At two o'clock last night, I was still typing, and I was halfway through the second update. Then my wife suddenly walked into the study and told me that another author had passed away.
I was stunned for a moment and began to feel a little uneasy.
Then she showed me her phone. Almost everyone in her circle of friends was forwarding the news that Qidian Platinum Master Shili died of heart disease at night.
I have been in the industry for 14 years, which is not a long time in this circle, but I have heard such news many times.
They are all talented people, The Three Idiots of Thieves, The Night in the Grid...
When I saw this news, I felt sad and sad.
My wife asked me to go to bed and write the rest of the manuscript tomorrow.
I couldn't refuse, because during this period I built a snack bar and was busy decorating and doing various other things. I didn't have time to type during the day, so I was working on manuscripts in the middle of the night. She almost didn't go to bed until three or four o'clock.
I knew what she was worried about, because we were traveling together, and I also knew that she must be feeling uncomfortable at this time.
I woke up in the morning and made up for the unfinished second update, but I still feel like there are some things I want to talk to you about.
People who choose this industry really do it because they love it~
I have seen many people struggling here, staying up all night, and earning meager or even zero remuneration, creating worlds and stories one after another that may not be perfect, but are still full of motivation and enthusiasm.
If you were in any real profession, you would be regarded as a fool, right?
In this industry, even if you persist and work hard, there are only a few authors who can finally stand out or even earn a living just by coding.
More authors endure fatigue and stay up late coding after work.
Many people see successful people earning millions a month, but they fail to see the persistence and hard work behind them.
Of course, we can’t see the sadness of those authors who can’t even get 3,000 yuan a month.
When I entered the industry in 2014, the first book I wrote was one million words long, and I received a signing mug from an external station without receiving any royalties.
In 2015, because I lost the confidence to write articles, I occasionally wrote about the master’s fanfics on Tieba, and I was able to get some recognition. The first real payment I received was the second prize in the essay contest for Wangyu Master’s Demonic Chronicles fanfic. , I spent 600 yuan on shopping money and bought myself a blue-axis mechanical keyboard. I was happy for a long time.
Later, when it was put on the shelves in the restaurant, it was in the same frame as Sanjiang, the master of Wangyu, and it was recommended in the same frame. It felt very strange.
Later, I participated in Mao Ni Master’s Tieba event and got three comics of Jiang Ye, which made me very happy.
Those two years were really driven by love.
I came to Qidian for the first time in 2016 and wrote the book "Secretary of the Powers of the Country". At that time, I really liked Beacon of Fire in the Snow and felt that I should write such an awesome book.
But because of his limited ability, he could only gain a little form but not his spirit, so he failed miserably. It has 890,000 words, and when it is finished, it will be about 89 units.
This book took about seven months to write, and the total royalties received were about 3,340 yuan, an average of 400 yuan per month.
There are many books of this level at Qidian, and the income from subscriptions is almost zero. Because four thousand words are updated every day, Qidian will have a perfect attendance award of 600 yuan.
If it weren't for love, it would be hard for me to imagine an adult staying up late and coding in front of the computer for several hours just for 600 yuan a month.
Later, "One Punch Tang Monk" was released from 2016.10 to 2017.12.30 Eunuch.
The biggest change that One Punch brought to me is that I finally feel that I have readers. Even if the number is not large, even if there is a lot of abuse and ridicule, but from a single player to having readers, that feeling is indeed very special.
Yi Punch won the second prize in the two-dimensional essay competition, and then got a guaranteed contract of 25,000 words. This book cost nearly 2 million, and he received about 45,000 yuan in royalties after tax, which averages about 3,000 per month.
Barely crossing the food and clothing line.
At that time, I was still in college when I wrote Yichi. I lived in a dormitory. In college, everyone played games, so the dormitory was very noisy. They turned on the black screen and watched live broadcasts... so I moved a table and coded on the small balcony. In winter, the temperature It was below zero, the wind was strong, and my hands were frozen. I held a small stove to bake my hands. I could only warm my hands, otherwise my fingers would be stiff and unable to move.
The most painful days of coding were probably during that period. Later, my lumbar vertebrae protruded, which was probably caused by the freezing at that time.
When I graduated in 2017, I chose to work full-time because of the book Yi Punch. I didn’t even submit a resume or attend any interviews. I packed up my things and went home after graduation.
Looking back now, if I hadn't gotten lucky later, it would have been a very unfortunate choice in my life.
Coding at home full-time was a very stressful thing, because the fees for manuscripts were not high at the time, but staying at home all day long would give people a very bad feeling, such as gnawing at the old age and being lazy.
When I first returned home, I suffered from severe insomnia, sudden lumbar muscle strain and lumbar spondylosis. For several months, I coded while standing, one day at a time.
When I went to the hospital, the doctor was very surprised and asked me what I did for a living and why I had strained my lumbar muscles at such a young age.
About six or seven out of ten full-time authors have this problem. It is caused by sitting for long periods of time and incorrect posture. It is often when you start to feel uncomfortable that you realize that you need to adjust your posture. Combining work and rest...
I can't sit or squat. My parents are worried and I feel very uncomfortable.
Later, I lost weight and did recovery exercises, and got great relief. At present, as long as you don't lift heavy objects, don't do heavy work, and don't squat for long periods of time, you are no different from ordinary people.
One punch was written to Shangling Mountain, and then the eunuch.
In fact, the outline has been written, and I have thought about it countless times in my mind, but I have never put it into writing.
Probably because I don’t dare to write.
What will you do after going to Lingshan Mountain? Destroy the Buddha?
I'm afraid that the book will be gone, and I'm also afraid that I'll write something I shouldn't write. Anyway, I've been struggling. I wrote a long paragraph several times and then deleted it.
There are some things I should explain, such as Wangfu Shi Li Simin, such as Xiaobai saving the tribe, such as Wukong returning to the top...
Once I sort it out, I should be able to write these.
In November 2017, the book "Opening a Restaurant" helped me climb out of the trap of being in the street, allowing me to earn a relatively good income. At least I got out of a difficult financial situation, and also proved to my parents that I had been working hard. Do the right thing.
But the mental pressure never eased.
This is an anxiety shared by online authors. I have talked with many authors, and even those who have been very successful still cannot get rid of it.
Regular and quantitative updates every day, the pressure of frequent updates, the pressure of falling subscriptions, the pressure of changing trends in the book review area...
Maybe sometimes it’s because of a sentence from a reader in a book review or a chapter review: I’ve been in a good mood recently... and I start to fall into a cycle of endless reflection, feeling overwhelmed, and even fear of insomnia.
Since I started coding full-time, as long as I was still updating, I have never experienced a completely relaxing vacation. Even when traveling, I would always count the time to go back to the hotel to code and upload. Everything I was thinking about during the game was This is the plot I want to write about today.
Staying up late is the norm. Many authors choose to start typing at night, make a cup of coffee or strong tea, and stay up all night writing.
Stomach problems and heart palpitations, I still selectively ignore them most of the time, thinking that it will be fine if I just sleep.
I have participated in some author gatherings and activities. Except for some authors who are self-disciplined, live a regular life, and exercise frequently, most authors have a big belly and dark circles under their eyes. Even at a young age, they do not have much youthfulness.
Are they sad? Not necessarily, because I often see them posting screenshots or book reviews of readers praising them on WeChat Moments. Their smug looks can be felt through the screen.
The author's happiness is so simple.
Because my thoughts are a bit complicated, I write whatever comes to mind.
In fact, I have written so much, recounting my own experiences, and also telling some stories from the circle. It is not to show off my misfortune, but to say to all my dear readers: Give the author a little more tolerance and encouragement, especially those who For an author who has just started and is just beginning to explore this road, maybe your encouragement can help him go further on the road of rushing, and maybe the next book will give him hope in life.
Harsh words may be just a casual remark and forgotten, but it can be a very big blow to an author.
Poor writing is probably due to a lack of ability, because people with a bad attitude cannot type out millions of words in front of a computer.
As long as it is not a matter of principle or position, as long as he can continue writing, he will definitely make progress.
Those who stay up late coding may not be great, but they really shouldn’t be treated with violence.
Finally, I wish the night master in the grid a good journey, and I hope all colleagues can take good care of their bodies and stay away from illness.
——Whispering Jianghu.
Miaoshuwu
