Chapter 699 Internet literature appears!
“American publishing houses are divided into profit-making and non-profit ones. I stayed in the United States for more than 20 days and visited New York, Washington, and San Francisco, three cities with relatively developed publishing industries. I also went to Times Publishing company and Simon & Schuster Publishing Company visited and talked with the leaders of relevant departments of the company, which was of great benefit," Su Bin said.
“In general, the competition in the U.S. publishing industry is very fierce, and mergers are also very fierce. It often happens that the big fish eats the small fish. The head of the public relations department of Ximeng Company said that last year, the country’s largest There have been 15 mergers, with a transaction volume of up to 11.1 billion US dollars, and mergers are often carried out by American and European publishing companies. Giant publishing groups continue to emerge, and Ximeng Company feels a lot of pressure."
" Ximeng Company feels a lot of pressure, so other small and medium-sized publishing companies will have a hard time," Fang Minghua said with a smile.
“Yes, when I was in San Francisco, I visited a small publishing house with more than thirty employees. Although it was small, it had a long history. It was established in 1942 during the golden age of American literature. It mainly published poetry. "We mainly focus on serious novels, but the pure literature market in the United States is shrinking, so it is about to go bankrupt," Su Bin said.
"What's the name of that publishing house?" Fang Minghua suddenly asked.
"Ashleypress, I call it Ashley Press, not far from the San Francisco State University campus."
"Oh" Fang Minghua remembered the name, and something suddenly occurred to him: "Su Bin, do you have access to the Internet in the United States? It's called the Internet in English."
Su Bin became excited when he heard this.
“It’s a magical world! It has everything, including news, BBS, and search engines. By the way, I also saw an electronic publication in Chinese on the Internet called "Hua Xia Digest" 》!
"Chinese? Who did it? What's written on it?" Zhao Hongjun was curious.
"It was run by a few Chinese students, Ruopeng, Liang Luping, and Xiong Bo! The website has their names, and an original essay was published on it. I still remember the name is "The Legend of the Sun Column", and it also published A poem by Shu Ting, "Loneliness while Reading Magazines"! "
"Oh my god. This Internet can actually publish literary works." Zhao Hongjun was stunned.
He knew that his literary level was not high, so he rarely asked about the business of Shengshi Books. Su Bin’s report from his inspection trip to the United States last year mainly focused on the situation of the publishing industry and did not mention it, so What he heard today was very new.
Dai Jiali was not surprised. Su Bin had communicated with her about these situations a long time ago. When Fang Minghua asked about it today, he added:
"Not only abroad, but also in our country, Tsinghua University not long ago established an internal Bulletin Board System on campus, which means Internet Forum in Chinese, or BBS for short. They have a special name called Shuimu Tsinghua."
"I Some time ago, I went to Yanjing on a business trip and went to Tsinghua University. I found a friend and logged into their BBS. There were also novels and poems written by Tsinghua students. "
After hearing the two people's narration, Fang Minghua nodded and said. : "Have you ever thought about this question after seeing these? What impact will the emergence of literature on the Internet have on literature and book publishing?"
"Teacher Fang, I think it is subversive!" Dai Jiali took the lead. He replied: "Think about it, everyone. These prose novels on the Internet have completely changed the history of literature existing in the form of "books." The Internet has become the carrier of literature. There are no books at all. Everyone is online. Just read it.”
“According to you, no one will buy books in the future?” Zhao Hongjun interrupted.
"It's very possible!"
"I think Jiali is a bit alarmist." Su Bin expressed a different opinion.
"Oh? You said?" Fang Minghua watched the two arguing with interest.
“The paper book has a unique paper texture and scholarly atmosphere, which makes it easier for readers to immerse themselves in it and truly feel the joy of reading. To be honest, although I saw Shu Ting’s poem on the Internet, It feels different from holding a real book. It feels like something is missing.”
“Although it is convenient to read books on the Internet, the Internet is not popular even in the United States, let alone China. Do you know the Internet?" Su Bin finally said. "What about a few years later when the computer network becomes popular? What if every family has a computer and can access the Internet?!" Dai Jiali asked.
“I don’t know how many years you are talking about.” Su Bin immediately retorted: “Even if one day in the future, the Internet and computers become popular, it will not be possible to read books anytime and anywhere, right? Books can be We can take it with us, on outings, on airplanes or on ships, even now. Can online books be used? "
"Huh?" Dai Jiali was stunned. .
Reading online is convenient, but at least you need a computer and Internet access.
Fang Minghua smiled secretly in his heart.
Problems that seem unsolvable in this era will not be problems at all in a few years!
“There is another reason! Although novels and prose can be published on the Internet, the literary nature of those things cannot be complimented by me. After all, our books are checked by editors at all levels, but on the Internet. Who is the editor when publishing novels and essays? Even if there is someone to check it, the literary quality will definitely not be as good as the physical book."
Dai Jiali was lost in thought.
Zhao Hongjun felt a little dizzy after hearing this.
Internet, network, BBS, these names make him nod off.
He couldn't help but look at Fang Minghua, who had been silent all this time: "Minghua, after listening to so much, please tell me what you think." The impact of itself and book publishing is indeed subversive, and I hope the senior management of Shengshi Books will pay close attention to this," Fang Minghua looked serious.
Dai Jiali smiled immediately. It was a good thing to get Fang Minghua's approval.
“As for the reasons mentioned by Lao Su, I think they are reasonable.” Fang Minghua continued.
Of course he wants to give Su Bin face.
"After all, online literature is a new thing. Compared with traditional books, which I will call traditional literature, it has its shortcomings and shortcomings, but we cannot deny it because of these shortcomings and shortcomings, let alone ignore it because it is still young."
"Lao Su, Jiali, I suggest that Shengshi Books establish an online literature department, pay close attention to the development of domestic online literature, and prepare for a rainy day."
"Okay." Su Bin nodded, Then he smiled and said to Jiali: "You will be in charge of this department personally."
"Okay, but our company has to apply for Internet access quickly. We only have a computer and cannot access the Internet. How can we read books online?" Dai Jiali said .
“Okay, let’s hold a meeting with several leaders later to discuss technology and budget before making a decision.”
Fang Minghua naturally won't worry about these internal affairs of the company. The direction has been pointed out, and it depends on the abilities of these people.
(End of this chapter)