Following Cao Dezhi's announcement, the fact that 'Great Detective Holmes' would be published in five days was confirmed and officially announced by Silver Blue Books. Instantly, Chu Kuang's new book kicked off its promotional phase.
The readers had not fully recovered from the shock of Poirot's death. The discussion about his death continued wave after wave. As a result, when everyone suddenly saw the news of the imminent publication of 'Great Detective Holmes', anger surged through their hearts—
We're still mourning Poirot here, and you can't wait to finish the new book? Do you think about how devastated we readers feel?
Although Chu Kuang had previously announced his new book, fans of the Poirot series couldn't help but get riled up. Time proved inadequate to calm everyone's anger. Despite understanding why Chu Kuang killed off Poirot in the end, many still refused to accept Holmes as a replacement for Poirot.
Many even protested directly in Chu Kuang's Tribe comment section, echoing the reaction to Chu Kuang's new book announcement:
"Absolutely boycott!"
"Sure enough, I underestimated the old rascal's integrity. I thought he would mourn Poirot's death, but this old rascal is now pushing the new great detective so quickly. The murderer who killed Poirot!"
"I won't buy this book!"
"I said when Poirot died, no matter what happens, I absolutely will not read 'Great Detective Holmes'. I only have one great detective in my heart, unlike Chu Kuang, an unfaithful scumbag!"
"We are incompatible with old rascal Chu Kuang, we don't want Holmes, we only want Poirot. Not everyone can become a great detective!"
The readers' feelings for Poirot cannot be underestimated. The impact of this character has gone beyond that of a virtual character. When the plot of Poirot's death was released on March 3rd, even major media outlets have issued an obituary for Poirot. Which virtual character gets this treatment?
As the release of 'Great Detective Holmes' approached, the wave of boycotting Holmes reappeared, leaving industry insiders in a bit of a laughing and crying situation, lamenting that Chu Kuang really messed up this time.
"What will Chu Kuang do now?"
"The backlash against Holmes among readers is too exaggerated. Chu Kuang's new book might not sell, it's hard to imagine that a best-selling author of his caliber would have trouble selling his novel."
"What will bookstores do?"
"Bookstores will still stock up. Regardless of the loud voices boycotting Holmes, it is only survivorship bias. Many silent readers are still willing to support Chu Kuang's new book. However, what proportion of readers they account for is unknown. This could significantly impact the sales of Chu Kuang's new book."
Major booksellers were also a little dumbfounded. Normally, they would definitely order more of Chu Kuang's new books. When have his new books ever been unsellable? Moreover, the shadow that 'Zhu Xian' left on many publishing houses due to insufficient stock and a drop in performance has not yet disappeared.
The problem this time seems to lie within Chu Kuang's readers. Previously, it was always outsiders who were not optimistic about Chu Kuang's new books. Now, Chu Kuang's readers are boycotting his new book. These are the main consumers of Chu Kuang's works!
On one hand, everyone can't ignore the readers' boycott, but on the other hand, they can't resist Chu Kuang's charm. The internal scales seem to be swaying left and right, which is an unprecedented situation for booksellers.
Some booksellers surreptitiously conducted a sample survey among Chu Kuang's reader group. However, the results of the sample survey left these booksellers even more conflicted because they offered three options.
Twenty-four percent of readers chose to support Chu Kuang without hesitation, twenty-six percent chose to boycott, and fifty percent simply chose "don't know".
What does it mean you don't know?
This kind of uncertainty makes it very hard for our bookstore to operate. We might just end up paying the price for your "don't know", especially considering that based on the survey results, it seems there are slightly more people planning to boycott than support.
The moment of decision arrives.
Some bookstores grit their teeth and stock up on Chu Kuang's books as usual; some reduce their pre-order according to the survey results. The market's attitude towards "The Great Detective Holmes" appears slightly polarized.
In the studio where Lin Yuan works, Jin Mu wears a helpless expression, "The boss has indeed posed a predicament for all the major bookstores, no one can predict the sales of "The Great Detective Holmes" now."
Lin Yuan asks: "What's your take?"
Jin Mu hesitated for a moment, then sneered, "It's pointless to ask me this. I've already read the opening of Holmes and I understand the quality of this work very well."
Lin Yuan nodded: "Exactly."
Jin Mu paused, then understood Lin Yuan's point. Regardless of boycott or support, the sales of the novel ultimately depend on the quality of the work. After all, Chu Kuang didn't do anything wrong.
Holmes is a good read.
Given the charm of Holmes portrayed in the opening, as well as his excellent and powerful basic deductive reasoning, there's no reason for readers not to new character. It's just that everyone is reacting emotionally at the moment.
They will eventually calm down.
Jin Mu revealed a smile. His boss's IQ always fluctuated. While he could be extremely smart at times, he would also do something speechless at other times.
Cao Dezhi also worried that the readers' boycott of Holmes might affect the sales of Chu Kuang's new book, so he specifically sought out the chief editor, hoping he could think of a solution. However, the chief editor responded with a laugh:
"There's nothing to be done."
"But the situation is not good."
"When I was young, my dream was to be a basketball player. My mother bought me a basketball, I loved that ball. Later, it accidentally broke, and I cried my heart out. Then my mother tried to comfort me by saying she'll buy a new one for me. But I didn't want it. However, when I woke up one day and looked at my bedside…"
Cao Dezhi suddenly realized: "Dear chief editor, you're trying to say, as long as the new basketball is as fun as the old one, everyone will eventually choose to accept it!"
The chief editor shook his head: "I was saying, my mom made a mistake, she couldn't tell a basketball from a football, so she bought me a football…"
Cao Dezhi hesitated a moment, then became more excited: "You mean, you thought you only liked basketball, but then you realized that football is also fun!"
The chief editor stared at Cao Dezhi: "What I meant was, I don't play every ball, and I don't have the fucking answers to every question!"
Regardless of the readers' reactions, nothing can change the fact that "The Great Detective Holmes" will be officially on sale in major bookstores in a few days, and neither the bookstores nor the publishers have any special adjustment plans due to some readers' protests.
Some silent supporters of Chu Kuang have already bought this new book; some undecided readers also bought this new book; even some who claimed to boycott Chu Kuang also...
A guy who has been shouting boycott against Chu Kuang's new book faced his friend's doubting eyes, he couldn't help but smack his brand-new copy of "The Great Detective Holmes" that he had just bought, "Reading gives you the right to speak. If you talk without reading, you become a troll. If you're going to troll, at least make reasoned arguments.
If you're going to troll, at least finish the book first!"
"But you still bought it."
His eyes instantly became deep, like a philosopher: "I bought it so that more people wouldn't have to..."
ps: Many thanks to "Little Dio Likes Reading" Silver for his support, I owe a lot, there will be extra chapters later.