Launch Thoughts
Hello everyone, I’m Rest Note, who thought all the drafts were done and I could slack off, only to be told I still had to write a launch message… and got totally stunned. Feeling very, very emo right now…
First of all, thank you for all your support and love all this time. Without you, there wouldn’t be what Finger‑Snap Mage is today. I really mean it—thank you.
Anyone who knows me knows I’m that kind of neurotic idiot who’s so free I get depressed. If someone chats nonsense with me in the comments, I happily reply with nonsense too. My main vibe is: as long as you don’t abandon me, I’ll roast you to death.
So, since I’m super free, I’m going to ramble a bit here and kill some time.
About going VIP, it’s actually pretty weird. My editor asked me at the start of March if I wanted to put the book on shelves. I was totally blindsided. Luckily I’d already been blindsided once when the contract passed, so this time I recovered extra fast.
After thinking it over for half a day, I applied to delay the launch, and pushed it back to June.
Why delay? Partly because I had no time to build up stock. The other part was… I just didn’t feel right about it.
I’m the type who loves self‑doubt. Kind of an OCD thing. I’ll leave home and keep checking the door lock over and over.
But my typo rate is through the roof, and yet my OCD never kicks in about it. I seriously don’t get it.
So I really doubted whether my novel was good enough for people to actually pay to read.
During that time I asked some readers in the group chat, and some author friends, and the conclusion was: instead of overthinking, go update!
My plan to slack off got exposed. Feeling twice as emo…
Then the results in March and April were actually okay. Not like those big shots who soar to the sky overnight, but my heart felt pretty stuffed with a sense of achievement.
Monthly tickets, favorites, likes, comments, reviews, tips.
My dearest readers have been supporting me in their own ways.
And so I developed the fourth big illusion of my life—I can go VIP.
Right then the editor came poking again. I didn’t overthink it and just agreed. Then I realized that while stockpiling in May, I also had to work on my graduation thesis and all kinds of college graduation procedures.
Actively seeking death. Feeling extra emo…
Thankfully, by working every day until midnight, I finally got everything that needed doing done. Don’t underestimate a programmer’s vitality, you punks—I can drop dead for you any minute!
Finger‑Snap Mage started from 21:23:42, December 21st, 2015, four days before Christmas, when I posted “Volume One: The Code Prince Has Four Eyes,” Chapter One: “Instant Noodles at Four in the Morning,” 3,233 words.
That was the starting point of this no‑return road called “writing.”
At the time it was just me, sitting blankly in front of my computer, staring at the glowing screen. After a full day of work, I’d caught up on all the new anime, the novels I followed hadn’t updated, and I didn’t feel like gaming. My whole brain was just empty.
I searched all over the internet for anime, novels, TV shows to watch, and somehow nothing made me want to click the next episode. For one brief moment, I thought I’d ascended out of the 2D world.
I snapped awake. Cold sweat down my back.
Bored to the point of becoming a brick, I decided I had to do something to save my dried‑up soul.
If other people’s worlds no longer interested me, why not build my own?
It’s like you eat takeout every day, and one day you just get sick of it and think, “Maybe I should try cooking for myself.”
What if it doesn’t turn into kitchen horror?
And then—
I got my first reader who wasn’t me…
My first monthly ticket…
My first tip…
My first like…
My first favorite…
Finger‑Snap Mage was seen, liked, and discussed by more and more people. That new kind of satisfaction started filling me up. That feeling of “someone actually needs me” is seriously addictive.
Just like that, with everyone’s support and encouragement, Finger‑Snap has walked step by step to where it is now.
The early hours of June 1st, 2016—that’s the turning point for me and Finger‑Snap. This time, I can say loudly to everyone:
“I’m not fighting alone!”
OK, rambling over. Now for the actual VIP details.
About paid chapters (one bottle of Sprite to keep me going a whole month~)
Going on shelves means the VIP chapters will be paid. SF’s pricing is 3 Fire Coupons per 1,000 words, anything under 1,000 doesn’t count. VIP chapters are at least 2,000 words.
You all know my habit—I like 3,000‑word daily updates, and up till today I don’t think I’ve missed a day.
(Though today looks like it’s gonna break… feeling very emo…)
On June 1st I’m dropping a 20‑chapter burst. Those twenty chapters are all 2,000 words each (solid word count—some are close to 3,000). After that, most of the time I’ll aim for 3,000 words. So normally the math looks like this:
9 * 30 = 270 (Fire Coupons) = 2.7 (RMB)
The price of one bottle of Sprite keeps me going for a whole month~ tell me that’s not cheap?!
If you wanna call me cheap… you can leave.
About chapter unlocks (as long as you don’t leave, I’ll stick with you to the end)
This is actually another main reason I agreed to go VIP. Paid chapters can be unlocked later—surprised?
After 36 hours, the earliest VIP chapter will unlock automatically, no matter how many words it has.
So 3,000 words a chapter is pretty darn fair, right?
Back in high school I was pretty miserable too. I’d find a really good book, then have to stop because it went paywalled. Not because I had no money, but because I had nowhere to pay.
Students, you know—most of the time we have “millions” in our pockets offline, and literally zero online. It’s not that we’re broke; we just don’t have a way to top up. I believe a lot of readers are like that.
In that situation, my dear “big‑chested younger sisters”, don’t get discouraged. You can come to the group chat, talk crap, drive some tanks, and when the chapters unlock, you can read them all the same~
As long as you don’t unfavorite, as long as you’re willing to wait, I, Rest Note, can still present you with a silly, joyful isekai journey right in front of your eyes!
And if you toss me a monthly ticket on the way, even better~
About piracy (there probably won’t be any, right?)
With Finger‑Snap’s current fame, I doubt anyone would bother to go to all that trouble to pirate it. But let me be a paranoid worrywart and nag a bit anyway.
My stance on this is kind of subtle. As the author, of course I hope you read on SF, and hang out with me here. I really like interacting and chatting with you. As for paid chapters, just wait a bit and they’re free.
If there are “big‑chested younger sisters” reading on pirate sites… well, I can’t stop you. But if someone reads the pirate version and then comes here to mock my readers? Sorry, I’m not serving that kind of “master.”
About the cover and background art (Colonel Roy Mustang, you’ve worked so hard for this!)
We’ve got a new cover and background art! Though the cover is still just the male lead…
That’s really not on me, seriously!
The artist said they couldn’t put two people together and told me to pick one…
I couldn’t exactly pick the heroine, right?
Imagine: the cover is a girl with a sword, and the title is Finger‑Snap Mage.
People would die!
By the way, I’m really satisfied with Nana’s design. No idea what kind of taste you old gentlemen have.
Mashang, that guy… whatever~
Ahem, fine, Mashang actually looks pretty great too. I’m just not that into his hairstyle—kind of long with natural curls. Feels a bit like a bottom… Personally I like clean, short styles more. Mainly so I don’t have to comb my hair.
But he still looks handsome! And hey, people with natural curls are never villains.
About bonus chapters (no one’s reading this far down, right?)
Version 2.0 is suspended. Please check Bonus Rules 3.0.
Honestly, I think everyone should just quietly read the novel. If you’ve got something to say, say it nicely. No need to force things to the point of demanding extra chapters.
It’s not that I’m lazy…
Fine, I am kind of lazy…
Temporary rules: one Fire Sprite = +1 chapter, Fire Phoenix = +3, Fire Dragon = +5, Heavenly Fire = +7, Zhu Rong = +9, each bonus chapter is 2,000 words. No double counting (for example, if a Fire Sprite has already triggered one extra chapter, when it upgrades to Fire Phoenix it only adds two more). There’ll be a thank‑you note at the top of the chapter. Every 30 monthly tickets = +1 chapter. Saturday and Sunday are bonus‑chapter days, max 4 bonus chapters per week; any extra gets pushed to the following week. (If bonus chapters are maxed, that’s three chapters a day on Saturday and Sunday.)
Basically, every 5,000 fan points = +1 chapter. The ones that already exist, meaning the top four on the fan ranking, you still count.
At the top of the bonus chapter I’ll thank that reader by name. If there’s something you want to say, as long as it’s appropriate, you can tell me in the QQ group and I can help post it for you.
Right, the QQ group number is: 274466614, the Gentleman's Advance Association (includes cute girls and experienced drivers). Also, I think I still owe a bunch of bonus chapters. If you’re in that situation, come to the QQ group and find me to verify. I’ll pay you back first in June!
I originally wanted to write out a long thank‑you list.
All the readers in the top spots of the fan ranking.
The big shots who wrote reviews for me.
The “big‑chested younger sisters” who often chat with me in the comments.
And many, many more!
There are too many of you, so I won’t list you one by one.
And finally—
Thank you all again.
