He calls himself a 'mainland version of the American dream', a self-made kid from poor circumstances who now tops the 2011 Rich List for Chinese writers, with royalties last year alone of 24.5 million yuan (HK$30 million).
Critics call Guo Jingming's writing overly commercial and narcissistic. But to his young fans, the 28-year-old writes about their lives with sensitivity, in a melancholy, polished style. Guo estimates he has a loyal readership of between two and three million, mostly aged between 14 and 28 and the only child in their family. They are a generation stereotyped as apolitical, selfish and materialistic.
'For young readers, I am like a spokesman close to their age and experience, and so they connect with my work,' Guo says.
An editor of two magazines, a publisher and the president of a cultural products company, Guo offers his own life story as a model for his young readers in pursuit of the good life.
'I'm unique,' Guo said recently. 'Others might have a wealthy family background or senior-official parents, but I came all the way from a very small city without any help and achieved what I have today.'
His newest book, Tiny Times 3.0, released this month, continues a series he has been writing for five years. It depicts the lives of four female university students who step into society after graduation. With a first printing of two million, it topped best-seller lists last week.
The day before its release last month, Guo talked with the Sunday Morning Post at his publisher's office in Beijing.