The difficult path of cultivation for a grassroots female practitioner

Although Xiao Han used the narrative style of modern novels when writing his book, which may seem unsophisticated, he was like the storytellers in teahouses who, in order to cater to the uneducated common people, tended to use colloquial language when telling stories.

Therefore, although the middle-aged monk felt uncomfortable when he first read it, gradually his mind followed the plot and he no longer paid attention to the literary style.

What's more, using more colloquial language can make the details of the story more full.

After waiting for a while, Xiao Han saw that he was engrossed in reading, so he walked to the area where the storybooks were placed and picked up one at random to start reading.

Although the middle-aged monk was watching intently, as a monk, he still paid some attention to the situation in the store.

Seeing Xiao Han flipping through the storybook, he glanced at her, ignored her, and continued reading the manuscript.

So, the two people in the bookstore each held a storybook and read it intently.

While reading, an old monk came in. The middle-aged monk just said, "Fellow Daoist, you can choose any book you want. After you choose, bring it to me and pay."

Since it had nothing to do with Xiao Han, she was too lazy to even look up and focused on the storybook in her hand.

In fact, Xiao Han was not willing to read these vernacular novels. After all, when reading novels written in classical Chinese, she could only understand the general plot. What's more, these story plots did not attract her and were not to her liking.

But if she wanted to make money by writing vernacular novels in this era, she had to at least understand the popular trends of these vernacular stories.

During this period, several more monks came, some to buy miscellaneous books, and some to buy storybooks.

It seems that this bookstore is doing well.

After Xiao Han quickly flipped through a book, the middle-aged monk finally finished reading the manuscript.

At this time, the difference between businessmen and readers is revealed.

They all liked the story. Granny Yuan directly said it was good and wanted to see the sequel. The middle-aged monk said indifferently, "It's just average. But your brother worked hard to write it, so I'll still accept it. But the fee won't be much."

Xiao Han knew nothing about the price of writing novels in this alternate time and space world of immortal cultivation. Furthermore, since this was his first time writing a book, he was inevitably nervous. Therefore, he asked with some hesitation, "So, how much can I expect as a reward?"

The middle-aged monk said, "You should ask your brother to come over. I need to ask him about the subsequent storyline, how he plans to write it, and how long he plans to write it."

Xiao Han sighed, "My brother is physically disabled and doesn't want to see outsiders, but don't worry, I can answer all these questions. Since we wrote this story together, I know where the story will go next. As for how long it should be, that depends on how you plan to write a longer story. Also, how many words are generally considered ideal."

The middle-aged monk thought, no wonder some parts of this story are not grand enough, it is probably the result of this female monk's interference.

However, he couldn't blame Xiao Han. After all, he didn't know how well this female cultivator could control the details.

"Then what will Ye Tian experience later, which is the main plot of the story, can you give us a brief account of it?"

The middle-aged monk asked Xiao Han.

Xiao Han was surprised when she heard this. Oh, isn't this just the outline of the story? However, she kept it simple. "Later, Ye Tian will venture into a secret realm, encounter a great opportunity, and rapidly increase his cultivation. Then, after emerging from the secret realm, the sect is in danger, facing a critical juncture of life and death. Then, he displays his divine power and single-handedly turns the tide."

The middle-aged monk had a heart attack. This main plot was too simple.

However, he couldn't ask any further, so he said, "You guys are writing the story in such a colloquial way, and there's too much nonsense. After you have someone re-edit it, the word count will be at least half as much. How about this? You write about 200,000 words for this book, and I'll have someone re-edit it. The final word count might be around 100,000, and then we can sell it in three books."

Xiao Han had read a serialized storybook from Jiang Wan before, and he understood the middle-aged cultivator's intentions. But these weren't the issues; the question was, how much would the other party pay him for writing 200,000 words?

"Boss, how are you going to pay me for the writing fee?"

The middle-aged monk had a kind expression. "My last name is Qian Wanshan, and I'm the owner of this bookstore. You can just call me Fellow Daoist Qian. As for the writing fee, the fee I charge for storybooks here is usually higher than elsewhere. However, your situation is special, and I need to find someone to re-edit it, which means I have to pay another fee. So, after you finish writing this book, I can give you forty spirit stones."

Xiao Han thought about how it took him five and a half days and five full days to write the first 30,000 words. Calculating this way, it would take him almost two months to write 200,000 words.

It took two months to earn forty spirit stones. According to the wages of ordinary people pulling weeds, it would take three months to earn thirty spirit stones.

So, even if she writes books full-time, her income is just like that of an ordinary person who collects weeds?

After figuring it out, Xiao Han immediately became discouraged.

Sure enough, wanting to make a living by writing is just a dream.

Becoming a legend with just one book is not something that a working girl like me with no diploma can achieve.

"Writing a storybook takes too much time. Such a long book only costs forty spirit stones. It's not worth it. Forget it, I won't write it anymore." Xiao Han said as he picked up the manuscript on the table.

From what Boss Qian had said, there should be other bookstores in Fuyuan City that sell storybooks. She could take it to other places and ask. If no one wants it, she could take it back and say her brother wants to continue writing.

Qian Wanshan originally thought that this female cultivator was only at the first level of Qi training, and it was difficult for her to earn spirit stones. Her brother was a disabled person and never showed up, so he thought she was not a powerful character, so he prepared to kill her.

But the knife cut so hard that the female cultivator simply gave up writing.

Qian Wanshan hurriedly held up the manuscript. "Hey, why are you so impatient? Listen to me slowly. This is your first time writing a storybook, and the setting is quite novel. I don't know if it will be accepted by the monks who buy the book. How about this, you go back and work with your brother to write the sequel. I will find someone to re-polish it and put it on sale in the bookstore immediately.

The first volume will be priced very low, essentially selling at cost. If many monks want to read the subsequent storylines, a second volume will be released immediately. The second and third volumes will be the key to profitability.

If the second book sells well, I'll give you an additional fee. If the subsequent books don't receive much, I won't give you any additional fees, and you don't have to write the epilogue. How do you do that?"

Xiao Han immediately asked, "How much additional money?"

Qian Wanshan said, "Twenty to forty spirit stones, depending on how popular the storybook is."

This condition immediately made Xiao Han much more satisfied.

But she still wanted to fight for it.

"It takes my brother and me a month or two to earn this little amount of spirit stones. It's really too little. But Fellow Daoist Qian is so open-minded, I'm still willing to cooperate with you. How about this: the writing fee will be calculated as you said, but you also have to give me a spell book. That's not too much, right?"

Qian Wanshan immediately smiled and said, "Sure, I'll give you any of those magic books you choose."

Xiao Han immediately ran towards the magic area and wanted to pick out a book.

However, she wanted all the books of spells except Cleansing and Entanglement, and she wanted to learn all of them.

In the end, Xiao Han chose the Fireball Technique which was currently useful.

The spell books on the bookshelf were all blank. Xiao Han told the title of the book, and Qian Wanshan found the fireball spell book with words in his storage bag.

Xiao Han took the thin book, which was bound with only a few sheets of paper, and couldn't wait to flip through it.

After just one look, she was dumbfounded.