After sending his message, Li Bin turned off his phone, leaned back in his chair with a smug grin, lit a cigarette, and closed his eyes to relax.
His phone kept buzzing with WeChat notifications, but Li Bin, unhurried, smoked leisurely and opened QQ, casually Browse a group chat for contracted novel authors he used to enjoy.
Puji Zai: Hey big shots, which website is easiest for a newbie to break out on?
Tomato—Trash Alliance No. 8: Nowhere's easy for a newbie to break out [dog head emoji].
Qifei—Born Extraordinary (Flopped): Obviously, go to Qifei to make your mark!! Qifei's inclusive, every genre has a shot at success. Just write a million words, and you're guaranteed to become a god.
Zhulang—Salted Fish King: Qifei's waters are so deep, and you're sending a newbie there? You're deliberately screwing him over, aren't you?
Zhulang—Salted Fish King: I'd say newbies should go to Zhulang. They say it's a hub for new writers, a cradle for big names. Lots of flops from Zhulang ended up becoming gods on other sites.
Zhangyue—Puji Author: Just write for full-time pay at Zhangyue. If you've got creativity and decent writing, 5 yuan per thousand words is doable. Way better than Qifei, where you don't even get full-time pay before getting published.
… Seeing this group leading newbies astray, Li Bin's old habits kicked in.
But this time, he'd learned his lesson and didn't state his opinion outright, instead timidly posting:
Qifei—Man's Nature Is Evil: Actually, Feilu's pretty good too. Lots of newbies who couldn't even get signed on Qifei, Zhulang, or Zhangyue hit the top charts and made tens of thousands there.
Feilu—Qilin: Lowkey, lowkey! Making money on Feilu isn't easy either—you need 10,000 words daily.
Puji Zai: What's Feilu? Never heard of it. Does it have traffic?
Qifei—Born Extraordinary (Flopped): That trash site can make money? They say it's shady as hell—can it compare to Qifei?
Feilu—Xiake: Don't talk if you don't know. Feilu's earning potential isn't worse than Qifei's!
Qifei—Born Extraordinary (Flopped): Laughing my ass off! You're comparing Feilu to Qifei? Who gave you the balls? Qifei's got Chen Dong, I Can Fix Air Conditioners, Old Eagle Catches Chicks, Tang Family Third Young Master—so many platinum authors, so many big names, so many adaptations. What's Feilu got? You don't know shit!
Feilu—Qilin: Yes, yes, Born Extraordinary bro is right. Feilu's garbage, no way it compares to Qifei. Can't make money.
… Watching the group descend into arguments, Li Bin shook his head.
Feilu wasn't well-known, but it had no piracy, a high subscription rate, and readers who were generous with tips and subscriptions.
Though Feilu lacked fame and had almost no presence in IP adaptations, its ability to help mid-tier authors earn was stronger than Qifei's.
But many new authors didn't know this, and Feilu's veteran authors didn't want writers from other sites to find out.
Li Bin wanted to tell the newbie that at Feilu, if you studied trends, followed popular tropes, came up with creative ideas, and updated quickly with a stockpile of chapters, you could earn more than on other sites.
But he thought better of it—what's the point? The newbie wouldn't believe him, other sites' authors would argue, and Feilu's authors would call him a meddler.
Wait… why play the good guy?
Zhangyue—Supreme Little Bee: Alright, alright, stop fighting. What's there to argue about? If you've got talent, you'll make money anywhere. If you don't, you're cannon fodder everywhere. Come back and teach newbies when you've got a 100-yuan-per-thousand-word guarantee.
Puji Zai: Little Bee God!!! It's Little Bee God! My idol!! Big shot, spare some leg hair!
Zhangyue—Puji Author: Bee God! Forever the GOAT! Heard your new book's got a 200-yuan-per-thousand-word buyout? You're Zhangyue's top dog!
Zhangyue—Supreme Little Bee: 200 per thousand? That's nothing. If I wasn't sentimental about Zhangyue, I'd have gone to Hongshu for a 300-per-thousand buyout.
Qifei—Born Extraordinary (Flopped): 300 per thousand?! Bee God's a beast! That's like 6,000+ average subscriptions at Qifei! When will I ever reach your level, Bee God?
Qifei Female—Light Dance Soars: Bee God, let's connect, let's PY! ~~
Zhangyue Female—Mu Qi Jin: Bee God's so hot, always been my idol. Zhangyue's forever GOAT! ~~
… Watching the group fawn over Supreme Little Bee, the current top dog, Li Bin found it amusing.
In the past, he'd have thought this guy, earning tens of thousands monthly, was impressive.
But now, Li Bin didn't think much of him.
His only regret was not having written a hit novel.
Though he no longer needed to rely on writing to make money, it was a childhood hobby, and becoming a top author to wash away past shame remained a stubborn obsession for Li Bin!
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Featured projects:
Naruto: Saving the Uchiha 120 chapters (R-18 novel)
The Crime Value System 120 chapters (R-18 novel)
I Have Caught a Pokémon — 300 chapters (R-18 novel)
Goddess Training Manual — 620 chapters (R‑18 novel)
Second Generation Villain (Revised Version) — 90 chapters (R‑18 novel)
Detective Conan Fanfic — 380 chapters (R‑18)
The Heroine Wants to Join My Harem — 1020 chapters
I Am the Villain's Father — 400 chapters
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