Chapter 95: No One Reads Release Notes Anyway—Fight Me If You Disagree
This author's note might be a little long, but I honestly think it'll be more entertaining than the actual chapter.
I'm sure some people are already thinking:
"Why are you writing such a long author's note? You'd be better off spending that time writing extra chapters."
And you'd be right.
Honestly, I'd already consider it a success if I only had to write one or two extra chapters.
At least I have a very clear understanding of my own abilities.
Let me talk a little about this book.
This novel has gone in a direction I never expected at every single step.
I originally spent a very long time planning an entirely different story.
Then...
It got rejected during the internal submission process.
Do you know how devastating that is to a hopeful rookie author who's immediately slapped back to reality?
So I gave up.
Out of frustration, I decided to write a very cliché entertainment-industry novel and submit that instead.
Honestly, it was almost an act of revenge.
The entire outline and submission draft took me less than three hours.
And somehow...
It passed.
The one novel I had absolutely no confidence in became my first published work.
Looking back now, the story I originally wanted to write was completely different from this one.
Which just goes to show how experienced and sharp my editor's judgment really is.
Maybe this book was an accident.
But perhaps that's exactly what makes it special.
By now, I've truly grown attached to every single character in this story.
From the bottom of my heart, I hope each of them gets the happy ending they deserve.
When this novel had only 30,000 words, it had just 27 bookmarks.
At the time, I thought,
"Well... this book is completely dead."
Then a series of unbelievable things happened.
New Book Ranking: 500 bookmarks.
First recommendation round: 1,000.
Second round: 5,000.
Third round: 10,000.
Now we're already in the fourth round.
Maybe that's nothing unusual for veteran authors.
But for someone who had never seriously written a novel before...
It felt completely unreal.
Of course, I don't think this happened because I'm especially talented.
I was simply lucky.
By sheer coincidence, my very limited writing ability happened to overlap with something readers enjoyed.
No senior author promoted me.
No networking.
No recommendation swaps.
I've made it this far because of you, the readers.
Only you.
If someone can enjoy my book,
it's definitely not because my writing is amazing.
It's because you're able to discover something enjoyable hidden beneath my clumsy writing.
That ability to find beauty...
is yours.
And it's an honor for me.
So...
Thank you.
Thank you to everyone who bookmarked this novel.
Everyone who read it.
Everyone who left comments.
Even everyone who criticized it.
I'm sincerely grateful to all of you.
I know this book has many flaws.
After all, I typed every single word myself.
No one understands its shortcomings better than I do.
At its core...
This is a brain-off wish-fulfillment novel.
I wrote a brain-off novel.
So I can't blame readers for bringing their brains with them.
That's my responsibility as the author—not theirs.
Because of that, even criticism I don't enjoy reading...
I usually leave it up.
I try to reply.
I try to apologize.
Of course, if the insults become excessively vulgar and ruin other readers' experience, I'll delete them.
You're welcome to roast me.
Just...
Please do it intelligently.
Truth be told, I'm actually pretty sensitive.
Whenever I get flamed, I complain to my friends.
They always tell me,
"You're the author. It's your book. Stop spoiling those readers."
But I still believe...
If my writing isn't good enough, then getting criticized is perfectly reasonable.
It may hurt.
But it's real.
Many things in life exist as opposing yet unified forces.
The same goes for liking and disliking a book.
Both are part of the work itself.
I don't want to hear only praise.
This is a flawed novel.
With lots of flaws.
The biggest problems are at the beginning.
Many readers dropped the book within the first five chapters.
The statistics make that obvious.
Whether it was the plot logic...
The protagonist's personality...
The romance development...
Everything was honestly a mess.
Because I wanted readers to see the "hook" immediately,
I pushed the pacing way too fast.
From transmigrating into the entertainment show...
to avoiding the cameras...
to the male and female lead interacting...
to copying songs...
Many of those early plot points have been criticized.
I chose those self-righteous tropes because...
I simply wasn't confident.
At the time,
getting my novel accepted for publication already felt like an impossible dream.
As ridiculous as it sounds...
I have to admit...
Those tropes really are effective at grabbing attention.
Back then I had almost no readers.
No one pointed out the problems.
By the time the story reached the middle and more readers started giving feedback...
It was already too late to rewrite everything.
That's entirely my fault.
As a first-time author,
both the synopsis and the early chapters give off an uncomfortable feeling of trying too hard to attract readers.
For that...
I sincerely apologize.
Now for the later issues.
Many readers wanted the protagonist to immediately sue the reality show's director.
Of course he could.
He wins the lawsuit.
The director bears a grudge.
The entertainment industry suppresses him.
Capital clashes with celebrities.
The protagonist releases amazing works and slaps everyone in the face.
But...
I don't want to write a story full of resentment and revenge.
I only want to write a relaxing campus story where school life and celebrities intertwine.
Occasionally pulling out a song to fit the atmosphere is fine.
But if I had to force a plagiarism scene every few chapters...
I simply wouldn't enjoy writing it.
Seriously.
What entertainment novel copies only three songs in ninety-plus chapters?
At least in my story,
every song the protagonist chooses appears because it fits the moment.
Because it matches his feelings.
This is simply a campus slice-of-life novel with entertainment elements mixed in.
Nothing more.
Whether entertainment readers enjoy it, I don't know.
But readers who only want study-focused stories probably won't.
Finding a genuine "study" novel in the entertainment category isn't easy.
At least...
I can't write an entertainment novel where the protagonist ignores everything except studying.
Entertainment and academics are naturally in conflict.
And that's actually one of the themes this book wants to explore.
There's another thing I regret writing.
The business storyline.
Again,
there weren't many readers early on.
I got carried away and wrote it.
By the time readers started giving feedback...
it was already difficult to change.
To everyone who dislikes the business arc...
I can only say...
I'm guilty as charged.
The company will mostly just remain one of the protagonist's assets.
I won't spend much time writing about it.
Though if some readers still enjoy it,
I might include a little now and then.
From beginning to end,
I've only wanted to write a relaxed slice-of-life story.
No overused.
No face-slapping.
A world where almost everyone is fundamentally kind.
I just want to someday write the scene where...
Pu Tong and Yu Wanwan's daughter points at the Japanese Girl and says,
"Auntie Xuenai is even sillier than me."
I simply want every character...
to have a beautiful, happy ending.
Maybe that's boring.
But I love stories like that.
Last year,
my favorite anime was Deaimon.
This year,
my favorite is Skip and Loafer.
Of course...
There are still many problems with this book.
The ones I can fix...
I will.
Finally, let me say a few words about myself.
I'm a male college student.
(I honestly don't know why some readers think my writing sounds like it was written by a woman.)
I don't have much life experience.
So I genuinely can't write profound philosophical speeches.
I can only write about the ordinary life I've personally experienced.
Although college students have relatively flexible schedules,
I still have classes and responsibilities.
I take my studies seriously.
So writing time is actually pretty tight.
If updates are sometimes a little late,
I hope you'll forgive me.
I might update late.
But I won't abandon the novel.
I'm also an incredibly slow writer.
One time I stayed up all night writing.
I was exhausted for the next two days.
An interesting fact:
My roommates.
My friends.
Even the online idiots I chat with...
None of them know I'm writing a novel.
Until I achieve at least a little success,
I'm honestly too embarrassed to show it to them.
Every time I secretly write on my laptop or phone,
I'm afraid my roommates will notice.
It's surprisingly stressful.
So this premium launch...
also feels like an opportunity to finally show them what I've accomplished.
That's why...
I sincerely hope everyone can support the first subscription.
I hope one day I can proudly tell them:
"I'm writing a novel."
"It isn't perfect..."
"But the readers are wonderful."
Lastly, I'd like to thank a few people.
First of all...
Thanks to my editor...
Wait...
Who was it again?
Just kidding.
Thank you to my editor, Xiaofeng.
Thank you for picking up someone like me—
recyclable trash that no one wanted—
and giving me the chance to tell a story.
Without him,
this book wouldn't exist.
So if you think my writing is toxic...
go blame him.
(Just kidding.)
He's a wonderful editor.
He comforted me many times.
Even though I never really said it out loud,
when I received the contract acceptance email...
I almost cried.
Even now,
I still remember that moment.
For the first time,
I felt recognized.
It's a happiness I'll remember for the rest of my life.
And of course...
Thank you to every reader.
I never imagined something I wrote could be read—
or discussed—
by so many people.
It's an incredible honor.
Even if only one person kept reading,
I would still finish this novel.
Because knowing that someone accepted the story I wanted to tell...
is deeply moving.
The author then continues by thanking many individual readers by username, sharing humorous comments and personal memories about each of them—expressing gratitude for their donations, votes, comments, advice, encouragement, and companionship throughout the writing journey.
Finally...
Thank you to everyone who made it this far.
This author's note was long.
It contained a lot of rambling.
If someone actually finished reading all of it...
That's already the greatest support I could ask for.
If one day,
after reading this novel,
someone is chatting about the entertainment industry and suddenly thinks,
"Damn... I remember reading this ridiculous entertainment novel about a high school celebrity..."
I think...
I'd be incredibly happy.
If my story can leave even the tiniest impression in someone's memory,
then I'm already blessed.
I'm a new author.
I don't know how to write release notes.
I won't make grand promises.
I won't try to gain sympathy.
I just wanted to have an honest conversation with everyone.
I sincerely hope every one of my readers is happy every single day.
— Er Er Er Er Er Er
(End of Chapter)
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