Chapter 8: Nothing to Fear

Sakamoto Ken considered what he would buy after receiving his manuscript fees.

First was a computer, an essential device in modern society.

Although he chose to draw by hand, he should also have a drawing tablet and a digital pen ready.

Then came better quality manuscript paper, pens, screen tone sheets, and other drawing consumables. After all, he was going to be a professional creator now, and professional tools were very important.

It would be best to buy a scanner as well; otherwise, he would have to take his manuscript paper to the convenience store to scan every time.

Hmm… he also wanted to move.

Although he had lived here for a few years and had gotten used to it, the environment was still a bit poor.

Sakamoto Ken could actually tolerate not having a private bathroom. What was annoying were the sounds of lovemaking that would start from a random direction, or even several directions, after nightfall. The rising and falling chorus would seriously affect his creative process.

This is going to cost a lot of money…

Submitting one chapter a week, about 25 pages, would earn him 300,000 yen before taxes, according to the contract.

However, the first chapter had a full 50 pages, so he could get a payment of 600,000 yen.

All told, his total manuscript fees for the first month could reach 1,500,000 yen.

For other authors, this actually wasn’t that much.

After all, a typical weekly serialized work required two to three assistants, and the monthly payment to assistants would exceed 700,000 yen.

For works that sold themselves on their art, the expenses in this area were even greater.

The situation was better for digital creation. Like his manga from the previous life, he had collaborated with two assistants remotely online.

Otherwise, he would have needed to provide them with a full set of work equipment and consumables. If their commute was too far, he would also have to pay for transportation. He would even need to rent a larger apartment.

More importantly, no one could guarantee that a manga could be serialized indefinitely.

If it got canceled, there would be a period of zero income, during which one could only live off savings.

Therefore, if a manga artist couldn’t get their work published in standalone volumes and relied solely on serialization fees, they were essentially just an office worker with an above-average salary, an extremely high workload, and no job security.

Although Sakamoto Ken was a one-man army and all the manuscript fees went into his own pocket, he still wanted to earn more.

On the other hand, he hoped to publish his work faster, and in turn, release the standalone volumes sooner.

Thinking of the live stream he had just watched, Haruna had announced she would be updating two chapters a week. In fact, he could totally do that too. If he put in some overtime, he could even finish three chapters.

Since Haruna could do it, it meant the editorial department could be flexible.

So, Sakamoto Ken sent an email to his editor, Kaji Keiko, stating that he wanted to update two chapters a week, just like that author named Sangatsu Haru.

It was already after work hours. He originally thought the editor would reply tomorrow, but just five minutes later, Sakamoto Ken received an email from her.

Kaji Keiko: Sakamoto-sensei, I also just heard about Sangatsu Haru-sensei’s request to serialize two chapters a week. Are you sure you want to do the same as her? The pressure of the deadlines will be immense.

Sakamoto Ken: Don’t worry, Editor-san, I have no problem.

Kaji Keiko: Alright then, I’ll bring it up for you tomorrow. Sakamoto-sensei, you can try it for a few weeks first. If it really doesn’t work out, you can switch back to weekly updates. After all, quality is the most important thing.

Kaji Keiko: Please check if there are any adjustments needed for the first four chapters. If they are finalized, send me the final version of the files. I need to arrange the serialization schedule for you.

Sakamoto Ken: I’m counting on you, Editor-san. I’ll send the digital version right away!

Sakamoto Ken: By the way, I’d also like to know more about that new author, Sangatsu Haru. Do you know her situation? For a complete newcomer to get a live new work announcement is quite something.

Kaji Keiko: I don’t know either. The colleagues in my group are all very curious. She’s not under our editorial department’s responsibility at all. I guess only the editor-in-chief would know.

Could it be that the editor-in-chief is particularly optimistic about her work?

That shouldn’t be. He knew very well what level his own manga was at.

Even if its lack of popularity in the previous life was partly due to the niche magazine it was published in, the hard skills like artwork and plot weren’t that great either.

And this could be appreciated by the editor-in-chief?

She even said that it was already confirmed for future publication in the main JUMP magazine. This was not the treatment an ordinary newcomer received.

Recalling his experiences from that time, he had no related memories.

Although Mikazuki Haruna was also in the art department of Kanzaki Academy of Art, a year above him, and her dream was to become a manga artist…

…because her family was too rich, she drew manga just for fun, a pure hobby. In the previous life, she had never officially published any work; all she did was pester him for updates.

Starting over, all sorts of things had changed.

This was probably the butterfly effect. A butterfly flapping its wings could cause a storm, so something like his own rebirth would surely cause even greater changes.

The current focus was still the manga manuscript. For Sakamoto Ken, every stroke he put down was the final version. He was solving a problem with the answer key in hand; there was nothing that needed to be revised.

So, he directly sent the digital drafts of the already completed first four chapters to the editor’s email.

All that was left was to wait for the manuscript fees to arrive.

Shueisha’s payment day for manuscript fees was the 25th of every month. If it fell on a holiday, it would be postponed.

It was now mid-February. The manuscripts submitted this month, he wouldn’t receive payment for them until March 25th.

Before receiving the payment, he still had to work at the convenience store, at least enough to pay next month’s rent.

…

Mikazuki Haruna hummed a light tune, her pair of shiny little black leather shoes clacking on the floor.

She walked out of the main entrance of Shueisha. The JUMP editor-in-chief accompanied her all the way, watching her get into the Lexus LM that had come to pick her up. He even bowed slightly towards the car until it drove far away.

Once in the car, the first thing Mikazuki Haruna did was kick off her leather shoes, allowing her warm, stuffy feet to relax. She then placed them in front of the air conditioning vent to cool off, feeling so comfortable that her toes couldn’t help but spread out.

Lying back in the comfortable seat, she picked up a tablet, opened the digital version of her manga manuscript, and flipped through it page by page.

She had already lost count of how many times she had read it, and every time she felt particularly satisfied.

Then she switched to the JUMP+ homepage.

Although she had the backing of the managing director, who also served as the editor-in-chief, the main JUMP magazine was a physical publication. The entire process of layout, printing, logistics, and sales was very complex, so she still had to wait for a slot in the schedule.

Most of the works continuously serialized in the main magazine were by famous authors. Even the editor-in-chief couldn’t easily ask them to give up their page space for her.

Moreover, when the editor-in-chief spoke to her, he had left some room for maneuver, saying that if there were no particularly good new works in the near future, he would definitely let her be published in the main JUMP magazine.

This meant that if, by chance, some work suddenly became a huge hit this month, she might also have to make way and continue to wait for a slot.

Of course, Haruna didn’t particularly care about these things. The manuscript fees and all that didn’t matter. She just wanted readers to see her work as soon as possible.

So, the place where it could be published immediately was an online platform like JUMP+.

On the “Serialization List” page, there were a total of 12 works scheduled for update tomorrow, among which was her Miss Sniper, and Pantyhose!. The first chapter would be released on time at midnight.

The JUMP+ platform had only been online for a year. She had already flipped through all the currently serialized manga and found no particularly strong works.

Refreshing the page again, Haruna noticed an additional title in the list.

There was no content yet, and it was also scheduled for update at midnight tomorrow.

“Che-n-sō-man?”

Haruna softly read out the katakana name, taking a few seconds to realize the corresponding English words were Chainsaw Man.

Who the hell can read katakana? What kind of name is Chainsaw Man?

Is it a manga imitating American superheroes?

Superman, Hulk, Ant-Man, and all that… they’re a dime a dozen.

Nothing to fear.

(End of Chapter)