CATDOLL: Japanese light novel writer complains about the industry, the harder he works the less money he makes and he wants to change careers

Saku Aizawa, the author who serialized the light novel "The Employment Situation of a Modern Witch" in "Dengeki Daioh", opened up on Twitter, expressing her distress about becoming a professional writer and saying, "Maybe it's time to change jobs."

Born in 1983, Aizawa Saku is a Japanese light novelist, mystery writer, and manga author. He was nominated for the 64th Japan Mystery Writers Association Award (short story) and made his debut by winning the 19th Ayukawa Tetsuya Award hosted by Tokyo Sogensha. He has written works such as the "Toruno Hatsu no Jikenbo" series and "The Employment Situation of a Modern Witch". He expressed his confusion on Twitter:

"I've been a little lost lately. Why do I keep writing when I know it won't sell? Because the print run is determined by the last sales, so if it doesn't sell well once, it's hard to make a comeback. I envy those writers who have stable sales."

"Anyway, no matter how much I write, it won't sell as well as the last one, right? With so few copies printed, it can't even be sold in bookstores... When I think about this, I think I might as well just write something casually, since no one will read it anyway."

"The more you say 'I love this book, I hope it sells well', the less it sells. If the single volume doesn't work, at least the paperback version can be sold... but it doesn't work."

"The sales of paperbacks are really terrible recently. They are almost the same as single-volume editions. How do people make a living in this industry?"

"Whether it's work, study, or competition, it's too painful that my scores won't go up. I'm selling less and less, and the harder I write, the worse it gets. If working hard could make things better, I'd be motivated to work harder, but now, the harder I work, the worse it gets..."

"I've been trying to be patient, but it's still very painful."

"Because of these reasons, I can't write smoothly. Please wait for the new work. I hope it can be published in the summer..."

Japanese fans’ response:

"I think it would be very interesting if your work was adapted into an animation! Please continue writing~"

"In my mind, teachers always rank high!"

"I still like the teacher's articles very much, and hope that it will develop in a good direction..."

"I like the teacher's work, take your time and don't force yourself!"