Rainforest Publishing was located in Des Moines, the capital city of Iowa.
Relying on the university resources there, the literary industry such as book publishing had been developing very well.
Fang Yuan walked into the publishing company building under Lilith's guidance.
It immediately caused a heated discussion among the editors.
"Hey, do you guys know who the good-looking Asian guy next to President Lilith is? Is he a new colleague?"
"How is that possible? When did you ever see Lilith being so polite to others?"
"You're all clueless. He's probably an author. The editor-in-chief went out early in the morning with a publishing contract, so she probably went to look for the author to sign the contract."
"So that Asian guy's a writer? Such a young writer? He doesn't look a day older than 20!"
"There are many young writers out there, but very few who are so highly regarded by the editor-in-chief."
"Yeah, back when our company published the Iowa Prize Winner's book, Lilith only nodded at him. The rest of the follow-up work was done by her subordinates."
"Why is it such a big deal this time?"
"Who knows?"
"I thought of a possibility. Could this guy be a celebrity? Those celebrity photo albums sell very well on the market, so maybe that's why the boss personally negotiated with him."
"It's possible. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for the chief editor to personally handle an amateur writer."
"Isn't the meeting room next to the editor-in-chief's office empty? Let's pretend that we're going for a meeting and eavesdrop from there."
"Okay, good idea! Let's go!"
The editorial department was the most enthusiastic place in the world to discuss gossip.
Soon, Fang Yuan, who had just arrived, became the center of discussion.
In the editor-in-chief's office.
The manuscript for "The Coiling Dragon" had been printed out and was neatly spread out on the desk. There were some comments and notes in red ink.
Fang Yuan sat down on the guest's seat.
Lilith walked to the back of her desk and stood still. Then, she suddenly leaned forward and looked straight at him.
"You're a genius, Mr. Fang Yuan."
"Uh..." Although he was a little surprised, Fang Yuan still maintained his composure. "Thanks for the compliment."
Lilith then changed the topic.
"But...there are many kinds of geniuses. Some geniuses explode like fireworks and disappear just as quickly. Some geniuses cut through the night sky like meteors, having a brief moment of splendor in the night. The real genius, however, is the bright moon that stays in the night sky. Whether you look at it or not, it's still there, indispensable. Mr. Fang Yuan, I hope that you're the latter. I can give you the best publishing resources, the most premium advance payment, the highest-tiered royalties, and the most expensive packaging and publicity. I can give you everything that other publishing companies can give you and everything that other companies can't. I only have one request for you. Even if you decide to make 'The Coiling Dragon' a long novel and complete this book, just don't stop writing. Can you do that?"
Lilith had been publishing for quite some time. She had seen too many authors who disappeared after they wrote stunning debut works. From then on, they bid farewell to the literary world, ran out of talent, and stopped publishing their works.
She had also seen many writers who, ever since they had written a best-seller and earned enough money, had indulged themselves in debauchery every day and live as if literature had been a dream of their past.
Today, she was ecstatic when she saw a good book like "The Coiling Dragon". She made the decision on the spot and was willing to sign this writer named Fang Yuan at any cost. However, she was also worried that her decision would be too hasty and would harm this young man with a bright future.
"Of course, I'll continue writing. I will be the first Chinese writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature."
Fang Yuan gave a very bold answer with an indifferent tone.
He was so indifferent as if winning the Nobel Prize was not an unrealistic dream but a fact that would eventually be realized.
"It's great to have an ambitious dream, but when you reach for the stars, you also have to keep your feet on the ground."
Lilith smiled and continued, "Back to your novel, 'The Coiling Dragon'. We hope to publish the paperback version of this book since you've already finished the first volume. Do you have any plans for the follow-up plot? How many volumes do you plan to write?"
"I do have plans."
Fang Yuan pondered for a while and replied, "This is a long series. I estimate that it'll have 21 volumes, with a total of 3.33 million words or so."
Lilith was stunned. Every word Fang Yuan said caused a huge storm in her heart.
One had to know that the definition of a novel in this world was more than 100,000 words.
Even if it was a multi-volume novel series, most people only wrote a trilogy or a five-volume novel. 300,000 to 500,000 words would usually be the maximum.
Now, Fang Yuan said that he was going to write 21 volumes with a total of more than 3 million words.
To Lilith, it sounded like a fantasy.
"Three million words?! How is that possible?"
"How is that not possible? I only need to maintain a serial speed of more than 10,000 words per day for the rest of the book. I'll finish it in less than a year. As for the next book, we can talk about it when the book is finished."
"Every day...10,000 words..."
Lilith stopped smiling and could not help but frown. She had been published for so long, so she naturally knew that the average writing speed of an author was about 1,000 words per day, and they might have to rest for two days every three days they wrote.
The common understanding of the literary world was that an author had to work slowly and meticulously to produce good works.
Some writers could only produce a 100,000-word work in three to five years.
This young man actually dared to say that he could write three million words in a year without stopping?
What kind of joke was this?
Lilith said seriously, "Mr. Fang Yuan, I hope you understand that literature is a very serious matter, and I won't tolerate...what...what are you doing?"
Fang Yuan had already opened his laptop and started to write the second volume of "The Coiling Dragon".
Seeing was believing.
Since Lilith did not believe him, it was pointless to continue talking.
The best way was to let her witness with her own eyes, the speed of creation from another world!