Evolving from nothing

Cheng Wu, CEO of China Literature Corp, says Webnovel now offers some 160,000 original online novels written in English and those might be translated into more languages soon.

"Online literature, featuring a large number of users, a wide range of topics, and interactivity, has expanded the scope and significance of international cultural exchanges," Cheng says.

So there is an IT engineer living in Barcelona who created the first of the English-language hits under the pen name of Alemillach. Then there is an English and Chinese double-major graduate from Texas called Logan (pen name AuthorWiz), who explored afterlife with Reborn: Evolving From Nothing.

"It was in response to the increasing demand of these people to create their versions of the stories they've been reading, that we began offering Webnovel as a channel," says Chen Shanshan, head of China Literature's overseas business section.

Topic and theme apart, these authors know well about the tricks of online writings, Chen says. "Like, there should be a climax every three chapters, and a twist every five chapters."

A prominent trend of 2020 is that more market players are entering the business of offering literature online to a world audience.

"We see 10 to 20 new companies. This is a promising period for Chinese online literature to go global," she says. "As a pioneer, my company chose the right direction two years ago."

Because of the pandemic that has confined people indoors and aided by a ripe business model, in these upsetting times online literature is developing in a big way and seeing a good year.

Ilyas says her earnings from online writing helped her sustain her family during the pandemic. The 24-year-old author began dabbling in online literature in the last years of her software engineering course.

At the China Online International Literature Festival in Shanghai in November, she was honored as the "Highest Potential Overseas Author". Her novel Mr CEO Loves the Devilish Beauty is complete (no more daily updates) with 425 chapters and has attracted 12.6 million views.

It was at the market's calling that Chinese online literature began going overseas, Chen says.

Webnovel, also known as Qidian International, was launched in 2017. Qidian is one of the group's top online platforms for quality work in China.

"We received feedback that a large readership was forming outside, and some of the overseas readers were even volunteering to translate the stories and share them for free on various social media and other online platforms," Chen says.

Chinese-Singaporean Jeremy Oon Hong Wen, who has a master's degree in physics, has been a volunteer translator since 2015.

As a fan of kung fu stories, Oon translated True Martial World and Lord of Mysteries under the pen name of CKtalon.

Oon has a theory about why online novels click with readers from varied cultural backgrounds, and he believes the feeling is, in a certain sense, universal.

"It has a charm that is able to connect common points in the human psyche. Brotherhood, friendship, loyalty, desire to be recognized, etc," he says.

"Such stories can always be presented with freshness that exceeds the limits of one's imagination."

Liu Yuren, director of content at Webnovel, says: "Chinese online literature has in a sense become a cultural symbol that suits the growing number of millennials worldwide."