Chapter 17

【ps: Woke up a bit early, so I'll update earlier. I noticed it's already 52nd on the list, just a few spots away from the top 50. Keep supporting! Your support is what keeps Bai Fo alive and thriving!】

Now that Tong Yan had one foot in the online literature circle, his next goal was to secure a contract and complete this step, which would officially mark his entry into the online literature world. After signing with the website, he would receive recommendations, and only when his performance reached a certain level would he be able to put his work on a paid subscription. Even then, the amount earned might be minimal. In short, Tong Yan still had a long way to go to achieve his goal of earning money to support his sister's education.

Upon returning to Wumei Bookstore, Tong Yan skillfully logged into Qidian, but he couldn't access the author's backend. The website prompted him that he was not yet an author. He then realized that the account he was logged into was not his "Dian Xiao Er" but an account called "Dian Xiao Yi." Because it was so similar, it took him a while to notice the issue.

"Brother Ming, is this your account?" Tong Yan asked Liu Ming, who was still sleeping in the inner room.

Liu Ming groggily got up and explained to Tong Yan, "To boost your clicks, I registered an account and clicked on your work every so often. I'm a good brother, right? Unfortunately, I don't have enough points to comment yet."

"You might as well not comment; your nickname clearly shows you're a shill." Tong Yan smirked but still expressed his gratitude to his brother.

While talking, Tong Yan switched to his own account, logged into the backend, and saw that he already had 26 favorites. Excluding his and his cousin's, there were 24 genuine readers, which made Tong Yan quite satisfied. As a complete newcomer, he didn't know what was considered a lot or a little, but having double-digit readers for a book that had only been published for two days seemed decent.

He then clicked into the novel page and saw that the clicks had reached 149, with 39 recommendations. Tong Yan thought, "I wonder if most of these clicks are from my brother?"

Tong Yan also noticed that there were comments, more than one.

A reader named "Ox by the River" said: "Read it in one go, pretty good. It has the feel of 'The Little Soldier Chronicles,' but the word count is a bit short. I'll keep an eye on it."

This was the first reader to positively acknowledge Tong Yan's work, and he cherished it, quickly replying: "Thanks for the support."

New authors are like this; they are grateful to the point of being overwhelmed by every reader who gives them positive feedback, fearing any lack of attention.

The next comment was from a reader named "Huabiao," who wrote: "A high imitation of 'The Little Soldier Chronicles'?"

Tong Yan couldn't tell if this was a question or a taunt. No one wants their work to be seen as a knockoff, but subconsciously, he hoped to leverage the popularity of 'The Little Soldier Chronicles' to gain traction. So, he chose not to respond to this potentially critical comment.

Although he didn't reply, Tong Yan still felt a bit uneasy. Out of curiosity, he clicked on Huabiao's personal page and found that he was also an author with a novel called 'The Legend of the Heavenly Realm.'

Realizing he was dealing with a fellow author, Tong Yan took it seriously. He had no friends on this website, and as the saying goes, "More friends mean more paths." Since Huabiao was a senior, it wouldn't be good to ignore him, so Tong Yan clicked the reply button.

"Although the book title and the main character's name are similar, and it's also a story about interstellar warfare, these will be two different stories. The only similarity is that they are both engaging and exciting!"

About a week later, Huabiao replied with just four words: "We'll see." Another ten days later, he added a new book called 'The Country's Ruin and the Mountains Remain.'

While replying to the comments, the clicks increased by a few more, which made Tong Yan happy. However, he knew he couldn't let these things distract him, so he closed the webpage and focused on typing. Although he still couldn't type without looking, he could manage nearly 1,500 words per hour, which wasn't too slow.

From the author's backend, Tong Yan knew that when the novel reached 50,000 words, he could apply for a contract. Previously, 30,000 words were required, but with the increasing number of writers on Qidian, the requirement was raised to 50,000 words in 2005. (Note: In 2007, it was raised to 100,000 words.)

During the holiday, the bookstore had few customers, but because his cousin was in a hot romance, the bookstore was mostly managed by Tong Yan. A single customer could delay his writing for half an hour, and on busy days, he could only write 3,000 to 4,000 words. As a result, his updates slowed down. It took nine days from the novel's release to reach the 50,000-word requirement for a contract, and he naturally clicked the application button.

At this point, the novel had 685 favorites, 7,201 clicks, and 867 recommendations. For an author who had been updating quietly without taking shortcuts, this was a decent performance. Of course, apart from the high quality of Tong Yan's writing, which provided an excellent reading experience, the most significant credit should go to the author of 'The Little Soldier Chronicles,' Xuan Yu.

Xuan Yu had neglected the online platform in favor of physical books, giving Tong Yan an opportunity. Many fans of 'The Little Soldier Chronicles' jumped into the pit just by seeing the title and the main character's name, hoping to heal the emotional wounds caused by the hiatus of 'The Little Soldier Chronicles.' The most common topic in the book review section was the comparison between 'The Little Soldier Chronicles' and 'The Little Soldier Wild History.'

A reader named "Quai Ye" bluntly stated: "The Little Soldier Wild History" is like a dog trying to imitate a tiger, filled with deliberate imitations of 'The Little Soldier Chronicles' but failing to capture its essence."

Fortunately, such blunt readers were not many. Most readers gave positive feedback. A reader named "Yanhuo Shisan" commented: "The author of 'The Little Soldier Wild History' seems to have taken inspiration from 'The Little Soldier Chronicles,' but in the short 50,000-word content, I saw a different interstellar story. The author has his own style. Song Hu's experiences are more like those of a wandering knight, and his personal brilliance far exceeds that of his team. I'm curious to see if such a chivalrous character can become a military leader like Tang Long."

This comment was the highest quality and the longest in the book review section. Tong Yan cherished it, marked it as a featured comment, and thanked the reader. At this point, his readers were still few, and most were in a wait-and-see mode. Not many left comments, and even fewer wrote such long ones.

After applying for the contract, Tong Yan relaxed in his chair. In the past few days, to reach 50,000 words as quickly as possible, he had been writing and managing the bookstore simultaneously, which was very tiring. Almost every time he got home, he would write down the key points for the next day's plot and fall asleep on the bed. Now that he had completed 50,000 words, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The next day, Tong Yan came to the bookstore and was about to check the backend when Zhang Xiao suddenly appeared and asked, "Boss Tong, I have a question for you."

Zhang Xiao always called Liu Ming and Tong Yan "Boss Liu" and "Boss Tong." Tong Yan hadn't seen him in a while and smiled, "Don't rush, sit down and talk."

Zhang Xiao didn't sit down, calmed down a bit, and asked, "I have a question. There's a novel on Qidian called 'The Little Soldier Wild History.' Did you write it?"