19
ch 19**The Importance of Input (4)**
A few days earlier.
Inside a spacious officetel in Seoul, shelves packed with fantasy novels, manga, and reference books surrounded a tidy workspace.
This was the study of bestselling web novel author Geulpok.
His real name was Lee Juho.
With a sigh, he sat down in front of his computer, opened Moon Story, and checked the rankings.
Sword, Master was still firmly in first place on Today's Best, with nearly twenty thousand views on its latest chapter.
It was an undeniable hit.
Yet his expression only grew darker.
He minimized the browser and opened the manuscript for Chapter 45.
It was completely blank.
"The novel goes premium the day after tomorrow..."
Chapter 45 was the final free chapter before monetization.
It was supposed to hook readers and convince them to pay.
As a veteran who had written fantasy novels for over a decade, Lee Juho knew how important this chapter was.
Readers were already overflowing with anticipation in the comments.
That pressure only made it harder to write.
"What if I can't even write now..."
His slump had become so severe that he had started doubting everything.
"Is my novel even good?"
"Maybe people are only reading it because of my reputation."
Unable to write another word, he decided to clear his head by reading someone else's work.
Normally, other authors' novels inspired him.
Today, nothing held his attention.
Even the top-ranked novels felt dull.
"So now I can't even enjoy reading..."
Then one title caught his eye.
Only 10 Seconds to Become a Genius Idol.
"The one Gyeongseon recommended..."
He clicked it.
An idol novel.
A genre he had never bothered reading.
What surprised him even more was its ranking.
"Only twenty-one chapters... and it's already tenth?"
Then he noticed something unbelievable.
Fifteen chapters had all been uploaded on the same day.
"...Fifteen chapters?"
His jaw dropped.
"Has the author gone crazy?"
Any experienced web novelist knew that releasing fifteen free chapters brought almost no benefit to the author.
At worst, it could even make readers fall behind and quit.
Then he checked the retention rate.
"...One hundred and five percent?"
He stared in disbelief.
Anything above ninety percent was already extraordinary.
Over one hundred percent was almost unheard of.
Opening the latest chapter, he immediately understood why.
The comments weren't talking about the story.
Everyone was talking about the fifteen-chapter release.
The generosity itself had become a hot topic, bringing in countless new readers.
People weren't just praising the novel anymore.
They genuinely liked the author.
"No wonder..."
The unusual update schedule had become the novel's greatest advertisement.
Combined with its excellent quality, it had climbed into the top ten almost overnight.
"A real rookie?"
Even ignoring the fifteen-chapter event, the novel's reader retention was incredible.
Almost no one dropped it.
Curious, Lee Juho finally decided.
"...I'll give this one a proper read."
---
The next evening, after work, Yoon Seongjun searched for "Geulpok."
Dozens of published novels appeared.
The oldest had been released twelve years ago.
"So he's been writing even longer than I've worked at my company..."
Only then did Seongjun realize how famous Geulpok truly was.
"And someone like him recommended my novel..."
He smiled awkwardly.
"I really haven't read many web novels."
He had never needed to.
Whenever he wrote, Siwoo—who had read countless web novels—gave him all the feedback he needed.
Still...
"If I'm going to keep writing, I should study other authors too."
For the first time in his life, he spent a large amount of money buying Geulpok's entire collection of ebooks.
He considered it an investment in his future.
Then he immediately began reading.
---
Meanwhile, Moon Story was buzzing.
Sword, Master had successfully gone premium, complete with a three-chapter bonus update.
With the former number one gone from the free rankings, everyone wondered which series would become the new king of Today's Best.
Then everything changed.
A recommendation post appeared.
Author: Geulpok
Title: "Putting Everything Else Aside... This Novel Is Simply Fun."
Readers exploded.
"Wait... Geulpok?"
"The real Geulpok?"
"He actually wrote a recommendation?"
For over ten years, Geulpok had never publicly recommended another author's work.
He rarely interacted with other writers at all.
His recommendation shocked the entire community.
In it, he admitted he almost never read entertainment or idol novels because he only liked fantasy.
Yet this novel had changed his mind.
He confessed that he had been struggling with his writing recently.
Reading Only 10 Seconds to Become a Genius Idol reminded him that the essence of web novels wasn't genre or trends.
It was simply being fun.
He wrote that reading it had made him happy as a reader and inspired him as a writer.
He even said it had helped him improve Sword, Master.
The recommendation instantly went viral.
Readers who had ignored the novel because it was an idol story suddenly became curious.
"If Geulpok says it's that good..."
One after another, they clicked on it.
The result was immediate.
Only 10 Seconds to Become a Genius Idol shot straight past every competitor.
It reached...
Number 1 on Moon Story's Today's Best.