How to raise a random guy's wife

Yinglili: "..."

"A cartoonist's main income comes from signing a contract," Kobayashi Sora explained.

Firstly, there is a signing fee after signing the contract, even if there is no serialization. This can be understood as supporting the author to prevent them from starving, so it is not much.

Then there's the serialization fee. You only get paid for serializations, and the fee is calculated per page. For example, Jump pays 12000 yen per page.

However, most cartoonists need about two assistants, and most of their signing fees and royalties end up as their assistants' salaries.

More income comes from royalties, which is a percentage of the revenue from the publication of individual volumes. This percentage varies from 3% to 9% per book and is the main source of income for comic book authors.

There are also copyright fees for adaptations, such as for adaptations into animation or games. Usually, there is no commission on sales, so it is basically a one-time fee.

For example, the copyright fee for the Demon Slayer movie was ten million yen.

The copyright fee is paid for each adaptation. If a manga is adapted into two TV anime series and one theatrical film, the copyright fee is paid three times, rather than simply buying out the adaptation rights.

There are also peripheral copyright fees, similar to the royalties for single-volume books, which are based on a percentage of sales.

Kazuki Takahashi became the top taxpayer in Japan by paying royalties from the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game.

But everything is difficult at the beginning, and signing the contract is a major hurdle for most people.

Just like Akane Akasaka said, many authors can't get past the editor's hurdle.

The hotter the industry, the fiercer the competition.

On Jump, two editorial guidelines vividly illustrate the intensity of the competition.

One is a newcomer exclusive contract system: all newcomers must sign an exclusive contract, confirming that they will fully commit to the serialization in Jump.

Signing this contract means that regardless of whether there are new ideas for a new work, you cannot collaborate with other comic book media.

Except for a very few popular comic artists, once they break their contracts, it is difficult for them to return to this stage.

Another approach is the questionnaire-based approach: using the first ten issues after a new serialization begins as a benchmark, combining reader opinions from each issue during that period, and then using this to determine the fate of the work.

If the popularity index continues to rank at the bottom, it will be cut short to make way for a new serialization.

"I understand the general idea." Kasumigaoka Utaha pointed to the screen. "So, what's the difference between this website and Jump?"

“First of all,” Kobayashi Sora replied, “this is the website.”

Kasumigaoka Utaha: "......"

“Websites and magazines are different, so there’s no need to worry about page counts,” Kobayashi Megumi leaned closer. “That way, we don’t need to adopt such an aggressive elimination system.”

"Secondly, except for cases involving red lines, all works do not require editorial permission and can begin serialization directly."

Kasumigaoka Utaha frowned. "But that makes it difficult for readers to find good manga."

"This all depends on the final website design: click rankings, monthly ticket rankings, update rankings, follow-up reading rankings, collection rankings, recommendation rankings, 'blame-drop' rankings, new book rankings, and complaint rankings..."

Eriri asked curiously, "A list of razor blades?"

"If readers feel the updates are too slow, they can send the author razor blades. The faster the author updates, the more money they get."

Kasumigaoka Utaha raises a more practical question: "Speaking of money, where does the profit come from?"

"The first volume is free. After signing a contract with the website, it can be published. Readers pay to unlock new content. The platform and the author split the revenue 50/50. If the performance meets certain requirements, it will be released as a standalone volume. The subsequent development will be similar to Jump."

Kasumigaoka Utaha realized the problem: "In this way, there will probably be quite a few authors who start strong but end weak and make a quick buck and leave, greatly increasing the chances of a bad ending."

"I can't help with that," Kobayashi Sora admitted. "Even Jump can't solve this problem."

"Simply put, RER Manga Network just offers a different development path from traditional magazines," Kobayashi Megumi has a clear understanding of this. "If nothing unexpected happens, authors who become popular on the website will eventually have to prove themselves in Jump."

“But this is enough.” Kobayashi Sora’s requirements were not high. “After all, RER’s goal is to become a multimedia platform, not the industry leader.”

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at Eriri. She had no more questions; the rest was up to Eriri to decide.

“What if…” Eriri hesitated for a moment, “What if we don’t release it on RER?”

Kobayashi Sora shook her head, indicating to Eriri not to worry, "It's alright, I'll talk to Akane-nee later and see if she has time to serialize a part on RER."

Eriri's gaze sharpened instantly. "Then publish it on RER!"

This is a chance to face off against Akane Kousaka!

“Hmm, I can also put my punch drawing on it.” Kobayashi Sora’s thoughts became clearer. “And then I can put your remastered version on it.”

“That’s right.” Eriri’s eyes lit up. “This can also encourage artists whose drawing skills are a little weaker.”

Kasumigaoka Utaha stroked her chin. "Hmm, it can also encourage some authors who aren't good at writing but have excellent drawing skills to imitate your approach, thus promoting collaboration between the two."

"The remaining issue is promotion; we need to let more people know about this website." Kobayashi Megumi quickly came up with a lot of ideas. "Star Cluster can help with promotion, and Akane-nee's new work is also very popular. With you guys involved, it shouldn't be a big problem."

“I also know quite a few creators…” Kobayashi Sora and Kobayashi Megumi discussed the details further.

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at them, feeling that she had seen similar scenes many times before.

Several times, she felt that this might be the last time they would work together like this.

Kasumigaoka Utaha is not an innocent child. She doesn't believe that the people who were able to work hard together in the past will continue to work hard together in the future.

She had long been prepared to part ways, but even now, they are still together, helping each other to realize their ideas.

Every journey has an end, and those who travel together must eventually part ways.

Perhaps next time, or the time after that, we'll have to go our separate ways...

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at Eriri beside her.

As long as it's not now.

Eriri gazed into the distance, her expression filled with emotion.

She probably had similar thoughts.

The thought had barely crossed her mind when Eriri poked Kasumigaoka Utaha.

“Look,” Eriri pointed to a spot not far away, “mochi is coaxing a child.”

Kasumigaoka Utaha: "......"

Rice Cake stood guard beside the sleeping Lin Lan, its fluffy tail swaying back and forth.

Chapter 507 Cat Nanny

"Sweetie~" Kobayashi Megumi said gently as she placed Kobayashi Ran, who had just finished eating, in the crib.

The little guy had a cute smile and was happily waving his arms and legs.

Kobayashi Megumi gently stroked her head and hummed a lullaby to help her fall asleep.

As a result, Xiaolin Lan looked at her mother, showing no sign of wanting to sleep.

"Hmm..." Just as Kobayashi Megumi was thinking of other methods, Mochi lightly jumped up, carefully avoiding the baby, and curled up next to Kobayashi Ran.

The fluffy tail gently covered Xiaolin Lan's body, and Nian Gao made a low purring sound, similar to the pleasant sound of kneading.

Kobayashi Ran leaned against Nian Gao with a smile, her upturned lips suddenly flattened, her wide-open eyes quietly closed, her head tilted to the side, and she fell asleep.

Mochi raised her head and glanced at Kobayashi Megumi, then leaned against Kobayashi Ran and lay down.

Megumi Kobayashi patted Mochi's head and praised her softly, "Mochi is great."

"Meow~" Rice cake responded with a soft sound.

With Nian Gao looking after her, Kobayashi Megumi felt much more at ease. She went into the kitchen and hugged Kobayashi Sora, who was cooking, from behind.

Feeling the warmth behind her, Kobayashi Sora turned her head slightly. "Is the baby asleep?"

“The rice cake is helping to take care of it,” Kobayashi Megumi replied. “I’d heard before that cats help take care of babies, but I didn’t expect them to do it so well.”

"I'll give Nian Gao extra food later."

"Mmm." Kobayashi Megumi leaned against Kobayashi Sora, breathing in his scent.

Are you hungry?

"Yeah~"

"It'll be ready to eat in a little while."

"Well......"

"what happened?"

"Is it okay if you don't go to the company?"

“After Star Team won the national championship, RER and Love Live! have become increasingly close in their cooperation. Plus, with Akane-nee here, there’s no need to worry about them having any ulterior motives,” Kobayashi Sora replied. “With Iori’s management, it’s okay even if I don’t go. I used to think that the Love Live! executive’s child was his… but I was wrong.”

"But......"

"But what?"

“I can take care of the baby by myself, and other mothers will come to help…” Kobayashi Megumi paused, “Or we could hire a nanny…”

Kobayashi Sora realized the implication in Kobayashi Megumi's words, "You mean to say..."

"My husband is amazing..." Kobayashi Megumi confessed, "He should spend his time on more important things, instead of staying home cooking for me..."

Kobayashi Sora nodded. "That makes sense."

"Right?"

Kobayashi Sora put down the kitchen knife, wiped her hands on her apron, and turned to face Kobayashi Megumi. "You want me to do something more important?"

"Mmm." Although Kobayashi Megumi was a little reluctant, she still felt that Kobayashi Sora's talent shouldn't be wasted on taking care of her.

"Since you've said so, I have no choice but to listen to you." Kobayashi Sora hugged Kobayashi Megumi and kissed her cherry lips.

"Mmm..." As their lips parted, Kobayashi Megumi was even more reluctant to leave. "Let's go after we finish eating."

"Go?" Kobayashi Sora looked puzzled. "Go where?"

"The company."

What are you going to the company for?

"Go do something more important..." Halfway through her sentence, Kobayashi Megumi suddenly realized something. "Huh?"

“That’s right.” Kobayashi Sora hugged Kobayashi Megumi. “This is the most important thing.”

"Hmm..." Kobayashi Kei blinked her big, watery eyes.