Some Heartfelt Words I Want to Share Before Release
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On November 25, 2013, the first chapter of My Years as a Taoist Adept appeared on Moti, and nearly a month and a half has passed since then.
Without realizing it, what began with no one paying attention has grown into a thousand people following along. It is your companionship every step of the way that has given me the unending drive to keep moving forward. Here, I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to the friends who like me and support me, and of course to Editor Tingyun, who has labored so hard for this novel.
Along this journey, I have accumulated many things I want to say to everyone. Tomorrow, The Taoist Adept will officially go on sale, so I will say them all at once.
To be honest, I am not a professional writer, and I am grateful to Moti for providing this reading platform, where I have come to know so many friends.
My daily work is truly overwhelming. When I first decided to post this story on Moti, I hesitated and struggled over it for a long time. Besides worrying that my work schedule would be too tight and that I would not have enough energy, I was also deeply uneasy about this story itself, afraid that I would not be able to carry it through. In truth, I know exactly where I stand. I am merely an enthusiast of metaphysics; compared with real authors and professional writers, I fall far short.
I truly never imagined that The Taoist Adept would bring me so many, many gains, and so many changes to my life. Every day after work, I find myself wondering what comments readers have left me, whether everyone liked that day’s update. When I see a screen full of messages and replies, I feel so warmly moved that I cannot find the words to say it. It is a feeling I have never known before.
So as not to let everyone down, I save up manuscripts every day to the best of my ability, so that the story will not be interrupted and the plot will not fail to remain compelling.
Sometimes when I come home from work, I am utterly exhausted and do not even want to say a single word. But when I think of the friends who sit before their computers, waiting for updates and the next installment, I still choose to give up my own rest and keep at this story until it is written well. All of my motivation comes from you. Looking back on these days, I can hardly believe that I too could be such a determined person. I sleep five hours a day, and aside from work, I put all the remaining time into this story. Though I am tired and though it is hard, for the first time I have felt that my life can be so full.
I never expected to be able to sign a contract with Moti. In fact, this is also the first step in having this story recognized. Moti is a platform that will eventually charge for access; that day was always bound to come, and every work must pass through it. On Moti, a novel goes behind a paywall after 200,000 words. Because there had previously been pirated links to abandoned drafts on another site, I discussed it with the editor and insisted that charges should begin only after new chapters were released. Editor Tingyun was put in a difficult position for a long time, but still respected my decision. I want to thank Editor Tingyun again.
Editor Tingyun has kept helping me delay this, but the site has promoted the novel so much that, if it never went on sale, that would not really be appropriate. I have dragged my feet as long as I could; in the end, it can only go on sale.
I have never before read paid fiction online, so I was not very clear about the pricing standards. I specifically asked about Moti’s rates: 0.03 yuan per 1,000 words, 0.30 yuan per 10,000 words, 3 yuan per 100,000 words, and 30 yuan per 1,000,000 words. A chapter is 3,000 words; by my calculation, with three updates a day, 9,000 words comes to 0.27 yuan, and 30 days comes to 8.1 yuan. For this price, I actually do not think it is as frightening as one might imagine.
In truth, the fact that people are willing to spend money to read something I wrote is something I once would not even have dared to dream about. Put plainly, it is because everyone thinks highly enough of me to give me this honor that they are willing to spend this money to read my work. On the one hand, it gives me an answer for my own results; on the other, it also gives an answer to the editor and the site that have worked so hard to help me. This is the best recognition I could hope for.
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Of course, for friends who truly feel there is no need to spend money on my work, I still offer my sincere thanks for your previous support. I hope you will continue to support me in spirit in the future, and not forget me just because the novel has gone behind a paywall.
The Taoist Adept will continue to be updated with paid chapters on Heaven’s End and the Taoist Adept forum, but the pace will not be synchronized with Moti. It will lag behind Moti by ten chapters, so please read at your own pace and do not rush.
There is one point that must be made clear: aside from myself and a few of the forum administrators, please do not repost my paid chapters without permission. I hope that while supporting me, everyone can also respect me.
As for The Taoist Adept, I can only say that I will certainly do my utmost to finish it, and I will absolutely not leave it unfinished or abandon it. After it goes on sale, I will guarantee three updates a day, or 10,000 words. To the friends who keep urging me for more, I am very grateful for your enthusiasm and support. At the same time, I also sincerely hope you can understand the difficulties of my work. I simply cannot manage five updates a day as I once did. But there is one thing I can promise: when I write this story, I abide by three rules—no dragging it out, no padding it, and no ending it badly.
To the friends who have followed me all the way, let us witness the growth of the Taoist Adept together from here on.
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Finally, I will organize the recharge methods and explain them to everyone. Whether you are in China or abroad, there is a way to add credit.
First, on a computer, register an account on Moti with your email address, and activate it by following the instructions in the email verification process. The email must be activated before it can be used.
Second, after logging in with your username, you will see your ID in the upper right corner of the Moti page. Next to the ID there is a link labeled recharge. If your email has not been activated, you will see a green activate link next to recharge. Be sure to click activate first and complete the steps as instructed before recharging. Click recharge, and the page will show you all the available payment methods: online banking, Alipay, Tenpay, mobile SMS, mobile recharge cards, game cards, and PayPal. Then choose the payment method that suits you and complete the recharge.
Third, please note the exchange rates for Moti credits:
Online banking, Alipay, and Tenpay: 1 yuan = 100 Moti credits. I recommend using one of these three methods, as the exchange rate is the most favorable.
China Mobile and China Unicom mobile recharge cards: 1 yuan = 85 Moti credits.
Game cards: 1 yuan = 75 Moti credits.
SMS payment: 1 yuan = 40 Moti credits.
International PayPal payment: 1 US dollar = 400 Moti credits. Friends abroad may use China Mobile Global Connect cards or PayPal.
Fourth, mobile users can also recharge directly on their phones, but at present Moti only supports mobile Alipay recharges. If you want to use other methods, you must do so on a computer.
Fifth, whether you recharge on a computer or on a phone, any chapter you have subscribed to can be read at any time on either device. A chapter only needs to be subscribed to once, after which it can be read for life at no additional cost. Subscription prices are calculated by word count: 0.03 yuan per 1,000 words, so a 3,000-word chapter costs 0.09 yuan, and so on.
Sixth, if you encounter any problems with recharging, or if there is anything you do not understand, you may ask the group administrator in the reader group announced in the notice, or contact Moti customer service directly.
Customer service hotline: 010-8 68723