图/王晓莹中国日报
Writers used to have to approach publishers in the hope of having their work read by the public. Now they can simply post their offerings online and find an instant audience of millions. Liu Xiangrui reports.
After breaking up with her boyfriend in 2009, Bao Jingjing, then 22, started "making up" a love story simply to distract herself from her heartbreak. Her story progressed quickly, so she decided to post it online as a serial.
The story of a young girl dealing with the pang of a broken heart soon attracted many readers with its simple, humorous style.
When Bao started to write less as she reunited with her boyfriend, she was contacted by her readers who urged her to continue, as they were eager to find out what happened next.
Bao finished writing the story in three months. It became so popular online that she was soon contacted by a publisher who turned it into a best-seller.
To cap it all off, Bao's novel was later picked up by film director Teng Huatao and adapted into a movie in 2017. With an investment of only 9 million ($1.45 million), the movie Love Is Not Blind took in 350 million yuan.
Bao's story is only one of many Internet novels that have landed deals for films, TV shows and physical books.
Unlike traditional writers who toil away on their books for years in the hope of gaining recognition, many young writers like Bao have cultivated readers rapidly online and often find overnight success in the real world.
Bao admits that the success was unexpected.
"I just enjoy writing and the Internet is a good platform, because there are people who want to listen. What I was writing was nothing unusual," Bao says.
She worked as a copywriter for one month before quitting.
"I thought I would have to rely on my parents for the rest of my life," says Bao, who still remembers how surprised her parents were when she proudly gave them her copyright earnings.
Online literature forums are platforms for grassroots writers to realize their dreams, says another post-1980 writer who writes under the pseudonym Binglansha.
Binglansha was doing an ordinary office job when she started reading online novels. Back then, most online novels were free, she recalls.
Since her first attempt in 2008, Binglansha has authored a series of historical romance novels. Her awarding-winning work Beauty's Plan has been published and is set to be adapted into a TV series.
As literature websites began charging readers, popular writers like Binglansha started to receive considerable contribution fees, which are determined by how many hits they get on the website. Selling copyrights brings in additional revenue.
Binglansha says she now receives enough money to support her family and focus on writing.
Besides economic benefits, interacting with her readers on the forum is also exciting.
"It's something online writers do every day. It makes me feel so good to see so many readers enjoy my story and get immersed in the plots," says Binglansha, who often has heated discussions with her readers.
Writing can be a difficult and boring process. However, the support from readers gives her passion, says Liu Chenfeng, another young writer.
"They make me feel that I am not writing alone," Liu says.
Liu used to work in IT in Shanghai. She has posted over 5 million words on Hongxiu.com, one of the major literature websites.
Liu says it's hard to predict whether a novel will be popular.
"Sometimes I am very confident that people would love my story. However, it is really not something under my control," Liu says. "Gradually I became less concerned about popularity and focused more on quality."
She's working on a few modern love stories, and has plans to try some fantasies and historical novels, both genres favored by online writers.
In the past five years, Zhang Wei has racked up 177 million yuan ($28.53 million) by just moving his fingertips.
For two consecutive years since 2017, he has topped the list of wealthiest Chinese Internet novelists, with an income of 33 million yuan in 2017.
The 33-year-old Beijing native, better known as Tangjiasanshao online, was the only online writer to be listed on the 2017 Forbes "Chinese Celebrity List".
Zhang presumably has the biggest number of Chinese readers among all authors, but he admits that making a living as an author was beyond his dreams.
After graduation with a degree in law, Zhang had worked in several different jobs, including an IT position. He was laid off by his last employer before he "accidentally" tried online writing and eventually created a whole new world for himself.
Zhang had been reading online novels for six years when he started writing his own.
The first work was immature, Zhang admits. Yet it brought in a small income and for the first time Zhang realized it's possible to make money writing novels.
In fact, he spent eight years leading a life which is typical for most online writers. It has been an essential part of his life to sit before the computer, busy typing and posting. The readers pay cents for every thousand words, sometimes offering "tips". It's how such writers earn money.
It took him six months to finish his second novel, a fantasy of 1.5 million words. The 2004 novel brought in 4,000 yuan, but made him well-known as an online writer.
Zhang says when he was writing the book, Wild God, he was so motivated by the flow of inspiration that he would write over 10 hours a day. The imagined characters kept talking to him in his head, and he sometimes had to take up to four showers to cool down and fall asleep, he recalls.
Now he has delivered 12 novels - more than 30 million words - on different themes. His works are read by hundreds of millions.
Zhang thinks his works, mainly fantasies, are interesting to young people and are suitable for making cartoons.
More than 10 million printed copies of his books and an equal number of cartoons based on them are sold each year. Besides the three existing cartoon books developed from his works, six others are being made.
Zhang's famously high productivity is also his secret to wealth. In his best year, he wrote 4 million words.
Over the years, he has followed a strict writing schedule and never fails his readers in updating the stories online.
He usually begins with a concept and develops the structure months before the writing. He skillfully paces the story according to his own understanding of readers' habits.
Zhang says his sensitiveness and curiosity have helped him find inspiration in daily life.
"A word or sentence that might well be neglected by others might spark a story in me," he says. Books and movies are other sources of inspiration.
Zhang admits that he is one of the few writers at the top of the pyramid while most online writers remain uncelebrated. However, he argues that his success can be achieved by others, as long as "they write hard enough".
The industry is still growing at a dazzling speed, and more online writers can find a bright future as the Internet continues to shape people's reading habits, he says.
以前，作家如果希望大众能读到自己的作品，他们必须去联系出版社。现在，他们只要把他们的文章放到网上，立刻会有上百万的读者。
2009年，鲍鲸鲸与男朋友分手后
这个关于一个年轻女孩对付分手痛苦的故事凭借其简单幽默的风格，很快吸引了很多读者。
当鲍鲸鲸与男朋友复合后，她开始写得少了。她的读者们联系她，催她继续写，因为他们很想知道接下来会发生什么。
鲍鲸鲸在三个月内写完了这个故事。这个故事在网上十分受欢迎，很快就有出版商来找她，将这个故事变成了畅销书。
更加厉害的是，鲍鲸鲸的小说之后被电影导演滕华涛选中，并于2017年被改编为电影。投资仅900万元
很多网络小说都被改编成电影、电视剧，或出版为实体书，鲍鲸鲸的小说只是其中一个。
传统作家多年致力于他们的书中，为的是能得到认可，与他们不同，包括鲍鲸鲸在内的很多年轻作家快速地在网上发展了一大批读者，因此在真实世界中经常都是一夜成名。
鲍鲸鲸承认，成功来得太突然。
“我只是享受写作的过程，网络是个很好的平台，因为有很多人想要倾听你的故事。我所写的只不过是稀松平常的事，”鲍鲸鲸说道。
她当了一个月的文案后就辞职了。
“我本以为我的余生都必须依靠父母了，”鲍鲸鲸说道，她还记得当她自豪地把版权所得交给父母时，他们惊讶的表情。
另一个笔名为“冰蓝纱”的80后作家说，网上文学论坛对草根作家来说，是一个帮助他们实现他们梦想的平台。
冰蓝纱开始写网络小说时，做的是普通的办公室工作。她回忆说，那时候，大多数网络小说都是免费的。
自从2008年她的第一次尝试至今，她已经写了一系列历史浪漫小说。她的获奖作品《美人谋》已经出版，并且计划改编成电视连续剧。
当文学网站开始向读者收费，和冰蓝纱一样的受欢迎的作家开始收到可观的稿费——这是由网站上的点击量决定的。出售版权还会带来额外的收益。
冰蓝纱说，她现在赚的钱足够养活家庭，她也能专心写作。
除了经济上的收获，在论坛上与读者互动也是令人兴奋的。
“这是网络作家每天都做的事。看到这么多读者喜欢我的小说，沉浸在情节中，这种感觉很好，”冰蓝纱说道，她经常和读者有热烈的讨论。
另一个年轻作家柳晨枫说，写作是一个枯燥困难的过程。然而，读者的支持给了她激情。
“他们让我觉得我不是一个人在写作，”柳晨枫说道。
以前柳晨枫在上海的一家IT公司上班。她已经在“红袖添香小说网”——国内主要的文学网站之一——写作超过500万字。
柳晨枫说，很难预测一部小说是否会红。
“有时，我非常自信人们会喜欢我的小说。然而，这真的不在我的掌控之中，”柳晨枫说道。“渐渐地，我减少对小说受欢迎程度的关注，增加对小说质量的关注。”
她现在在写几部现代爱情小说，同时计划尝试写一些奇幻小说和历史小说，网络作家很喜欢写这两种题材。
在过去的五年里，张威仅仅通过“敲击键盘”就赚了1.77亿元。
2017-2013连续两年里，他登上中国网络作家富豪榜榜首，2017年他的收入为3300万元。
今年33岁的张威是地道的北京人，在网上以“唐家三少”著称，他是唯一一个入选2017福布斯“中国名人榜”的网络作家。
张威可能是中国拥有最多读者的作家，但是他坦承，靠写作谋生确实超乎他的想象。
法学学士毕业后，张威曾做过几份不同的工作，其中包括IT职位。他被最后一任老板解雇后，“偶然”尝试了网络写作，最终为自己创造了一个全新的世界。
张威在自己开始着手写网络小说前，读了六年的网络小说。
张威承认，第一部作品是不成熟的。然而，它带来了小额收入，张威第一次意识到靠写小说赚钱是可能的。
事实上，他有八年的生活是和大多数网络作家一样的。坐在电脑前打字和发帖是他生活必不可少的一部分。读者每看一千字付费几分钱，有时还会付“小费”。作家就是这样赚钱的。
他的第二本小说花了他六个月，是一部150万字的奇幻小说。2004年的那本小说虽然只带来了4000元的收入，却使他成为一名知名网络作家。
张威说，当他在写《狂神》时，灵感源源不绝，一天超过十小时都在写作。他回忆道，虚构出来的角色不停在他脑海里与他对话，他有时最多必须冲四次澡才能冷静下来、进入梦乡。
现在他发表了12部不同主题的小说——超过3000万字。千百万的读者都读过他的作品。
张威认为他的作品——主要是奇幻小说，很吸引年轻人，也十分适合制作成卡通动漫书。
每年，他的书销量超过1000万本，以他的作品为蓝本的漫画书也售出超过1000万本。除了现有的三本从他的作品发展而来的漫画书，另有六本正在制作中。
张威以井喷式创作出名，这也是他成为富豪的秘诀。最多的一年，他写了400万字。
多年以来，他严格遵守写作时间表，在更新网上故事时从未使他的读者失望。
在开始写作的几个月前，他通常从一个构想开始，并发展为全文的结构。他根据自己对读者习惯的理解，有技巧地调整故事的发展速度。
张威说，他的敏感和好奇心帮助他在日常生活中寻找灵感。
“被别人忽视的一个字或一句话，我却可以从中获取灵感写成一部小说，”他说道。书和电影是其他的灵感
张威承认，他是为数不多的处于金字塔顶端的作家之一，大多数网络作家仍不为人所知。然而，他认为，其他人也可以取得成功，只要“他们足够努力地写作”。
他说，这个行业仍以惊人的速度发展着，更多的网络作家可以找到光明的未来，因为网络持续塑造着人们的阅读习惯。