"Here you go, Onii-chan."
"Thanks."
Nifuji took Chika's draft stories and started to read them, feeling curious about what kind of works she had made.
Naturally, Chika was a bit nervous since she knew that while Nifuji wasn't working in the area of publishing or working with the mangaka, he was still an adult, and even a boss of the equity firm!
The fact that Nifuji could be chosen for this position meant that he had eagle-like eyes for business!
So, frankly, Chika was nervous!
Still, Nifuji knew that what mattered about a manga or those fictional works was whether it was good or not.
If the story was good, no matter how strange the story was, it would be sold!
However, he also knew that a manga wasn't a stable industry, and even if the story was good, sometimes, the sales were bad, so he knew that one needed to have a trick for how to make money with their manga.
If he made an example, it would be the gag manga, which might not sell much, but the truth is, its merchandise sold a lot.
Also, there was a fashion manga, such as "Do it this way if you wear the clothes," which would receive payment from clothing brands, as mentioned in the story.
Nifuji knew that fewer and fewer people bought the paper copy of a manga, and everyone moved to digital.
If a mangaka wanted to be better than others, they had to evolve, too.
So, how?
Nifuji looked at Chika's manga, trying to analyze it, thinking about the perfect path of what she could aim for.
Yes, as he had the "Literacy Mastery," he could work hard with Chika, as she drew and he made the story, but frankly, it was troublesome, especially when she aimed for the weekly manga, which would burn out the spirit and body.
Instead of asking her to do the weekly manga, he felt it was better for her to aim for the monthly manga, since it fit her schedule and workload, especially as a university student.
Monthly manga is widely considered the "healthier" option for creators, but it comes with a trade-off: Lower immediate income and slower fame.
Yet, he felt that it was okay, especially in terms of the workload, which was much easier.
Weekly, you must draw ~19 pages every single week (Total: ~80 pages/month), but monthly, you typically draw ~40 to 50 pages once a month.
The impact?
Weekly Mangaka: Lives in a constant state of panic. Sleeps 3–4 hours a night. No weekends.
Monthly Mangaka: Draws roughly half the number of pages per month compared to a weekly artist. This allows for:
1. Normal Sleep: They can often sleep 7–8 hours.
2. Weekends Off: Many monthly authors (like the creator of Blue Exorcist) take weekends off.
3. Higher Art Quality: Because they have more time per page, monthly manga often has more detailed art and backgrounds (e.g., Vinland Saga, Berserk).
Naturally, while the work is easier, the pay is slower.
If the mangaka draws fewer pages total per month, their "guaranteed" paycheck is smaller.
Weekly: 80 pages $\times$ $100 = $8,000 / a month.
Monthly: 45 pages $\times$ $100 = $4,500 / a month.
Result: A monthly artist might struggle to pay their assistants if they don't have book royalties coming in.
This is the biggest financial hit.
A Weekly manga produces enough pages to sell a new book volume (Tankobon) every 2–3 months (4–5 books a year).
A Monthly manga only produces enough pages for a new book every 5–6 months (2 books a year).
The math: If both sell 100,000 copies per volume, the weekly artist makes double the money simply because they release books twice as fast.
However, unlike others, Chika had Nifuji, which meant that she wasn't in a hurry for money, and even if she was paid less, he could take care of her, as she was his sugar baby.
"...did you think something rude about me, Onii-chan?" Chika asked speechlessly.
"I am not." Nifuji shook his head and asked, "Are you sure that you want to aim for a weekly manga?"
"Eh? Is that not okay?"
"Can your schedule work?"
"..." Chika.
She thought for a while, thinking of her schedule for a moment, before she said, "As long as I cut my sleep for 2 hours a day, I believe I can do it!"
"..." Nifuji.
"Let's focus on the monthly manga. At worst, even if you make less money, I can take care of you.
Chika wanted to argue, but Nifuji said, "You can think of it as training when you graduate from your university, and if you can do well on your monthly, at least, you have a savings, which makes you strong enough to live in comfort while you think about your weekly story.
"No, when you graduate, you can publish both a monthly manga and a weekly manga.
"If the weekly manga doesn't make money, you still have the monthly manga that can help you to live in comfort."
"Well..."
Chika couldn't argue, and Nifuji also knew that this was the best path.
Young.
He knew that it was the best weapon that one could have, especially when it gave them a brimming energy that was impossible to drain, but he knew well that if Chika couldn't take care of her wealth when she was young, she would be like those mangaka, who were burnt out.
Also, with how unstable this industry is, it would be better if Chika could have one stable income, and if she could have one stable monthly manga that gave her a stable income monthly, she wouldn't have to be in paranoia, trying to do her best, making the drafts like crazy, so she could make money and wouldn't be in poverty.
Moreover, unlike the weekly manga, the monthly manga has less pressure.
In the weekly manga, readers' surveys determine the series' life or death. They must have a cliffhanger or shocking moment every 19 pages to keep kids voting for it. Monthly manga can burn slowly. You can have a 45-page chapter with just dialogue and politics (like in Attack on Titan) without fearing cancellation.
Moreover, editors are generally more patient with monthly series. They give them more time to find an audience because the readership is usually older and less fickle than that of teenagers.
"Lastly, it can give you the experience of serialization, as of now, you haven't had any serialization."
"Ouch!"
The reality and face are more painful than anything!
"T-Then... what kind of a story should I make?"
Yes, Chika had decided to do a monthly manga, but what kind of story should she make?
"Don't you have one?"
"Eh?"
"Your trip, can you make it into a manga?"
"....." Chika.
Yup, she had to admit her Onii-chan was amazing.