Although many readers were continuously and creatively urging Wang Shu to update his work online, Wang Shu was completely disconnected from the internet and had not seen these messages.
He wrote for two consecutive days without stopping, finally finishing his book "To Live". However, after finishing, Wang Shu suddenly remembered that he didn't seem to know any publishing editors. His manuscript had nowhere to submit.
After pondering for a while, Wang Shu sent a message to Xiao Chui, asking if he knew any publishing editors. After all, although web novels are serialized online, some excellent works are also published as physical books by publishers. That's why Wang Shu thought to ask Xiao Chui if he had any connections.
Upon receiving Wang Shu's message, Xiao Chui was slightly taken aback.
"Why do you need the phone number of a publisher?" Xiao Chui asked curiously.
"I've written a traditional novel that isn't suitable for online serialization; I want to go directly for physical publication!" Wang Shu explained directly. If he were to serialize "To Live" on a novel website, he estimated that no one would read it. Doing so would be like selling rice in a noodle shop or delicacies in a fast-food restaurant. Even on web novel platforms, different platforms have different reader bases. Some like to read about divine doctors and sons-in-law, while others prefer system notifications! But he was certain that readers looking for web novels wouldn't want to read "To Live." Life is already hard enough; people mostly read web novels for relaxation. If they identify with Fugui at this point, wouldn't they just be inviting suffering upon themselves? That's why Wang Shu was determined to find a publishing platform, as "To Live" is more suited for readers who are willing to engage with traditional literature.
"You can write traditional literature too?" After Wang Shu explained his reasons, Xiao Chui couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Please don't underestimate my capabilities!" Wang Shu replied.
A few minutes later, Xiao Chui sent Wang Shu a few phone numbers.
"These are the contact details of some chief editors from publishing houses that I just got from the copyright department. You can talk to them!" Xiao Chui said.
With the phone numbers in hand, Wang Shu eagerly called each of these chief editors. Wang Shu first introduced himself. When the other party heard that Wang Shu was the author of "Douluo World," they became much more enthusiastic. However, when they heard that Wang Shu intended to publish a traditional literary work, they fell silent for a while.
"Mr. Wang, your web novels are indeed good, and there would be no shortage of sales if they were published. But this traditional literary novel you mentioned, I don't think it will work!" the chief editor on the other end replied directly. This is because the current book market is not thriving, and it is basically sustained by some supplementary textbooks and classic extracurricular books. In recent years, many publishing houses have closed down due to the industry's downturn, while others have directly turned their attention to the web novel market. By publishing popular web novels, they can barely survive. Therefore, this chief editor was very interested when he heard Wang Shu's identity, but his interest vanished instantly upon learning that Wang Shu planned to publish a traditional novel.
Seeing that the first chief editor was not helpful, Wang Shu dialed the second phone number. However, after learning Wang Shu's intention, the second chief editor asked Wang Shu to send his work to his email and did not give him a direct answer. It was only when Wang Shu called the third number that the other party asked Wang Shu to bring his draft to the publishing house the next day to meet him.
The third publishing house was located in Yuezhou, not too far from Hangzhou. So, Wang Shu directly agreed and bought a train ticket to Yuezhou that day.
He arrived in Yuezhou the next morning and, following the navigation, found the Longwen Pavilion Book Publishing House. Upon arriving at his destination, Wang Shu couldn't help but sigh, as this publishing house seemed quite substantial. It even had an entire building for its offices, and its architecture was very unique, clearly a landmark in Yuezhou. Wang Shu even checked online and found that Longwen Pavilion Publishing House was one of the top five publishing houses in China. Many literary masters' books are published by this company, which essentially monopolizes the current domestic traditional literature publishing sector. There's even a legend in China's literary circles: if you gain Longwen Pavilion's approval, you are the next literary master! Therefore, in the eyes of China's writing community, Longwen Pavilion is undoubtedly their only publishing platform. As a result, many authors travel to Longwen Pavilion Publishing House every day, just to have their works published by Longwen Pavilion.
After entering the Longwen Pavilion building, Wang Shu found dozens of people already queuing at the elevator entrance. Most of these people were middle-aged or older, many with gray hair. And like Wang Shu, they were all holding thick stacks of paper covered in dense text. Based on Wang Shu's guess, these people were undoubtedly here to publish their works. However, he was puzzled why Longwen Pavilion used such an offline submission method.
"Young man, are you here to submit your work too?" an old man asked curiously, as Wang Shu stood next to him.
"Yes, but I'm curious why this publishing house accepts submissions this way?" Wang Shu couldn't help but voice his confusion.
"You might not know this, but Longwen Pavilion Publishing House is China's largest publisher of literary works. The editors who review manuscripts there are all masters in the contemporary literary scene. These masters are mostly elderly and don't like using computers and such. This submission method is required for two reasons: firstly, to see if the author takes their work seriously, and secondly, to point out the shortcomings in the work to the submitter in person," the old man explained.
"Young man, have you written any works?" After explaining, the old man looked at Wang Shu curiously and asked.
"I'm a web writer, so you might not have seen my work," Wang Shu replied.
"A web writer? Do people who write web novels dare to call themselves writers?" Upon hearing Wang Shu call himself a web writer, the old man frowned and said. "You should just go back. I don't think you'll get approved. This isn't a place where you can just write some ghost stories and fool people!" the old man continued, looking at Wang Shu.
The old man's words were immediately heard by others waiting for the elevator. They all turned around and looked at Wang Shu with disdain.
"A web author also comes to join the fun? Do they really call what they write literature?"
"Hilarious, web novels are called literature, and web novelists are called writers, doesn't that sound funny?"
"This isn't a novel website. Let's see how badly those masters tear him apart later!" Many people were muttering in low voices at this point. They looked down on web novel authors like Wang Shu the most. In their opinion, anyone could write web novels, which lacked any literary value, while they were noble traditional literary writers. Only what they wrote deserved to be called literary works. Therefore, upon hearing Wang Shu call himself a web writer, they found it ridiculous. How dare a mere web novel writer call himself a writer?
Wang Shu naturally saw the expressions on these people's faces, but he didn't argue with them directly. After all, any one of his novels could earn him tens of millions, while these people waiting in line probably hadn't published a single work yet. In his previous life, he had already experienced the contempt and malice that a segment of authors in the traditional literary circle held towards web literature. Many self-proclaimed traditional literary writers even gained prestige by demeaning web literature, and some notoriety-seekers would constantly disparage web novels in live streams to sell their writing courses, mercilessly exploiting their naive fans. Therefore, Wang Shu was accustomed to this kind of situation.
"You don't need to worry about me. I'm aware of my own level. It's at least a little bit higher than everyone here!" Wang Shu extended his middle finger, gesturing.
"This kid is so arrogant! He actually dares to say his level is higher than ours!"
"Hmph, he's just being stubborn. He's probably gone crazy from writing web novels."
"Hilarious, the first time I've seen a web writer dare to challenge traditional writers. Doesn't he know his own limitations?" Many people in the crowd said in low voices.
"Young man, don't be too arrogant. I believe you've heard the story of 'Ye Lang's arrogance,' haven't you?" The old man, whose face had turned pale from anger at Wang Shu's words, pointed at Wang Shu and said.
"I think the arrogant ones aren't me, but you, who call yourselves writers but are actually teachers who haven't even produced a single work," Wang Shu said with a cold smile.
Upon hearing Wang Shu's words, the group of traditional authors were about to argue with him, but the elevator doors opened. Wang Shu quickly stepped into the elevator and pressed the close button. Seeing Wang Shu enter, the group of traditional writers looked at each other, unwilling to share an elevator with him.
Wang Shu then successfully reached the floor where the editorial department was located. He was led by a staff member at the entrance to a room similar to a classroom. A few minutes later, the traditional authors from earlier also walked in. When they saw Wang Shu, their eyes were filled with disdain and dissatisfaction.
"Hmph, you brat. Those masters will definitely tear you to shreds later!" the old man, whose face had turned pale from Wang Shu's words, thought to himself as he saw Wang Shu already sitting in the room. In his opinion, a web writer like Wang Shu could not possibly write any good works. He was even looking forward to the scene where Wang Shu would be verbally lambasted by the sharp-tongued masters in front of everyone.