The God-Tier Authors' Contract Group.
This wasn't just an ordinary authors' group; it was a special group reserved only for authors who had signed a god-tier contract, or those whose annual royalties exceeded one million yuan. Most of the authors in the group were ranked Level 7 on Lingdian Chinese Web.
For many ordinary authors, Level 7 was a status they could only look up to.
Badao was one of them.
"Badao, how many bookmarks does your new book have now?"
"Not a lot, just 28,000."
"28,000? Damn, I give that humblebrag a solid 10 out of 10. And you say that's not a lot?"
"Exactly. Badao, your book is in the fantasy genre, and with that Four Seas push and a Strong Recommendation after that, it's bound to hit 35K, maybe even break 40K. And fantasy has strong momentum, so this might be your ticket to Level 8. Time to cling to your thigh... By the way, is it your book's turn for the Four Seas push next week?"
"Should be, I talked with my editor about the new book, and next week should be Four Seas. The editor-in-chief has already applied, and it should be approved today. After Four Seas, it'll go to Strong Recommendation, and then it'll go premium on the first of next month. Everyone, when that day comes, I hope you'll give me some chapter recs."
"No doubt, Badao's new book has our full support."
As the authors in the group chatted, Badao's chief editor, Anyi, sent him a message.
Normally, regular authors were managed by editors. But well-known authors were handled by both an editor and a chief editor.
Badao was a Level-7 author, so most of the time, the chief editor handled him directly.
"Everyone, hold up. Chief editor just pinged me, chat among yourselves for now."
"Haha, if your editor's looking for you, it must be something good. Go on, Badao, and bring back some good news."
Leaving the group chat, Badao opened the TT message from Group 3's chief editor, Anyi.
"Hey Anyi, what's up?"
"There's a bit of an issue. Your Four Seas push for next week has to be moved to the following week."
"…What?"
The sudden message made Badao's head spin. "Anyi, didn't you tell me before that it would be Four Seas next week, then Strong Rec, then premium? Now that Four Seas is delayed a week, Strong Rec will be delayed too, right? That's not a big deal in itself, but if that happens, my 'Peak of Martial Dao' won't be able to compete for the Monthly Vote ranking on the 1st of next month."
"That's why I came to discuss this with you. I have two plans. One is to skip Four Seas and go straight to Strong Rec next week. That way, you'll still make the 1st of the month and be eligible for Monthly Votes. And since you're missing out on Four Seas, we'll make it up to you with other recommendations."
"No way, I absolutely need Four Seas."
Badao knew how important the Four Seas Recommendation was. Nearly every big hit on Lingdian had gone through it.
There was a saying: "Four Seas is the ultimate test for great novels." Without enduring it, no matter how well-written a book was, its potential for popularity would always be limited. An ordinary author skipping Four Seas was one thing, but Badao was a Level-7 author. How could his new book go premium without first getting Four Seas?
"Then we'll go with the second option: Strong Rec next week, don't go premium yet. After that, the week after next, we'll get you the Four Seas slot. Sound good?"
"Huh?"
Badao frowned. "Isn't it supposed to be Four Seas first, then Strong Rec?"
"Normally, yes, but there's been a scheduling conflict. We have to adjust."
"I'll think about it."
"Alright."
After the conversation ended, Badao returned to the God-Tier Authors' Contract Group.
"I'm back."
Badao sent a message to the group.
Immediately, the others responded.
"Badao, congrats! Did your editor bring you good news to share?"
"Yeah, Badao, did your Four Seas Recommendation get approved?"
"Nope, and don't get me started."
While chatting with his editor earlier, Badao had held his cool. But now, he couldn't hold it in anymore.
"There won't be a Four Seas push next week. It's been moved to the week after."
"You're kidding."
"If it's the week after, then the Strong Rec would be the week after that, meaning the 1st will already have passed. Without that, how do you compete for Monthly Votes?"
All the god-tier authors in the group were familiar with Lingdian's recommendation schedule, and they immediately understood the issue.
"Exactly! My editor gave me two options. First, skip Four Seas and go premium early. Second, do Strong Rec first, then Four Seas, then go premium. Either way, I lose out on Four Seas next week."
Badao sounded frustrated.
"Neither option is good."
At that moment, another Level-7 author in the group, Jiuchonglou, spoke up.
"Skipping Four Seas and going straight to premium is bad for long-term growth. Doing Strong Rec first, then Four Seas, sounds okay at first. But Lingdian always does Strong Rec before premium. If you go Strong Rec but don't immediately go premium, then double back for Four Seas, your subscription numbers might suffer. The best route is still the original one: Four Seas first, then Strong Rec, then premium. That way, you ride the peak hype. Going premium at your highest momentum generally gives you great subscription numbers."
"That's what I thought, but the editor won't allow it."
At this point, Badao was clearly irritated.
"No way, you're a Level-7 author with a god-tier contract. How could they not give you special consideration in scheduling?"
Jiuchonglou was surprised too.
The rest of the group was equally confused.
"Could it be that an even higher-level author. Level 8 has a new book launching next week?"
Level 8 was platinum-tier. One rank above Level 7.
If a platinum author launched a new book, all other authors below Level 8 would have to give way on scheduling.
If that were the case, Badao getting bumped from Four Seas would make sense.
But Badao shook his head. "Nope. I've looked into it, no platinum author is launching a book next week."
"Then this is seriously weird."
"Wait a second… Badao, didn't Huanyue's execs try to poach you a while back? Maybe Lingdian found out and is trying to suppress you."
Another Level-7 author, Qimudeng, whispered some gossip.
"No way. Come on, we're all in this group. Who hasn't been approached by another platform? If Lingdian really suppressed people for that, we'd all be in trouble. Besides, Lingdian's not that stupid. I never jumped ship, and I don't plan to either. They wouldn't suppress me over something so petty."
Badao remained level-headed.
"Well then, there's only one explanation left: you've got competition. And this competitor's new book might have even more potential than yours. Otherwise, they wouldn't have made you give way."
After thinking it through, Qimudeng said.
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