Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 5 - Chapter Aft

AFTERWORD

“I think I’ll end the series at Volume 5,” I remember saying to my editor and the manager of a bookstore in the Chubu region of Japan during a promotional tour a few days after the first The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done novel was released.

My editor simply said, “All right.” 

There was no let’s keep this going or anything like that.

Initial velocity is a very important term in the publishing industry. It refers to how well a book sells right after release. The reason it’s so important is because sales typically drop like a rock shortly after publication.

The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done didn’t have good initial velocity at all.

There was so much more I wanted to write, but as a professional writer, I am duty-bound to write what people want to read. That was my mindset at the time, but I still decided to devote myself entirely to the story I wanted to tell for five books. In the end, the first book picked up more steam than I could ever have imagined. I can’t put into words how surprised I was to learn how many people were reading my work.

I’m running out of pages as it is, so I’ll leave the thank yous for the next volume.

Being able to say that is the best feeling on earth.