I Became an All-round Artist

In the broader novel market, sports fiction is a highly niche genre.
Especially during a time when fantasy adventure novels are immensely popular, sports novels tend to lack a solid reader base.
So, despite the overwhelming positive reception of Prince of Tennis, the editors didn’t expect much in terms of sales. But now, it seems everyone was mistaken.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”
The editor-in-chief’s emotions were in turmoil.
The female supervisor hesitated for a moment, then cast a sympathetic glance at the two of them. “Didn’t you know? I informed the chief editor the day Prince of Tennis went out of stock. Looks like he didn’t pass the message on to you.”
The editor-in-chief and deputy editor felt a chill in their hearts.
They knew the chief editor’s personality well. If such important information hadn’t been relayed to their department, it could only mean one thing:
The chief editor was upset.

The company had four editorial departments, each responsible for different categories of books. Each department also had its own editor-in-chief and deputy editor, and the two of them were in charge of young adult fantasy novels.
And overseeing all four departments was the company’s chief editor.
The female supervisor, seeing their plight, softened a bit and smiled, “Whether your department knew or not doesn’t really matter. Shipping is my responsibility. What could your department have done? Magically make more copies appear?”
She wasn’t wrong.
The editorial team was only responsible for reviewing and ensuring the quality of novels. Sales were not within their scope of duties.
However, in most cases, such developments would still be communicated to the editorial team.
This time, the chief editor seemed to be sending a warning, which is why the editor-in-chief and deputy were only learning about it now.

“How many orders do we have now?”
The editor-in-chief asked, forcing down his complicated emotions.
A voice came from behind: “The major bookstores in Qinzhou have ordered a total of 400,000 copies, and they’ll be delivered tomorrow. Considering the demand, I’ve asked the publishing department to print an additional 500,000 copies.”

“Hello, Chief Editor!”
All three of them turned to see the man standing behind them—the chief editor of Silver Blue Publishing, one of the most powerful figures in the company.

“Hmm.”
The chief editor nodded, his authoritative gaze tinged with displeasure. “Deciding to only print 100,000 copies of Prince of Tennis initially was incredibly short-sighted. However, since your department at least didn’t reject the novel outright, I’ll let it slide this time.”

“Thank you!”
Both the editor-in-chief and deputy editor breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, they had pushed Prince of Tennis into the Supernova contest lineup, as it was crucial for diversifying the market. Missing out on such a gem would have been a massive loss for the company.

“One more thing.”
The chief editor frowned slightly. “I looked over the plan—Prince of Tennis is only slated to be about a million words. Have the editor in charge of Chukuang discuss with him about expanding the outline. The company hopes he can push it to at least three million words.”

When a book doesn’t perform well, it gets cut short.
Conversely, if it does exceedingly well, publishers encourage the author to write more because the more words, the more profit.

“Understood!”
The editor-in-chief nodded vigorously.
Most authors wouldn’t refuse such a suggestion. After all, they need to make a living too, and who wouldn’t want to earn more if they could?
Besides, how many authors can guarantee that their next book will also be a hit?

“And another thing.”
The chief editor added, “Make sure Chukuang is treated well. Avoid any conflicts with him. If he gets poached by another publisher, you two can start packing.”

“Yes, yes, yes!”
The editor-in-chief nodded repeatedly.
Even without the reminder, their department would treat Chukuang like royalty.
The impact of a smash hit like Prince of Tennis was undeniable—it proved that sports fiction could indeed become a bestseller.
This was just the beginning!
Soon, the market would be flooded with sports novels, and Chukuang might even become the face of sports fiction in Qinzhou!

...

The Supernova competition was a major writing contest, and Silver Blue Publishing was one of Qinzhou's top publishing houses. Many industry professionals were keeping a close eye on this year's results.

“It looks like this year’s Supernova is a bust.”
“Out of the five books in the competition, four have ratings below five. The only well-received one is Prince of Tennis, but the genre is too niche, so its sales can’t possibly be great.”
“Even Silver Blue is struggling now, huh?”
“Supernova’s failure this year is a huge blow to its reputation. I wouldn’t be surprised if submissions drop next year.”
...
The publishing world was buzzing with discussion. Competitors always keep a close eye on each other, and some of Silver Blue’s rivals were enjoying the show.

At Dingsheng Publishing—
A company of similar scale to Silver Blue—their chief editor was in a particularly good mood, so much so that he called a chain bookstore manager to gloat a little.
“Looks like this year’s Supernova isn’t selling well?”
“I’ve actually been stressed about that,” the bookstore manager replied with a sigh.
The Dingsheng chief editor’s mood improved, though he pretended to sympathize. “The market’s tough right now. Try not to worry too much.”
“You’ve got the wrong idea,” the manager clarified. “Prince of Tennis is selling like crazy. My issue is that it’s severely out of stock. Tons of customers are specifically asking for it, but I’ve run out of copies.”
The Dingsheng chief editor was taken aback. “What?”
The bookstore manager chuckled, “I know what you’re thinking. You wanted to see Silver Blue fail, right? Well, the first four Supernova entries may be underperforming, but Prince of Tennis is a huge hit. I just ordered 150,000 more copies from them, and they’ll be in stores tomorrow!”
The Dingsheng chief editor was speechless.
The manager added, “Sports fiction is an untapped market. You should consider focusing on that genre. Isn’t your company known for jumping on trends? Everyone was writing fantasy adventure when it was hot, and now there’s a market for sports fiction. Get your authors to follow the wave!”

Bookstores only care about sales.
Everything else is secondary to them.

After hanging up, the Dingsheng chief editor sat in silence for a while. Then, suddenly, he opened the department group chat and typed furiously:
“All young adult fantasy editors, read Prince of Tennis tonight!”

“What?”
“Huh?”
“Why Prince of Tennis?”
The group chat exploded with confusion.
The chief editor, still furious, typed with renewed intensity: “If Silver Blue can spot a breakout hit like Prince of Tennis, why can’t you? From now on, start pushing sports fiction!”

The group chat instantly fell silent.
Sports fiction? A breakout hit?
Was the chief editor mistaken?