was ranked last in the Supernova series... How could it be out of stock? This has to be a mistake, right?"

"Mistake?"

The female supervisor looked at them as if they were complete idiots. "Net King only had an initial print run of 100,000 copies. It wasn’t even enough to satisfy the demands of the major booksellers. It sold out by the third day after the Supernova launch. How do you expect it to compete in sales rankings with such low stock?"

The chief editor and deputy editor stood frozen.

They had been so focused on the rankings that they completely forgot about the limited print run of Net King. It took her furious rant for them to remember.

Suddenly, their eyes widened as they started to realize something—perhaps the miracle they had hoped for had actually happened.

"Now then..."

The female supervisor’s expression shifted into a dangerously sweet smile, her tone eerily gentle. "Please tell me, which idiot decided on the initial print run of 100,000 for Net King?"

"Him!"

The chief editor and deputy editor pointed at each other simultaneously.