LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – On July 16, web fiction author Sollong passed away from literally working himself to death. Known only by his Internet pseudonym, which translates to “Snowfall for Ten Years,” Sollong’s real name is a mystery to everyone, except the management at Qidian.com, where he was employed as a contract writer.
With a ‘staff’ of approximately 1.6 million novelists, Qidian is comprised of many young writers laboring over their computers and pumping out a ridiculous volume of content for a quickly growing readership.
Sollong’s story, titled “Wu Over the World” (Wubutianxia), is a martial arts fantasy that is comprised of 1.6 million Chinese words, has been viewed 1.4 million times, and recommended to other readers 44,000 times. Regardless of the novel’s popularity, Sollong was not one of the highest paid authors on the site and worked non-stop to make ends meet.
According to various news sources, 90 out of every 100 online writers don’t make a dime while producing the first chapters of books in order to create an audience. Although the Internet is an amazing way to distribute work that might not otherwise be published, when authors must compete against numerous other aspiring stars, it might also be considered a curse.
For more information please visit:
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-07/13/content_16770120.htm
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