My Web Novel System

Chapter 7: Boycotting The Printed Book With Ulterior Motives

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Outside the office, the students were in an uproar.

“Fang Yuan is ‘I Eat Tomatoes’?

“OMG! ‘Fang Yuan is ‘I Eat Tomatoes’!”

“The author of ‘The Coiling Dragon’ was actually right next to us all along?!”

Everyone at the University of Iowa was a writer, so everyone was aware that the most popular newcomer in the electronic publishing world right now was the author, “I Eat Tomatoes”.

They loved and hated this author.

Everyone loved him because he brought them a wonderful and delightful reading experience, and they hated him because he stopped at the first volume.

“Fang Yuan! Bro! God of Writing! Please give me an autograph, my girlfriend absolutely loves your novel!”

“I knew it! I told you that our bro Fang Yuan is a genius! This author from China is indeed extraordinary.”

“Hurry up! Let’s go absorb some of his powers. He’s a living, breathing author on the bestseller list. Anyone who wants to get on the list, follow me!”

“I’m really curious how the entire universe of ‘The Coiling Dragon’ was conceived. Can you give us a lecture, Teacher Fang Yuan?”

“Who cares how he came up with it? Isn’t it enough as long as it’s good?”

“Since you have so much free time, go back and upload the next story! I wanna know what happened to Linley later on!”

“Please, I’m begging for new releases!”

“Fang Yuan, stop right there! I’ll send you some gifts!”

“Umm…Fang Yuan, I’m really sorry for what I said just now. I really didn’t mean anything by it. I just wanted to ask when the second volume will be written and when will it be published? Can I have a look at the draft first?”

“Big Brother Yuan, I’ve already finished eating my keyboard. Do you have any other instructions for me? Why don’t I cross-dress to cheer everyone up?”

Everyone present was a writer. They were all so humbling when they urged Fang Yuan for an update.

Faced with the chattering of countless classmates, Fang Yuan naturally did not have the time to respond to them one by one. He just kept saying that he would write it immediately.

He also promised that the second volume would be published soon.

Only then did everyone leave in satisfaction.

Fang Yuan finally had a moment of peace after returning to the dormitory. He turned on his laptop and finished writing the second volume, “Growth”.

When he published it, he thought about it.

The day of the paper publication was right in front of him. If he uploaded the new content online, everyone would have finished reading it immediately.

In that case, it might affect the sales of the book.

Thus, Fang Yuan thought about it and posted an update on the official website. “Dear Readers, the author has already formed a partnership with Amazon’s Rainforest Publishing Company. The first and second volumes of ‘The Coiling Dragon’ will be available in major physical bookstores and online bookstores within a few days. Thank you for your support and encouragement all this time. You will always be the driving force behind my continuous creation!”

The comments below came very quickly.

[ Congratulations on the publication of your new book! ]

[ Looking forward to the exciting content of the second volume! ]

[ I’m already waiting at the bookstore. When the new book is released, I’ll buy three copies. One for personal use, one for collection, and one for sale! ]

[ Good job, author! I’m looking forward to your new book! ]

Then, Fang Yuan updated another post that he had edited. “In order to protect the interests of publishers and the rights and interests of readers of physical books, from today onwards, I will temporarily stop updating the latest serialized chapters on my personal website until the end of the contract period for new books.”

The contract period to protect shelf sales was a rule for physical books.

It was more strictly enforced overseas. For example, it was not recommended to publish e-books for as long as the books were still available on the shelves. They were also not allowed to give more than a 20% discount for a certain stipulated period. Public libraries also could not place bulk orders for as long as the books were on the shelves.

These were all forms of the publisher’s protection of rights and interests.

If new books could be read for free as soon as they were published, it would be detrimental to the authors, publishers, and those who paid for them.

Therefore, Fang Yuan’s action was reasonable.

However, the comments section quickly exploded.

“You’ve changed! You’re no longer the ‘I Eat Tomato’ who thinks of your readers!”

“What? You’re actually charging? I guess our fate ends here.”

“The publishing company just wants to earn from us! When will readers take a stand?”

“I used to love your book.”

“Dear readers, I suggest that we boycott buying the books on the day they go on sale. It should be our choice whether we want to read a physical book or an e-book. It shouldn’t be the publisher’s decision. Everyone, we must show them our determination!”

..

In the female dormitory next door, Sakazaka Rion’s slender fingers typed furiously on her butterfly-shaped keyboard.

She left a message on Fang Yuan’s personal website and posted a comment saying that she was boycotting the upcoming book, ‘The Coiling Dragon’.

“Hey! Did you know that the real identity of ‘I Eat Tomatoes’ was exposed at Hades’ office today? It’s your student, Fang Yuan!”

Rion stared at her screen without blinking. “Yeah, I knew it long ago.”

“Isn’t he on good terms with you? Why did you post such comments on the internet?”

“You don’t understand, do you?”

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Rion turned around and said, “Even though I’m Fang Yuan’s teacher, I’m also a reader of ‘The Coiling Dragon’! How popular do you think ‘The Coiling Dragon’ is right now? There are hundreds of thousands of students at six universities in Iowa. Everyone is already talking about it, not to mention the readers in other states. Can you imagine how many copies the publishing company will print? I can guarantee that as long as the bookstores receive their stock, it’ll already be sold out. If that’s the case, why should we create competition for ourselves? It’s best to persuade everyone not to buy it online. That way, the chances of us buying it will be even higher!”

She went on a long monologue.

The person next to her suddenly understood. “Wow, that’s genius!”

She also turned on her computer and found Fang Yuan’s personal blog. There were already countless replies under Rion’s post.

That girl also left her own comment. “I support this boycott! Let’s boycott ‘The Coiling Dragon’ physical book!”