Chapter 33 Kodansha
The second company to come in is enterbrain, a subsidiary of Kadokawa Shoten.
The leader they came to discuss cooperation with was the vice president of the company, Taro Yida.
The man is both enthusiastic and humble. He praised Chen Linfeng and his novels from the very beginning, describing Chen Linfeng as a genius writer who will only be seen in China for a century.
The beginning of destiny is in his mouth, and it has also become a novel with profound implications about life and death. Those who didn’t know thought it was talking about Dream of Red Mansions or Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
The taste of the second grade was too strong, and Chen Linfeng interrupted his praise in a dumbfounded manner.
"You are ridiculous. My novel is not as good as this. You are here today to discuss cooperation in publishing the novel, right? Can I ask about your conditions?"
Taro Yida said a figure that he did not expect, a 12% royalty, which is almost the level of a first-line Neon writer.
The two editors-in-chief were overjoyed. Because of the harsh conditions proposed by the previous publishing house, they did not dare to have high hopes. Who would have thought that the second publishing house would propose such excellent conditions from the very beginning.
Neon writers’ royalties range from 8% to 14%.
As a novel author who first entered the Japanese market, Chen Linfeng was given a 12% royalty rate which was a bit high.
And depending on the other party’s attitude, 12% may not even be the final bottom line, and maybe we can try to negotiate higher.
Chen Linfeng couldn't help but become vigilant. There are no kind people in the capital world, and there can be no free benefits.
He recalled the information about enterbrain in his previous life.
Yes, it is owned by Kadokawa. I remember that in my previous life, I published a relatively famous light novel called "The One Who Wants to Become a Shadow Powerful One".
When he searched for the Baidu entry for this light novel in his previous life, he saw the name of this company.
Suddenly Chen Linfeng thought of something,
“Let’s put aside the conditions for now. Can I ask when your company was established?”
Yida Taro hesitated. Said, "The predecessor of our enterbrain was established in 1987."
Editor Zhao gently tugged on Chen Linfeng's clothes from behind. It was a bit impolite to ask this.
Chen Linfeng noticed something fishy from this man's attitude. He relaxed his body and leaned back on the chair.
"Then what does this predecessor company do?"
Seeing that it was obvious that he couldn't hide it, Yida Taro said awkwardly, "The previous company's name was ASCII Film Co., Ltd., and its main purpose was We are engaged in the business of film and television entertainment.
Of course, we have also worked as editors of some entertainment magazines, and we have some experience in the publishing of literary works. Recently, we have officially switched to the publishing of literary works. ”
Cheng Yongxin was greatly disappointed. A new publishing house that had just changed careers could hardly be called professional. It was too far away from his expectations.
In fact, Taro Yida still concealed some situations.
The predecessor of Enterbrain was actually just the editorial department, sales and business departments of that film and television company.
After these departments were transferred to a holding branch of Kadokawa, they were reorganized into a new company, which is currently only about four months old.
Although this company developed well in later generations, it is undoubtedly just a small publishing house now, a branch of Kadokawa Shoten.
Although Chen Linfeng didn't know the truth behind it, he could guess that this neon man would definitely not tell everything.
He asked patiently, "What are your company's corresponding publicity strategies and channels?"
Yida Taro gave a general introduction to the strategies and publicity resources they had prepared.
As expected, when it came to the matter, although the company executive tried hard to hide it, his timidity still showed in his words. Even though it is owned by Kadokawa and can borrow some of the group's resources, its newly established small club will not have a high status in the Kadokawa clan and its resources are very limited.
Chen Linfeng did not say anything, he only said that he should consider it.
If the last one doesn't work, I can only make do with this one. After all, their attitude seems to be pretty good.
Yida Taro went out with a gloomy face.
"The Chinese people are so shameless that they dare to refuse Kadokawa's proposal." At this time, he had completely brought himself into the headquarters.
It’s a pity that he learned the news in advance through his connections.
I came here in advance of the main office because I wanted to cut some corners and get a good work for the start-up company.
When the people from Kadokawa headquarters come later, he will definitely have no chance at all.
The people at the third Kodansha were very well-behaved and did not cause any trouble. They acted businesslike when they came in.
Chen Linfeng breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, this company was his preferred target. In his previous life, "The Realm of the Sky" and "Fatezeeo" were both published through them.
Kodansha is a large comprehensive publishing house of Neon, which publishes a large number of popular literary novels. It is completely familiar with the promotion of this aspect.
And Kodansha dominates most of Neon’s literary awards. By cooperating with them in the future, you might have a chance to win an award or something. This is an important part of shaping your character.
This time, Kodansha sent people from the planning, editing, and sales departments, starting with the chief editor of the editorial department.
They explained the company’s promotion methods and channel resources in detail, and finally provided Chen Linfeng with two conditions to choose from.
One is a buyout, the price is 10 million yen for a novel, which is the same as Shueisha’s final price.
The other is royalty sharing, which is 10 points.
Editor-in-chief Nobuhiko Noma concluded, "New authors of light novels will generally be given 8%. Chen Jun's novel will be sold to the outside world as a light novel, with a 10% ratio. It’s already a good price among light novel writers.”
This is normal business negotiation. What the hell are the first two!
Chen Linfeng agrees with Kodanshe’s conditions and is inclined to cooperate with them.
I generally agree with the publicity strategy they promised, but we still have to fight for the conditions.
“As far as I know, light novel authors have the lowest royalty rate because 2% of the royalties from published light novels go to illustrators, and I have drawn all the illustrations in “Destiny” There is no need to give another 2% of the royalties.
In other words, after deducting the 2% of the illustrations, the royalty share your company gives me is the minimum standard for newbies. I don’t think it is a standard. Reasonable numbers.
Since the release strategy you gave is to release "Destiny" first and "Book of Life and Death" later, I think the two works should be discussed separately. "
Nobuhiko Noma discussed in a low voice with a few people behind him and agreed to increase the proportion of "Destiny" to 11%. After deducting the royalties for illustrations, the pure text is equivalent to 9%.
Secondly, some one-time fees have been added as basic royalties.
"Book of Life and Death" is considered to be a later release. Under the premise that "The Beginning of Destiny" has been warmed up to a certain extent, the conditions are relatively higher. In the end, Chen Linfeng was given a 10% ratio for mature writers.
This condition is more appropriate. It’s not impossible to strive for more, but it’s not advisable to make the relationship too tense. It’s better to meet him. Okay, just accept it.
Chen Linfeng pondered for a while, but still did not make a decision on the spot, "I am generally satisfied with these conditions, but as you know, I am still a minor. Such a major matter needs to be discussed with my family. Please wait for a while. Three I will give you an accurate answer within a day."
Nobuhiko Noma suddenly thought of the troubles of signing contracts for minors, and asked eagerly, "Is anyone from Chen Jun's parents coming with the group? ? If not in Neon, even if the cooperation is reached, it will take a long time for Chen Jun’s family to get the visa and fly to Neon.”
(End of this chapter)