Chapter 13

“Why would you say I can’t write? Don’t you know how humiliating that is for an author?”

“Yes, fine, you’re the editor, and I should trust your instincts and market sense. But those themes and topics aren't my style. It's too different from my usual genre. I can’t do it!”

“I think we both need to cool down. I’m hanging up. I have other things to do.”

Mindy hung up and turned to Miranda’s inquisitive gaze. She smiled and said, “It’s nothing. Just my editor from the publisher.”

“Are you sure?”

“Why would I lie?” Mindy asked, amused, hugging Miranda. “The publishing industry is struggling. Many popular authors are writing web novels and making a fortune.

“Of course, some failed. My editor wants me to switch to web novels. I’m still undecided.”

“Web novels?” Miranda repeated, surprised. “What kind?”

Mindy smiled awkwardly. “Urban romance.”

Miranda was speechless.

Mindy was a published mystery novelist. When mystery novels were popular, Mindy debuted with Murder Weapon, selling half a million copies. Later that year, her thriller, The Deserted School, broke her sales record. That year was known as “Mindy Harrison’s Year.” Both books were published in five volumes and were among the top five best-selling books of the time.

The editor she had just spoken to was Edith, the same editor she’d signed with after her successful debut. After interacting with her for a while, Mindy thought Edith was a visionary, and she was impressed by Edith's persistence, so she signed a ten-year contract.

Soon after, all of Mindy’s work was handled by Edith for editing, publishing, and distribution. However, things didn’t go as planned. She didn’t further her career with Edith; instead, she seemed to develop a terrible writer’s block.

Mindy’s ideas and proposals were rejected because Edith said they weren’t marketable. And if Mindy finally finished a plot, Edith would call and demand changes. By the time Mindy made the changes, she’d lost interest.

Mindy felt troubled. Had she lost her inspiration and imagination? She still had many stories in her head, but was she unable to write them?

Still, Mindy didn’t give up. Over ten years, she wrote over a million words—plots and stories rejected by her editor—which she considered practice.

She never published them, showing them only to Lionel. However, she did publish during that period.

Chapter 13 (Continued)

She wrote a teenage high school romance novel at Edith’s request. The publishing house wanted to make it into a movie, as high school romance was trendy.

Unfortunately, Mindy wasn’t good at that genre. She struggled, often losing her way. It took two years to write. By the time it was published (a year later), the trend had passed. Audiences considered it trashy literature, and Mindy faced significant backlash.

Longtime readers accused her of ruining her own market, while new readers criticized the book for promoting teenage romance. Online comments were brutal, accusing her of running out of ideas and being a lovesick fool who couldn't write suspense thrillers anymore. There were even theories that she'd sold her pen name to ghostwriters.

Changes Made:

• Grammar and Punctuation: Corrected numerous grammatical errors, punctuation inconsistencies, and sentence fragments.
• Formatting: Improved paragraphing for better readability. Added italics to book titles.
• Word Choice: Replaced informal language ("whatnot," "pots of gold," "mug") with more professional alternatives. Clarified ambiguous phrasing.
• Consistency: Corrected inconsistencies in names (Mirnda/Miranda).
• Flow: Restructured some sentences and paragraphs to improve the overall flow and clarity of the narrative.
• Typos: Corrected spelling errors (e.g., "pu g," "a tume in itat particular your," "subessful").

The revised passage is much clearer and more professional.