Guys, who can relate?!
I’m Sister M, pen name: Almost Rich. I’ve been writing web novels for three years, and my specialty is “fighting hard, losing every time, and going mad from it.” I went from dreaming of becoming an overnight sensation with one novel while still in school to surviving on instant noodles in a tiny rental after graduation. I struggled through 100 novels and got 100 rejection letters in return.
How come other people can write domineering CEOs or rebirth stories and become huge hits, while I copy their formulas and get told they’re “clichéd”? Then, at 3:17 a.m., the 100th rejection email arrived. Editor Li’s note cut like a knife: “The logic is sound, but it lacks soul. I suggest refining it.”
Soul? I revised my style eight times for this stupid “soul,” mixing sweet romance with suspense, and cultivation with domineering CEOs until it was a complete mess. I studied hundreds of hit novels and imitated their plots, only to hear “nothing original”! Looking at the instant noodle cups scattered across my desk and feeling my nearly bald head, I suddenly figured it out: figured out nothing!
Whoever wants to write these lousy web novels can do it! I’m going to go crazy! I’m going to rant! I’ll write about all the ridiculous things and outrageous demands I’ve run into over the last three years. I don’t care about getting a contract or making money. I just want to curse to my heart’s content!
The moment my fingers slammed down on the keyboard, amid the sound of my reason shattering, a tiny, almost imperceptible blue light burst from between the keys, where droplets of coffee and tears had mixed.
And so, my utterly absurd road to a crazy comeback began.
