章 4: Chapter 3 – The Unexpected Debut (2)
As mentioned earlier, this book is a blend of the atmosphere of a famous British children's fantasy novel with the clichés of Korean fantasy spirits.
Peter Ferry, a 10-year-old boy who lost his parents and was abused by distant relatives, got lost one day in the forest behind the house and stumbled upon the Fairy's Forest.
In the forest lived four types of fairies: Dwarfs in the ground, Nymphs in the water, Elves tending to trees, and Sylphs in the air. There was also a fairy school, Oberon Academia, that nurtured them.
Peter forgot all about his parents and reality, spending happy times with his fairy friends as the only human in the fairy school.
One day, however, the ancient dark fairy sealed beneath Oberon Academia was released, and Peter, along with his friends, faced this crisis and saved the school.
When I, a future inhabitant, looked at it, it was a pure classic filled with refined clichés.
But what about in late 19th-century Britain?
"It's truly an original and pure fairy tale, author!"
Richard Bentley Jr., who brought me the newspaper, said gleefully.
"If there's one thing children love the most these days, it's fairies! The idea that even fairies have schools and get educated is novel, and categorizing fairies into four types with different charms for everyone's taste is brilliant! And what about Peter Ferry! No adult could dislike such a child!"
He was getting overly excited...
I was about to tell him to calm down, but Mr. Miller nodded and interjected first.
"I think so too, Hanslow. I read the book, and Peter is a very lively, good-natured, and exemplary boy. I hope our Monty could learn from him."
"Well, Monty's a good kid too."
"It's not just the protagonist! Iruril and Winky, his friends, are also captivating characters. An innocent elf who was ostracized for her black hair, and a playful but deep-hearted sylph... Aren't they all charming characters?"
Is it that impressive?
I just nodded quietly at Bentley's praise.
Honestly, I just shaped the characters in the gap-moe style typical of web novels.
Since the target readers were young, I even toned it down to make it simpler for them to understand.
Isn't this basic in web novels and popular literature?
Then I realized this era was still developing popular literature. Flat characters were the norm.
"Moreover, aren't most of the fairy tales rather unsettling and dirty from a modern perspective?"
"Exactly. Look at those French frog tales like Bluebeard. Are those really fairy tales?"
I had to agree with that.
The reality of the Victorian era was that there were no fairy tales truly meant for children.
You often saw memes about past classic fairy tales being despair-inducing.
So even if it was just my usual web novel style, it was a breath of fresh air for this time.
"To think this would be so successful..."
I quietly closed the newspaper again.
It seemed like my story, unexpected as it was, had found its place in history.
The one who abandoned Hansel and Gretel was actually their biological mother, and it was Gretel who pushed the witch from behind, not the hunter who killed her. Cinderella's sisters cut their feet to fit into the glass slipper.
Snow White burned her stepmother, the queen, by making her wear heated iron shoes.
Little Red Riding Hood is the most extreme of them all.
Including cannibalism and rape outright? You'd think the Grimm brothers had something wrong in their heads.
There was a reason Mrs. Clara Miller advised against reading those books to children.
In such a time, my writing, which by Korean genre literature standards was no more than light novels, was accepted as wholesome children's literature.
Truly amazing, the Romantic (shudder) era!
No wonder, kids growing up on those stories turned into complete scoundrels like imperialists or totalitarians.
"So, it sold well."
"Indeed, author!"
"Good."
I nodded at Richard Bentley Jr.
His market analysis as my officially appointed editor was convincing, and I liked it.
This person might be more competent than I thought.
"Then here is the manuscript for the monthly serial."
Seizing the moment, I handed over the completed manuscript.
But instead of taking it, he just stared blankly at my face.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly jumped up, exclaiming,
"It's only been a month since we signed the contract! Already?"
I had a complete month. Besides, I already had some ideas."
"But this volume..."
Why make such a fuss...
As a web novel writer, one has to produce daily content to survive.
And each day's installment is at least 5,000 characters.
So, to keep up with the tight schedule, one must write at least 150,000 characters a month.
In this period, a monthly serial is about 7 to 8 installments by our standards...
Meaning, at my pace of daily serialization, I'd write enough for six months in this era.
Actually, it had been a while since I had seriously sat down to write, so my old speed hadn't returned.
With that in mind, I handed Bentley the envelope containing the manuscript I had written over the past month. The bewildered editor was shocked and said,
"Isn't this too much?"
"Really? Don't people do this much?"
"People doing that... if it were possible, every printing press in London would explode."
"That's a dream come true." I nodded slightly at his words.
I felt the strangeness of my situation anew.
When I was young, waiting for published books took months, if not years.
But this was more than a hundred years ago, so naturally, the difference was expected.
Moreover, while I typed on a typewriter, authors in this era still used pen and ink.
Wouldn't their wrists be destroyed?
While I marveled at this difference, Bentley quietly flipped through the manuscript and asked,
"This manuscript focuses more on Peter's daily life at school than on his adventures."
"I wrote it in an omnibus format."
Since "Peter Ferry and the Fairy Forest" was originally intended as a short story, switching to an omnibus style was an unavoidable choice to extend the serialization.
Starting anew from the beginning would make the pacing odd and too slow by my standards, so I laid out foreshadowing in each episode to buy time and create new developments.
It was a trick to include filler content between episodes for long-term serialization.
"This is great! Though it's a bit different from the previously fast-paced development, this has its own charm!"
"Right?"
"Yes. Showing the fairy world more naturally with small charms might actually be more appealing to some readers. No, it definitely will be! You are truly amazing!"
Fortunately, it seemed to be well-received.
I secretly sighed in relief.
However, this method had the disadvantage of weakening the narrative structure and setting system, despite its low entry barrier.
So—I handed Bentley another batch of manuscripts and said,
"And this one is for volume 2."
"Pardon? Volume 2? We need at least 2-3 more episodes for the short story collection."
"It's not for a collection; it's for story progression."
"… Progression?"
"Yes, this is the story of Peter Ferry moving up to the second year at the fairy school and the conflicts with new fairies."
"Wow..."
Bentley sighed and began flipping through the manuscript slowly at first, but then quickly.
After flipping through to the middle, Bentley's eyes lit up with excitement as he exclaimed,
"These guys!!"
"How is it?"
"It's amazing! This is more thrilling and fun! Why didn't you prioritize this?"
"Calm down."
I calmed the excited editor and then spoke slowly.
"Publish it after all the omnibus episodes I've given you are exhausted."
"Wouldn't publishing it right away sell better?"
"But then, the push and pull… the tension wouldn't work."
"The tension?"
Hmm, hasn't that been developed yet? I spoke slowly to make it easier for Bentley to understand.
"Mr. Bentley, you said the fast-paced development was great, right?"
"Yes."
"Imagine the readers getting used to it. What would happen?"
"Well, wouldn't they be satisfied with it?"
"There's no way."
No one dislikes a fast-paced development. It works in any era, east or west.
But at the same time, it has the disadvantage of becoming tiresome quickly. There's a reason why overly fast plots get criticized.
Of course, if others were using such a fast-paced marketing style, I'd have to keep up with an even faster pace... but I'm the only one with this fast-paced style in this era.
Therefore,
"There's no need to let the readers adapt too quickly. Publish that manuscript intermittently. Release it when the readers are starting to forget the taste of the fast-paced development."
"… Author."
Richard Bentley Jr. spoke seriously to me.
"Are you… the devil?"
"What a rude thing to say. I was raised in a religious family."
No joke. My mother went to church, though I stopped in middle school.
"But how do you come up with such devilish ideas naturally?!"
That's too much.
I simply strive for the readers' enjoyment. As a kind and exemplary popular writer.
"Anyway."
Miller spoke quietly to Bentley and me.
"So, do we have some free time now?"
"Yes, probably?"
"Yes. With several months' worth of content received, just proofreading will give us plenty of time."
"Hmm, that's good. I have something scheduled for next month."
"For what?"
"This."
Miller handed me a pamphlet.
What's this?
I couldn't help but open my eyes wide at the lavish invitation.
"In London, Crown Prince George is getting married to Princess Mary of Teck. There will be a grand parade and a small exhibition."
"A royal wedding?"
Not just any royal, the Crown Prince? That's second in line to the throne! It meant a super-luxurious wedding.
If you don't feel the romance in this, you can't write fantasy.
Moreover, this isn't a future where the royal family has lost all its authority but the Victorian era with its absolute monarchy? It was bound to be spectacular.
"How about it? I'm thinking of going to catch up with old friends and take a look. Would you like to join me?"
London... the city where my novel is currently trending.
"It would be an honor."
"Great! Our publishing company is also planning a grand publication event. It would be good to see it together."
Bentley spoke excitedly.
I nodded quietly, barely suppressing my bursting anticipation.
The capital of the British Empire, London.
I wondered what it looked like when it was at the height of its glory.
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