Chapter 57

Science fiction is considered a niche genre in China, but internationally it is truly a popular literature, with many readers enjoying it and many authors writing it, thus classics are constantly emerging.

The SFFworld forum not only provides a platform for communication but is also a place where science fiction authors are interviewed to promote their novels. It has a large number of active members, all of whom are loyal science fiction fans, and only seasoned readers know about this forum.

Due to the time difference, when Jesse posted the thread at 5 PM in mainland China, it was morning in Europe and the United States had yet to see dawn.

However, the night owls who chat online are used to being active at night and resting during the day. Even though the timing was off, Jesse's post still drew out many lurkers.

These picky geeks are not kind people; if a novel does not meet their standards, it will face a barrage of criticism. These people are very sharp in their critiques, and there have been instances where authors came to promote their books and ended up deleting their forum accounts due to the harsh feedback.

But once a book catches their attention, they become extremely passionate and will actively promote it. Many excellent science fiction works have been discovered by these people and have found their way to broader markets.

James, who was still active late at night, planned to check the latest posts before going to bed, as it was already past 4 AM and the entire community was quiet.

But when he opened the forum, he found a post marked "New" with fewer than five replies. Such book recommendation posts can be seen dozens of times a day, but truly good books are rare.

"God, I wish I hadn't had that cup of coffee; now I can't sleep at all. What's the story of 'I, Robot'? Did the protagonist turn into a robot?"

James said this as he clicked on the post. "Let me guess the plot: the protagonist is a robot or someone who transferred their mind into a robot due to a terminal illness."

But as soon as he said this, he noticed the three laws of robotics that Jesse had posted, and he was instantly stunned.

"Fucking genius!"

He had never seen such a novel idea, directly setting such restrictions for robots. James's sleepiness vanished immediately. He quickly looked at the few replies, all of which expressed shock.

"I'm shocked. I just searched on Amazon and found only 5 downloads, and it's written by a Chinese person named Han-Lin. Chinese people can write such excellent science fiction, that's great. Unfortunately, I can't see the physical copy; I can only download it to my Kindle."

"Did I read it wrong or something? This book is actually a Chinese-to-English translation, but I didn't find it difficult to read at all. The story's setting is fantastic. I'm determined to finish it as soon as possible."

"Poor guy, only 8 purchase downloads. I read the free sample, and it's excellent."

"Strongly recommend this book. Just the first few laws at the beginning almost made me stop breathing. I have a feeling it will become popular."

James switched to the Amazon page and found that the book was available in both simplified Chinese print and e-book formats, but he could only choose the English e-book.

"In just a short while, the number of purchases has risen to 24. It seems many people saw that post."

He said this as he paid for the book. Due to the difference in currency, the price was slightly different, but not significantly.

If there's one thing bad about the United States, it's the high book prices, especially for textbooks. A slightly cheaper book costs around $50 to $60, and a more elaborate or thicker book can cost over $100.

Ordinary books like novels are a bit cheaper, but still cost around $20 each, unless you buy second-hand. However, many newly published books haven't entered the second-hand market, and Amazon has saved people's wallets.

After purchasing the e-book, James lay down on his bed, leaning against the pillow, and turned on the soft desk lamp to start reading, completely forgetting that it was already past 4 AM.

...

When the sky was just beginning to turn gray, Lin Han got out of bed. It was already around 7 AM, but the sunrise in winter is late, so the sun was still hidden in the fog.

After washing up, he put on his sports clothes and went out to run. Writers spend a lot of time sitting, and most suffer from occupational diseases like cervical spondylosis, lumbar disc herniation, and hemorrhoids.

Lin Han is still young and can't rely on his good health to push through. Only by maintaining regular exercise can he sustain a long writing career.

A mask is probably the most indispensable tool for people in Beijing. When Lin Han was running in the park, a few stray dogs were scrambling for food, probably having seen something.

The elderly, who couldn't sleep, were already in the park pavilion playing with birds. The cages were filled with various beautiful little birds chirping melodiously.

Sweat poured down, and his sports clothes were almost soaked. Lin Han returned home with baozi and soy milk, then took a shower and had breakfast.

After finishing all this, it was only 8:30 AM. The library opens at 9 AM, so he had plenty of time to take the subway there.

But when he casually refreshed the Amazon app on his phone, he was shocked by the number of purchases!

The physical version of "I, Robot" had over 80,000 purchases, and the e-book version had even more, with 150,000 sales. What made him happiest was that the English version of "I, Robot" had over 1,200 paid downloads!

He had only slept for a while, and the number of purchases had gone from single digits to four digits, and there were even a series of English reviews below!

"What's going on? Did Amazon recommend it for me?" Lin Han said to himself, almost unable to believe it. He thought that without any promotion, selling 100 copies of the English version would be a victory.

Happiness came too suddenly, and even after refreshing, the sales increased by two more!

In the morning in Beijing, it was evening in the United States. The forum post, which had been "New" all day, had now become "Hot," with over 15 pages of comments and many more people just reading the comments without replying.

With so many people gathered, those who had read the novel found it hard to find any negative reviews, only expressions of genuine thoughts.

The peak time for buying books is in the evening, when students finish school and workers finish work. Amazon's keyword searches quickly increased. By the time Lin Han arrived at the National Library, the sales had already risen to 1,500.

The SFFworld forum has tens of thousands of active members, and tens of thousands of loyal science fiction readers saw the post and converted into 1,500 purchases, which is quite a high conversion rate. Many more planned to read it later.

The English version of the novel, which Lin Han had not expected much from, gradually gained a good reputation in the geek community, showing a steady upward trend.