Chapter 280 279 "I'll give you a royalty!"
"If you're in a bad mood, come over to your place and sit down."
For Fang Minghua, Lu Yao didn't have to pretend to speak, he just said what he said What’s in my heart.
Fang Minghua let him in, poured him another cup of steaming tea, and asked tentatively: "What about your novel?"
"Yes! Look, did I write it? Really?" After saying that, Lu Yao took out a stack of manuscripts from his briefcase.
Fang Minghua didn't answer immediately, so he took it and took a look.
Hey, why isn't it "The Ordinary World"? Why is it called "The Path of Ordinary People"?
But when he opened the first page, a familiar line of text came into Fang Minghua’s eyes:
In February and March of 1975, it was an ordinary day, with a thin drizzle of rain. A few scattered snowflakes are falling to the earth one after another.
There is no doubt that it is "The Ordinary World", but it's not called that yet.
"Minghua, I'll leave the manuscript here for now. You can read it slowly and give me some feedback! Maybe I really don't know the true face of Mount Lu, just because I'm in this mountain. I'll pick it up in two days!"
< br>After saying that, Lu Yao took another sip of hot tea, "I'm leaving first to buy some things. I still have to spend this year."
After seeing Lu Yao off, Fang Minghua was not in a hurry to return. Home, but sit in the office and look carefully.
He had read the novel "The Ordinary World" several times before coming to this era, and also watched the TV series, but now that he saw this familiar text, he was still a little moved.
But it is undeniable that even though Lu Yao won the Mao Dun Award for this book in his later period, the book was not highly praised in the history of literature. The literary world and the majority of readers treated this book like ice and fire. Chongtian.
The original Fang Minghua never quite understood this problem. After coming to this era and personally experiencing many things in the literary world of this era, he slowly understood it.
In terms of literature and writing skills alone, "The Ordinary World" is not very outstanding, but its social significance is very far-reaching and has influenced several generations.
So it is a good work.
Fang Minghua was not in a hurry to go to Lu Yao's house. Two days later, it was already the 20th of the twelfth lunar month. After dinner in the evening, Fang Minghua rode his bicycle and braved the cold wind to rush to Lu Yao's house.
In addition to bringing back the manuscript of Lu Yao's novel, Fang Minghua also bought a bag of fruit candies, a box of biscuits and a barrel of malted milk.
The Chinese New Year is coming soon, so of course you can’t go in empty-handed and wish you a happy New Year.
Lu Yao's home is not far from the Writers Association. He lives in a building above his family members. Fang Minghua knocked on the door and went in. All three of his family were there.
"Minghua? Come in and warm yourself by the fire, it's cold outside." Linda greeted warmly, and then shouted to the back room: "Lu Yao, Minghua is here."
It didn't take more than two days. Within minutes, Lu Yao was seen coming out of the back room with a cigarette in his arms.
“Where is Xiaoyuan?” Fang Minghua asked.
"Do your winter vacation homework inside. If you don't finish it before the New Year, you won't have time for the New Year."
Fang Minghua put the gifts on the table and chatted with Lu Yao around the stove.
"Minghua, have you read my book? Give me your opinion." Lu Yao knew that Fang Minghua must be here for this.
“I’ve read it.” Fang Minghua handed the manuscript to the other party.
"Brother Lu, let me get it straight. First, the title of your book is not good and not very attractive. I suggest you change it to "The Ordinary World"?"
""The Ordinary World"?" Lu Yao thought about it over and over again before saying: "Okay! This name is good, let's change it to this name!"
"Also, as for your writing techniques for this novel It is indeed not a avant-garde writing technique that is popular in the literary world." Lu Yao smiled bitterly and said, "So, it seems outdated?"
Fang Minghua did not answer directly. He said: "Remember last year, when I lectured on "Contemporary Avant-garde Literary Trends and Future Prospects" at Xijing Literary College, did you come to talk to us later? At that time, you were confused."
"Yes, I said that the purpose of my writing is not to show off my skills, but to write some works that ordinary readers will like." Lu Yao replied: "But now, if I can't publish it, what else can I talk about to make readers like it?! ”
Immediately afterwards, Lu Yao told Fang Minghua about his contacts with various magazines and publishing houses in the past month.
"I originally planned to write the second part after the Chinese New Year, but the first part is so cowardly. How dare I write the second part?" Lu Yao was very distressed.
According to Lu Yao's plan, there are three novels in total, with a length of more than one million words.
After hearing this, Fang Minghua pondered for a moment and said, "Brother Lu, I can contact a publishing house to publish it!"
"Which one?" Lu Yao perked up after hearing this.
"It's our Shengshi Book Publishing Company in Xijing. The manager, as you know, is my good friend Zhao Hongjun."
"Where is he?"
Lu Yao did not answer immediately.
Of course he knows about Shengshi Books. He heard that they buy the ISBNs of some publishing houses to publish martial arts novels.
To put it bluntly, he is not at all popular in the publishing industry.
Lu Yao felt that the price of his own writing was somewhat reduced when it was handed over to such a publishing house.
Seeing Lu Yao's behavior, Fang Minghua continued: "Brother Lu, you probably know that Shengshi Books mainly buys the ISBN of the publishing house, so ordinary readers only see the words XXX Publishing House written on the book. What’s going on? I can ask him to find some more famous publishers.”
“In addition, what’s more important is that Shengshi Books will not give you royalties in the traditional sense. It’s just like foreign countries! How about 10%?”
Royalty? !
Lu Yao was immediately attracted by these two words.
He knew that Fang Minghua had made a lot of money from writing in recent years, but the income of Jia Pingwa, Chen Zhongshi and himself could not compare with others. One fundamental reason was:
Many of Fang Minghua’s works are Those published in Hong Kong or abroad will earn royalties!
So, now that I heard Fang Minghua say that Shengshi Books could suddenly give him royalties, I immediately felt a little enthusiastic.
Linda, who was sitting nearby and listening to the conversation between the two of them, suddenly said: "Minghua, let me interrupt, the royalties you mentioned are indeed very attractive, but the problem is Lu Yao's book , what if no one buys it after publishing it? No one reads it, no one buys it, how can there be any royalties?”
My wife’s words calmed down Lu Yao’s mind.
Yeah, what if no one is watching?
Before, he didn't believe that no one read what he wrote, but after this time, so many people rejected it, and he thought of this harsh result.
Fang Minghua was unhurried: "Sister-in-law, I think everyone will rush to read Brother Lu's book in the future! But it will take time. Well, Brother Lu, I will give you the royalties. In the meantime, first If the royalties are higher than the royalties after publication in the future, then the royalties will be deducted from the royalties. "
"If by any chance, the publishing situation is not optimistic, then. How about just calculating it based on royalties? "
Isn’t this just a matter of drought and flood to ensure a good harvest?
Lu Yao and his wife looked at each other.
But Lu Yao soon discovered this problem: "Minghua, your method is good, but will your friends agree?"
Fang Minghua smiled slightly after hearing this: "You Don’t worry, Zhao Hongjun is not only my best friend, this company is also a joint venture between us.”
(End of Chapter)