Final Report: A Six-Month Record of the 'Tensai Komo-chan' Bookstore Flat-Stacking Challenge

Introduction | First, let me start with the result: 'I achieved it'

This is Ryuichi. This is my final report. Let me start with the result.

The roadmap I set six months ago, 'to have the book I wrote and published on Amazon',
“Tensai Komo-chan” displayed flat in a real bookstore,' was, within the timeframe I decided, successfully achieved.

Dreams really do become reality. At least, that was the case for me.

However, this is not because I was a special, chosen person, nor because I had strong connections in the industry.

At first, I was feeling my way in the dark, and not everything went according to plan.

Even so, as a result of declaring it, taking action, and keeping on running, the world truly moved.

No, that's not right. To be precise, I moved it.

If you act with the intention of moving it, you can definitely move the world.

This text is not me bragging.

And it is certainly not a 'success story of an amazing person.'
It is a record of the fact that 'anyone can reach their goal if they try.'
And it is also a story that your turn is coming.

Chapter 1 | It All Started with a 'Declaration'

Six months ago, I published a plan.

To have the book I had just published at the time,
“Tensai Komo-chan” displayed flat in a real bookstore.

It was not an easy story,
and it was a plan where I was completely fumbling in the dark,
with no way to create a realistic roadmap.

However, at the same time, it was
my six-month action plan
to make the dream of 'I will definitely make this come true' a reality.

The goal is high, but the purpose is simple.

To have the book I published on Amazon,“Tensai Komo-chan” placed in a real bookstore.

Preferably flat-stacked.

And for someone to
accidentally pick up that book, flip through the pages on a whim, and before they know it, have this book remain on the bookshelf of their heart.

To see such a scene not 'someday,' but 'as a reality this year.'

This is my mission for the past six months.

To that end, I drew up a roadmap from July to December.

At this point, there was no guarantee of success whatsoever.
Just one... or maybe two?
All I had was the will to make it happen and a baseless confidence that it would come true.

In my goals, I had added the qualifier 'if possible,' but
when it came to actually taking action, there was not a single moment where I thought in terms of wishful thinking like 'if possible.'

What can I do to get this book placed flat on a bookstore shelf?

I was acting while thinking only about that.

Chapter 2 | The Plan and Schedule I Set Back Then (July–December 2025)

First, as a recap,
I will post the plan and schedule I made six months ago once again.

◉ July: Plan Announcement & SNS Notification
・Publish this research proposal on note
・Spread the word using hashtags like '#BookstoreChallenge'
・Start research on bookstore staff and publishing industry professionals
・Think of strategies aimed at 'buzz' (such as collaborations with famous people on SNS)

◉ August: Start Bookstore Sales Outreach
・Approach through multiple means such as direct visits, phone calls, emails, and SNS
・Report on progress and rejections on note
・Prepare a 'Reader Feedback' campaign in parallel

◉ September: Aiming for Buzz
・Planning discussions with bookstore staff and other influencers
・Aim to build a fan base by sharing myself, centered on note (connecting to published books and unpublished novels)
・Submit an interim report

◉ October–November: Summarize and Visualize Results
・Photos and reports of bookstore displays
・Conduct SNS campaigns
・Consider events (small-scale readings or online talks)

◉ December: Final Report & The Next Step
・Post a note summarizing the 'Six-Month Record'
・Speech of thanks and gratitude to everyone who supported me
・Include a preview of my next challenge as a novelist

Chapter 3 | The Plan Proceeded Almost Exactly as Intended

If you look at the above plan as 'exactly the same in every word,' that is not quite the case.

However, while changing its form slightly,
all plans proceeded without deviating from their essence.
Everything in the plan I wrote at the beginning came true.

July | Building the Foundation

I reviewed my SNS operation up to that point, talked to people online, and followed people myself.

Until then, I wanted to maintain a '0:10000' ratio for my operations,
so I did not follow back or initiate follows,
but I considered that insufficient for building diffusion power,
so I changed my previous operational method.

As a result, my followers doubled (from about 100 to 212),
and because I had a close relationship with my followers, my reach increased significantly.

At the same time, by talking to many people online,
I gathered information on how to get books into bookstores,
and I was able to clearly see
what is actually needed to get a book placed in a bookstore.

The foundation for my first step was completed here.

August | Start of Bookstore Sales Outreach (Though the reality was a different route)

Next, the start of bookstore sales outreach in August.

For this, I started by identifying bookstore staff on social media
and began moving to actually make contact.

However, I never actually put these into action.

Honestly, I am bad at this kind of administrative work.
To put it plainly, I have a condition that makes me unable to do such things.

So, I put off the tedious email outreach.

On the other hand, I was unconsciously (or perhaps consciously?) doing outreach by hitting the pavement.

During my work as an influencer,
whenever I visited stores, I would promote my book
and repeatedly make light appeals that didn't quite reach the level of negotiation.

I think I talked about it every time I visited restaurants, fashion shops, and various other service facilities.

Of course, I didn't get any favorable responses at that stage,
but I didn't particularly mind.

There was no need to rush. After all, I still had four months left.

Because of that, I put the bookstore approach aside
and focused my efforts on activities within the 'Ata-Lab',
where I held two 'How to Write a Proper Novel' events at the summer festival.

Thankfully, many people watched these,
and I was able to receive many star ratings as well.

September | Aiming for a Buzz, but It Happened in an Unexpected Way

When September arrived, despite having set a goal to aim for a buzz,
I had absolutely no idea what specific measures to take...

Of course, I aim for a buzz in my daily posts
and I do research for that purpose,
but I continued to be in a state where I just couldn't get a buzz on X as I had hoped.

That said, on the other hand, I had a mini-buzz on YouTube comments,
and I, Ryuichi, had become famous within the community,
so similar phenomena were occurring.

Yeah. I didn't write specifically about what would go viral or how, so it came true in a weird way.

I achieved it, but that's not what I meant, haha.

Something like that.

Oh, and also,
around this time, I started getting invited to influencer events,
where I would sell books by hand and hold autograph sessions as part of the merchandise sales.

October | Making Big Moves

When October arrived, I decided to make more concrete and flashy moves.

I went to Pro-Cowa (Nagoya),
went to Port Kakegawa (Shizuoka),
went to Yonomori (Fukushima),
and went to Fukuoka, where I met many people.

In addition to meeting and talking with members of Ata-Lab and people I was already connected with,
I also interacted with complete strangers I met wherever I went.

November | Achieving the Dialogue and Reconfirming My Aptitude

And then, November.
Here, I achieved the 'dialogue' that had been planned for September, two months late.
In reality, that plan had been set back in October.

The partner for the dialogue was not a bookstore clerk, but Mr. Kume from Pro-Cowa.

I was invited to appear as a guest on theYouTube live broadcastthat Mr. Kume appears on.

It had been a while since I last spoke in front of a camera, but it was honestly incredibly fun!

I reconfirmed my aptitude, realizing that I really do love being out in front.

Of course, I continued to move around, going here and there during this period as well.

Around this time, my relationships with the people I met in person began to deepen.

We actually went out for drinks, and through that, connections for future work were formed (I will mention this later).

December | In the Final Month, Reality Shifted

And finally, December.
I entered the final month with the goal still unachieved, but
by a stroke of luck, it was confirmed that the book would be 'displayed flat in the store'.

This came about through a connection with the owner of a general store I visited in July,
where we talked about work, and it took concrete shape and became a reality.

There are two locations where they will be placed.

Cafe Katase, a cafe attached to a laundromat in Enoshima, and
Happy Mare, a general store in Inamuragasaki.

It was decided that they would be sold in a 'flat-stack' display at these two locations.

At this stage, I had successfully achieved the goal of having them flat-stacked in physical stores.

Chapter 4 | 'Flat-stacking' appeared in a different form

Actually, while groping in the dark, I changed my way of thinking back in August.

Before 'selling books,' I needed to 'have people get to know the person named Ryuichi.'

I focused on this.

Rather than pitching to bookstores (tedious administrative work),
I put myself out there. I spoke. I taught. I handed them over.

I raised my voice in front of many people,
I achieved solid results for myself in proportion to how much I spoke up,
and while making myself stand out, I also lifted others up and pushed them forward.

I held writing workshops, stood in front of people,
and showed not only my ambitious and confident self,
but also my true intentions, what I was aiming for, and various other sides of myself.

Perhaps that was the result.

The book began to change from a 'product' into 'something that reaches people through a person.'

This decision was not in the original roadmap.

However, I can say it now.

If it weren't for this change in course, I wouldn't have made it this far.

The result of this experiment is not exactly the same form as the 'flat-stacking in major Tokyo bookstores' I had initially envisioned.

However, a 'bookstore' is just one means,
and the goal is to 'place my book in a location where it catches people's eyes.'

In other words, the place where they are placed does not necessarily have to be a bookstore.

Because the goal is to have someone pick up my book, read it, and buy it.

In short, this means that the goal of this six-month experiment was successfully achieved.

People actually visiting the laundromat picked it up, bought it, or flipped through the pages,
sometimes I introduced myself as the author and signed copies,
and there were shops that agreed to stock those signed copies.

In that way, it became a part of someone's daily life.
I definitely witnessed that scene.

It was not a scaling down of a dream,
but without a doubt, it was an 'achievement' and something that can be called a 'successful experiment'.

Chapter 5 | What I Learned in These Six Months

I will state this clearly here.

Plans exist to be put into action. If they go off track, just fix them. If you declare your intentions, you will move forward.

The world moves more when you think while running rather than overthinking in your head.

And incidentally, you don't have to do work you hate.

With just that, even seemingly impossible plans and dreams can all come true.

This was a feeling I already had,
but this was a half-year where I was able to understand this feeling more deeply in my own body.

Conclusion | To the Next Chapter

This report is the story of one book, and at the same time, it is a record of one chapter in my own life.

Dreams are not just for a select few special people.

If you declare them, take action, make adjustments, and keep moving forward, they will truly become reality.

If I could do it, you can do it too.

This is not a success story of some great person or someone amazing.
It is a 'record of someone who did it'.

From here on, a new chapter begins.

If my experiments and challenges over these past six months lead to someone else thinking, 'Maybe I'll give it a try,'
then I believe this record has more than enough meaning.

By the way, as for my future activities, two new manga writing projects have started.

One was work gained while I was active over the past six months,
and the other was work done by teaming up with members of 'Ata-Labo'.

In the next six months, I will make this manga a commercial success.

For anyone else who wants to walk with me, let's walk together.

I will push you forward and pull you along.
I'll take care of the fear, so let's believe in me and in yourself.

It's okay. Anyone can do it.

The reason is simple: 'because you can'.

That concludes my record of six months of experiments and goal achievement.