New Moon Publishing House.
Hongdou was the editor in charge of the supernatural fiction category at New Moon Publishing. Of course, "Hongdou" was just the name he used when collecting submissions, his real name was Gao Zhangtian.
But Gao Zhangtian hadn't been doing so well at New Moon Publishing these past few months.
He used to handle the more mainstream wuxia category. But then, with the rise of online fiction, the mainland wuxia market took a downturn. Eventually, headquarters transferred him to the supernatural section. At first, he thought switching from wuxia to supernatural might be an improvement, but once he took over, he realized what hardship truly meant.
Up to now, Gao Zhangtian hadn't recommended a single novel for publication in two months.
It wasn't that he didn't want to, it was that he didn't dare.
Just like the past few months, he'd received plenty of submissions, but they were all mediocre at best. If he barely scraped these through to publication, sales would likely remain dismal. If not for New Moon Publishing's strong ties with various bookstores, even a 5.000-copy first print run would be hard to sell.
After much thought, Gao Zhangtian decided not to release any of those mediocre works. It would be better to hold off and wait for a truly great story.
Unfortunately, great stories were rare enough on the market, let alone supernatural ones.
Gao Zhangtian had also tried to approach well-known supernatural authors. But writers like Zhang Yun already had long-standing partnerships with other publishers; trying to woo them was pointless. As for lesser-known writers, most of them were locked into contracts with magazine publishers, leaving him with no room to maneuver.
Left with no choice, Gao Zhangtian opened his inbox again to check the latest batch of submissions.
"'Fierce Ghost'? The title sounds scary enough, but the content's actually a comedy. At least have some basic writing skills, come on."
"'Millennium Corpse'... seems decent, but the writing is awful. Might work as an online post, but for print publishing? No way. Pass."
"'Ghostly Rivers and Lakes'... what a mess. I didn't understand a thing. Pass."
In just half an hour, Gao Zhangtian had axed over a dozen submissions.
"'A Chinese Ghost Story'. Huh, nice title. Has a poetic ring to it."
At that moment, Gao Zhangtian came across a story titled 'A Chinese Ghost Story'. While he liked the name, he wasn't about to assume the writing was good just because of that. As an editor, he'd seen too many well-titled stories that turned out to be disasters. Who knew if this one would be the same?
He opened the document and kept reading.
"Since the first year of the Great Tang Dynasty, the realm had enjoyed a century of peace and prosperity. But trouble always brews in golden ages. The ancestral founder of Daoism's renowned sect, Xuan Xin Zheng Zong, once discovered a massive stone cavern deep in the mountains. Inside was a stone stele covered in dense writing, accounts of every major event in the Tang Dynasty, from who became emperor to when heaven sent omens of wrath. All these were foretold in advance on the stele."
That was the opening of 'A Chinese Ghost Story', and after just one glance, Gao Zhangtian was hooked.
He kept reading.
"No one knew who had erected the stele, but every prediction had come true. The most spine-chilling part was the final section, the end of the prophecy: when the celestial phenomenon known as "Heavenly Demon Breaks the Seven Stars" appears, the Seven Lifetimes of Resentful Lovers will re-emerge. With their power, the demonic path will rise and claim the world, plunging the mortal realm into eternal hell. The stele even listed the exact time and place of the Seven Lovers' births, clearly hoping that a fated person would one day discover it and save mankind from disaster."
What a masterpiece.
At the most exciting part, Gao Zhangtian shot to his feet with a loud slap on the table.
Xuan Xin Zheng Zong, mysterious stele, ancient prophecy, "Heavenly Demon Breaks the Seven Stars", Seven Lifetimes of Resentful Lovers, saving humanity… In just a couple hundred words, it had completely enthralled this editor from New Moon Publishing who had read countless manuscripts.
This story was brilliant.
The only pity was, it was only 20.000 words long. That guy who submitted it, couldn't he have written more?
Then again, Gao Zhangtian knew that authors usually only submitted the first few chapters. For one, it was safer, not every editorial department could be trusted. For another, editors never had time to read entire manuscripts anyway. Whether a book had potential could usually be judged from the first 20.000 words.
Still, something felt off. The more he read 'A Chinese Ghost Story', the less it felt like a supernatural tale. It had elements of xianxia, fantasy, and even mythology. But whatever, it didn't matter what the genre was. Gao Zhangtian was in charge of supernatural fiction, and this had landed in his inbox. He wasn't about to let anyone else steal it.
Right there and then, he smacked the table and decided: 'A Chinese Ghost Story', it's a go.
...
"Everyone, the publishing market is facing a tough situation right now. I hope you'll all work harder and find some promising new authors."
At New Moon Publishing's regular editorial meeting, chief editor Fang Zhongzhi addressed the twenty-plus editors under him.
"Don't worry, Chief. I've already poached a genius from Youth Daily. I plan to promote him hard. If we're lucky, he could become the next Guo Cheng or Han Jin."
One of the editors, named Wang Can, was the first to speak up.
"Wang Can, you've been doing well lately. But don't get cocky. Guo Cheng and Han Jin are heavyweights in teen fiction, both incredibly skilled. On top of that, they've got support from Fangyuan and Mota Publishing. Breaking into the teen market won't be easy."
"You're right, Chief. I'll be fully prepared."
"Good. Does anyone else have updates?"
After nodding for Wang Can to sit, Fang Zhongzhi looked around the room again.
"Hu Ming, how's the wuxia category doing lately?"
"Well, Chief…"
Wuxia had peaked decades ago, especially after a few grandmasters from Hong Kong pushed the genre to its height. At one point, wuxia had even dominated all other genres in mainland China. But in recent decades, its popularity had faded, and very few new talents had emerged. Still, despite its decline, wuxia remained a cornerstone of genre fiction, with many loyal readers. Even as it waned, publishers continued to value it highly.
But when Fang Zhongzhi turned to Hu Ming, the editor in charge of wuxia, Hu Ming looked a little awkward. "Chief, wuxia's really hit a bottleneck. A few major authors have stopped writing, and even the famous Sanyue has turned to supernatural stories. The younger generation still loves wuxia, but their skills aren't there yet. Last month, we published three wuxia novels; total sales were around 20.000 copies. The others didn't even break 10.000."
Ten thousand, twenty thousand.
Those numbers were undeniably low. Even Hu Ming seemed embarrassed reporting them.
But Fang Zhongzhi didn't seem surprised. He calmly said, "I see." Then, looking to the other side of the room, he fixed his gaze on Gao Zhangtian.
"Gao Zhangtian, you didn't publish a single novel last month. Are you planning to skip this month too?"
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