Before deciding what to write, the first thing to determine was 'which publishing house to submit to'.
Becoming a light novel author wasn't something one could just casually do. Even if Akira had professional experience, he might not be able to dominate like a pro and smoothly get a publishing opportunity.
In this world, Isekai-type novels hadn't yet become widespread, mainly because smartphones hadn't appeared yet, and most ordinary people hadn't developed the habit of reading novels on their phones. So, websites for online serialized novels like 'Let's Become a Novelist!' hadn't entered their golden age of development.
The conversion of web novels to light novel publications had no precedent yet. Most online serializations were like forum posts or blog entries, purely driven by interest.
And this also meant that opportunities for new authors to debut were even slimmer.
To become a novelist, one had to first win one of the top spots or an excellent work award in various newcomer awards to debut, which was actually the same as traditional literature, and even more competitive due to the younger age of authors.
Alternatively, one could directly submit to a publishing house and compete with a massive number of other light novels, hoping to be directly spotted by an editor to get a serialization opportunity. However, very few people debuted after self-recommending to an editorial department.
Shirai Shiori, on the other hand, had already won awards and had publishing experience, so this time she would definitely submit to a familiar publishing house, as this would increase her chances of getting published.
It could be said that Akira was at a disadvantage from the start.
Akira immediately dismissed the first traditional route. Not only were there no light novel grand prizes currently being held, but even if there were, the review period would last several months. Just waiting for the results would exceed the one-month deadline agreed upon with Shirai Shiori.
Furthermore, these open calls for submissions usually required review by many people, and there was too much uncertainty involved. Who knew if a submission would be filtered out due to a particular editor's personal preferences?
Therefore, Akira could only choose the second path: self-recommendation, submitting to a publishing house, and striving to get a publishing opportunity.
That's why choosing which publishing house was a crucial step.
But actually, Akira already had a publishing house in mind.
Previously, to pursue the path of copying books for money, Akira had conducted research. There was a new publishing house called 'Hurricane Publishing' that, after its inception, had discovered a large number of new authors, and its debut rate for newcomers was higher than other publishing houses.
After all, as an emerging publishing house, to establish itself in this industry, besides taking the scraps left by established publishing houses, it could only continuously seek out new blood.
Moreover, Hurricane Publishing's pillar work of recent years, "Unlucky Mikuji Don't Cry," was just entering its final stages, but there was no new pillar work to succeed it. So, submitting now would have a greater chance of being noticed.
Of course, Akira didn't intend to immediately become the next pillar, but the lack of a pillar also meant that editors were eager for interesting new works to emerge. Their acceptance would be broader, and they would be more willing to give new authors a chance.
Akira first found the publishing house's address online and copied it into his notebook. After that, he just needed to complete the work and mail it to that address.
Actually, submitting via email was also an option, but directly submitting the manuscript would be given more importance. This kind of superficial effort also needed to be done well.
If Akira hadn't been short on money for transportation to the editorial department, he would have been willing to bring his work and visit in person.
It could only be said that the submission methods in this world were still quite cumbersome. Once web novels became popular, one could simply go online, find Hurricane Publishing's official homepage, and leave their name and phone number to directly participate in the submission process.
However, by then, it would also become much harder to stand out from the rapidly increasing number of works...
So now was a rare good opportunity.
Next, it was time to decide what to write.
This was actually the most difficult part, as everything is hard at the beginning, and only by choosing the right theme could the foundation for success be laid.
Akira had extensive experience, but this, paradoxically, led to decision paralysis.
He had read too many good works, and the variety of works was rich enough to cover almost all genres.
However, each era had its corresponding works. Being too far ahead would only lead to being seen as an anomaly and a freak; people would only reject, not appreciate.
So, he had to write something that aligned with the times.
After Akira transmigrated to this world for half a year, he had also experienced the social atmosphere of this Neon (different world's Japan).
The people of this world's Japan weren't living very disheartened lives. Perhaps because they hadn't experienced the bursting of the bubble dream brought by a certain agreement, the overall atmosphere was still positive and upward-looking.
But to be honest, Akira still couldn't quite grasp what people enjoyed reading.
His almost intuitive sense of popular trends, formed by long-term reading in his previous life, was completely useless in this world.
What Akira considered 'interesting' deviated from what the general public found 'interesting'. As a transmigrator, he was 'out of touch'.
This was also the biggest problem Akira faced when he previously wanted to implement his plan of copying books.
Write leveling-up wish-fulfillment novels? Isekai transmigration novels?
They would probably flop.
Originally, the storytelling of these types of novels was relatively weak, relying entirely on illustrations and 'satisfaction points' for support. The content itself wasn't very good.
Moreover, if these types of novels didn't have 'popularity' as a backing, it would probably be difficult for them to catch the eye of traditional editors.
So, are there any evergreen themes in light novels?
Yes!
That is, younger sister!
That's right, younger sister-complex novels will definitely be popular!
This type of youth-angst romance light novel, which includes family disputes, melodramatic dog-blood plots, and focuses on character relationships, will definitely attract the public's attention!
Moreover, the work that sparked the younger sister-complex craze, "Oreimo," hadn't appeared in this world yet, meaning Akira could seize the initiative.
Because it was a work he read during his student days, Akira had almost forgotten the later plot developments, only remembering a few key characters, but he still clearly remembered the opening gimmick.
A younger sister who debuted as a gyaru in middle school, whose hidden hobby was playing eroge, and after being discovered by her older brother, they began a secret relationship. The brother started finding otaku friends for his sister, then met many other people. The sister, becoming jealous as her brother's relationship with other women improved, transitioned from tsundere to dere...
Oh, what a thought-provoking story beginning.
Tsundere hadn't gone out of style yet either. The feeling of slowly conquering a hard-mouthed character also made people feel more immersed. When you saw the other person open their heart and show a shy side to you, you would feel that all the previous efforts were worth it. So, people who like tsundere actually like this kind of bittersweet, irresistible feeling.
The essence lies in this!
Having read many younger sister-complex works, Akira could already tell at a glance if there was "something fishy" in them.
It's about writing that elusive, ambiguous, seemingly close yet distant feeling to make people's hearts itch, wanting to see how it will unfold next.
Very good, so the theme is set.
Akira typed 'Theme: Younger Sister' into the document.
Next was the outline.
And then began the hell...