Words Upon Release

I received notice from the editor that the book will go live tomorrow.

Let me talk a bit about this novel.

The title was something I typed in casually. I originally came up with a name I thought was quite good, but it didn’t pass the review, so I settled on this one. Even now, every time I open the backend to update the story, I feel a certain embarrassment, as if asking, “What kind of title is this?”

This is my first novel, and the first time I’ve written over a hundred thousand words. When I started writing, I never imagined I would one day produce so many words. I told myself, “Just write a hundred thousand words and see how it goes.” Then it turned into two hundred thousand, then three hundred thousand, and so on.

Looking at it now, I might have to write even more.

All of this is thanks to all of you. In the beginning, my results were really poor. If I had to write hundreds of thousands or even millions of words alone, I honestly don’t think I could have done it. So every time I received a recommendation vote, a comment, or a new bookmark, I felt genuinely happy because it meant I wasn’t fighting this battle alone.

It wasn’t until the story was close to one hundred thousand words that it was successfully signed. After signing, I received the first tip of my writing career. At that moment, I thought, “Did I really write a novel that someone is willing to pay for?” Before that, I had never considered such a thing, especially since even reaching the point of signing took a tremendous effort on my part.

With everyone’s support, this book gradually grew from my initial modest hopes — one hundred thousand words, one thousand clicks, two hundred recommendation votes — to where it is now, stepping into the stage of going live.

What does going live mean? Since this is my first time, I don’t have much experience. But in my mind, bookmarks might suddenly drop, the comment section could become quiet, and recommendation votes might be far fewer than before.

Even I find many parts of this book unsatisfactory, but that’s due to my limited ability, not because I’m being careless. When it was free, readers might have tolerated its flaws, but once it becomes a paid work, no one is obligated to put up with imperfections. So becoming picky, removing chapters, those are all understandable reactions.

Entertainment literature from Japan is a niche within a niche. Making a living solely from it is impossible. For me, subscriptions feel more like a form of recognition.

Even if just a little, I hope to earn the affirmation that “this book is worth spending money on.”

I have always written this book with gratitude. Your bookshelves may hold hundreds or even thousands of books, and among the limited daily recommendation votes, choosing to cast one for me means a lot to me. Without all of you, I wouldn’t have come this far.

Having said all that, let me now talk about tomorrow’s update.

I originally thought the live date might be delayed another week, so I didn’t prepare anything. Also, I have mainly been writing and posting right before and after work, with no backlog at all.

But now that it’s going live, I have to give it my all. Given my usual pace, you probably won’t see a burst of tens of thousands of words at once, but I will do my best to write no less than six thousand words.

Finally, thank you.

Thank you to all who have supported me with bookmarks, recommendations, tips, comments, and even those silently following this book. Though from tomorrow I may have to say goodbye to some of you, I am truly grateful for this time.

I have never begged for bookmarks or recommendations before, but now that the book is going live, I’ll make a small request. If possible, please help with the first subscriptions. Even I would be afraid to see single-digit initial subscriptions! (laughs)