I will never give in to Miss Death

Yin Xiamo took the bowl and chopsticks slowly: "Nuo'er is my lover."

"Oh--"

"Wow!"

As soon as Yin Xiamo said this, the whole box was filled with sighs.

"No way? Are you serious? Are you guys lesbians?"

"Isn't it similar?"

"No, no, no, it's more like what we thought."

A female author said happily: "I write about yuri. You don't know how many times you two have been discussed in my yuri author group. You really give me the feeling that... you are a perfect match."

"You wrote about lilies?"

Another female author was a little surprised when she heard this: "Change to a hundred?"

"Pure Hundred."

"I remember that only one of Honeydew Bag's pure novels became a bestseller. Could it be that you are..."

"Shh... don't talk about me, talk about little Nuo'er. I really want to raise a daughter like Nuo'er."

"I want to, too. Hehe, Nuo'er...why not consider it? Or Xiao Xiamo is also OK. I don't mind raising two daughters."

Compared to the chatter in the girls' area, the boys' area seemed a lot calmer, but there were still quite a few people talking about Yin Xiamo and me.

"Are they the coffee shop maids that the local TV station has been promoting?"

"Don't talk nonsense. The local station was promoting a coffee shop. They were just maids. They just became popular on the Internet because they were so beautiful."

"How come they write books when they are so beautiful? In my hometown, pretty girls in college basically go straight to rich families after graduating from college."

"Do you think everyone is the same as your crappy university? At least I think Nuo'er and Xia Mo are doing well. I wish them all the best."

"Wow, I really envy Pipi. She has such a good relationship with Nuoer."

"..."

Amid the noise, Yin Xiamo, who was sitting next to me, helped me take the sterilized tableware wrapped in plastic film. She poked it with her chopsticks and leaned over to ask, "What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking……"

I raised my head and silently took the cutlery handed to me by Yin Xiamo: "If you are going to write a new book, what kind of pen name and book title should you choose?"

"Decided?"

Yin Xiamo showed an expression of success: "Don't you have a ready-made pen name? The one from Tongmeng.com."

The one from Tongmeng.com? Xiao Xia Nuo doesn't hide in the cardboard box?

"That one always feels too feminine."

I noticed the smile on Yin Xiamo's lips: "Why do I always feel that it was you who asked Catmint to change my pen name? What did you talk to her about just now?"

"No, I haven't written any novels, so how could that be my opinion? I just had a brief discussion with your editor about your writing style and future development issues."

Yin Xiamo had an expression that said, "You have no evidence." "What pen name are you going to use?"

"Our pen name on Tongmeng.com includes the three characters 'hiding in cardboard boxes'. It feels like hiding in cardboard boxes has a kind of...disguise meaning, and we all don't like to be high-profile, right? I just looked up something similar on the Internet."

I took out my phone, typed "chameleon" into the search bar, and then showed the picture to Yin Xiamo.

"Look, there were a lot of these around the orphanage when I was a kid. They were usually green and hid in the trees. If you didn't look carefully, you couldn't see them at all."

I explained to the girl next to me: "It usually likes to disguise itself, and then lie in an inconspicuous place and quietly observe the world. I think this name is quite good."

As I said this, I pointed to the scientific name of the chameleon - Chameleon

Chamaeleon is a general term for animals of the family Chamaeleonidae of the class Reptiles. Its scientific name is Chamaeleonidae, commonly known as chameleon.

"This name is a little masculine. I think it would be cuter if I use the ABB format, which means avoiding the use of the word "Yi-Yi". Is this neutral enough?"

I typed the three words "避乙乙伊" on my phone screen: "Doesn't Catnip want me to pretend to be an uncle author? This pen name also has the meaning of 'disguise', and ABB will appear a little cute but not too cute. It is a neutral author name, just right to declare myself an uncle."

Yin Xiamo seemed a little surprised that I would say this: "How come your little head has become so knowledgeable all of a sudden?"

"Hey, I just had a flash of inspiration."

I said embarrassedly, "When I was chatting with you, I thought of the medicinal plant garden near the orphanage when I was a child. I remembered playing by the river and in the woods when I was a child. Suddenly, I remembered that when we were playing hide-and-seek in the forest, a chameleon suddenly appeared in front of us. Because this guy's color camouflage is so high, we often have to hide for most of the day before we notice it."

"Good good."

Yin Xiamo kissed me on the cheek and said, "I support whatever name Nuoer chooses!"

"It should be almost time, right? It's 4:25 now, and I've been waiting for almost half an hour. Those who aren't here probably won't come."

At this time, the editor-in-chief of Miguabao, Da G, Lu Xinjian, and a middle-aged man I didn't know walked to a small platform in front of the box. Editor-in-chief Da G took a small microphone and said, "Ahem, everyone, well, be casual, no need to look at me. Let me introduce myself first. I am the editor-in-chief of Miguabao, Da G. Your editor-in-chief should have already told me why I invited you here this time, so I won't repeat it here."

While Big G was talking, the door of the box was pushed open, and several waiters came in pushing small food carts and began to place the prepared dishes on the table one by one.

Wow! Fried spareribs, and this... Taro pork, and this... This should be grilled beef, right?

My eyes were instantly attracted to the new dishes. I stopped looking at Big G and the others on the small table and waited eagerly for the waiter to serve all the dishes.

"This author gathering is mainly to listen to everyone's suggestions on the website's author benefits and reader activities, such as our full attendance system. Now many websites outside have adopted a more flexible full attendance system. If you have any ideas or suggestions in this regard, please put forward them..."

My sizzling beef, my sizzling beef...

"As for this essay contest... To be honest, we were attacked by a studio when we held an essay contest a few years ago. During the manuscript review, the editor failed to find that the first-prize novel was written by a studio writer, so he paid out tens of thousands of yuan in prize money. Afterwards, the writer of that book ran away. Money is a small matter, but the sudden cancellation of the first-prize novel was a major blow to the reputation of our website..."

The hot sizzling beef... It smells so good. Such a big piece must be delicious. Miss over there, please help turn the table. I want to eat beef...

"After a brief discussion, we have a suggestion for the essay contest. That is, the prize money will be distributed over six months. If the author stops writing or stops writing for a long time during this period, the subsequent bonus will be cancelled. What do you think?"

Oh! The beef finally came to my side, and there are such big shrimps!

“Eat slowly…”

Maybe my "little greedy cat" expression was too obvious, and the catnip next to me said helplessly: "There are still many dishes to come."

I was very embarrassed for a moment: "Ahaha..."

"It's okay, Nuoer, eat more if you like it."

Yin Xiamo, who was sitting next to me, had a nonchalant expression on her face. She directly helped me pick up several large shrimps and then grabbed one of them with her white and tender hands: "Do you want me to help peel it?"

I subconsciously said, “Yes!”

Yin Xiamo lifted up the prawn and said, "Call me dear."

Hey!

In public here, how should I shout?

I was still hesitating, but the female author sitting next to us became more excited.

"Noer, shout!"

"Yes, Nuo'er, didn't you and Xia Mo both make their official announcements in other people's live broadcast rooms?"

"Come on, Nuo'er, Xia Mo looks very reliable. If you follow her, you will never have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of your life!"

The editor-in-chief on the stage, Big G, continued to recount the tragic past of Honeydew Bag: "In addition to soliciting articles, we are currently facing a new round of media impact in the online literature market. If we want to keep up with the mainstream of the current era, we need to find a new way out, such as new media literature..."

"Come on, Noah!"

"Noer is blushing? So cute."

"Noer, hurry up and I'll recommend a new book to you!"

"October, that's enough. How many times do I have to tell you that she is my author, so how can you give her a recommendation position?"

"I told Big G to ask the boss for a recommendation, is that not okay?"

"..."

Under the "instigation" of a group of female authors around me, I was in a difficult situation. I looked at the prawn in Yin Xiamo's hand and said in the smallest voice possible: "Dear... dear?"

"I know Nuo'er is the best."

Yin Xiamo came over and gave me another smack on the face, then started to help me peel the shrimp shells.

"The current financial status of the website is not very optimistic. We may need to seek new development and a new structure..."

Editor-in-chief Big G on the stage seemed to notice something was wrong and gave us a strange look: "Are you listening?"

"Yes, yes."

Editor October and Catmint quickly turned their heads and said, "Boss, please continue. We are all listening. New developments, new results, right?"

"Hmm... this beef is really delicious."

"..."

……

No. 182 The meaning of smile

The author conference held by Miguabao this time covered a wide range of areas, from novel creation to website operation, from author income to reader interests and advertising placement.

The authors who came to participate were mostly "capable", as Maomint had said in the video call before. They put forward many insights on the current situation of Miguabao Yaedo and discussed several sharp issues.

After all, in a sense, the relationship between the author and the website is "both contradictory and mutually unified". For example, in terms of subscriptions, Miguabao is currently the same as most mainstream websites. The author can get 60% of the readers' subscription money. That is, if a chapter of the novel is 2000 words and the website prices it at 5 cents per thousand words, the chapter will be sold at 1 cent. If a reader subscribes, the author can get 6%, which means he will earn 6 cents. If readers subscribe to this chapter of the novel, the author can earn yuan a day.

From the perspective of this proportional relationship, the author and the website are in an "antagonistic" relationship. After all, the subscription money is limited. If the author here proposes to increase the proportion of the author's income, the website will "take less". For example, if the author takes 70% of the subscription money, then the website can only take 30%. Facing these editors of Miguabao, it takes a lot of courage to take the initiative to propose a "salary increase".

Secondly, if the income of authors with "full attendance" or "rankings" is increased, it is basically equivalent to directly telling the boss "I want a pay raise", because full attendance and various rankings are paid for by the website. The rankings are easy to say, after all, a novel that can be on the monthly ticket list or the best-selling list has already brought huge profits to the website, and the settlement of the rankings can be regarded as a bonus, but "full attendance" is hard to say.

If the website's signing threshold is very low, for example, any book with coherent sentences and a not-too-toxic plot can be signed, then it is estimated that a large number of studios will come to "take advantage of the situation". They will just let a writer come up with a stunning opening, and after the contract is successfully signed, they will turn on AI writing, let the robot complete the update in a few minutes, and then post it on time every month to earn the full attendance reward.

However, if the signing threshold is raised and the attendance reward is increased, many truly new authors will not be able to sign contracts. Perhaps a large number of these authors are "cultivable" and "willing to invest time and energy in writing". Because the signing requirements of Miguabaoka are too strict, they may go to other websites, thus losing future best-selling authors in vain.

Moreover, raising the signing threshold will cause some less popular sections to have no authors submitting works for several months, and the recommended positions in the section will not be filled. As long as you sign a contract, you can be on the list. For example, in the unpopular sections such as "Science Fiction" and "Sports", new readers will come in and see that they have been switched to the unpopular section. Why are there only a few books recommended? They will wonder if the website is too small and there are only a few books. They will just leave.

Raising the signing threshold and increasing full attendance benefits are good things for veteran authors and experienced and talented writers, but they are a disaster for new authors. Lowering the threshold without lowering the full attendance bonus will create a huge burden on the website. Lowering the threshold and also reducing full attendance is not a good thing for authors who can guarantee full attendance. It is also easy to cause "shoddy" production of signed novels and damage their reputation.

How to find a balance here is an issue that needs to be discussed by everyone.

In addition to this, the website also discussed the issue of novel covers and illustrations at the author conference. This issue is the same as full attendance. The website only has so many painters. If every book is accompanied by illustrations, the painters will definitely be too busy. There will also be cases where the authors will take advantage of the website's painters for free after the book is put on the shelves and run away with the pictures.

Finally, everyone discussed the current trends and directions of the website. This issue should be quite sensitive, but since it was not on the Internet, everyone just continued with the topic.

"There's nothing we can do. The current environment is like this. You never know when the bottom line will drop. Maybe one day the book will be gone."

"Before, I could write about a mayor in my novels, but now I can't write about a director of education. They said that the highest I can write about is the principal. I'm afraid that in ten years, I won't be able to write about the principal anymore. I can only write about our class teacher or the Chinese class representative."

"Don't mention it. Before Yaedo closed down, I spent three days writing an introduction of about 10,000 words and submitted it to the website next door. The editor there told me that my book started with the protagonist eating barbecue, and their website did not allow the plot of eating barbecue, so they rejected it."

"You eat barbecue and are involved in gangsterism, don't you understand? I was miserable last month because I wrote about Internet trolls and mentioned that the protagonist's mortal enemy hired trolls to smear him. As a result, the Internet said I was promoting negative values ​​and banned my book."

"So from this point of view, it seems that it is safer for the male protagonist to pretend to be a literary hero? It is not linked to the real world. Martial arts is also our old tradition. Generally, people are not sensitive to it. They are just full of rice and rice."

"Urban soldier king, son-in-law, god of war, martial arts, these have always been very stable, macho, married with children, serving the country... It meets market demand and is politically correct, but I don't think honey melon bags will transform in this direction, the two-dimensional world is too different from this."

Since I really don't know much about writing, I could only eat the food on the table silently while listening to their discussion.

"What about yuri novels? Should we just reduce the number of recommendations?"

"Lily is a relatively niche category, so this is the only way to go at the moment. In addition, in this large market environment, it is easy for a small circle to take the blame."

"What about the transvestite novel?"

"There aren't many readers for transvestite novels on Miguabao, right? Didn't short videos ban transvestites for a while? Do you still dare to write?"

"..."

Somewhat surprisingly, I accidentally found out that the girl sitting opposite me who looked gentle and refined was Da Xu, who had always been known as the "generous" and "easy-going" person in the group.

Daxu, an author in the catnip group, is said to be a part-time author. He starts writing after dinner every day after work. He also writes at home on weekends or days off. He seldom goes out. His interests are playing games and watching anime.

Although he is a part-time author and only writes after get off work every day, this "Da Xu" ranks first in the group in terms of the amount of words he writes. Even on weekends, he can "stand out from the crowd" when he writes at full power on the entire website.

Daxu is not a talented person when it comes to creation, but she seems to be very talented in "writing", and she is... an ultimate genius.

Under normal circumstances, most authors' typing speed is lower than the speed of typing from a manuscript. For example, for a profession like "typist", the speed at which they enter the manuscript into the computer at work and write the novel themselves after get home from work is definitely not the same, because writing a novel requires thinking about the plot, and needs to revise and check after writing, or repeatedly delete and revise during the writing process. But it is different for typists, they just type words from the manuscript, they don't have to think at all, just type mechanically.

The Daxu in the catnip group is a "genius" in typing. Her typing speed exceeds that of most typists. She doesn't even need to think. The maximum speed is said to be more than 18000 words per hour, which is close to 6 words. If she sits in front of the computer desk and types as much as possible in a day, she can write words by typing on the keyboard for hours in a row.

Yes, this guy is a "writing genius" who is so terrifying that he can finish writing a manuscript that would take other authors a month to complete in just one day.

I have studied the books of this great author before, and found that many of her novels have similar plots, and the characters of the protagonist and the heroine are also very similar, but her advantage is that she writes in large quantities. She updates three books a month, and if she is fully present in all three books, the total royalties she can get is a lot.