Cang's Ramblings

Chapter 1 1. Nine-fold Gate

Original title: "Nine Doors of Online Literature": "Lord of Mysteries" failed to enter the ninth level
Today, on a whim, I started researching a new category or level: the Nine Gates of Online Literature.

The setting is derived from Han Han's novel titled "Triple Door".

The first door: not entered.

To put it bluntly, there is no contract signed.

There are two main types of people who haven't signed contracts: one is those who refuse to sign. These people are either free-spirited, posting for fun without seeking fame or fortune. Or they are already pursuing a physical presence, posting online as a marketing ploy.

However, having said that, it is clear how difficult it is to run a physical business now. Just look at those great people who are publishing books online.

For example, Qidian.com, which emerged last month, has been operating in brick-and-mortar stores but is now moving online. The new book "Dragon King, Your Excellency Is Above" is showing a clear decline after its honeymoon period of receiving support and financial injections from influential bookmakers.

Another possibility is failure to sign a contract, meaning the novel doesn't meet the contract requirements. While each platform's review criteria vary, failing to meet them effectively means the work isn't up to par. There are many examples, including Cang Yiwei's "The Swordsman of the Lonely City" and "The Pen Falls into the Yellow Springs."

The second door: entry.

The entry here refers to signing the contract but not putting it on the shelves.

First, signing a contract is a joyful experience, proving that the editor has appreciated your hard work and secured a contract. Once signed, the tipping function becomes available. Tips are generally split 50-50 between the author and the platform. The more tips, the happier everyone is. However, it's generally difficult for new authors to survive on tips alone.

Although it is called an entry point, if it is abandoned or completed before it is put on the shelves, it is actually incomplete. If it is not put on the shelves, there is no way to know how many subscribers it has. Even if it has tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of collections, if no one subscribes, it means it has failed.

For example, the new book "Zaohuatu" by platinum author Hengsao Tianya, although borrowed from Fanqie's "Cangyuantu", was not well received, and 100,000 manuscripts were scrapped and the plot will be overhauled. If it were an ordinary author, it would be no different from abandoning or rewriting it.

The third door: the front door.

Qianmen, also known as Qianmen, refers to books with VIP chapters and paid chapters.

Compared to the books that have been signed, there are actually not many that can make it to the shelves, because after going through the baptism of various recommended positions, some people have died before being put on the shelves.

Among those books that have survived, many have had their first orders after being put on the shelves not ideal, especially those from great authors, and have been directly cancelled.

For example, the great writer EK Chocolate has published eight books in four years, and the frequency of his eunuchs is almost as high as that of the girls' relatives.

Some say that being published is the true beginning of a book's life, the moment it's released, and it determines its fate. Whether it lives or dies, whether it's abandoned or completed, whether it earns one million or ten million, the decision is made almost the moment the first pre-order is placed.

Of course, some books didn't achieve ideal first-time order results, but somehow managed to break through 10,000 or even 50,000 orders per month by relying on explosive growth, writing style, or plot. Examples include Laoyingchixiaoji's "Global Highest Martial Arts" and Wangyu's "A Mortal's Journey to Immortality."

The fourth door: the middle door.

From this point on, the standards for review will no longer be whether the novel is unsigned, signed, or on the shelves, but the content and style of the novel will be the standard.

The so-called middle door is the door between the inner door and the outer door, or between the front door and the back door.

It mainly refers to a group of authors who, after putting their works on the shelves, follow their own creative ideas and steadily get full attendance, and they are also the group of authors with the largest starting point.

After the work is put on the shelves, authors who have no first orders or whose first orders are in the single digits naturally don’t have to think about rewards.

"Long live perfect attendance" is a common theme in various official and private groups, and this is also the group I join the most. Being able to maintain perfect attendance is actually something to be proud of.

Many people are part-time writers. They are very busy with their studies or work, so it is not easy to ensure a stable update of 4000 words every day.

For example, Cang Yiwei's "The Mirrored Giant", Uneducated Gou Zi's "Meteor Chasing the Moon", etc.

The fifth door: the inner door.

All inner disciples have achieved a qualitative leap compared to the previous ones.

Generally refers to one or more completed books, or authors of level 2 or above.

Anyone who has completed a book, especially one with more than a million words, is actually very clear about the difficulties of online writing, but still holds on to his passion and pursues the dream of "becoming a god with a million words". This is particularly rare and worth a pen and thumbs up.

Among the level 2 authors and above, apart from those who have achieved their success through strong financial resources or sophisticated marketing, the ordinary level 2 authors who have achieved their success purely through readers' subscriptions are the most worthy of admiration.

Reaching level 2 requires 10,000 points, which translates to 10,000 yuan. Four thousand words a day, for an average reader, only costs 0.2 yuan. You can calculate how many subscriptions are needed to achieve this.

For example: "The Fierce Player" by Heideng Xiahuo, "Return to 2006" by Mu Zixin, etc.

The sixth gate: the Golden Gate.

Specifically refers to Level 5 authors.

I don't know how many Level 5 authors there are on Qidian. But in November alone, there were over 50 Level 5 authors or above.

These people are all aiming to put their products on the shelves for New Year's Day. I will also report the outcome of the battle between the gods at that time.

Why do we say these people belong to Kinmen?

Because their rank is a symbol of money, 15. In the eyes of newcomers or ordinary authors, these people are already like bigwigs. Some people reach rank five with just one book, while others remain at rank five their entire lives.

Even though they are all level 5 authors, their incomes vary greatly. The highest earns 100,000 yuan a month, while the lowest can't even get a full attendance certificate. (Especially for new books)

These authors generally have formed their own writing style and accumulated a certain number of readers. The success or failure of fan culture management can sometimes seriously affect subscription results.

For example, Yu Yunfei's "American Comics God of Magic", Zhongqiu Yueming's "The Great Beauty of the Times", etc.

The seventh gate: Dragon Gate.

A level five author is like a carp jumping over the dragon gate. Once he gets a contract from a great writer, his status will change to a great writer.

The conditions are not very clear. According to folk rumors, the person must have one or more books with an average subscription of over 10,000, or have started a certain school of thought, or have achieved great success in the year, etc.

The contract duration is unknown. The contract is confidential and no one will leak it.

There are nearly 200 great writers in Qidian’s male channel, but less than half of them are famous, have good achievements, and their new book subscriptions can reach the level of high-quality.

Many great gods, due to coincidence, were once wealthy, but later experienced various things.

For example, running away, getting married, joining the army, making trouble, etc. When I picked up the pen again, I found that the times had changed.

Many readers no longer buy into the works of great writers and often abandon them after just a few glances.

For example, "The Secret Service" by the great writer 8 is difficult and has a strong sense of strangeness.

However, "Late Night Bookstore" by Chunjie Xiaolong, "Qin Li" from the July new series, "My Lord, Spare Me" by Talking Elbow, etc., are more popular than many platinum writers' books, and even become the leaders in their respective categories.

The eighth gate: the Taoist gate.

The gate to the avenue.

Writing is also a very sophisticated thing, with many techniques and skills, and many styles and genres.

To put it simply and roughly, they are platinum writers.

Apart from those platinums that have already lost popularity, let’s talk about those that are still popular.

For example, Chen Dong's "Zhan Tian" trilogy, I Eat Tomatoes' "The Legend of Zhen Huan" "Hongmeng Trilogy", Er Gen's "Gods, Demons, Monsters, Ghosts, and Immortals" five-part series, and Tang Jia San Shao's "Douluo Dalu" N-part series. These people have built a closely connected world through a series of works and attracted countless fans.

For example, Mao Ni, one of the Five Young Prodigies of the Central Plains, was crowned the "King of IP Adaptation" in 2018. His works, "Ever Night," "Fighter of the Destiny," and "Joy of Life," have all been adapted into films and television series, some highly successful, others less so. Mao Ni's books possess a certain magic, transcending the usual trappings of online fast-food fiction and worthy of careful savoring. "The Great Way to Heaven," in particular, exudes a sense of sophistication.

For example, Butterfly Blue's entire adaptation of "The King's Avatar" has achieved impressive success. Diving Squid's "Lord of Mysteries" has long dominated the monthly ticket charts, and it's only a matter of time before it becomes a classic. Wang Yu's "A Mortal's Journey to Immortality" and "The Immortal World" have furthered and passed down his own "mortal genre."

These people have become the face of Qidian.com and are also role models for countless readers and authors. Each of them has been leading the trend for three to five years.

The ninth gate: the gate of emptiness.

Buddhism considers observing the emptiness of all phenomena as a gateway to enlightenment, hence the name "emptiness." All things arise from the interplay of causes and conditions, lacking a fixed, unchanging self-nature. They are illusory and unreal, hence the name "emptiness."

Theoretically, online writing does have this door. Entering the Buddhist path may be the time to stop writing.

In fact, it can also be said that he has pushed the writing philosophy that he has realized to a new level.

It can be understood as constantly innovating, changing one's previous style, trying new genres, and achieving greater success. For example, the diving squid. He's like someone who doesn't care about his past achievements, striving to create new themes. This "negation of negation" creates greater affirmation. This affirmation comes from the market, readers, and even heaven itself.

It can also be understood as taking one's established style to its extremes. For example, Mao Ni. "Ever Night" was his personal peak, pushing the elegant prose and bizarre plot to new heights; "Fighter of the Destiny" reversed human nature and conspiracy, light and darkness, to near collapse; and "The Great Road to Heaven" dispensed with environmental and psychological descriptions, relying instead on a treacherous plot to drive everything forward.

summary:

No matter if it's level five, a great writer, or a platinum writer, in my opinion, there's no one who can truly reach this door yet.

The above-mentioned people are only in the middle or late stages of the eighth level, and have not even reached the great perfection.

This is actually a good thing, proving that there is still room for improvement and the possibility of creating even better works. This is also what readers are eagerly looking forward to.

【At last】

The above is the “Nine Doors of Online Literature”!
There will definitely be many people who hold different opinions. Please leave active comments in the comment section. I will gladly accept them whether they are flowers or bricks.

In addition, if colleagues are plagiarizing my article, please note: Cang Yiwei.

Because I did not activate the original function, I cannot prevent or hold anyone responsible.

But, the idea was conceived and completed by me at 2:30 in the morning, so please respect it, okay?

(End of this chapter)