Chapter 47

Domestic science fiction has always been inferior to that of the West, but now, with the book *I, Robot* showing a trend of surpassing, it is establishing authority in the niche of science fiction novels about robots, which is a very good thing.

This feeling is like watching the national football team for a long time, and suddenly a world-class midfielder appears on the field. The motivational effect on the entire market is very obvious. Now everyone wants to see this book, to find out if it will end up as a tiger's head and a snake's tail or a dragon's head and a phoenix's tail.

If the content of the subsequent chapters is as stunning as the beginning, there is no doubt that it can leave a significant mark in the history of Chinese science fiction. Even the three laws of robotics have already sparked extensive discussions online. Some people think it is the way slave owners treat slaves, some think the laws are not comprehensive, and others have found loopholes, using the spear to attack the shield. In short, these past few days have been a carnival for science fiction fans.

...

"Lin Han, what did you do last night? You didn’t hear me knocking this morning."

Chen Jiaxuan pointed at her watch, standing in front of Lin Han's door with a fierce expression. The hour hand was already pointing to 1 PM.

His hair was a mess, and Lin Han scratched the back of his head. He still felt like he couldn't open his eyes, mumbling, "I might have just fallen asleep and didn't hear it. What time is it now? I think I need to sleep a bit more."

"Are you sure you don't want to eat something? I have oatmeal or black sesame paste. It's not very tasty, but it can fill your stomach in an emergency."

Lin Han waved his hand, yawned lightly, and explained, "Wasn't the online pre-sale opened last night? I stayed up watching the numbers refresh. I was worried that if it hung at zero, I'd have to buy a copy myself to avoid looking too awkward. The numbers kept refreshing until 6 AM. I'm so tired. What's up?"

Chen Jiaxuan, seeing Lin Han's exhausted state, said, "I've secured two promotions for you. The People's University Press said the sample books have been sent by courier and should arrive this afternoon if they're in the same city. You can check for them. Give me one when they arrive, and I'll help you promote it to get more people to see it."

"What kind of promotion? I have to go promote!?" Lin Han was suddenly wide awake. He just wanted to write quietly and didn't want to be in the spotlight.

"Do you think you're Li Bai or Zhou Shuren? Your new book is about to be released, and you don't want to promote it? Even Professor Tong Yonglie has to make some noise before releasing a new book. If you want to make things easier in the future, you should be more active now. Once you become the most powerful author in the science fiction world, readers and the media will help you automatically." Chen Jiaxuan pointed out Lin Han's unrealistic expectations, bringing him back to the cold reality.

The best singers and actors in the entertainment industry have to promote their new albums and movies through various channels. For a newcomer in the science fiction world, wanting to be lazy is unacceptable to the beautiful agent.

Lin Han had no choice but to nod and say, "OK, but you should at least discuss it with me. We can skip some interviews."

"I'll be more careful next time and communicate with you in advance. But you should go to bed now, rest up, and meet the reporter from the Beijing Daily tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, I'm going to sleep."

He closed the door with a thud and almost fell back into bed with his eyes half-closed. The warmth of the heater felt so good, and he didn't have to worry about anything during the entire winter.

But after being so disturbed, he sadly found that he couldn't fall asleep anymore and could only toss and turn in bed.

Stacking two pillows together, Lin Han took out his phone from the bedside table, cleared the red notification dots on the messages, and then clicked into the online pre-sale page for *I, Robot*.

Earlier in the morning, the four major websites—Douban Reading, Amazon, Dangdang, and Tmall—simultaneously launched the pre-sale for *I, Robot*. Douban Reading was special as it only sold books and e-books, while the other three were popular comprehensive online shopping platforms.

Due to the lack of piracy, book sales in online stores were very good, and consumers often chose to buy books online for convenience and affordability, especially during discount promotions.

The simplified Chinese edition of *I, Robot* was pre-sold on all four websites. With seven days left until New Year's Day, over 18,000 people had pre-ordered and paid for the book, waiting for delivery.

Once the websites received the books, they would immediately pack and mail them to the 18,000 readers, along with two special posters printed by the publisher.

While 18,000 pre-orders might not seem like a lot, especially when spread across four websites, averaging only about 4,500 per site, it was still far from being a bestseller.

However, looking at the chart data, this number was quite impressive. Online pre-sales usually account for only about 10% of total sales, and the main purpose of online sales is for promotion, not to sell hundreds of thousands of books.

If the online pre-sales reached 18,000, the total sales were almost certain to exceed 100,000 copies. This would greatly boost the publisher's confidence, allowing them to adjust the printing quantity and distribution conditions based on market trends.

What excited Lin Han the most was that this was just data from a little over ten hours. He had a week to wait for the pre-sale numbers to increase. Perhaps those who were working or studying didn't have time to go online and would place their orders in the evening.

Currently, the top of the pre-sale chart was a youth literature book called *The Best of Us 2*, written by the popular author Xiao Yunpeng. This was a sequel, and with the massive fan base of the first book, it was pre-sold simultaneously with *I, Robot*. The combined pre-sale numbers from the four websites exceeded 80,000 copies, showing the purchasing power of its fans.

New Year's Day saw a large number of new books on sale, so online bookstores wouldn't miss such a promotional opportunity. Many people liked to find books online, check the prices, and then ask at physical bookstores. Being on the homepage of an online bookstore and ranking high on the pre-sale chart was a huge promotion, saving a significant amount of advertising costs.

Surprisingly, the second place on the pre-sale chart was the hottest online fantasy novel, *Sword and Magic 5*. Despite having been serialized online for over a million words, it still attracted over 70,000 pre-orders, showing the charm of online writers.

The 18,000 pre-orders for *I, Robot* fell short of the top two books but were much better than the others. *I, Robot* ranked 8th on the Douban Reading pre-sale chart, 10th on the Amazon book pre-sale chart, and 10th on the Dangdang and Tmall new book pre-sale charts!

Lin Han was not a famous author, had no stunning previous works, and had not gained popularity through online serialization. He even came from the niche of science fiction literature.

For such a niche book to land in the top ten of the pre-sale chart was almost the treatment of a science fiction god. When Li Wenyuan wrote *Beyond the Solar System*, his best performance was 5th on the pre-sale chart.

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Unconsciously, the book has already reached 100,000 words. Thank you to all the readers for your support, especially the 100 readers who have tipped the book. They say tipping is a matter of sentiment, and it seems our sentiment is quite deep. I hope all the readers will continue to read, and the best is yet to come!

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