Chapter 6

I am a writer 006

Chapter 6

Pukjoa.

In 2017, only two serial sites had managed to survive properly: Joabook and Pukpia.

The Pukjoa just mentioned was none other than Joabook.

Not only Joabook, but the name change applied to Pukpia as well, which is now operated as Mulinbook. Moreover, there were quite a few sites that had as much influence as these two.

Such as Booksworld, Seoryongnet, and Damian.

These sites had produced many second-generation fantasy writers.

The first-generation fantasy writers were from the days of Hytel and Nownuri, which were before the current era.

In any case, those places were already impossible to serialize in, and to achieve proper results, I should choose from the second-generation serial sites.

However, among them, I chose only Pukjoa.

Originally, in the rental market, it was best to release serials simultaneously to maximize the impact.

This way, the books could be published in print and attract the most readers.

I didn't abandon other serial sites either.

I just wanted to throw my best shot at Pukjoa in the early stages.

The reason was simple.

"There's no need to hold back on my know-how."

While it would be most satisfying to achieve results based solely on the fun of the work,

I needed to give Yang a good lesson to feel truly satisfied.

Very thoroughly.

For that, there was only one way.

A blockbuster serial performance.

To achieve this, I planned to use all my know-how.

Why don't people usually do this?

Because holding back leads to failure.

"Shall we start by gathering the necessary items?"

Items for the know-how.

Three things were needed.

First, money.

Since I would have to keep using it, let's skip this.

Second, a resident registration number generator.

Later, with the development of smartphones and the importance of personal information, it became impossible to create a serial site ID without personal verification, but it was still possible at this time.

Even with a non-existent resident registration number, an ID could be created.

After obtaining the second item, I moved on to the next.

The last item was a 'Dynamic IP Change Program'.

The purpose of this preparation was simple.

Performance manipulation.

"Let's do a big job on the first day to attract readers."

I have a conscience.

I only planned to use these items on the first day.

To attract readers.

No matter how good the writing, without reader attraction, it would fail.

Therefore, in the paid serial market, events on platforms like Never and KakaoPage boosted sales more than those on serial sites like Joabook or Pukpia.

This was inevitable.

Serial sites had readers who were already familiar with the works, while platform readers focused on event-featured works.

Naturally, the latter had a greater influx due to events.

Thus, events were effective.

The power of reader attraction was that significant.

Good writing would naturally attract readers over time, but Pukjoa's system was a bit tricky.

"To the point where they coined the term 'bombing'."

Commonly, when a writer releases two episodes at once, it's called 'double posting'.

In Pukjoa, the Today's Best ranking, which directly shows the performance of works, was calculated based on the number of views, pre-reading, and recommendations of the episodes posted on the same day.

Therefore, the more episodes posted, the more advantageous it was, and writers aimed to post many episodes before the performance reset at midnight.

Initially, it was about two to three episodes, but later, to take advantage of the ranking system, they would gather and release five to ten episodes at once.

This was called 'bombing' because it was like dropping a bomb.

If a work could maintain its view count, bombing made it easier to become a top-tier writer on Pukjoa.

If bombing succeeded and the work secured a top spot on Today's Best, the influx of readers would naturally increase.

The items I prepared were shortcuts to see the effect of this influx in a short period.

In other words, they were 'know-how'.

After preparing for my know-how, I said,

"Alright, should I buy some growth items too?"

Growth items.

When you look at a work on Pukjoa, there's a section on the right for growing a tree.

This can be seen as Pukjoa's cash system to earn revenue from readers.

If a reader likes a work, they can buy and use cash items to grow the tree.

Using these items adds points to the Today's Best score, allowing the work to stay in the top ranks even if it has fewer views, pre-reading, and recommendations than other works.

This was the main reason I needed money among the items.

I could also buy the program, but the growth items were the foundation for my first step as a writer on the first day.

After completing all preparations, I registered my work.

After writing the title and introduction, I clicked the final button with my mouse.

"Register."

Click!

With that, all preparations were complete.

I looked at the clock in the bottom right corner of the monitor.

3:00 PM.

After checking the time, I murmured with a faint smile,

"Only nine hours left, huh?"

The debut work of writer Lee Jun-kyung, 'Emperor Loki'.

The time for its launch.

***

After Lee Jun-kyung registered his work, at the Blue Forest Publishing Company.

Yang, the section chief, finally came to work at 3:00 PM.

This was possible because he always attended drinking sessions for the sake of business with authors who brought in money and wholesale store owners.

Yang drank a hangover drink called 'Endure' and went to his desk.

Leaning back in his chair, he finished the remaining Endure and threw the bottle into the trash can beside his desk.

"Ugh, I feel like I'm dying."

Flick!

The Endure bottle, thrown with a complaint, unfortunately hit the edge of the trash can just in front of him.

Thud!

It bounced off and landed on the floor.

Ting ting ting.

The bottle rolled over to Hong Sung-yong.

Naturally, Yang's gaze followed the bottle and stopped at Hong Sung-yong.

Seeing Hong Sung-yong, Yang called out to him.

"Hey, Hong."

"Yes, Chief."

"Throw that in your trash can."

"Yes."

Hong Sung-yong, who was working, picked up the Endure bottle that had rolled to his feet and threw it in the trash can.

Yang called out to Hong Sung-yong again.

"Hong."

"Yes?"

"Has that guy started his serial?"

There was only one author Yang had recently started paying attention to.

Hong Sung-yong, who understood the reference as clearly as if it were spelled out, responded.

"Oh, Mr. Lee Jun-kyung?"

Even though he had terminated the contract with them, Hong Sung-yong still called him 'Mr. Lee'.

Yang, displeased with this, grumbled.

"Mr. Lee, my ass. He's just another writer who changes monster names in a cliché story."

Having seen Yang's complaints for a long time, Hong Sung-yong just accepted it.

He just tried to find out what Yang wanted.

"I'll check. Oh, he only registered his work on Pukjoa."

After checking Pukjoa, Mulinbook, Damian, Seoryongnet, and others, Hong Sung-yong reported.

Yang, surprised by this, tilted his head.

"Only on Pukjoa?"

"Yes."

"With such a mediocre story, he should be trying everywhere to sell even one more copy. Is he out of his mind? Is the title the same?"

"It's registered as 'Emperor Loki', so it's the same."

"How's the performance?"

"There are no episodes posted yet."

The work was registered, but no episodes had been posted.

Yang, as if he had the Buddha's palm, claimed he could see everything clearly.

"Well, he probably got advice from other authors. To succeed on Pukjoa, he needs to bomb at midnight."

"Probably."

"Even if he does, a failure is a failure. Hong, want to bet?"

A sudden proposal for a bet.

"What kind of bet?"

"Will his serial make it into the Top 10 of Today's Best, or not?"

"Of course, you think it won't, right?"

"Why ask the obvious?"

"What will we bet?"

Hong Sung-yong, asking about the bet, caught Yang's interest.

"Really? Do you want to buy me a drink, Hong?"

"Shall we bet on drinks?"

Hong Sung-yong, quite seriously discussing the bet.

Seeing this, Yang slightly straightened his leaning body.

"Hong."

"Yes?"

"You don't really think that mediocre story will make it into the Top 10, do you?"

"Who can predict the outcome?"

Yang couldn't deny this.

It wasn't a wrong statement, but he still couldn't accept Lee Jun-kyong's work.

"Well, that's true. With the way Imagimedia and others are contacting anyone and everyone, the quality of Pukjoa has dropped. Tsk!"

Hong Sung-yong asked again.

"So, are we betting on drinks?"

It was a joke, but Hong Sung-yong kept bringing it up.

In fact, based on the manuscript Lee Jun-kyong sent, he thought it would be hard to make it into the Top 10.

But he couldn't forget the way Lee Jun-kyong believed in him when they were about to sign the contract.

If someone believed in him so much, shouldn't he believe in them too?

With this mindset, Hong Sung-yong decided to bet with Yang to strengthen his belief, even if he lost.

On the other hand, Yang, seeing his joke taken seriously, thought he might get a free drink.

To prevent any complaints later, he laid the groundwork.

"Do you really think you'll win?"

"Well, if I lose, I'll buy you a drink. I have some emergency funds anyway."

"Hmm, emergency funds. Alright, let's go for whiskey."

"Whiskey?"

"Why not? Don't you like it?"

Yang's face already showed he wouldn't back down.

Reading this, Hong Sung-yong thought about lowering the stakes.

"Can I bring it?"

If he went to a bar Yang liked, the price would triple.

But Yang wanted the extra cost.

"Why so amateur? Of course, we should go to a bar for whiskey. Surely, you're not going to back out now? Ha, thanks to you, I'll get to drink whiskey with some pretty ladies."

Yang, excited about the extra cost, looked at Hong Sung-yong, who was in a difficult position.

"Well, that..."

Yang, amused, leaned back in his chair and said,

"I'm tired from drinking all night, so I'll take a nap. Don't bother me unless the boss calls."

He wouldn't accept any changes to the bet.

In the end, Hong Sung-yong, preparing for the possibility of losing, only checked his bank balance.

With a bitter voice, he lamented,

"Ugh, if I lose, I'll have to skip the Ant Rider figure this month."