A Note on Publication

It is now the last day of 2020, half past two in the morning. I have just finished writing tomorrow’s two update chapters and set them to post automatically.

At the moment, this book is doing very poorly, so poorly that one could simply say it is bad. My editor told me that people these days no longer like painful stories; they prefer something lighter. Of course, there is a fair amount of comfort in that remark. When the results are poor, it means I have not written well enough, and everything else is just an excuse.

How poor are the results?

In 2016, when my first release, League of Legends: Star Summoner, went on sale, it had five thousand favorites and five hundred opening subscriptions.

In 2018, when my second release, League of Legends: Champion’s Arrow, went on sale, it had twenty thousand favorites and three thousand opening subscriptions.

In 2020, when my third release, The Low-Key Superstar, went on sale, it had thirty thousand favorites and two thousand opening subscriptions.

Now, with my fourth release, Back to 2003, I have two thousand favorites.

When I first started writing, I expected the early performance of this book to be sluggish, but that it would be this poor truly took me by surprise.

Fortunately, I have spent this time reading the advice and insights of various masters, comparing one work against another, and working hard to digest what I have learned. By the time Back to 2003 reached one hundred chapters, including the later outline I had set up, I could clearly feel myself improving in the areas where I had been weak.

That is my greatest comfort, and my greatest support.

And then there are the comments in my desolate discussion area, the recommendation-ticket notifications in the author dashboard, and the rewards that arrive like timely warmth in a bitter winter, including rewards worth ten thousand and one hundred thousand, as well as the daily reward sent by one particular reader and friend, and many more besides. Every bit of interaction supports me.

After the book goes on sale, the greatest source of that support will be subscriptions.

I hope everyone can offer a little support. As long as the daily follow-up subscriptions do not fall, whether one hundred or two hundred, I will do everything I can to write this story all the way to the end.

For those who are letting the book sit unread, automatic subscription can, in most cases, keep it from dying of neglect.

For those who are following the book, every bit of interaction you give is the writer’s motivation.

My deepest thanks.

Tonight, after the paid chapters open at midnight, I will first post one or two chapters to push up the opening subscription numbers, and there will be more updates during the day tomorrow.

Starting from the opening subscription count, every increase of one hundred in average subscriptions will add one chapter, and every patron-level supporter will add ten chapters. That is my fixed bonus schedule.

Every large reward given before the book went on sale will also add one chapter. After it goes on sale, the same will apply as long as the number of owed chapters does not exceed ten. Beyond that, I will no longer add chapters for it, because too many numbers will make me numb; they will not spur me to write more, and may even have the opposite effect. The chapters still owed will be listed together with the total outstanding count.

Rain, Snow, Purple Ice, and Morning Star bows in gratitude.