Become a mother in a night

Chapter 47

Originally, ScribeSphere wasn't known by that name. Eleanor Ye had purchased the website and subsequently renamed it "ScribeSphere." By then, she had stepped away from the entertainment industry, passing her position to Alex Ye, essentially having him work for her. She relaxed at home, sipping tea and waiting for her dividends, relying on the shares she held.
Eleanor's acquisition of ScribeSphere was mainly out of boredom, looking to foster her reading interest and find something to keep her occupied. She bought a struggling novel website, pumped money into it to revitalize it, and then handed the responsibility to Alex, making him work for her yet again.
Eleanor held a significantly larger stake in ScribeSphere than Alex. However, she wasn't overly involved. Though she wasn't entirely detached, the troublesome and vital matters were handled by Alex.
Seeing Michelle Xia's contract, Alex realized that Eleanor was well aware of the situation, possibly even hinting something to him.
Alex sighed, "Let it be." He quietly closed the file and set it aside, moving on to the next contract document.
Soon after, Derek Lin, his assistant, was summoned.
Alex instructed, "Make a list of authors recently signed with ScribeSphere for me." After a moment of thought, he added, "Also, ask Brandon Su's editor to push him for an update."
Upon hearing Brandon Su's name, Derek's expression shifted slightly. He quickly made the connection. It was primarily about Brandon.
Swiftly, Derek assembled the list. One name caught his eye - a former colleague who hadn't renewed their contract with NexRealm Studios.
Derek mused, "Ah, so they found a new position. No wonder they didn't stay with NexRealm."
Handing the list to Alex, who glanced over it, Alex then inquired, "Did you get Brandon's editor to push for an update?"
Derek hesitated for a second, then replied, "I'll message the editor right away."
Alex hummed in acknowledgment, his gaze landing on the column showing Michelle's responsible editor, which happened to be the same as Brandon's. With a marker, he circled Michelle's name and another editor's name, passing the list back to Derek.
"Transfer Michelle to this editor," Alex instructed.
Derek nodded without probing further, but countless thoughts swirled in his mind. He surmised Alex had his reasons, likely linked to Brandon. The weight of this realization was palpable. He was privy to a massive secret but had no one to confide in.
Once Derek exited the office, Alex began to contemplate Michelle's situation.
Back in the day, to breathe life into ScribeSphere, he and Eleanor had poached numerous prominent online writers. With the influx of well-known authors, it became challenging for newcomers to stand out. Over the years, for a ScribeSphere-signed author to rise quickly to prominence, aside from sheer talent, they needed opportunities, luck, and sometimes even manipulated data or hired support.
Alex never doubted Michelle's capabilities. His worry was whether she'd get that golden chance or stroke of luck.
He contemplated replicating their earlier strategy used for Brandon, leveraging the website's prime ad space to quickly build Michelle's popularity. However, he hesitated, fearing backlash. After all, Brandon already had an established readership and notable works, whereas Michelle was still an unknown.
Sighing deeply, Alex decided, "I'll wait and see how things pan out."
Eleanor Ye forwarded the news of Michelle Xia's contract to Alex Ye, closely monitoring the developments. This was the first time since the revival of ScribeSphere that the staff saw Eleanor so invested in the platform.
She began to show interest in the recently contracted authors, their popularity, their works, and their update frequency. She even mingled with the reader community, passionately discussing upcoming plot twists. If she came across a subpar author with a mediocre plot, she would not hold back her criticisms.
It had been quite some time since Eleanor had been active on ScribeSphere, and she hadn't heard any news about Michelle Xia. Whether it was her works or any moves from Alex Ye concerning Michelle, she was kept in the dark.
Eleanor wondered if Alex hadn't caught her drift. She had previously created an opportunity for Alex and Michelle, yet he didn't seize it. Now she provided another opening, and he seemed so indifferent. Wasn't he worried that Brandon Su might seize the opportunity?
She felt that her son might be heading in the wrong direction. With that thought, she decided to give Alex a call.
However, when she mentioned Michelle, Alex responded, "Michelle Xia? Oh, I know about her. I've been thinking about how to market her works."
Eleanor hung up without a word. As she had suspected, Alex was indeed missing the point.
A while ago, Michelle had inquired about ScribeSphere from fafa. Fafa had several authors from ScribeSphere as her contacts – some renowned, some obscure, some with a flair, some without. Being an outgoing individual, fafa loved chatting with everyone, including her wealthy contacts. As a result, she was quite knowledgeable about the signing processes of various platforms.
Fafa informed Michelle that there were primarily two ways to get a contract with ScribeSphere: First, to follow the standard process—publish on ScribeSphere and hope an editor spots her talent. If not discovered this way, she could wait until her readership numbers were substantial enough and then apply. The second method was getting introduced by a somewhat known author of ScribeSphere. They could forward her works to an editor's personal email, increasing the chances of being noticed.
Fafa had contacts and asked Michelle if she wanted a recommendation.
Fafa commented, "Although getting a contract isn't a problem for you, it's hard to get noticed without an existing reader base. Have you considered LitConnect?"
Michelle replied, "Well, I prefer more significant challenges and opportunities."
Fafa, a bit taken aback, offered, "I know a few popular authors on ScribeSphere. Want me to ask for a recommendation?"
Michelle thought, *Why ask them when there's Brandon Su, who practically owns half of the platform?*
Politely declining, Michelle did request the personal email of the editor. She then composed a short story from her previous concepts, made some tweaks, and forwarded it.
To this, fafa felt Michelle was being audacious. What if the editor never even opened the email? Wouldn't it be a wasted effort?
However, the very next afternoon, Michelle informed her that she was signed.
Fafa was momentarily speechless. Then, she exclaimed, "Congratulations!"
In her mind, she pondered whether Michelle might just be what they called a 'chosen one.' Unless there's a recommendation from a top-tier author, editors rarely checked their personal emails. And even with such endorsements, editors wouldn't instantly access their mail and go through the submitted works due to their packed schedules. Fafa wondered whether she should envy Michelle's luck. She hoped Michelle's good fortune wouldn't be wasted just on contracting but in other aspects too – like producing a blockbuster novel.
Fafa began enlightening Michelle about the "unspoken rules" of ScribeSphere. She told her how to vie for advertising slots, leaderboard ranks, and website traffic to lure readers and some other tactics. As Fafa detailed these intricacies, Michelle started to suspect that Fafa might have once been a contracted author with ScribeSphere.
Michelle queried, "Did you ever work at ScribeSphere?"
Fafa confessed, "Yes, I used to be an editor there."
Michelle looked puzzled. "Then why did you leave ScribeSphere? Why choose a secondary role?"
Fafa explained, "Back then, I managed an author with a significant following, kind of like a pillar for ScribeSphere. I relied heavily on his updates for my commission as my other authors weren't exactly top-tier. But eventually, he stopped updating and went AWOL. The website asked me to push him for updates, but he ghosted me and refused to return. Feeling trapped and fearing backlash from the site, I resigned."
Michelle could only offer a silent stare in response. She was now curious about the identity of this elusive top author.
Having both been previously wronged by Brandon Su, Michelle suddenly felt a kinship with Fafa. Considering Fafa's considerable care (overlooking her attempts to pull Michelle into her workshop), their friendship blossomed swiftly. Even though Fafa had previously been suspicious of wronging her, Fafa turned out to be Michelle's first friend in this world.
Concerned that Michelle might feel despondent due to lack of exposure or readers, much like her previous underperforming authors, Fafa enlightened Michelle about every overt and covert strategy used on ScribeSphere to boost visibility. She was even ready to demonstrate them in action. This was the first time Michelle had encountered such a well-wishing netizen. Fafa's treatment was even better than Michelle's previous editors, making Michelle profoundly grateful.
Upon discovering that Fafa was also based in Rivenhold, Michelle wanted to meet her in person. However, Fafa declined gracefully.
Fafa reasoned, "I had a botched cosmetic surgery. Once I'm presentable, we can meet up."
Michelle smirked, "Using a botched cosmetic surgery as an excuse? Really?"
After Michelle Xia signed a contract with ScribeSphere, her initial editor mentioned she already had too many authors under her wing, so she had another editor take Michelle under their guidance. Michelle didn't think much of this at first.
The new editor added Michelle's contact and began inquiring when she planned to release her work, if she had any plans for it, or if she had any specific thoughts or intentions regarding it. Having learned from past experiences and fearing to tread the same path as Brandon Su and her prior endeavors, Michelle decided she would first meticulously outline her work before putting pen to paper.
The new editor responded with a curt "Oh" and didn't engage further with Michelle.
Michelle felt something was amiss with the new editor's attitude. Recollecting what Fafa had previously briefed her about the rules and tactics at ScribeSphere, she began to suspect something. She asked Fafa, "Is the editor trying to hint at something?"
Fafa replied, "Most likely."
"And what's the editor's name?" Fafa inquired.
Lizzy Xia responded, "Lulu."
Recognizing the name, Fafa thought, "Well, indeed luck has a conservation law." How unfortunate for Michelle to end up under the supervision of her arch-nemesis? It seemed like all her luck was expended on the contract itself.
Back when Fafa was still with ScribeSphere, Lulu had constantly thrown obstacles in her way. She even attempted to snatch Brandon Su from her, and even the mere memory of it irritated Fafa.
With a stoic expression, Fafa typed, "She's indeed hinting at something. If you don't catch on, she'll just sideline you."