The celebration for *The Princess’s New Clothes* has been held for days, and tonight it’s finally the grand finale.
Mrs. Wang’s example was truly convincing.
From its premiere to the finale, the show’s leads never fell in love, defying the usual youth idol drama formula, yet it still crushed *Emerald Forest* in the ratings.
Ratings don’t lie, as Mrs. Wang said, the audience’s reaction is the most direct measure of a show’s quality!
Likewise, for a creative writing contest, readers’ opinions matter greatly.
Readers’ literary tastes may vary, their preferences differ, but timeless literary masterpieces and cherished poems, which ones weren’t chosen by readers themselves?
It’s just that no writing contest has ever included “reader voting” in its judging process, with judges directly selecting winners.
Except for prestigious literary awards, most writing contests barely make a splash, played only within literary circles, shutting out the general public.
The “New Concept Essay Contest” became popular by initially tying winners to elite university admissions, and later, its winners’ fame created a role-model effect.
Besides the New Concept Essay Contest, has any other writing contest stood out?
Not a single one.
Writing contests have become a niche for a small group to amuse themselves.
When the literary world excludes ordinary readers, over time, readers lose interest in literary matters.
Wen Ying’s creative writing contest is different. Its initial purpose was to spend Mrs. Wang’s money… oops, no, to promote *Spark*, to make more people aware of it and boost magazine sales!
Letting readers vote in the judging process is incredibly useful.
Readers who vote will want to see the final results, and to do so, they’ll buy another issue, that’s reader retention!
“I think we should give it a try.”
Yuan Fenghui was the first to catch on.
When enough benefits were laid out, she quickly shed her reverence for literary seriousness.
Readers who vote could become future audiences for adapted films, and higher reader engagement means a greater chance they’ll pay for those adaptations!
Yuan Fenghui wanted to urge Zou Weijun not to be too rigid and to agree quickly, as *Spark* magazine stood to gain the most, with Tianjiao secondary.
Before Yuan Fenghui could persuade, Zou Weijun laughed, “Why are you all looking at me? Did you think I’d object? I was just surprised, I hadn’t thought of this approach.”
Mrs. Wang showered her with flattery, “I knew Sister Zou wouldn’t object. I’ve admired you since *Shh, Little Secret* hit the shelves. Only an open-minded person could plan such a book!”
Just moments ago, she was Editor-in-Chief Zou, now Sister Zou.
Chen Ru fell for the same charm a few days ago.
Though Wang Shuang was older than Wen Ying and Xie Qian, Mrs. Wang was younger than Chen Ru and Zou Weijun, so the address wasn’t wrong, just overly familiar!
Zou Weijun’s cheeks flushed under Mrs. Wang’s fervent flattery, too distracted to correct the address. She admitted she hesitated at Wen Ying’s suggestion but, for *Spark*’s growth, suppressed her doubts and agreed to try “reader voting.”
Zou Weijun endorsed Wen Ying’s emphasis on word limits and added her own input, “Short stories should be capped at 5,000–10,000 words, suitable for magazine publication. But since we’re holding a contest, we shouldn’t overlook long-form stories. Besides *Spark* needing quality manuscripts, the publisher also needs strong submissions… I wonder, could we split it into two categories, short stories in one, novels in another?”
Zou Weijun was truly a competent publisher’s editor, always mindful of her core duties.
Before Wen Ying or Yuan Fenghui could respond, Mrs. Wang enthusiastically backed it, “Split it, definitely split it into a novel category, otherwise it’s unfair to authors writing longer works.”
Another category means a bigger scale, and she could spend more of Zou Weijun’s money, hehe!
Wen Ying coughed lightly, reminding the overly enthusiastic Mrs. Wang to tone down the fangirling, as the line between devoted fan and fool was thin, and overdoing it could backfire.
Taking Wen Ying’s hint, Mrs. Wang reined in her excitement, trying to find solid reasoning for Zou Weijun’s idea. It had been ages since she’d used her brain, and serious thinking was tough, but as a seasoned TV viewer, she found a relevant angle, “I support Sister Zou from Tianjiao’s perspective. Short stories suit magazine promotion, but novels are better for TV adaptations. Adding a novel category benefits Tianjiao.”
A material pool and direct adaptations are different.
Short stories can serve as a material pool, expandable into films.
Novels, with their richer plots, are perfect for TV dramas.
This reasoning swayed Yuan Fenghui, and Mrs. Wang herself impressed her, Mrs. Wang *must* be Tianjiao’s PR manager, no objections allowed!
Zou Weijun couldn’t help but laugh.
Though it was her first time dealing with Mrs. Wang, she was truly an interesting character.
With broad agreement reached, the rest was about details.
Online promotion, yes, not just that, but online voting too, though that would increase the publicity budget.
*Spark*’s first issue would launch the contest.
They could adopt the New Concept’s registration method, including a contest entry form with each issue, one form per submission, with authors able to submit multiple entries by mail.
Given the different creation times for short stories and novels, both categories could start simultaneously, but novel results would be announced later.
The reader voting rule would apply mainly to the short-story category.
This rule would be highlighted in promotions, but readers could only vote after the top ten shortlisted entries were published, as they’d need to read them first.
Ensuring the authenticity of online and magazine voting required further discussion, a detail within details.
Rewards for the short-story and novel categories would differ, short stories would focus on cash prizes, while novel winners would secure lucrative publishing contracts, more appealing to new authors than a one-off prize.
“High rewards attract brave talents, higher prizes draw more authors, no need to skimp for Tianjiao!”
Mrs. Wang kept fanning the flames.
She really wanted to spend money for Zou Weijun!
Truly, she didn’t mind spending more, only feared spending too little.
Wen Ying could barely look at Mrs. Wang, while Zou Weijun felt embarrassed, “On costs, the magazine must cover some itself. Tianjiao’s sponsorship is kind, but I can’t let Tianjiao bear too much.”
Wen Ying bowed her head, nearly laughing.
Auntie Zou, you really don’t need to worry, someone’s eager to spend for you.
