Chapter 15

Unlike newspapers and magazines, it is a weekly publication. Lin Mu quickly sent the next manuscript to the newspaper office. Since the first issue had already been accepted, as long as the quality of the manuscript did not drop significantly, it would not be discontinued halfway. Therefore, Lin Mu directly mailed all the manuscripts to avoid the trouble.

This made the deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Yue Wenxing, remember him. Other long-term collaborating authors, although willing to submit manuscripts, were limited by their abilities and always submitted their work only in the last few days. How could they be as worry-free as Lin Mu?

Moreover, the content that followed became increasingly engaging, and the writing and ideas were indeed as expected, with no issues. In this situation, the second chapter of "Our Journey, the Stars and the Sea" was published on schedule.

The main content of the first chapter was a comparison between the old country, ancient China, and other countries, starting from making small profits from the Silk Road to various comparisons of medical and cultural strengths and weaknesses.

However, the second chapter suddenly shifted to modern times. Due to isolation, the old country was invaded, its hard shell broken, and its bones sucked dry. Without its shell, the old country became a bald head, an entity that anyone could bully.

Of course, among the bald heads, there were those who were unwilling to be bullied forever. These small bald heads looked to the world, studied, and learned, gradually growing ears, turning into rabbits. The greatest overpowered character of the 20th century, the rabbit, appeared in the Blue Star Zoo under such circumstances!

The backwardness and being beaten, reflection and striving, were all revealed in the seemingly light and humorous yet profoundly heavy words.

The audience of the City Education News was relatively fixed. Those who noticed Lin Mu's article in the previous issue basically left a good impression and remembered this excellent serialized article.

Thus, not long after the second issue was published, those who remembered the article had already finished reading the second chapter in one go.

...

"This One Page Book is really impressive. He can summarize such a long thousand-year history so succinctly. Compared to this article, those who write elementary school modern history books might as well die!"

In the Yucai Elementary School, a fifth-grade history teacher praised to his colleague.

Another teacher agreed, "Yes, compared to those rigid history lessons, students are clearly more willing to accept this kind of alternative reading that fits their interests. For example, when I mentioned the situation of various countries, a student even asked me about the relationship between North Korea and South Korea!"

Elementary school education is relatively relaxed, and these teachers chatted idly while distributing the newspapers according to the number of students in each class.

These newspapers used to be only used for pasting on walls or padding tables, and no one paid much attention to them.

But now, they have become the favorite of the students in the school, and each time, a few students have to take turns reading them.

...

"Lin Mu, where is the next manuscript? Hurry up and take it out, I can't wait anymore!" Wei Yun, the girl in front of him, grabbed Lin Mu's right arm and shook it wildly.

Lin Mu shook his head with a smile, "I already mailed it to the newspaper office. You know I don't keep backup manuscripts!"

Lin Mu's mood was very good, even better than finding money. This time, the manuscript fee was more than twice as much because it entered the main text, and he received over 1,300 yuan.

Although he mailed all the manuscripts, the newspaper office still paid the manuscript fee based on the number of words published each time.

Moreover, the new issue of "Martial Arts Story" had also come out, and the combined manuscript fees amounted to over 4,000 yuan, making his financial situation more relaxed.

However, his good mood was not due to the amount of the manuscript fee but because of the increase in his reputation.

After the first issue of "Stars and the Sea" was published, Lin Mu's reputation increased by about 4,000. By the time the second issue was published for two days, his reputation had directly increased by 20,000.

This progress surprised him. Previously, it took about half a month for one issue of "Martial Arts Story" to earn him 20,000 reputation, but this time, it only took two days.

"It seems that martial arts short stories are just for novelty and fun, with limited length. Although they are very satisfying, few readers pay attention to who the author is or think the author is impressive. Newspapers are different. In a serialized format, readers will naturally pay attention to the author..."

Thinking to himself, Lin Mu opened the "Martial Arts Story" on the desk and directly flipped to the long serialized section.

This was written by a regular author in the magazine, whose seniority in "Martial Arts Story" was much higher than Lin Mu's, and he was a pillar of the magazine.

His serialized novel was very popular and was about to finish in two more issues. When Lin Mu chatted with Lin Shuiqing on Qian, the editor suggested he pay attention to the next serialized novel to understand the writing style of the senior figures in the industry.

Since it concerned his livelihood, Lin Mu did not slack off. He even ordered the "Martial Arts" magazine by phone as reference material for analysis and comparison.

So far, the overall quality of the two magazines was not much different.

Although "Martial Arts" magazine had a first-class reputation and a roster of contributing authors in the industry, its interpersonal relationships were also very complex. It occasionally published novels of not top quality but with personal connections, leading to a slight decline in overall quality.

However, this decline was clearly limited, and its quality was still at a certain level. Combined with the long-term popularity and reputation of "Martial Arts," it still firmly outperformed the circulation of "Martial Arts Story."

The average monthly sales of "Martial Arts" were 40,000 copies, while "Martial Arts Story" was around 30,000 copies, a difference that was not small but not insignificant.

A difference of 10,000 copies per month, and with a few months already passed in the second half of the year, "Martial Arts Story" had already fallen behind by one issue's sales.

"It seems that the next serialized novel of 'Martial Arts Story' must be their trump card. Otherwise, Lin Shuiqing wouldn't be so confident about turning the tide."

"I wonder which famous author's work it is. Just the author's reputation alone gives 'Martial Arts Story' the confidence to compete for the top sales of the year..."

Lin Mu thought for a while and continued to read up on the history of this world to avoid making common mistakes in the novels he would redeem in the future.

At 9:30 PM, the school bell rang on time.

Lin Mu remained unfazed, still looking at the book in front of him. Only after the noise around him gradually subsided did he put all the manuscripts into his single-shoulder bag and leave the school.

Avoiding the peak time for students leaving school, the road was already much less crowded.

Su Taohua's evening self-study class was ongoing, so she waited for Lin Mu as usual to go back together.

Lin Mu took a deep breath and followed Su Taohua's electric scooter, running at a steady pace.

During this period, he had been doing this to build up his stamina, and it seemed to be working well.

At the school gate, Shen Bingjiao watched Lin Mu running, her eyes filled with determination.

"You are already so excellent and hardworking. I will definitely not fall behind you! Definitely..."

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