Serious reminder: this is not a thank you note for the novel being published, nor is it an April Fool’s joke. This is the dream declaration of an old loser who has been writing for 12 years but has yet to publish a quality novel.
Mingqiao has been writing online novels since 2006, which means she entered the industry very early. However, although online writing seems to have no barriers to entry, the hidden barriers to earning a living from it are actually very high.
For someone like Mingqiao who has no talent, no creativity, no writing skills, and a slow typing speed, it is really difficult to make a name for oneself in the online writing industry, and he has experienced many setbacks.
Just looking at the male section of Qidian, not counting the books that have been banned for various reasons, the total number of works in the library currently exceeds 800,000, but there are only more than 40,000 signed works, with a signing rate of only about 1/20.
After signing the contract, paying for the courier fee to send the contract is only the first step. You have to persist in the free period of two or three months without any payment until the 200,000 or 300,000 words are on the shelves. Many people give up before their works are on the shelves.
Then, after the book is put on the shelves, one has to face the issue of whether one can persist to complete the book if the sales are not good. This is a process of survival of the fittest, and countless people have stopped updating or given up halfway.
As for the works and authors who can get the boutique badge (average subscriptions exceeding 3,000), they are even fewer.
Although readers' awareness of genuine products is increasing year by year, and many readers have begun to accept paying for knowledge, voluntarily give up piracy, and subscribe to genuine VIP chapters on Qidian to support authors, the quality rate of Qidian is still very low.
Even though the number of genuine paying readers is increasing year by year, and there is a legend circulating in the online literature circle that works with tens of thousands of subscriptions are everywhere and that quality works are worse than bargains, for grassroots writers like Mingqiao, the quality badge is still an unattainable dream.
Currently, there are more than 800,000 novels in Qidian’s male library, but only more than 1,200 of them are high-quality novels, with a high-quality rate of only 0.15%, or one thousandth.
Considering that platinum authors and great authors each have multiple excellent works, the chance for low-level writers to get an excellent badge may be only one in ten thousand.
Being one in a million is much more difficult than the college entrance examination.
Therefore, Mingqiao has changed several vests since he entered the industry in 2006, and has been quietly failing until 2017, and the boutique badge has not been seen anywhere.
However, no matter how badly she failed, Mingqiao still had a dream of becoming a high-quality product. Otherwise, what difference would she make from a salted fish
In fact, Mingqiao’s previous book, “Urban Almighty Superstar,” was almost successful. It received 1,800 first orders within 24 hours of being put on the shelves. According to normal rules, it should be no problem to get the boutique badge after writing more than 1 million words.
Unfortunately, Ming Qiao has been a failure for too long and has no successful experience. It did not focus on writing about track and field, but instead had the protagonist constantly change events. After running track and field, he went into music, played tennis, played football, made movies, etc., trying to learn from Chang Yu's "I'm a Big Star" and take the path of an all-round superstar.
However, the facts have proved that he is a platinum star. He can walk the path of an all-round superstar and write well. Even though his writing is so good, it makes people unable to stop reading, including myself.
But the reality is, I am Mingqiao, just a flop. I don’t have the talent, the writing skills, the level, or the ability to arrange the plot. In the end, what I wrote is a hodgepodge.
The result was that every time I changed projects, a large number of readers who didn't like the new projects would abandon the book. By the time the book was finished, the average subscription was only 2,500, and I still failed to get the boutique badge, which was a great pity.
After learning from the lessons of my previous book, I decided from the very beginning to write only about football in this new book "Seven Crowns". I would try to write more than 2 million words while ensuring that the plot does not collapse. I also want to achieve better results and higher royalties than my previous book.
Actually, I have never received support from my parents and relatives for writing online novels. To be more direct, they despised and looked down on me, thinking that I was on the wrong path.
It feels like when you tell your parents that you don't have to work and can make a living just by playing games and becoming a professional gamer.
I believe that if anyone dares to tell his parents that his ideal is to play games, most people will be beaten up.
Some open-minded parents in big cities may be able to understand it, but my family lives in a mountainous rural area in Guizhou, and there are not many relatives and neighbors who use the Internet. My parents still don’t know how to use smartphones.
In their eyes, online novels and online games are electronic heroin. You can imagine the pressure of public opinion that makes me insist on writing online novels.
In 2016, when my monthly royalties were only around 2,000 yuan, my parents thought I was wasting my time and energy writing novels at home on weekends, and they almost smashed my computer.
So, after a quarrel with my parents, I ran away from home with my wife and children, and rented a single room near the company that combined the functions of a kitchen, dining room and bedroom. While working, I also worked part-time writing novels to continue to pursue my dream.
Fortunately, my wife has never given up on me and has been with me through thick and thin. Even if she only buys me meat once a week, she has always supported me in continuing to pursue the career that I love and firmly believes that I will succeed one day.
The book "Urban Almighty Superstar" that I wrote after I became a full-time worker in 2017 cannot be said to be a success, but it did reach the income level of an ordinary person working, which made my wife and I breathe a sigh of relief, and also made my parents' attitude towards me a little bit more relaxed.
However, they still do not approve of my profession and are still ashamed to mention it to relatives and friends.
When others asked them what their son was doing, they all lied and said that I was working outside. They didn't dare to say that I was writing online novels, and they repeatedly told me not to tell relatives and friends, as if I was doing something shameful and embarrassing and bringing shame to them.
So, actually, I have been holding my breath, wanting to prove to them that it is not shameful for me to write online novels, and that I can still earn money to support my family and still be successful.
In fact, when I succeed, my income will be higher than that of most of my relatives and friends.
There are top talents in all 360 professions. As long as you are willing to work hard and persevere, you can succeed even if you don't have talent.
I have always believed this.
2018 is the year of the Russia World Cup, so I chose football as the genre of my new book. I did not publish the new book seamlessly after the old book was completed on December 27, but waited until 0:00 on January 1, 2018 to publish the book. I felt like it was a good omen that I had grabbed the first football novel of 2018.
With 2 chapters of 4,000 words every day, two months after the book was published, by March 1st the word count had actually exceeded 200,000, and it was completely ready to be put on the shelves.
However, I chose to give up putting the book on the shelves as I was determined to succeed with my football novel in the year of the World Cup. Even if it would give me more words and time, I would wait for Sanjiang and push hard to achieve better results.
Fortunately, my persistence paid off. Of course, I also want to thank the editor Huihui and the editor-in-chief Changtian for their support, which allowed me to be listed on Qidian Sanjiang and strongly recommended on the homepage in mid-March.
According to the general rules of Qidian, if it is not the beginning of the month, it must be put on the shelves at noon on the Friday when it is strongly promoted, but I once again applied for an extension to the early morning of April 1, and it was not put on the shelves at noon on Friday, March 23.
I'm still holding back, even if it means I have to write 30,000 more words for free for another 9 days.
Not only was it not put on the shelves despite my strong recommendation, but since March 1st, when the book of more than 200,000 words was not put on the shelves, I have been ridiculed by some of my fellow authors in the author group.
Because the book is on the shelves earlier, readers will pay to subscribe to VIP chapters earlier, and the author can receive the royalties earlier.
I was free for an extra month in March, which means I can write 120,000 words in 2 chapters per day, based on the income of about 50 yuan per thousand words from the previous book. I almost gave up about 6,000 yuan in net income after commission.
Therefore, some people in the author group called me mentally retarded, stupid, and brain-dead, which is not worth it.
But how can a sparrow understand the ambition of a swan
Those who mock me are not as good as me as writers, do not earn as much as me in royalties, and have not been writing books for as many years as I have. What do they know
One more free month, 120,000 more free words. I am using more free chapters to attract more new readers, so that there will be more collections before the book is put on the shelves, and the reader base will be larger, and then it will explode with success when it is put on the shelves on April 1st.
Today is March 31st, and after midnight it will be the day when the product will be put on the shelves on April 1st.
Now all the data tells me that my decision and persistence are correct.
There are more than 20,000 collections in the background, more than 2,000 recommendation votes every day, more clicks than before the previous book was put on the shelves, more rewards than before the previous book was put on the shelves, more comments than before the previous book was put on the shelves, and the number of discussions in this chapter is more than before the previous book was put on the shelves.
The most important thing is that this is the football novel with the highest overall subscription ratio and the highest VIP payment rate among readers recognized by Qidian Men's Channel.
The 10,000 collections of football novels are equivalent to the 20,000 in other categories.
Therefore, I am 100% sure that I can get the exquisite badge that I have always dreamed of with this book.
However, just relying on the accumulation of time and words to slowly get a boutique badge in the later stage is not enough to be called a dream declaration, nor is it enough to slap the faces of those colleagues who mocked me for being mentally retarded, stupid, and brain-dead for giving me an extra month for free.
I want to prove to my peers that the extra month of waiting is worth it;
I wanted to prove to my parents that it was possible to be successful in writing online novels;
I want to prove to all my relatives and friends that the online writing I insist on is not a waste of time, but a legitimate job that can earn money to support my family!
So, my announcement for the launch is: "Seven Crowns" will be launched on April 1st, the first day of the launch!!!
First-day specials! First-day specials! First-day specials!
Important things should be said three times!!!
Yes, you read it right. While most of the high-quality novels on Qidian.com have to spend time and effort in the later stage to accumulate an average subscription of more than 3,000 words before getting the high-quality badge, my football novel has the lowest traffic in the category, the smallest readership, and only has more than 20,000 collections before it was put on the shelves. My goal is to achieve first-day high-quality status on the day it is put on the shelves.
I don’t know if this goal can be achieved, and I don’t know if I will become a laughing stock in the entire online literature circle.
But after failing for 12 years and being looked down upon by my parents, relatives and colleagues for so long, I couldn't hold it back any longer.
Even if it is an unattainable dream that may become a laughing stock, or even a delusion, I will say it out loud.
If you don't say it, no one will know, and you won't be embarrassed if you fail to achieve your goal.
But after saying it out loud, I feel much better.
Even if it turns out that I overestimated my abilities and lost face in the end, it was my own choice and I have no regrets!
The path you choose must be walked even if you have to kneel!
Of course, because the collection base of "Seven Crowns" is much lower than those of the big names who have 40,000, 50,000, 70,000, 80,000, or even 100,000 collections before being put on the shelves, it is a bit difficult to have an average subscription of more than 3,000 on the first day of listing.
Moreover, Qidian distributes premium badges at 14:00 every day. Although reaching an average order of 3,000 before 12:00 am is considered as first-day premium, it always feels a little missing if you can't get the premium badge and get official recognition. Even if you make up for it at 14:00 the next day, you can't avoid regret.
Therefore, on the first day of listing, except for uploading ten VIP chapters in compliance with the promise after activating the VIP function in the early morning of April 1, Mingqiao should not add or update chapters on that day to avoid lowering the average subscription after uploading new chapters, resulting in the average subscription not reaching the boutique standard and not getting the boutique badge.
Of course, if I really get the premium badge on the first day and exceed the standard by a lot, even if I add new chapters, it will not cause the average subscription to drop below the standard and cause the premium badge to be taken away. Then I will add more chapters based on rewards or monthly tickets.
Therefore, I would like to ask all the book friends who have read this to help out. Even if you don’t like football, or feel that Mingqiao’s level is limited or the writing is not to your liking, please spend a few Qidian coins to sponsor a VIP subscription to the first chapter.
If there are book lovers who want to subscribe to the full version to support Mingqiao, after the book is put on the shelves, there is a "Subscribe" button next to "Download" below the rating on the right side of the PC. Click it to enter the full subscription page. There is an "Automatically subscribe to the latest chapter" button on the right which is closed by default. You can choose to turn it on manually to automatically subscribe to the latest VIP chapters.
For the Qidian client on the mobile APP, long press on the book in the bookshelf and a pop-up window will appear. Then, below your Qidian nickname is the "Automatically subscribe to the latest chapter" button, which is closed by default. If you want to automatically subscribe to all books and support Mingqiao, you can also turn it on in this location on the mobile client.
However, everyone should pay attention to one thing. The button that automatically subscribes to the latest chapter will automatically subscribe you to the VIP membership when Mingqiao updates a chapter. Whether you have read the book or not, please consider whether to turn it on.
If time permits, please try to subscribe before 14:00 on April 1st. It is best to wait a little longer the night before and subscribe as soon as I upload the VIP chapter in the early morning.
It happens that March 31st is Saturday and April 1st is Sunday. If you don’t have to go to work on Sunday, please wait a little longer, subscribe and vote for the monthly ticket, and then go to bed.
Thank you for your hard work! Thank you for your hard work! Thank you for your hard work!
In addition, because Qidian.com only calculates the average subscription of the first release website, book friends who read this book through other channels such as Chuangshi Chinese Network, QQ Reading, WeChat Reading, Mobile QQ, QQ Browser, Tencent Video, Novel Reading Network, Mobile Baidu, and Book Chasing Artifact, if they have Qidian accounts, are also encouraged to subscribe to the first release website of "Seven Crowns".
If you don’t have an account, you can download the Qidian Reading APP from Qidian’s official website or App Store, register with your mobile phone number, and then subscribe to "Seven Crowns" on Qidian to support Mingqiao.
On one hand, this can help Mingqiao increase the average subscription on the first release website and realize the dream of producing high-quality products. On the other hand, since there is no channel fee for subscriptions on the first release website, Mingqiao will ultimately receive a higher share of the royalties if the subscription prices you pay are similar. Mingqiao would like to thank everyone here first!
In addition to the goal of first-day quality, Mingqiao also has a goal that has never been achieved before, which is the new book monthly ticket list.
The New Book Monthly Ticket List is not only an honor, but also a key exposure position for the sports category, because each month's New Book Monthly Ticket List has a fixed recommendation position on the Qidian homepage, which is the Original List of New Books just below the PC homepage's strong recommendation of the week.
Everyone knows that the sports category has low traffic and few readers, and few readers click on the sports category page to look for books.
Therefore, if my book "Seven Crowns" can enter the top ten of the monthly new book ticket list on the first day of its release and remain so until the end of the month, it will be equivalent to an additional 30-day recommendation on the Qidian homepage. This is crucial and of great significance to a book on sports.
Mingqiao’s old book friends know how clumsy my handwriting is. Basically, I produce 4,000 to 6,000 words a day. I have never competed for the monthly ticket list before, because I don’t have the confidence and typing speed.
In order to strive for authenticity when writing this football novel, in addition to the protagonist, I will try my best to look up information for every real game in history to find the starting lineups, substitute lists, injury lists, team styles, each player's strengths, strengths, weaknesses, game dates, start times, etc. The start time also needs to be converted into Beijing time and local time, and even friendly matches are no exception.
For example, Hoffenheim's five pre-season friendly matches with Mannheim, Blackburn Rovers, Galatasaray and other teams were all real pre-season friendly matches of Hoffenheim that season. No. 1 goalkeeper Haas lost his starting position to Ozcan after the team was promoted to the Bundesliga, and No. 17 Weiss switched to midfielder after the team was promoted to the Bundesliga and performed well, which also happened in reality.
Where I could find historical data, I tried my best to stick to historical facts, only making minor adjustments to the positions of the main characters.
Then, every season, I have to readjust and record each team's points, ranking, goal difference, etc. based on the results of the opponents' games with the protagonist's team. Starting from the first round of games, I can no longer copy the historical standings.
Of course, because there are so many things to check, it is inevitable that there will be carelessness.
If there is some information that I have not found, or there are omissions or incorrect descriptions that are inconsistent with what book friends know, I hope you will understand and correct me. I will try my best to modify and make up for what can be changed.
Therefore, writing this more professional football novel is more laborious and slower than when I was making up urban and fantasy novels in the past.
However, no matter how clumsy her hands are or how slow she types, Mingqiao is determined to give it a try in order to get on the new book monthly ticket list in the first month of release and get more exposure time on the homepage.
After fulfilling the promise and publishing ten chapters on the first day of the release on April 1, starting from April 2, on the basis of the minimum of 2 chapters per day, one additional chapter will be added for every 100 additional monthly votes. There is no upper limit, and the more the better.
But it's only limited to April. I estimate that I have to lose 10 pounds in this month. Whether I can continue to receive monthly tickets and add chapters in May depends on whether I am still alive after the end of April! (covering face.jpg)
Therefore, if you are a book lover who wants to squeeze out the potential of Mingqiao, you may only have this one chance in April.
Also, because I type slowly, the chapters I code every day are used to update chapters with monthly tickets, so I really can't make any high promises about the chapters that come with rewards.
Only rewards of more than 50,000 Qidian coins can be made directly in the book review area, and one chapter will be added each time. If you directly reward the leader, two chapters will be added.
Even if there is no red, if there are book friends who accumulate fan value through subscriptions and daily rewards and get the title of leader, an additional chapter will be added.
I can only update to this extent in response to rewards. Mingqiao would like to apologize to all the book friends who have generously donated money.
This is my thoughts on the launch, and also a declaration for the launch, the obsession of an old loser who is still holding on to his dream after 12 years.
My writing skills are limited, so my writing may be a bit messy and scattered, but the main goals are two:
1. Try to get the first-day boutique on the shelves. It is best to get the boutique badge issued by Qidian before 14:00 on April 1st;
2. Strive to be in the top ten of the new book monthly ticket list in April.
The rest, whether it is life or death, success or shame, will be left to the book lovers to decide!
I hope you can give me a helping hand!
March 31, 2018
—Ming Qiao/Thank you
Appendix: Starting Point Monthly Ticket Rules
1. How to obtain monthly tickets: guaranteed monthly tickets, subscription monthly tickets, and reward monthly tickets. All monthly tickets are valid for the current month and will become invalid after expiration.
2. Specific rules for obtaining monthly tickets:
1. Guaranteed monthly ticket: Senior members who subscribed for more than 1,000 Qidian coins last month will receive 1 guaranteed monthly ticket next month; junior VIP users who subscribed for more than 1,000 Qidian coins last month will receive 2 guaranteed monthly tickets next month; senior VIP users who subscribed for more than 1,000 Qidian coins last month will receive 3 guaranteed monthly tickets next month. (Only for subscriptions to Qidian client, Chuangshi Chinese website, and QQ reading, and rewards are not included)
2. Monthly subscription ticket: Ordinary members will receive one monthly ticket for every 3,000 Starting Coins spent on monthly subscription, senior members will receive one monthly ticket for every 2,000 Starting Coins spent, junior VIPs will receive one monthly ticket for every 1,500 Starting Coins spent, and senior VIPs will receive one monthly ticket for every 1,000 Starting Coins spent, with no upper limit.
3. Reward monthly tickets: For every 10,000 Qidian coins rewarded, one monthly ticket will be given, which will be voted for the book by default. For 50,000 Qidian coins, 5 monthly tickets will be given; for 100,000 Qidian coins, 10 monthly tickets will be given, with no upper limit.
3. Voting Rules:
1. You can only vote if the fan value of the work is greater than 0, that is, you must subscribe to at least 1 chapter or reward 100 Qidian coins before you can vote for the monthly ticket. (This restriction does not apply to new works within 24 hours of the first day of listing, and all readers can vote)
2. Each user can vote for each work up to 2 times within 24 hours (the book owner is not subject to this restriction), and can vote for a single work up to 5 times per month. (Reward voting is not restricted)
3. Voting channels: Qidian client, Chuangshi Chinese website, and QQ Reading can all vote for this book. All monthly tickets for the same book on these websites and apps are calculated together.