Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Never Have I Seen Such A Queue To Buy Books In 30 Years Of Opening My Bookstore
The night before the first two volumes of “The Coiling Dragon” were published.
The discussion on the website was getting more heated that it even led to a big social debate about whether a new book needed a protection period.
Judging from readers’ feedback and professional booksellers’ perspectives, the situation was very unfavorable for Rainforest Publishing.
The stock of Rainforest Publishing even fell a little due to it.
The distributors, which were the major bookstores in the United States were cautious about this matter.
That was because it caused a lot of negative news.
They did not even dare to get stocks of “The Coiling Dragon” anymore.
The employees of Rainforest Publishing were also quite anxious.
On the day their editor-in-chief, Lilith, signed the contract with the author, she had boldly decided on an astonishing number of 100,000 copies of the first print for Fang Yuan, a new writer.
The number itself was so exaggerated that it felt too risky.
Now, everything was happening all at once, and there was still negative news before the new book went on sale.
Although it was not a particularly serious problem, the internet seemed to be getting more heated due to a small group of people with ulterior motives.
It was a denunciation of the author and a boycott of the book.
The situation seemed bleak.
However, Lilith still pushed through and carried on with their plan to have 100,000 copies of the first print as scheduled.
On the other side, Penguin Publishing had arranged all the backups.
Their keyboard warrior army was at full power, and their team of hired rebels was on the move, waiting to stir up trouble on the day the new book was released the next day.
Late that night.
Students from every college campus in Iowa jumped over walls, took detours, and skipped classes.
In short, they were creative with their abilities in getting to the bookstore outside the school.
They had already begun to line up for the release of “The Coiling Dragon” the next day.
Many of them were classmates and knew each other, so they started chatting in the queue.
“Why did you come out?”
“Oh, I just wanted to buy some exam materials.”
“You came out to study in the middle of the night? Do you think I’ll believe your nonsense?”
“Hey, isn’t ‘The Coiling Dragon’ going to be released tomorrow? I’m planning to buy a copy to take a look.”
“You said you weren’t going to buy it yesterday!”
“Didn’t you also say that whoever bought it would be an idiot?”
“Hahahaha! That was just to prevent you guys from fighting me over it.”
“Me too, hehe.”
“It’s the second volume of ‘The Coiling Dragon’ man! Can you hold back? I can’t wait any longer.”
“It’s best if everyone doesn’t buy it. That way, the chances of me buying it will be higher!”
“I’m relieved to see that everyone’s so sneaky.”
“Sakazaka Rion?”
“Hades, you’re here too!”
“Hahaha!”
More familiar faces started to appear, and the queue for this book grew longer by the hour.
Those keyboard warriors and opinion leaders who clamored for everyone not to buy the book showed up there.
They were the definition of double-dealing.
Time flew by as they chatted.
Soon, it was daytime. It was time for the bookstore to open.
There was a long line of “The Coiling Dragon” readers on the University of Iowa’s intercollegiate avenue.
Every student and teacher from every dorm and college nearby had gone out to line up on the street.
Thinking about how the second volume of “The Coiling Dragon” was about to be published, what the rest of the plot would be, and whether or not Linley’s crisis would be resolved, every single reader who had read the first volume were itching to know what would happen next, so much so that they were unable to fall asleep.
When the owner of the bookstore near the school opened for business, she was so shocked and rubbed her eyes because she could not believe what she was seeing. Never in the 30 years of opening this bookstore had she ever seen such a scene.
It felt like every reader in the world was there.
They looked like they wanted to break through the door of her bookstore.
What was even more shocking was that the person who led the way shouted, “The door’s open! Everyone, charge!”
The crowd rushed into the store.
Everyone rushed straight to the newly published section to grab the two-part series of “The Coiling Dragon”.
They held onto the book tightly and refused to let go.
Countless pairs of hands held green dollar bills and waved in front of the cashier. These were all lucky people who managed to snatch a copy and were impatient to pay the bill.
The bookstore accepted the distributing channel’s request and forcibly stocked up nearly a thousand copies of “The Coiling Dragon”. When the bookstore owner heard of the online rumors, she was originally worried about whether this book would be able to sell.
However, it seemed that she was just overthinking it.
Nearly a thousand copies of “The Coiling Dragon” were sold out in less than half an hour after the store opened.
Some readers even started a fight in the bookstore for the ownership of the last remaining book.
They were beaten black and blue and had to seek medical treatment after.
“I want this book and I’ll pay three times the price!”
“I’ll pay tenfold!”
“I’ll pay a hundred-fold!”
A paperback that cost 12 dollars was sold for 120 dollars.
Just like that, it became priceless.
Every reader who bought the book was unwilling to give up their copy. Instead, they immediately squatted on the ground and started reading with great interest.
They could not wait to read about the next plot.
“What’s the second volume about? Tell me, please…”
“Don’t bother me! I’m reading it right now!”
“Then lend it to me after you finish reading it.”
“Are you that shameless? I was here first, so get in line!”
“Don’t fight! Tell me what’s so good about ‘The Coiling Dragon’. I’ll lend it to whoever gets the right answer.”
The other bookstores near the university were also facing the same situation.
Although the University of Iowa was located in the university town and there were definitely many bookstores there, there were even more students who wanted to buy this book and could not wait to go back and read it.
The bookstores were all crowded.
The printing stores were also crowded.
Originally, these printing shops would only have business during exam season, where students would fight to copy the notes of the top students.
Today, a large number of students rushed in to print a copy of the second volume of “The Coiling Dragon”.
Although they only managed to get one book, one copy could easily become two!
Everyone knew that this kind of private copying was piracy, but they could not care less about it at this moment.
One should never underestimate the fanaticism of avid readers.
Before noon, all the bookstores put up the “sold-out” sign for the second volume of “The Coiling Dragon”.
However, there were still a lot of hungry readers at the door.
This rare phenomenon quickly attracted the attention of literary media.
The second volume of “The Coiling Dragon” was just released, yet there was a rush to buy it on all the major campuses in Iowa.
“Bookstores are selling out like crazy! A new wave of fantasy is sweeping across America!”
“Breaking through the barrier, ‘The Coiling Dragon’ is truly hard to come by!”
“100,000 copies of first print and more copies to come!”
“Watch out for the best new fantasy author in the world!”
“Reprint: the second print has already arrived. Would it reach a hundred prints soon?”
The media was naturally great at chasing headlines. Many columnists finished reading their copies as soon as possible to publish their reviews of the book.
The actual situation was in stark contrast to the wildfire that spread across the internet.
Penguin’s long-prepared post to defame the book was no longer of any use.