For the entire market, sports competition is a very niche genre. Especially when the otherworldly adventure genre is widely popular, this type of theme lacks a reader base even more. So, even though “Prince of Tennis” received rave reviews, the editors didn’t have high expectations for its sales. But now it seems many people have misjudged.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

The Chief Editor’s emotions were tumultuous at this moment.

The Female Supervisor was taken aback, then looked at the two with sympathy: “You didn’t know? I informed the Editor-in-Chief the day ‘Prince of Tennis’ first ran out of stock. It seems our Editor-in-Chief didn’t tell you.”

The Chief Editor and Deputy Chief Editor felt a chill in their hearts. They knew the Editor-in-Chief’s personality well. The fact that such a big issue wasn’t communicated to their editorial department could only mean one thing: the Editor-in-Chief was displeased.

The company has four editorial departments, each responsible for different categories of works, and each department is equipped with a Chief Editor and Deputy Chief Editor. The two of them are in charge of the youth fantasy category. The Editor-in-Chief is the boss of all four editorial departments.

Seeing the two in such a miserable state, the Female Supervisor wasn’t angry anymore. She just smiled and said, “Whether your editorial department knows or not, it’s the same. Shipping is my responsibility. Can your editorial department magically produce a batch of books?”

This was the truth. The editorial department is only responsible for selection and quality control; sales are not within their scope of duties. However, in general, such matters are usually communicated to the editorial department. This time, it was likely a warning from the Editor-in-Chief, which is why the Chief Editor and Deputy Chief Editor only found out about the situation today.

“How many orders are there now?”

The Chief Editor forcibly suppressed his complex emotions.

A voice came from behind: “Currently, the total orders from major bookstores in Qinzhou amount to 400,000 copies. They can be delivered to major bookstores by tomorrow. However, considering the subsequent market demand, I’ve instructed the publishing department to print an additional 500,000 copies.”

“Hello, Editor-in-Chief!”

The three of them turned simultaneously to look at the man behind them. This person was the Editor-in-Chief of Silver Blue Library, one of the most powerful figures in the company.

“Mm.”

The Editor-in-Chief nodded, his authoritative gaze filled with dissatisfaction: “The decision to initially publish only 100,000 copies of ‘Prince of Tennis’ was very foolish. However, since your editorial department didn’t reject this book, I’ll let it slide this time.”

“Yes!”

The Chief Editor and Deputy Chief Editor felt as if they had been granted amnesty. Fortunately, they included “Prince of Tennis” in the initial list for the Supernova project to diversify market themes. Missing out on such a treasure trove would have been a huge loss for the company.

“Also.”

The Editor-in-Chief frowned and said, “I looked at the plan. The original word count for ‘Prince of Tennis’ was only one million. Have the editor responsible for Chu Kuang communicate with him. The company hopes he can expand the outline and aim for over three million words.”

If a book doesn’t perform well, it might be cut short. Conversely, if a book performs well, the publisher will encourage the author to write more because more words mean more profit.

“Okay!”

The Chief Editor nodded repeatedly. Most authors wouldn’t refuse this proposal. Authors need to make a living too, and who wouldn’t want to earn more money? Besides, how many authors can guarantee their next book will also be a hit?

“Additionally.”

The Editor-in-Chief thought for a moment and said, “Make sure to serve Chu Kuang well. Don’t have any conflicts with him. If Chu Kuang gets poached by another publisher, you two might have to move your butts.”

“Okay, okay, okay!”

The Chief Editor nodded repeatedly. Even without the Editor-in-Chief’s reminder, the editorial department would treat Chu Kuang like a big shot. The success of “Prince of Tennis” in the sports genre has a chain effect. This success proves that sports competition can also be a blockbuster. This is just the beginning! In the future, the market will surely see a surge in sports competition works, and Chu Kuang might become the face of the sports genre in Qinzhou!

…

Supernova is a large-scale writing contest, and Silver Blue Library is a well-established publisher ranked among the top in Qinzhou. Therefore, many peers in the industry are watching the results of their contest closely.

“This year’s Supernova seems to have gone off track.”

“Five books in the Supernova, four of them scored below five. The only one with a high reputation is ‘Prince of Tennis,’ but the chosen theme is too niche. The sales can’t be that good.”

“Even Silver Blue Library has its day.”

“The failure of Supernova is a significant blow to its brand. This year’s setback is too damaging. Next year’s submissions for Supernova might decrease.”

“…”

The publishing industry was abuzz with discussions. In any field, peers are rivals, so Silver Blue Library’s competitors were somewhat gloating.

At Prosperous Publishing, a company comparable in scale to Silver Blue Library, the Editor-in-Chief was in a particularly good mood seeing Silver Blue Library’s Supernova not performing well. He even called a chain bookstore manager: “Isn’t this year’s Supernova hard to sell?”

“I’m worried about this.”

The chain bookstore manager on the other end seemed a bit troubled.

The Editor-in-Chief of Prosperous Publishing was even happier but couldn’t show it. He feigned sympathy: “The market environment is tough now. Don’t worry too much.”

“You misunderstood.”

The other party explained: “‘Prince of Tennis’ is selling very well. I’m worried because it’s severely out of stock. Many customers come to the store specifically asking for this book, but I’ve sold out.”

The Editor-in-Chief of Prosperous Publishing was stunned: “What?”

The other party chuckled: “I know what you’re thinking. You just want to see Silver Blue Library’s misfortune. Their top four in this year’s Supernova didn’t perform well, but the fifth, ‘Prince of Tennis,’ is very popular. I ordered 150,000 copies from Silver Blue today, and they’ll be in stock tomorrow!”

The Editor-in-Chief of Prosperous Publishing: “…”

The other party continued: “Sports competition is an untapped market. I suggest your publishing house pay more attention to this genre. Doesn’t your market love to follow trends? When otherworldly adventure was popular, everyone wrote about it. Now that sports competition has a market, let everyone follow the trend!”

Bookstores only care about whether a book sells well. They don’t care about anything else.

The Editor-in-Chief of Prosperous Publishing said blankly: “Okay…”

After hanging up, he was silent for a long time. Suddenly, he opened the large group chat of the editorial department and sent a message: “All editors in the youth fantasy department must finish reading ‘Prince of Tennis’ tonight.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Read ‘Prince of Tennis’?”

The group chat immediately became lively. Seeing his editors still looking confused, the Editor-in-Chief typed with unprecedented force: “If Silver Blue can discover a blockbuster like ‘Prince of Tennis,’ why can’t you? From now on, push more sports competition works!”

The group chat fell silent. Sports competition, a blockbuster? Is the Editor-in-Chief sure there’s no mistake?