I Married the President

Chapter 380: Chapter 380: Broke the Record Again

Claire Sinclair went to her desk and sat down before finally speaking. "What happened? Why is everyone congratulating me?"

"Congratulations on your novel going premium!"

"Haha... I’ve already read all your new updates. I’m dying to know what happens next."

"Yeah, you’re not updating enough. Why don’t you release more Chapters?"

’So it’s about my novel going premium.’

’Geez, and here I thought something serious had happened.’

Claire Sinclair gave a dry laugh and said, "It’s just my novel going premium, nothing major. You probably shouldn’t be reading novels during work hours, though. If Teacher Hartwell finds out, you’ll get an earful."

"Haha... Alright, let’s get back to work!"

Claire Sinclair paid them no more mind, opened her laptop, and clicked into her author dashboard. A very long string of numbers immediately appeared.

’That many subscriptions?’

’It’s over a million...’

’Over seven million, in fact. Isn’t that number a bit ridiculous?’

Claire Sinclair was a bit stunned. She never expected so many people to read the novel she wrote.

She couldn’t resist opening the comment section and saw numerous reader reviews.

[Mass update! Mass update!]

[Why does it cost money now? This is garbage. Is the author’s whole family a bunch of beggars?]

[Why would the author write if they don’t get paid? If it were you, would you write for free?]

[We support you, Author! Keep it up!]

[I came here because it was free. After a few Chapters, I thought it was pretty good, so I added it to my library. Now, after a few hundred Chapters, it costs money??? Sorry, but I’m a student and don’t have the money to pay. Dropping this book. Goodbye!]

...

After seeing these comments, Claire Sinclair lost the heart to scroll down any further.

’People in this country have such a weak sense of copyright, and piracy is rampant. I really hope that one day, all original creators will be rewarded for their efforts, and all readers will give them the space to survive.’

’Maybe I should try writing an article about copyright?’

The thought had just popped into her head when it was nipped in the bud the very next second.

’If I suddenly publish an article like that right when my novel goes premium, people would probably curse me out for being crazy for money, wouldn’t they?’

People these days would rather spend hundreds or even thousands on games, or on eating out and having fun. Yet, they can’t bear to part with a few bucks to subscribe to a novel. It’s as if authors don’t spend any time or energy writing, and they still get their entire family cursed out just for charging a fee.

Thinking about this, Claire Sinclair let out a self-deprecating laugh.

’Forget it. Not many people would read an article like that anyway. I’ll wait until the government passes a new copyright protection law and then maybe write a special feature on it.’

Claire Sinclair closed her author dashboard and started her workday.

She thought the matter of her novel going premium was over and done with. But early the next morning, her editor from CloudScript Books suddenly sent her a congratulatory message—

Editor Redbird: Sweetie, you broke another record!

Mrs. Quincy: What record?

Editor Redbird: The subscription record! You set a new record for the female-oriented fiction category with 400,000 in daily sales. You’re the highest in history!

Claire Sinclair was a little confused and couldn’t help but ask: What do you mean by 400,000 in daily sales?

Editor Redbird: That’s the revenue before the platform takes its cut.

Mrs. Quincy: Oh.

Claire Sinclair didn’t really understand how high these records in the web novel world had to be to become legendary, but she had seen some related posts on forums.

Some top-tier web novel authors, in order to maintain their "god-tier" status, would spend a fortune to inflate their subscription numbers. They’d even pay money every year to break their own subscription records, fabricating the illusion that they were incredibly successful to make readers worship them.

This kind of thing was just like celebrities in the entertainment industry buying "water armies" to boost their rankings. Claire Sinclair found it disgusting and had no desire to chase after such hollow glory. It was meaningless.

Claire Sinclair didn’t want to continue this topic, so she started to type out the words, "I have to get back to work."