Chapter 265: Make money, not shabby (2-in-1)
The next day, Pan Yaoming came to the hotel excitedly with dark eyes, and saw Fang Yan and Bai Ruoxue sitting face to face, Enjoy the buffet breakfast and chat and laugh.
I didn't even bother to drink a sip of water, I just wanted to discuss "The Great Master Huang Feihong" with Fang Yan.
"Look at you, you are in a hurry."
Fang Yan waved the seagull camera in his hand and suggested that Pan Yaoming be a guide and take them out for shopping and chat on the way.
Pan Yaoming couldn't wait to say: "Of course."
Fang Yan came out of the hotel, walked down the street, turned a corner, and found a bustling area not far away.
There is a newspaper stall on the roadside. People who buy newspapers hand over a few Hong Kong dollars and take the day's newspaper from the newspaper seller.
Dialects are swept away, and there are all kinds of magazines, covering everything.
《VOGUE》,《ELLE》,《外号》......
There are celebrity photography, fashion clothing, and newspapers and periodicals about Hong Kong's finance, entertainment, politics, etc.
So, I picked out fashion magazines for Fang Hong and Han Yuemin, and picked some for myself in the fields of finance, literature and other fields.
"I'll come, I'll come."
Pan Yaoming took the initiative to take out a stack of Hong Kong dollars.
“Let me do it, these magazines are not cheap.”
When Fang Yan came, he not only exchanged some U.S. knives with the money transfer dealers in Sijiu City, but also got some Hong Kong dollars.
"It won't cost much, so don't be polite to me."
Pan Yaoming waved his hand and paid the money first.
Dialect doesn’t shirk it, but keeps it in mind silently.
Later, I heard Pan Yaoming talk about the newspaper industry in Hong Kong.
In this golden age, a newspaper stall could sell at least thousands of newspapers a day, sometimes even reaching 2,000.
Whenever an explosive news event occurs, sales are even more astonishing. People queue up to buy newspapers, and newspaper vendors are overwhelmed.
After walking for a while, four or five newspaper stalls have appeared.
Fang Yan finally found a clothing store and wandered around among the shops, looking at the styles and styles of popular clothing in Xiangjiang.
I saw a very fashionable skirt in a women's clothing store, and immediately took out my camera and took pictures through the glass window.
A clerk immediately ran out of the house, "Sir, I'm sorry, photography is not allowed where we live."
Pan Yaoming was about to explain, when Fang Yan curled his lips:
"I'mtheeditorofFHMagazine,Canyoustretcht herulesalittle?"
Bai Ruoxue saw the look in his eyes and said, "He said he was the editor of a famous magazine. Can we make an exception?"
The clerk was stunned for a moment and looked. He was tall, handsome, and spoke English. Seeing that the translator was pretty and decent, he left with a smile.
"Ahem."
Pan Yaoming shook his head and laughed, explaining that it was not like this before. In the 1950s and 1960s, Mandarin was the mainstream in Hong Kong, but with the popularity of Cantonese culture such as music and movies, , English is first, Cantonese second, and Mandarin third.
Seeing Fang Yan frown, Bai Ruoxue asked: "Teacher Fang, does the 'FH' you just mentioned really have this magazine?"
"No."
“FH” in dialect means “forhim”.
"A men's gang?"
Bai Ruoxue blinked.
"It can also be translated as men's clothing."
Fang Yan smiled: "Men have to dress up."
Pan Yaoming looked left and right, sighing Said: "I didn't expect you two to speak English with such standard accents."
"My English is just a second-hand skill."
Fang Yan said: "This is the real master, a top student in the English Department of Yanda, and he is proficient in Japanese, German, "Saving Private Ryan" , "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog", she did a great job."
Pan Yaoming's eyes suddenly lit up and he was amazed.
"Teacher Fang, that's such a compliment. I'm not as good as you said." Bai Ruoxue showed a modest smile.
Pan Yaoming breathed a sigh of relief and said that his English was not good. He was originally worried that the Mainland writers’ English was not good either, so he could only bite the bullet and become the translator. But now it is better. With Bai Ruoxue, there is no need to rush. Now that the duck is on the shelves, you can let go of your worries.
Bai Ruoxue repeatedly said that she would do her best.
“College students are great.”
Pan Yaoming said that this time he went to the United States not only to participate in the international writing program, but also that after the program is over, he will continue to stay in Iowa. Study in the language department of a university to fulfill your university dream.
Fang Yan and Bai Ruoxue looked at each other in surprise.
“Yes, I have arranged everything.”
Pan Yaoming said: "When I get to the United States, I will write articles for the "Overseas Literature Collection" of Sanlian Bookstore. Sanlian Bookstore will pay my family a salary, so that I can be free from worries."
Dialect heard "Sanlian Bookstore" was a big surprise.
Sanlian Bookstore was a bookstore founded in Xiangjiang in 1948. It was originally called "Life Bookstore·Reading Publishing House·Xinzhi Bookstore" Sanlian Bookstore. The following year, the head office moved to Yanjing.
The branch in Xiangjiang was renamed as "Life Bookstore·Reading Publishing House·Xinzhi Bookstore Xiangjiang Joint Publishing Office". It mainly publishes mainland publications and is the mainland's window to Hong Kong.
“Is it easy to publish a novel in Xiangjiang?”
"It's not easy."
"How do you say this?"
"Hong Kong has a strong commercial atmosphere. What the citizens like to read are popular literature. Serious literature cannot be sold here at all. Move.”
Pan Yaoming said that the requirements for publishing are also very high.
First of all, the writer must be famous and have regular readers, so as to arouse the interest of the publishing house and visit them to negotiate for publication. Secondly, the writer's requirements cannot be too high.
For example, if the manuscript fees and royalties are set too high, the publishing house will become unprofitable and basically give up.
The result is that not many writers in Xiangjiang can keep publishing their works for a long time. They come and go, except for Jin Yong, Ni Zhen, and Yi Shu. Other slightly famous writers can only Fighting guerrillas inside is just a false response.
“It sounds like it’s really not easy.”
Fang Yan touched his chin.
“But I think your series "The Great Master Huang Feihong" can be published in Xiangjiang."
Pan Yaoming's face showed excitement.
“How can you see it?”
These words spoke to Fang Yan’s heart.
“Once Upon a Time in Hong Kong is a household name in Hong Kong. Whether it is movies, martial arts, or literature, there is a huge market for it.”
Poon Yaoming directly used the movie Once Upon a Time as an example.
The story of Huang Feihong was first made into a movie in 1949's "The Legend of Huang Feihong". Once it was released, it was a box office hit and was greatly recognized by Hong Kong movie fans.
With this one shot, almost more than 90 films were shot.
In the past few years, "Drunken Master", starring "Once Upon a Time in the River" as the protagonist, hit a box office of 6.76 million Hong Kong dollars in Hong Kong, breaking the record of Bruce Lee's "The Way of the Dragon" in one fell swoop .
When it was released in Asia, it was even worse.
"Although I haven't finished reading these two novels of yours, I have already seen a completely different Huang Feihong, not the kind of hero who acts chivalrously and righteously among the people in the Hong Kong movies."< br>
"But it has risen to the level of a great man who serves the country and the people, an image that has never been seen before."
"Few writers in Xiangjiang can write about it."
"So, if I want to publish these two "Once Upon a Time" in Xiangjiang, which publishing house do you think I should find?" Fang Yan cast an inquiring look.
“For selfish reasons, I definitely recommend Sanlian Bookstore.”
Pan Yaoming went on to say, “For public reasons, I also recommend Sanlian Bookstore. Publishing mainland novels is not a problem in Hong Kong. Among all publishing companies, no one does it better than Sanlian Bookstore.”
It's hard to disagree with Fang Yan, "If I hand over the "Once Upon a Time" series to Sanlian Bookstore, how will the royalties be calculated?"
Pan Yaoming suddenly became energetic.
According to the dialect level of mainland writers, the manuscript fee is generally set at 20 Hong Kong dollars per thousand words, and there are two models of royalties, one is stepped royalties and the other is fixed royalties.
The fixed royalties of Sanlian Bookstore are between 5% and 10%. Generally speaking, works like "Once Upon a Time in China" can get 6% to 7% royalties. Fang Yan made a rough calculation in his mind and found that the basic royalties for "The Grandmaster Huang Feihong" were about 13,000 Hong Kong dollars.
"Of course, in addition to Xiangjiang, it may also be published in Southeast Asia and even on the treasure island." Pan Yaoming vowed.
“Treasure Island?!”
Fang Yan and Bai Ruoxue immediately became sensitive.
At this time, Baodao had a "Temporary Anti-Rebellion Ordinance", which stipulated that things related to the mainland were prohibited from flowing into the island.
“Of course I also know that, because Mr. Jin Yong worked as a translator for Ta Kung Pao, Ming Pao was unable to enter the treasure island. However, it is not impossible to get around it.”
< br>
Pan Yaoming looked confident.
The dialect said to find a place and chat while eating.
Pan Yaoming readily agreed and led them to a noodle shop. The store was extremely small, the seats were full, and the tables were placed on the street. Once a car passed by, the customers had to get up to let the car pass.
The items sold are pretty miscellaneous, including beef offal, beef brisket, tripe, noodles with beef intestines, rice noodles and rice noodles, as well as fish ball noodles and offal noodles.
Fang Yan ordered a bowl of offal noodles without thinking.
As a gourmet, you must taste it.
When the noodles are served, if you say this——
A good curry fish egg has neither fishy nor curry flavor, failure!
I haven’t picked the radish, there are too many dregs, it’s a failure!
Pork skin is cooked too soft and has no elasticity, failure!
The pig red will fall apart as soon as it is pinched, a failure within a failure!
The most outrageous thing is the large intestine. It has not been cleaned and there is still a piece of feces in it. Did you make a mistake? Let me eat the original flavor!
So, will you get beaten?
…………
When the offal noodles were served, Fang Yan took a bite and was “very disappointed”. The pork skin was cooked to perfection, the delicious fish balls, and the fragrant large intestines. It's done in a simple and unpretentious way, but it's authentic!
After talking for a while, Pan Yaoming told the truth.
If you want to publish books by mainland writers in Baodao, the writers themselves cannot have any direct cooperative relationship with Baodao publishers.
Either find an agent in Xiangjiang, or find a copyright agency in Xiangjiang to act as the middleman.
"In other words, let this agent or agency sign a contract with Baodao's publishing house with a power of attorney."
Fang Yan took a bite of fish balls.
Pan Yaoming nodded and said: "Baodao clearly requires that there must be a contract before royalties and royalties can be paid."
Listening to the words "contract", "royalty" and "agency", Bai Ruoxue was stunned. With a blank face, he turned to look at Dialect, who was chatting enthusiastically, and was curious, why is Teacher Fang so proficient?
Dialect said: "The royalties over Baodao are the same as those in Xiangjiang?"
Pan Yaoming said: "It's different, completely different. Royalties over Baodao are paid with American knives. ”
When Fang Yan heard that it was foreign exchange settlement instead of Taiwan dollars, he immediately became interested.
"The first is to pay 8% to 10% of the royalties for the first edition, which will continue in the future." Pan Yaoming said: "The other is to pay the royalties in one lump sum, that is, to buy out the copyright."
Dialect When asked about the buyout fee, if it is a full-length novel, it will usually be $1,500.
“So, writers who publish in Baodao will try to make their books longer to get more royalties.”
Pan Yaoming smiled, “And Baodao writes by line. Those who calculate the manuscript fee can earn more money by writing one more line."
Fang Yan feels that it is very novel: "Calculate it by line?"
"That's right, there have been many interesting stories about it."
Pan Yaoming said: "For example, Gu Long, when he wrote "Tianya Mingyue Knife", he wrote 'withered vines, old trees, dim crows, small bridges' "Liu Shui Ren Jia", one word per line , I wrote twelve lines in one go, as well as "Lu Xiaofeng", "Stars, stars, stars all over the sky". I only earned 75 words for 8 words..."
Really Listening to your words is like listening to your words.
What a great idea!
That’s how Huang Feihong’s “Foshan Shadowless Foot” was written!
Dialect said: "No wonder martial arts writers in Hong Kong and Taiwan love to write about ancient styles, and they write in such a procrastinating and verbose way."
"This is nothing more than wanting to earn more royalties."
< br>Pan Yaoming smiled and said that when it comes to going out of his way to defraud manuscript fees, it has to be Wen Ruian who came out in the past two years.
When it comes to "Wen Ruian", Fang Yan can't help but think of "Young Cold-Blooded" that he watched in his previous life.
There is a section where 28 knives appear.
"Knife
Knife knife knife
Knife knife knife knife knife..."
Arranged in a knife-shaped fan, people seem to see the overwhelming light of swords. It is simply a fraud to the end!
Compared with Mr. Lu Xun's "Two Jujube Trees in Front of the Door", it is better than the blue!
"Is this going too far?"
Bai Ruoxue shook her head and laughed.
"Where is this?"
Pan Yaoming lowered his voice and revealed that Gu Long's reputation in the publishing industry of Hong Kong and Taiwan is quite "stinky".
Often, as soon as a novel has more than 100,000 words written, it is submitted to the publishing house for royalties from the sale of the entire book.
If the publisher doesn't agree, go find someone else. Because of Gu Long's popularity and his ability to write the beginning of novels, the publisher will be immediately impressed after seeing the first few chapters and is afraid of being snatched up by other publishers. , had to pay all royalties first.
As a result, as soon as Gu Long received all the royalties, he immediately evaporated and disappeared without a trace.
A novel has just dug a hole. After publishing the first few chapters, there is no more content. The publisher can only tearfully spend money to hire a ghostwriter, with Gu Long’s name on it, to fill in Gu Long’s novel. pit.
"The world is so big, there are all kinds of wonders. In order to earn royalties, you can really do anything and all kinds of things."
Fang Yan shook his head and laughed, and then asked for more details.
Pan Yaoming said everything he knew and said: "The agent will charge a commission of 2%, which is not only the agency fee, but also the editing fee, because the written language in Hong Kong and Taiwan is traditional Chinese, and the wording is also complicated. It must conform to local customs.”
“As for Xiangjiang, I decided to hand it over to Sanlian Bookstore.”
Fang Yan changed the topic, "But here in Baodao, I need to send a telegram back to ask for instructions before I can make a decision."
"Understood, understood."
Pan Yao Ming nodded: "Actually, you don't have to be so anxious. Baodao publishes books very quickly. It can be published ten days after the manuscript is submitted."
"If allowed, I hope Brother Yaoming can serve as my agent. I wonder if you are willing?"
Fang Yan thought of what he had just done and took the initiative to extend an olive branch.
“Of course!”
Pan Yaoming almost blurted out.
If I can earn this commission, my family will be able to have a lot of extra living expenses while I am studying at the University of Iowa.
As soon as I thought about it, I naturally rushed to pay the bill, but this time Fang Yan got there first and paid the bill.
"Brother Yaoming, do you know where I can send a telegram?"
"I will take you there."
Pan Yaoming nodded and immediately took the God of Wealth with him Master, I went to the nearby telegraph office.
These days, there are actually fax machines, but they are very expensive, charging $35 for every 10 faxes.
Fang Yan sent a telegram to Zhang Guangnian, and at the end, asked him to send a reply to the University of Iowa where Nie Hualing was studying.
In addition, I also took a photo of Gong Qie. I wonder if she has received the letter sent by the "Flower City" publishing house.
When everything is done, let Pan Yaoming be your guide and visit clothing stores everywhere.
I took a lot of photos and bought a few pairs of sneakers and a few pairs of jeans.
There are special dealers in Yangcheng and Pengcheng who buy jeans from Xiangjiang for fifteen yuan a pair and sell them several times later.
If you don't lose it, you won't lose it in vain. When you return to Xiangjiang from the United States, you have to buy a few dozen and take them back to the mainland to make money. It's not shabby.
After shopping around until two or three o'clock, the three of them lost interest and returned to the hotel.
“Yanzi!”
Hearing someone calling him, Fang Yan looked in the direction of the sound and was surprised.
Wang Anyi and her mother Ru Zhijuan stood in front of her. Unexpectedly, they also received invitations from the international writing program.
Now, everyone is here and it’s time to leave for the United States.
(End of this chapter)