Tokyo Soft Rice King.

It won a major award in the special edition at the beginning of the year, making a glorious debut and attracting worldwide attention.

"Let's try this method to retain them. If we let these future stars go to other magazines, I won't be able to sleep at night."

"Me too, I'm afraid I'll regret it so much I'll grind my teeth to dust... but I might bite off your ear first."

"Ali, if I insist on saying no, you're probably going to punch me, right?"

"That's for sure. I'd doubt if you were still thinking straight and want to punch you awake... It seems power hasn't blinded your editorial mind."

"Haha, of course. In the end, all the guys who can make it in this industry and get to my position are 'slaves to comics'."

This conversation wasn't kept secret from other editors, and it can be considered a form of instruction.

As an editor, one must always maintain an interest in comics and a sense of awe for the authors.

Arrogance is a major taboo for authors, and the same goes for editors.

"Since this new couple are students, they should be on winter break by now. Let's invite them to the editorial department after the Lunar New Year."

"Okay, but the address on this submission is the school's... I'll just call them and ask when it's convenient for them."

"Well, speaking of which, submitting before the end of the year means that this duo completed two short comics totaling over a hundred pages during regular school days...?"

While attending classes, I completed these two comics in my 'extracurricular time'.

It really is a monster...

"I'm really looking forward to seeing them more and more."

……

Returning to the present, this has led to situations where the original author sees that their work has won a major award without being notified.

Kuroba Akira immediately realized that this was special care from the editorial department.

Because the special edition published at the beginning of the year sells better, it means that more people will see the work.

Furthermore, they emphasized age and used exaggerated titles like "genius" and "monster"... Their marketing was top-notch.

I guess I'll be summoned by the editorial department soon.

The person they contacted must be...

hum-

The phone vibrated, and Kuroba Akira put the manga magazine he was holding back on the shelf. After answering the call outside the bookstore, he heard Shirai Shiori's excited voice on the other end.

"My lord! Have you read this issue of Akamaru Boom yet? If you haven't, go buy a copy right now and turn to page 22!"

"I know, I was just watching... I didn't expect to actually win the grand prize!"

"Not only that! Just now, Mengmeng ran to my house while calling out 'bean sprouts, bean sprouts' and told me that the editor of Shonen Boom contacted her and asked her to meet at the editorial office!"

Not only did they announce the grand prize ahead of time, but they also invited people to the editorial department. They must be discussing the follow-up serialization, right?

Shiori Shirai clearly thinks so too.

"This definitely means they're going to talk about serialization!"

"Probably... there's no other possibility."

"Mingjun, are you free tomorrow? If so, could you accompany Mengmeng to the editorial department?"

"Huh? Me? Didn't we agree that Shiori would go whenever Shirako needed to be there...?"

"No way! This time it has to be you! I don't know anything about comic paneling, I'll give myself away if we talk about it! On the other hand, you've already thoroughly understood the story I'm creating, right?"

"That's right. After all, if you don't fully understand the story, you won't be able to visualize the storyboard in your mind."

"That's why you have to go this time. If you, Mingjun, explain the storyboard ideas, the editors will be more convinced that we're relying on our skills rather than just luck!"

“That makes sense, but serialization is all about how the story unfolds. I’ll be honest and say that the story isn’t what I wanted, so Shiori, you’d better come with us.”

"No, I won't go with you this time... Just say it's the story you wanted to tell, I don't mind... In fact, I'd be even happier if you said it that way."

Shiori Shirai was clearly thinking of her best friend. She knew that given Momo's personality, it was unlikely that she would ask Akira Kuroba out alone, so she, as her best friend, would create opportunities for her.

Since the harem order has just been reshuffled, going to the editorial department together is a reason that Kuroba Akira absolutely cannot refuse.

"Don't you have the story outline I wrote? Mingjun, you can take that. My story is also your story. After all, Bai Zi is a pen name that belongs to both of us..."

Shiori's voice on the other end of the phone grew softer and softer, and a hint of shyness could be heard.

"Anyway, if we can successfully get the serialization rights, then Mengmeng will debut as a comic artist! And it will be serialized in Shonen Boom... Isn't that amazing!"

"Indeed, that's amazing..."

Kuroba Akira even felt a little unreal. Although he was carried by Shiori and Momo, he actually had the opportunity to be serialized in a top-tier manga magazine... This sense of accomplishment was even stronger than when his own light novel was published.

Perhaps it was because Kuroba Akira personally participated in the process of the genius he had chosen achieving success that he felt a sense of satisfaction, like 'raising a daughter'.

On the other side, Shiori Shirai was also extremely excited.

Once he obtains the right to serialize the manga, Akira Kuroba must continue to participate in the creation of the manga as part of the original work.

She writes the story, Kuroba Akira draws the storyboards, and Momo continues to draw... As for the assistants, they'll probably come to help out since they're not willing to fall behind.

Sorry everyone, although you guys were ahead in the early stages... but once we entered the professional stage, it became my and Mengmeng's domain!

A trio with shared interests, topics, and professions will form an unbreakable comic book alliance.

If the series can continue for eight or ten years, the three of them will continue to collaborate...

Then, after finishing one work, a new one begins, and so on, in a continuous cycle.

In this way, the three of them are bound together for life, and they can stay together forever!

By then, will it still matter whether or not you're married?

It's not important at all! Nor is it necessary!

No formal title is needed; we can help each other deal with Xingyu...

If you want a child, help me get pregnant; Kuroba Akira would probably be willing to provide the material...

Life just needs to keep going on and on!

Chapter 412 Going to work is just to see my husband

"I understand. Tell me when you've arranged a time, and I'll take Mengmeng to the editorial department."

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you. I'll wait for your good news."

After ending his call with Shiori, Kuroba Akira was about to go back and call Ameha Hikaru, who was reading a novel in the bookstore, when he turned around and found that she had followed him outside the bookstore and was standing behind him.

She was still holding the Akamaru Boom that Kuroba Akira had just been looking through, and asked him a question.

"This story is very interesting, is there more to it?"

"Not yet, but maybe... By the way, don't take out the store's merchandise! Didn't the staff stop you?"

"You need to pay, right? I have that much common sense. I told the clerk that I came out to ask him to come over and help me pay, and he let me out."

Do you really trust you that much? Is it because you're cute?

Shop assistant, if you keep doing this, you'll get thoroughly taken advantage of by those thieving little brats who steal things just because they're cute.

"Okay, I'll buy it for you."

"I overheard your conversation. This publication... it's called a comic, right? This comic is a story you created with other people?"

"Yes, I was drawing almost every day for over a month. I would start drawing after class and continue until I went to bed at night. I was even thinking about storyboards during class..."

And once the serialization begins, will this kind of life become the norm...?

Kuroba Akira, on the other hand, felt quite fulfilled. He liked that feeling of complete concentration, which allowed him to ignore other troublesome things. His mental experience was similar to entering a meditative state.

However, this time it mainly depends on what Mengmeng thinks, since this is a major event that concerns the direction of her life.

Illustrators and comic artists, although both are professions that make a living by drawing, have incomparable workloads. Even the busiest illustrators who draw CG subtitles for games probably don't have as much workload as comic artists who do weekly serializations.

A weekly 18-page manga, even if drawn over five days, only allows for five hours of sleep each day. The remaining two days are also spent working on the story and panel layout for the next chapter, essentially a non-stop grind.

Once she gets used to the pace of weekly serialization, she probably won't have to stay up all night every day anymore. And if she learns to use digital drawing, her drawing speed will be much faster. But right now, Mengmeng hasn't mastered digital drawing yet. Although she has started to learn how to use it, it is still far from as good as hand-drawn art.

Of course, their incomes are not on the same level. The ceiling for comic artists is much higher than that for illustrators, by many levels.

For example, illustrators whose main income comes from illustrating light novels can only receive 2% of the royalties, which is one-fifth of what light novel authors receive.

However, even the top light novel authors earn only about the same as ordinary manga artists. This is because the audience for manga is far larger than that for novels, and the sales of manga are more than twenty times that of light novels.

Comics account for 40% of all books sold in Japan, making them a major force in the publishing industry. In contrast, light novels only account for 20% of the novel category, and that's just for paperback editions. Keep in mind that comics are all high-end single-volume editions, and there are even deluxe editions.

Many isekai light novels, often jokingly referred to as "toilet paper" light novels, may not sell very well as novels, but if the manga adaptation is of good quality, the manga sales can reach five or six times that of the novel, and can even boost the novel's sales, providing strong support for the anime adaptation.

World-renowned top comics have circulations in the tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions. It is conceivable that the income of top comic artists is already astronomical.

It sounds like an overreach of military power, but that's the truth.

Comics > Novels > Light Novels > Light Novel Illustrations

Of course, the bottom line is also outrageously low. Impoverished cartoonists are even worse off than convenience store clerks, and they can sit at the same table as aspiring novelists with no publishing experience, and they can't even afford to eat.

Countless people try to submit their work, but very few actually get a stable serialization opportunity, and only a tiny fraction of people at the very top of the pyramid achieve financial freedom through manga volumes.

Judging solely from an income perspective, being a comic artist is definitely more promising. Moreover, she was only chosen by Shonen Boom. If everything goes smoothly, Mengmeng might become a super-rich woman before even graduating from high school, and she'll be earning the money with her own hands...

However, it's more likely that he won't even finish high school.

Because weekly serialization is a demanding job, if you decide to become a comic artist, then your studies will essentially be abandoned.

I heard Shiori mention before that Momo's family is very traditional, and I wonder if they would allow Momo to become a manga artist, such a high-risk profession.

Yes, I need to discuss it with my family.

If you don't get support from your family and insist on pursuing your dreams, you'll end up like Akiko, who ran away from home to become a voice actress in Tokyo.

This short story award and commercial sales have at least helped Mengmeng overcome the shadows of the past and rekindle her passion for comics. But does she have this level of obsession with comics?

Kuroba Akira felt it was necessary to discuss these matters before going to the editorial department with Mengmeng.

We need to encourage Mengmeng to make choices that are true to her own ideas, rather than making decisions half-heartedly due to the current situation.

While Kuroba Akira was pondering these things, Amayu Hikari waited silently by his side. After he came to his senses, she asked him a question.

Are there any other places where I can see comics?

"If there's a comic you want to read, I'll buy it for you. We can pay for it together with the New Year's special edition you have."