In another week or two, around February 1st, this book will be available for purchase.

I haven't chatted with everyone in a while, so I wanted to give you an update on the book's situation.

I recall a few months ago, I nervously handed the first draft of this book to my editor. He read it for a long time, then sent me a message in a QQ pop-up window:

"What are your expectations for its performance?"

I hesitated for a moment before typing: "A thousand average subscriptions. If it gets a thousand, I'll keep writing."

The reason for my hesitation was that although I'm new to Qidian, I'm not exactly a newbie author.

Outside of this platform, I've had some success.

However, any author coming to Qidian from elsewhere is bound to feel apprehensive.

Especially since I'm writing a genre that's rather "special" and not so commercial in the online literature market.

Furthermore, it's not the typical power-fantasy genre I usually write.

Can I really do this?

I kept asking myself.

But I still wanted to try.

I'm already in my thirties this year. I've written millions of words and earned a good amount of money.

But so far, I haven't written a book that I'm truly satisfied with.

I felt that "some things" in my heart hadn't been realized. I didn't want to wait any longer. So, I wrote this book.

What I told my editor was, "If it gets a thousand average subscriptions, I'll keep writing," but that was also to reassure him.

A thousand average subscriptions wouldn't affect his performance, at least.

But in my heart, I was really thinking:

Even if no one reads this book, I'll shamelessly keep writing it.

I've already finished the outline for the entire book, at least two million words.

I somewhat childishly swore to myself. My heart was as firm as a rock.

But despite that, my expectations for its performance were truly apprehensive.

Even fearful.

As a Qidian newbie, writing a non-commercial genre, can I really achieve success?

My editor told me: "It should be fine. I think it's pretty good."

But I could sense the uncertainty in his tone. He was probably a little apprehensive, just like me.

So I said: "Then should I publish it now?"

He said: "No, we'll stockpile chapters. We need to make sure the later chapters are solid before publishing."

So, we stockpiled two months' worth of chapters, revising them countless times in between.

I used to write and publish immediately, I had never experienced anything like this before.

Out of nearly two hundred chapters, over a hundred were deleted and revised. Over two hundred thousand words were scrapped entirely.

Only then did I slowly find the right rhythm.

But it was all worth it.

I'm basically satisfied with the current chapters.

Of course, I've also heard many readers say it's slow, drawn out, and that some details have logical issues.

They're right. I didn't handle some of the plot points very well. They weren't natural or well-rounded.

That's my problem, and I'm well aware of it.

But this is already a revised draft. The original draft had far more problems.

At the same time, because this book isn't a fast-paced power-fantasy, I often have to write necessary foreshadowing, setups, and information dumps, which aren't very reader-friendly and seem a bit drawn out, but are actually necessary and unavoidable. And because the update speed is slower during the new book period, these issues are amplified.

I've noted all of these issues down.

I'll keep improving. I'll keep working hard.

I want to do the best I can within my abilities.

I promise, guarantee, and swear this to the readers.

I'll also keep an eye on everyone's feedback.

But, like a famous analogy in the online literature industry:

Authors writing is more like a bus, with a fixed route, rather than a taxi company, constantly adjusting the destination based on each reader's needs.

The outline for this book has been basically finalized. I'm confident that, as a complete story, it will ultimately satisfy everyone.

Appropriately incorporating feedback will make our story more complete. However, if I indiscriminately incorporate every piece of feedback into the book, then everyone's needs will be different, ultimately conflicting with each other. Some readers will be satisfied, while others will be disappointed, ultimately affecting the overall readability of the book.

Therefore, my many silent readers, don't worry. I'll write the book well according to my plan, stick to what I want to express, and strive to present a complete story of several million words.

I also want to point out one thing: this book is actually a slow-burn.

Being on the new book list is just an unexpected surprise.

I really didn't expect a newbie account writing a book in this genre to actually achieve decent results.

I'm truly grateful for the support of my reader brothers and sisters!

I was actually prepared to get only a few hundred first subscriptions and bury my head in writing millions of words.

So, I'm really flattered and apprehensive.

On one hand, I'm very grateful that everyone supports this book.

On the other hand, I'm also worried that the later plot won't satisfy everyone.

I can only work harder and do my best to repay the support of my brothers and sisters.

Please believe that the slow-burn, long-term plot that gradually unfolds after hundreds of thousands or a million words is what I really want to express. At that time, I'll definitely be able to bring you more exciting plots and deeper emotions!

I hope we can accompany each other until then!

At the same time, after the book goes on sale, the update speed will also increase. As long as the speed is fast enough, some seemingly drawn out (although necessary for the plot setup) plot points won't affect the reading experience as much.

Of course, all of this is based on ensuring quality.

I think no one wants to subscribe to a book that's good at the beginning but falls apart in the middle.

What I want to strive for is to finish strong, explode in the long term, and get better and better as I write.

That's the situation I wanted to explain to everyone.

I'm a little nervous, please forgive any grammatical errors~

I'll open another single chapter before it goes on sale to chat with everyone about some issues that you're concerned about.

Thank you!!