Chapter 81: My Goal is to Become Wealthy
After returning home, Yuta said to Hina, "Hina, you and Sister Sasha can play here while Uncle goes to work in his room, okay?"
"Okay!" Hina obediently agreed.
Hina was not a mischievous child; she always listened carefully to what her sister and uncle said.
Sasha, who was nearby, leaned in affectionately toward Hina and asked, "Hina, you're so good! What did you do at kindergarten today?"
Hina proudly lifted her head and said, "I played games with Anzu, Koume, and Hiiragi today. Everyone really likes Hina!"
Seeing Hina's proud expression, Yuta smiled and then went outside to start working.
He planned to work on the design drawings later in the evening when it was quieter; there wasn't much time left before dinner, and he wouldn't be able to complete anything substantial in the short time he had.
When doing tasks like this, interruptions were the worst—much like when a romantic moment is interrupted, it easily kills the mood.
Besides working on the design drawings, Yuta also kept an eye on his novel.
White Album 2 was actually a colorful story, very suitable for adaptation into a game aimed at audiences aged eighteen and above, rather than being made into a manga or drama series.
After searching for information on the website, Yuta found numerous reviews about his work.
[I thought August-sensei's new book would still be about alternate worlds; why is it a school novel?]
[This theme feels so familiar. It's another guy with two girls, isn't it just like Metronome in love? Disappointing!]
[I read the first volume, and it's not funny at all. I hope August-sensei finds his way back. Comedy is your strong suit!]
[I heard Konosuba has been completed; why hasn't it been released? Does anyone know how it ends?]
[How infuriating! He actually plagiarized Utako-sensei's work! Hurry up and kneel to apologize!]
…
Yuta casually browsed through the comments, noticing that almost all the readers were dissatisfied with the work, clamoring for him to continue producing something at the level of Konosuba.
Moreover, from some of the text, he could sense a palpable malice.
Leaning back in his chair, Yuta propped his feet up on the table and contacted Sonoko.
"Is that you, Yuta? What made you think to call me?" Sonoko was about to finish her shift, but since she had nothing else to do, she decided to stay late.
"Well, I've sent out the prologue and illustrations. Next, I want to know what the library thinks of my work."
Sonoko smiled at this; it seemed he was finally taking his work seriously.
"We're optimistic about it. Your character design is excellent, and it has gained a lot of popularity online, so it will be published soon."
Yuta found it strange and asked, "But I saw many negative comments online about it?"
"You don't need to worry about those reviews. Many people who don't like something tend to leave negative comments, while only a few who are willing to pay will step up to support it. No novel can satisfy everyone," Sonoko reassured him.
She continued, not fazed by the negativity:
"You're not alone in this. When Metronome in Love first came out, the market reaction was quite poor; it almost got discontinued, and many reviews were negative then too. But in the end, it made a turnaround and silenced the critics with its outstanding performance!"
Seeing that Sonoko had a favorable outlook on his work eased Yuta's worries.
"Then I'll upload the rest today; you can handle the publishing process."
Yuta didn't have much time to spare, so to save himself the trouble, he handed this task over to Sonoko. Since he had finished writing everything, it was fine to let the editor handle the rest.
"Finished writing everything?" Sonoko pressed her forehead, amazed at how productive he was.
Compared to Yuta, the rest of Sonoko's subordinates seemed like a bunch of sloths!
Yuta didn't upload the remaining content online but instead sent it to Sonoko's email due to the large file size, which would take some time to transfer.
"Yes, I haven't done anything else these past few days. I had a concept in mind beforehand, so it was quite straightforward to write."
Sonoko didn't believe writing was so simple, but considering that Yuta had prepared for about a month since their first meeting, it seemed reasonable.
"Alright, I'll take care of it." While waiting for the data transfer, Sonoko asked, "By the way, which illustrator did your artwork? Their skills are great! Are they freelance or part of a circle?"
Illustrations often play a crucial role in a light novel's success, sometimes even more important than the plot itself. Many readers buy a novel to get the illustrations, treating the text as secondary.
Differences in character styles are prevalent, especially between fantasy and school-themed works, so illustrators often vary from project to project, with no need for author meetings.
Editors are responsible for coordinating between illustrators and authors.
Most illustrators are graduates from art schools and transition to the industry after training.
Because of this, several illustrators' styles can greatly elevate a work, and there's even an industry joke about buying illustrations and getting toilet paper as a bonus—meaning the toilet paper is actually the main text of the novel.
"I drew those illustrations myself, but I've been focusing more on drawing two-dimensional characters lately. It's affected my car design sketches, so I won't be drawing for a while," Yuta replied.
Sonoko was once again shocked. After being amazed by Yuta's skills as a bricklayer, printer, nail artist, and now a prolific bestselling author, she was astounded again!
"Are you saying those illustrations are all drawn by you?! And you're designing cars too? What exactly do you do?"
That was a good question, and it left Yuta momentarily speechless.
What exactly was he doing?
Thinking back, he had been working for others in his past life; perhaps this time he could be the boss!
"As for me, no matter what job I do, my only desire is to become a wealthy person. I'm working as a freelancer with the goal of becoming rich. As for my current roles, I'm a student part-time and a dad full-time!"
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