Chapter 69 Bella's Dilemma
"Why you gotta call my writing trash? Do you even know how much that stings for a writer?"
"Yeah, you're the editor, and I should probably trust your pro skills and market know-how, but that style just ain't my jam. Even if I switched genres, this is way too much of a jump!"
"Let's both chill out. I got other stuff to handle."
Bella hung up and turned to Camilla, who looked all confused. She grinned. "No biggie, just the editor from the publishing house."
"Really nothing?"
"Totally," Bella laughed, giving her a hug. "The traditional publishing scene's been kinda dead these past few years. A lot of big-name authors are jumping ship to write web novels and making bank. Some couldn't hack it and got left behind. The editor wants me to switch to web novels, but I'm still on the fence."
"Web novels?" Camilla looked surprised. "What kind of web novels?"
Bella's smile got a bit awkward. "Urban romance."
Camilla was speechless.
Bella was a suspense writer. When the suspense genre was hot, she blew up with "The Secret Key," selling half a million copies in a year. Later that year, she dropped "Campus Conspiracy," smashing sales records again.
That year was dubbed "The Year of Bella." Her two books, spread over five volumes, dominated the top five spots on the annual sales chart.
The editor who just called was the same one who had scouted her back then.
After working together for a while, Bella found the editor to be super sharp and forward-thinking. Touched by the editor's sincerity, she signed a ten-year deal.
Since then, all of Bella's works were edited, published, and sold by this editor.
But the dream of more success didn't pan out. Instead, Bella hit a creative wall.
Her ideas kept getting shot down for not fitting the market or lacking selling points. When she finally got an idea approved and drafted an outline, the editor would call and say it needed changes.
After tweaking the outline based on the editor's notes, Bella lost the drive to write.
This really bummed her out.
Was she out of ideas?
She had tons of stories, ideas, and thoughts swirling in her head.
Was she struggling to start writing?
But Bella kept up her daily writing habit. Over ten years, she racked up nearly a million words, but they were all ideas the editor had nixed, written as practice.
None of it got published, and besides Alistair, no one else had read it.
So, saying she had no output in those ten years wouldn't be fair.
Following the editor's request, Bella wrote a Moore adult novel, as the publishing company wanted to push for film rights, riding the wave of popular teen drama series at the time.
But this wasn't Bella's thing, so she struggled with it, taking two years to finish.
By the time it hit the shelves, another year had passed, and the trend had already shifted.
Teen dramas were no longer in vogue.
Bella got slammed for it.
Long-time readers accused her of "selling out and getting what she deserved," while critics said she "promoted puppy love and had messed-up values."
Online commenters were even harsher, saying she had run out of ideas and ditched suspense thrillers for Moore adult fiction.
Some conspiracy nuts even claimed she sold her pen name and someone else was writing under it.
During that time, Bella almost hit rock bottom.
Luckily, with Alistairc and Camilla's support, Bella slowly crawled out of that dark hole, but she stopped going online after that.
Ten years, one Moore adult novel, and nada else from Bella.
"Ah, let's drop this. How's the waffles and churros?"
"Yummy, just like always."
Camilla looked at Bella, wanting to say something but keeping quiet. "The milk's a bit hot, though."
"Is it? Let it cool down a bit more."
As Christmas rolled in, the small town got all festive.
Lanterns hung along the streets, and the trees were decked out with lights.
The little grocery store near their place was packed and running low on stuff, so Bella drove to the big supermarket downtown.
After parking, she and Camilla took the elevator to the first floor.
Before even stepping in, they saw Christmas trees on each side.
Inside, it was jam-packed with people, buzzing with holiday vibes.
Theyhad to visit relatives from the Learmond family, get visits from old students, and sometimes treat neighbors, so gifts and fruits were a must.
Passing the snack aisle, Bella grabbed some candies, chips, and cookies.
Remembering they were low on spices at home, she picked up some more.
In the seafood section, seeing the fresh shrimp, Bella turned to ask Camilla if she wanted to buy some.
But Camilla, who had been trailing her, was nowhere to be seen.
Bella raised an eyebrow and pushed the cart back two aisles, finding Camilla sneaking cold chocolate ice cream bars into the cart.
The chocolate was a bit bitter, but at home, with the heater on, eating ice cream and feeling the chill was a unique winter treat.
Camilla had planned to sneak two bars but got busted so fast.
She blinked and looked at Bella with puppy eyes. "Can I keep two?"
Bella looked amused. "What do you think?"
In the end, Bella didn't put them all back, leaving one in the cart.
"Mom, do you have to be so strict? One isn't enough, what about you and Dad?"
"We don't eat them."
"Then I can have them!"
Bella gave her a look. "One, no more."
"Alright."
"Hey, Bella?" Suddenly, a voice came from behind.
When turned around, they saw a woman in her forties, rocking a white suit, with her hair tied up in a bun at the back.
She had a businesslike yet slightly artsy vibe, with ordinary looks and plain features. Her overly arched eyebrows made her look a bit stern.
"Debra, what a coincidence." Bella greeted with a smile.
"Yeah," Debra Allen smiled as she walked up to them, her eyes landing on Camilla. "And this is?"
"My daughter," Bella replied.
"She's grown so much! Last time we met, she was still in high school, right?"
"Yep."
Debra glanced at Camilla's face. "She's beautiful, just like you."
Bella's smile got even warmer.
No mom disliked hearing compliments about her kid.
"By the way, about the switch we talked about this morning, have you thought it over?"
Bella's smile froze.
It was only then that Camilla realized the woman in front of them was Bella's editor.
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