Chapter 104 Hard Work
+5 Free Coins
“Writing three novels at the same time must be pretty exhausting, right? And now you’re adding articles for public accounts on top of that–aren’t you overworking yourself?” Louis began to wonder if he had been neglecting Freya too much all this time. “How about this–starting next month, I’ll give you five hundred dollars a month. If needed, we can increase it gradually.”
“Huh? No, that’s really not necessary. I’ve always been writing three novels at once. I have enough time. Normally I can write about two thousand words per hour, and even on a slow day, at least a thousand. I aim for three thousand words per novel per day, so six hours a day usually does it. I give myself eight to ten hours of work time daily, which includes research and scheduling chapters in advance. It’s not much different from a regular office job.”
Freya was speaking very sincerely. Ever since she started writing, this had always been her routine–she was completely used to it. Even if she took on side jobs, twelve hours a day was enough to handle everything, and that brought in around two thousand dollars a month. For an average person, that was a very comfortable income.
Of course, when she was living alone, her expenses were lower. Now with two high–maintenance people in the household, the spending had gone up–but compared to the things Louis had given her before, this was nothing.
“Working eight to ten hours a day doesn’t wear you out?” Louis had only a vague idea of what Freya’s daily life was like. He just knew she was always home. Thinking about it now, he realized it took real discipline to maintain such a consistent schedule without anyone supervising her. But the “wife” he knew from before had never worked. Wouldn’t she have struggled with laziness?
“Not at all,” Freya said, sounding puzzled. “Isn’t that what most white–collar workers do? A lot of them even have to work overtime–ten or more hours a day is pretty common. And in the end, their salary might not even be as much as mine. I think I’ve got it pretty good. Plus, writing novels actually has real potential.”
The moment she started talking about her career, Freya lit up.
“Right now, I’m under a minimum guarantee contract, so my income is stable. Since the books haven’t gotten that much exposure yet, the royalties haven’t exceeded the guaranteed payout. But once I build up more word count and subscriptions start to roll in, I’ll earn more. I even researched the content guidelines for adaptations here in advance, and made sure to avoid the red flags. If one of my stories ever gets picked up for a drama or movie adaptation, the income would skyrocket.”
Back in her original world, two of her novels had already been adapted–each one had brought in a solid return. She’d even paid cash for a house in a major city thanks to those deals.
Louis looked at her glowing expression and knew right away–this must’ve been what she did in her previous life. The way she navigated this industry so confidently and efficiently, there was no doubt she’d walked this path before and walked it well. But her success was her own. Now that he’d realized it, he wasn’t going to brush aside her efforts like he used to.
“Alright. Then keep working hard. I’ll transfer the money to your account regularly.”
Freya paused. “What I mean is, you really don’t need to give me money. I don’t have many expenses. The place we bought came fully furnished, and adding furniture later won’t cost much. You’re the one who spends more–just keep the money and use it. I promise I’ll keep our lifestyle steady.”
Louis remembered how she’d given him money once before and sighed inwardly. He made the decision on the spot. “It’s settled then. If you don’t have anything to spend it on, just save it.”
He said it so firmly that Freya couldn’t really argue. She wondered if she had somehow hurt his pride without realizing it. But Louis doesn’t really seem like that kind of person… does he?
