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July 5, 2015

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Next chapter in online writing

SINCE 1957, the literary magazine “Harvest,” a bimonthly journal published by the Shanghai Writers’ Association, has been a beacon for discovering new talent and promoting the works of established writers.

At the height of its popularity in 1979, the circulation of one particular edition exceeded 1 million across China.

But today, like so many magazines, newspapers and periodicals, “Harvest” is in the throes of change as the digital age changes reading habits and even writing methods.

The writers’ association last year launched a website called Myhuayu, meaning “my Chinese,” to give writers access to the Internet. Quarterly issues of “Harvest” dedicated to pre-publication previews of new novels also went online.

Since its inception, Myhauyu has attracted more than 1,000 novels and 260 literary journals from around China. Sometimes there is a modest charge per chapter. Other times, excerpts are offered for free to try to entice reader interest. Online bookstores linked to the site offer easy access for those who want to buy books because of the excerpts they have read.

For 6 yuan (US$1), or one-third of its newsstand price, “Harvest” online also provides readers a download of the whole magazine as it would appear in print.

Novice writers are trying to use cyberspace to get their works before the public eye, hoping they will attract enough followers to warrant full publication.

In this new realm of literary marketing, clicks matter and clicks are often too few.

“For one thing, readers of traditional literature are not used to reading long pieces online,” said Mai Suiqi, managing director of Myhuayu. “For another, most online readers are casual readers who read in little chunks of time. They don’t want to pay for something they may not finish reading at one sitting.”

The transition from written page to digital screen isn’t easy for many traditional writers.

“Just tossing what’s on a printed page onto a literary website doesn’t make us online writers,” said Sun Wei, 40, who signed up to put four of her novellas on Myhuayu.

“Online writers can attract millions of fans by updating their writings day-by-day, creating boundless readership for a story in which no one, sometimes not even the writer himself, knows where it will end,” she said.

None of her books has so far received any clicks, though they are popular in bookstores.

Look around Shanghai and the Herculean task of attracting reader attention becomes all too apparent. People are glued to their smartphones, tablets and e-readers. They are playing games, texting, video streaming and sharing photos and gossip.

A recent Ericsson Mobility Report predicts that 70 percent of the world’s population will be using mobile devices by 2020, and China is already a leader of the new age in the world.

Can the world of traditional literature compete in the electronic realm? One thing is certain: it will have to broaden its scope and its formats.

“Traditional writers have limitations on the amount of words they can write,” said Sun. “If I am writing for a literary column, 2,000 words might be the limit. If I am writing a book, 200,000 words is usually the norm. I need to have an outline of the story beforehand so that I know where I am headed and when to stop. I need to set my pace and choose my words. But when writing for an online audience, the whole scenario changes.”

No one is suggesting online literary works are inferior. It’s simply a new genre that many established writers have trouble grasping. Sun said she has yet to adapt.

“Digital storytelling is a totally different craft, and I lack that experience,” she said. “And at my age, the thought of starting all over again is very discouraging.”

Ye Kai, a senior editor at “Harvest” since 1997, said the world of literary publication has always been buffeted by change — and survived.

“Like paper once replaced bamboo parchment, online media is replacing the written page,” he said. “But I don’t think traditional literary magazines will give up publication altogether and go wholly online. The ones that survive will be those that understand multimedia storytelling.”

He cited the example of “Da Jia,” a web-only magazine that is a pioneer in online publication. It carries both staff-written stories and outside contributions from well-known personalities such as economist Mao Yushi, historian Qin Hui and Pingshu performer Shan Tianfang.

Set up in 2013 by Tencent, the social issues magazine has attracted more than 1 million followers. Registration is easy. Anyone with an account on Tencent’s instant messaging service QQ can become a subscriber with just one click.

“Da Jia” is staffed around the clock, and articles are edited and feedback given within two hours. It’s an effort to capture the real-time essence of the digital world.

In January 2013, the article “Stories of Sui and Tang Dynasties,” written by Shan Tianfang went viral on the website, receiving 33 million clicks. Except for a contractual contributors’ fee to Shan, “Da Jia” pocketed all revenue from advertising.

Shan was 79 when the article appeared. If the Internet discovered his writing talent at a rather late age, it also created new spin on sometimes surprising fronts.

Two years ago, Fan Xingzhi, an information technology worker in Beijing, met a woman whom he had befriended online. It was love at first sight. Fan learned that she loved poetry, so he opened a WeChat public account called Dushoushizaishuijiao, meaning “read a poem before going to sleep.”

Night after night, he chose a bedtime poem for his beloved, verse such as “Crossing the Bar” by Tennyson, and put it on the site.

To Fan’s surprise, many WeChat users found the account and liked the daily poetry. The site expanded to include new poetry, humor pieces and literary criticism. In the end, Fan didn’t win the woman’s affection, but Dushoushizaishuijiao did collect 270,000 devoted subscribers.

“It is really all about the exploration of new content,” said Jin Yuchen, vice chairman of the Shanghai Writers’ Association. “WeChat helped breath new life into the dying art of poetry reading. Who can say what other changes will happen in the future?”

A year ago, the writers’ association started to recruit Internet writers as members. Seventy-five Shanghai-based online writers, recommended by various literary sites, became the first to join.

“Writing on the Internet often means posting unfinished works and encouraging comment from real-time readers,” said Jin, whose epic novel “Evanescent” actually began with his blogging habit. “In order to get more clicks and thus more income, many Internet writers will change plots according to reader feedback. This is an age unlike any other the literary world has ever seen before, with so many forms and possibilities.”

Last year “Harvest” set up the WeChat public account Harvest1957 on the Tencent platform. Every day it promotes three short articles from its digital edition as “teasers” to attract subscribers. Subscriptions to the online account topped 56,000 last month, almost half a year’s print circulation.

“Young writers are eager to write or do interviews for my WeChat picks,” said Zhong Hongming, who is responsible for work on the account. “They see it as a good way to promote themselves in literary circles. Though they don’t get paid, they never cease to come up with quality articles.”




 

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