“Persuade people to write a book, the sky thunders and strikes”
Editor’s note: This article is from the WeChat public account “Network Entertainment Observation” (ID: wldygc2016), author: Bei Bo.
The ups and downs of the internet essays, the author of the internet essays “besieged on all sides”.
On May 15th, Starting Point Chinese Network celebrated its 19th birthday. On the day before the anniversary, Qidian.com released the “Memories Killing” video. Through Hu Ge’s “Echo” promotional video, it used many online works to connect the growth stories of different readers and show the positive energy spread of online works. And the brilliant results of 19 years. The development and changes of Chinese online literature can also be seen in full view.
As one of the reading platforms under the Reading Group, the Chinese website of Starting Point has cultivated many outstanding creators and various types of explosive works in recent years, which has promoted the development of Chinese online literature. According to statistics, more than 100,000 readers, authors, publishers, screenwriters, and producers gather at the “starting point” every day, interacting and colliding with each other, looking for or providing high-quality content.
The starting point is no longer just the “starting point”. In the past few years, the starting point and the creators of online literature have mutually benefited each other and have become the pioneer in the development of China’s online literature IP. Various literary platforms have stepped up side by side, driving the complete development of China’s online literature IP economic chain in competition.
In recent years, with the formation of the closed loop of the IP industry chain of internet literature, internet literature authors seem to fall into the cloud. At that time, the introduction of multiple incentive policies on various platforms caused controversy and rumors, and the living conditions of online writers once again attracted widespread attention. To this end, Wang Yujun visited 4 online editors and 12 online authors to analyze the real living conditions of online authors in an all-round way.
There is a lot of plagiarism, “talent” determines survival
Low threshold and no cost. Online literary websites use “one point of hard work and three points of harvest” for publicity, concealing the essence of “only survival” and attracting many creators to make literary creations on the Internet.
“I started writing books at the starting point in 2003, which is considered to be an earlier batch. Because online literature has no threshold, we were often looked down upon at that time. Some people also quit because of this, and those who persisted entered ‘Talent Knockout.’ The reality is not like the three-point harvest of hard work that the platform advertises. People without talents will eventually be eliminated and won’t get a single point.” Starting point writer Zheng Qihao said.
Zheng Qihao stood on his heels with difficulty in the “corpse all over the ground” talent battle. Zhang Yu and Song Yunji, who were struggling together in the same period, have disappeared from the public’s sight, working towards the nineteenthClerk work in late five. “Over time, you will find the gap between yourself and others, coupled with the oppression of real life and work, you can no longer stick to it. But I am very grateful to the starting point for letting us know each other, and having the opportunity to write down our own unconstrained ideas. Traces of their own existence,” they said.
Yang Lu, the author of Jinjiang Literature City, said that the relationship between online articles and authors is continuous innovation and mutual definition. With the rapid development of online literature, simple VIP, equal subscription and other forms can no longer meet the needs of the platform and the majority of authors. The platform and many “third parties” have begun to explore longer-term benefits.
Under these conditions, the “web-text studio” was born, and with the rise of web-based websites in recent years, it has become a normal existence in the web-based industry. “The online articles of the Netwen Studio are all popular works that have been tested by the market. As long as you disassemble the analysis rhythm and the plot is cooler, even if you are imitations, you can make a profit without losing money.” said Tao Zi, the online editor.
Among them, some web-text studios produced a large number of routines and repetitive web-texts through rhythmic reproduction and demolition of texts, in order to profit from imitations, aggravating plagiarism and infringing on the interests of creators. As a result, the counterattack of creators is often impossible to start.
” Plagiarism is unavoidable. First, you don’t have time to check it, and second, you can’t manage it if you have time. Because there are too many, you can’t check it. We lack relevant laws and regulations, and it’s not a head work. , The platform will not necessarily assist you to sue him.” said Zhu Qi, the author of the net article.
Three editors, including Yang Fei, Chen Hao, Fei Duo, said, “The reader’s rejection psychology is limited to about ten chapters. As long as the fascinating characters or fascinating suspense are created in ten chapters, the audience will learn from And’plagiarism’ don’t care too much”.
At this point, the tortuous ecology of online literature creation has turned hundreds of times, thus affecting the value enhancement of the online literature industry.
Under hegemony, “we don’t know if there will be tomorrow”
In 2015, adapted from Gu Man’s novel of the same name, the TV series “Why”Sheng Xiao Mo” has attracted audiences’ popularity due to its high degree of restoration and meticulous craftsmanship of the original work, and it has set off a wave of online writing. At the end of 2019, the web drama “Celebrating More Than Years”, adapted from Mao’s novel of the same name, showcased temple maneuvers in a humorous and light comedy style, and received both ratings and word of mouth. It will land on Guizhou Satellite TV’s golden file in January 2021. A large number of creators flocked to the web platform again, and the web text industry was heading for its heyday.
Under the prosperity, profit-oriented. In May last year, the “Overlord Clause” incident of China Reading Group broke out. Some online writers initiated the “55 Broken Updates” to protect their rights and interests, but the effect was minimal. In June last year, the National Press and Publication Administration required strict implementation of the real-name system for online authors to control the total amount of online articles. The creation of online articles was once again handcuffed, and the issue of the income of online authors was once again focused.
In the eyes of net essay authors Wulong and Chen Chen, “the specific income of net essay authors” is a false proposition. First of all, the income of online writers is extremely unstable, and most people continue to create with enthusiasm. Secondly, the definition of the author of online articles is vague, which makes it impossible to analyze and compare the problem within a unified scope.
“In a broad sense, people who have written a few web articles can also become web writers. In fact, these people are only web writers in the outer circle. The web writer is defined as a contracted author. The boundary is not clear.’Income ‘Has become a pseudo-proposition.” said the author of the net article Wulong.
Zhu Jing, the author of online essays, said that there has long been a consensus among the authors: online essay authors are cheap “free” producers. Persuading people to write books, the sky thunders.
“Talent is the foundation, and you will never die of starvation. If you define an online article author as a contracted author, you can get 800 or 1000 yuan for full attendance as long as you work hard, even if you are on the street. Get the station short and put it on the shelf. After that, full attendance is added, and a monthly income of 2000 is still acceptable. This is the basic income of the bottom author. The middle-level monthly income is about 5,000, the high-level income is more than 10,000, and the head is more. But most people are in the state of only receiving the full attendance bonus. I can’t insist on putting it on the shelves at all. I don’t know if there will be a tomorrow. This is the status quo.” said the author Tan Kai.
Nowadays, the online literacy industry is underwhelming, and internal competition is extremely fierce.Strong, the income gap of Internet writers of all classes is obvious, showing a deformed pyramid structure, and it is getting worse.
Aftershocks are still there, the platform and the author need in-depth communication
In recent years, the impact of the rise of short videos on the creation of online literature and its business model has continued to ferment, and the development of the online literature industry is entering a new watershed.
On the 19th anniversary, Starting Point announced that it will carry out a number of business innovations and work towards building a more complete platform ecology. Starting Point will launch the “Creator Plan”, integrate existing resources, and take over the shortcomings of authors, core users, and industry KOLs. The production and distribution of content such as video, sound, graphics, etc., to support downstream dubbing, self-media and other industries, so that more content creators can generate revenue at the starting point.
Secondly, strengthen support for vertical category content. For example, for short and medium works of suspense, crime solving, adventure, science fiction and other types of content, the addition of boutique logos and divisional displays will encourage users to create.
In addition, the starting point will expand the communication channels between book friends and authors through the way of community information flow, create revenue, and create a “starting point up master”. At the same time, the information flow of the discovery page was revised to build an online community and incubate KOLs in the online community.
Starting point This business innovation will focus on creators, content, products and platform operations, further enhance the vitality of platform content, and incubate more high-quality, professional, and young high-quality IP for the cultural industry.
It is undeniable that the impact of China Reading Group’s high-level adjustments and “contract incidents” has not yet been fully mitigated. On the day when the “Creator Project” was announced, some online writers revived in the group and then divided into two camps, but their common point was to wait and see the starting point for follow-up actions before making plans.
Internet writers Fang Yuan and Xia Ye are skeptical about reading the article due to the aftermath of the “Overlord Clause”. On the other hand, the starting point writer often laughed and said, “I stayed because of the revised contract a year ago. During this year, I have also made some changes to the starting point. Although there are still doubts in my heart, I am willing to create and continue with the starting pointExplore and develop together. “
Throughout the history of the development of Chinese online literature, since the starting point 19 years ago, many outstanding writers and classic works have been incubated, and they have become an indispensable part of the Chinese online literature ecology. Today, the starting point will set off again to help authors and readers explore the way forward and create value together.
The previous cause has not dissipated, but aftershocks are still there. The platform and the author need in-depth communication to discuss the future development. It is hoped that the web industry will develop and explore while harmoniously building a more benign and healthy ecology.
(At the request of the editor and the author, all names in the article are pseudonyms)