Started as a comics editor

Chapter 159 Expectations and Concerns

have to say.

Online serialization is still very attractive to some young cartoonists.

Although not many cartoonists have serialized their works online yet... because online serialization is not mainstream at present, the online reading launched by Tang Yao's former employer Wenxinguan has been half-dead recently. The only time it became popular was when "Fate/Zero" and "Human Head Balloon" appeared.

After all, they don't have much resources to devote to online reading, and their main focus is still on their own physical magazines.

Without corresponding support, the traffic and treatment are very average.

Big cartoonists don't even look down on it.

Young cartoonists also want to serialize their works in physical magazines to stand out.

In the end, only some fans would serialize it.

On the other hand, the editorial department of Wenxinguan did not pay much attention to the website, resulting in no one discovering the excellent works with ideas on the website.

The remuneration is not high, the author is not taken seriously, and most importantly, there is no opportunity to get ahead... With these factors combined, he ended up being half-dead.

No one wants to contribute to it anymore.

In fact.

Shang Tao from Wenxin Pavilion was almost mad with anger and was extremely anxious about the situation of the website.

Unfortunately, even if he told Zhao Fangsheng... Zhao Fangsheng, a senior executive, couldn't change the direction of the entire company.

After all, not everyone has the courage to abandon the most profitable business and gamble on the future.

Especially when that future is invisible.

Cartoonists are reluctant to abandon physical magazines and serialize their works online, and magazine publishers are also reluctant to abandon physical magazines and vigorously support online serialization at this stage.

But ANF...is different!
Because it is barefoot.

Its predecessor was just a video platform focusing on the two-dimensional world, with comics being just one of its sections. It mainly focused on serializing online comics and had no baggage at all. Not only did it pay higher royalties than the online reading website Wenxinguan, it also only stipulated a minimum number of serialized pages. Most importantly... it was backed by the latest gaming upstart Avalon.

In terms of IP development, it will have more advantages, and FGO, which everyone in the industry has heard of, is evidence of this.

Not to mention, excellent works have the opportunity to be licensed to Avalon's games, and receive copyright fees and sales revenue sharing.

Although this is probably not relevant to most cartoonists who submit their works, it just happens to represent an opportunity to stand out.

the most important is.

Even if we don't consider these factors, the royalties alone, as well as the fact that ANF has recently risen and has gathered a large number of core two-dimensional users, are enough to make many young cartoonists excited!

of course.

This is limited to cartoonists in the lower levels of the pyramid.

For the big cartoonists at the top of the pyramid, it is still not attractive enough, after all, they receive a lot of royalties. As for games, the magazine is also promoting related game authorizations. Although no success has been seen so far, it is obvious that they will not serialize in ANF just for this.

However, in any industry, the largest number of people are never at the top of the pyramid, but in the middle and lower levels.

Their heartbeat can change a lot of things.

However, in addition to being excited, the young cartoonists also have concerns...

After all, everything has two sides.

ANF ​​is a new entrant and has no burden. While they can offer such good treatment, it also means that they have no foundation.

This has caused such a huge fanfare, but no one knows how far the comics section of ANF will go in the end.

What if there’s a lot of thunder but little rain?
What if no one is interested in the final work?
What if ANF’s core users are resistant to reading comics online?
How to do?
After all, ANF did not have similar business before, and originally it was a video platform.

It is indeed worrying.

If Wenxinguan did this, a lot of cartoonists would definitely flock to it because their original physical magazine was very successful.

This is the essence!
Although, their Wenxinguan online reading ended up being a piece of crap...

But this is indeed a disadvantage for new entrants.

But it's a good thing.

In the comics section of ANF, there are not only activities, but also a new work is being serialized!
That mysterious third-rate teacher's book - "Chainsaw Man".

For some unknown reason, he did not continue with the recently popular FATE series for this work, but instead started a completely new one.

And the story style is completely different from the previous ones.

Although he is not a newcomer, such a brand new story is just the right way to test the ANF users' acceptance of the comics section.

Therefore, many fellow cartoonists began to pay attention to the performance of the comic "Chainsaw Man".

Just want to take a look.

How far will this comic, ANF's comic section, go in the end...

……

at the same time.

"Chainsaw Man? Activity?"

Rumi sat in his studio, looking at the contents on the computer screen, and like other cartoonists, he was full of questions.

After a while.

She finally reacted and first looked at the activities in the comics section.

then.

She flipped through the few episodes that Chainsaw Man had already released, and then showed a thoughtful expression.

A spectacular worldview, a low-class boy who makes a living by hunting demons... A protagonist with extremely simple motives and anti-heroic qualities?

Why did she suddenly want to paint this kind of subject?

And isn't it about making games? Why is there such a big push for comics? Rumi is a bit puzzled.

She still contacts Tang Yao occasionally...but they mainly talk about FGO. She has fallen in love with this game, and they have never talked about comics.

Because she is a cartoonist herself, she really doesn't want to talk about related topics with Tang Yao.

As for the plan we had agreed upon... to design heroic spirits and draw portraits for FGO.

Because Rumi was too busy, and she was addicted to games during that time...she eventually had a miscarriage.

She was sorry about that.

But the pressure from the editor was too great, so she could only focus on serialization.

By the time she finished that period and completed the serialization, the game testing period was over.

Related activities are no longer available online.

For this, she apologized to Tang Yao many times.

Tang Yao didn't say anything, because the final status of the game was better than expected, and it was okay without the icing on the cake collaboration event.

But because of this.

Ru Mi was too embarrassed to invite Tang Yao to meet in person, and in the end the two could only chat occasionally as netizens.

To be honest, the subsequent development momentum of Avalon was completely beyond Rumi's expectations.

It's really too exaggerated.

...FGO was soon exposed, and its revenue on the first day of public beta was over 90 million.

Then there's the investment in ANF, an 2D website, and all sorts of other events. Many people are saying that both their games and website are making a killing! Rumi is well aware of what's going on at the magazine lately... I hear a lot of the executives are incredibly jealous! They're scratching their heads with envy!
Rumi had originally proposed to invest in Tang Yao, but was rejected by Tang Yao.

Now seeing this situation, she felt even more embarrassed to go find Tang Yao.

It's not that I'm jealous or regretful.

I have some regrets, but not a lot.

Because Rumi is not short of money at all, she is mainly worried that Tang Yao will misunderstand and think that she came forward because she saw that Avalon was doing well.

Plus, she wasn't optimistic about mobile games at first... so she felt a little embarrassed.

In short.

The two of them did chat less frequently afterwards.

but.

Now I see that Tang Yao plans to vigorously promote the comic section of ANF and has released new works.

She suddenly wanted to ask Tang Yao what she was thinking at the moment.

But there is no topic...

So Rumi thought about it...held the mouse and opened the communication chat software, then searched and finally found a group related to cartoonists.

She joined this group very early on, before she became famous.

The group members have all been replaced.

But she hadn't said a word yet.

Mainly because of her current fame, it is really not easy for her to speak out.

And none of the group members knew her identity.

Although she doesn't talk, she occasionally takes a look in the group to see what other cartoonists are thinking.

And just opened the group.

really.

Everyone! Are discussing the recent activities in the ANF comics section!

【Everyone, have you heard about the activities at ANF? 】

[I heard about it! I'm so excited! They give so much per page! And there's only a minimum limit for updates! Also, has anyone tried it at Wenxinguan? I heard that the return rate for online serials is generally much lower than that for physical magazines. This week's royalties alone will make a lot of money!]

[Yeah, actually, the scariest thing is the promise later on, the collaboration with FGO! I've already spent 2,000 yuan on this game... If this work can be linked with this game, how much money will it get?]

[If you're interested, go! Physical magazines have no future!]

I do want to go, but I'm still worried about the environment on the website. Even though it's harder to get a physical magazine, at least there's no shortage of readers. As long as the serialization goes smoothly and the popularity doesn't remain low for a long time, I'll have no problem making a living. But as for ANF... who knows what will happen to it in the future? Isn't the online reading platform of Wenxinguan a typical example?

[That's right, let's see how the book "Chainsaw Man" turns out. If it becomes a big hit, I'll definitely go!]

[Exploding? Unlikely... ANF may be a 2D website, but its total manga readership probably doesn't even compare to Bunshinkan. And what the third-rate teacher is drawing isn't the Fate series with its established fan base, but a brand new work.]

[Yeah, so it all comes down to commercial value! I don't know how much money a collaboration with FGO will actually make...]

[Hey! Thinking about a collaboration now? Isn't it too early?]

【What if? 】

【…】

The messages sent by group members kept jumping.

Even fans can’t bear to watch it all.

Obviously, most cartoonists are very interested in the comics section of ANF.

But at the same time, there are also some concerns.

Rumi looked at it for a while, then thought of something to say. She picked up her phone and sent a message to Tang Yao: "Are you planning to promote comics in a big way recently...?"

(End of this chapter)