Chapter 294: Only the last one left
Mr. Lu was followed by two people, one old and one young. The younger one is the young secretary, and the older one (more than fifty) is Yuan Mingjie, who has no sense of presence and seems to be hidden in the back of the boss.
"Hello everyone, thank you for your hard work, President Jian. I don't have the ability, otherwise I would like to apply to Shanghai People's Publishing House myself." Yuan Mingjie, oh no, I want to call him President Yuan now.
The management of the Children's Publishing House was stunned. These words were so heart-wrenching and so sinister. Everyone knows that the new president is not easy to mess with.
There are still people among the crowd who have not come back to their senses——
Vice President Jin’s eyes almost popped out. Why was it different from what was promised? He looked at President Jian in surprise.
No wonder he has been the vice president for so many years. President Jian was speechless when he saw this. A small trick was done behind the scenes, but in the end, an airborne president was brought in from the head office. If the conspiracy is like this, let's find a rope to hang ourselves.
“I hope everyone at our publishing house can help me so that Yuan Mingjie, who has come down from the head office, can adapt to work more quickly.” Mr. Lu said with a smile, but he couldn’t argue with it.
After speaking, Mr. Lu called President Jian away, saying that he had something to talk about alone.
The conference room is still the same conference room, and the proposal is still the same, but the government has changed.
"I will be colleagues with you from now on. I am new here and I don't know anything." Yuan Mingjie said calmly, "Is there any colleague who can continue to preside over the rest of the meeting?"
Look at me, Let me look at you.
Don’t just listen to what is said in the workplace. The words of the new president basically make the senior executives take sides.
The attack is really strong.
People’s eyes finally fell on Vice President Jin’s face, which was uncertain.
"President Yuan, let me tell you." Vice President Jin still suppressed his temper and spoke.
"Sorry for bothering President Jin." Yuan Mingjie thanked him.
“Today our meeting mainly has two agendas. The first is the royalties and publicity plan for Gu Lu’s new book, and the second is the direction of expansion of our publishing house. There are currently two candidates.”
< br>After listening to Vice President Jin’s brief summary, Yuan Mingjie nodded thoughtfully.
He said, "As for the expansion direction of the publishing house, I have also made a plan. I will discuss it with everyone later. Let's solve the first problem first, what is Gu Lu's current royalty rate?"
"Sixteen percent." Someone responded.
“That is beyond the level of ordinary authors.” Six to fifteen percent is the common level in the publishing industry. Yuan Mingjie said, “This talented writer is worth this royalty rate. After all, the previous The sales of several books are good.
"What we still want to talk about is, do we want to increase it?" "Yuan Mingjie said, "I read it. The writer with the highest royalty rate in our publishing house is the teacher Yang Hongying in front of me, 17%. ”
Girl’s Diary, Boy’s Diary, Ma Xiaotiao series and Laughing Cat Diary, teacher Yang Hongying’s books are really popular.
The implication of the new president is, is it true? Do you want Gu Lu to receive the same royalties as previous writers?
A question that no one answered.
A few seconds later, someone answered, "President Jian wants to increase it to 18%."
"Eighteen percent?" Yuan Mingjie's head was full of question marks, even with the addition of "Youth" Given the influence of "China Talk", this royalty rate is also inappropriate.
Yuan Mingjie has already rejected it in his heart. Last year, there were three authors whose sales volume exceeded 500,000 yuan in the Children's Publishing House. With the same actual performance in hand, if Gu Lu has improved so much, can he improve it also for writers of the same level?
It’s just playing the piano randomly!
It goes against the rules of the industry to give top-notch royalties to writers who are still a few months away from reaching the age of seventeen. It's not a matter of level, it's the reason why Juvenile Publishing House cannot become the target of public criticism.
Yuan Mingjie will not be a person who breaks the rules. "I will call and talk to this talented writer about the specific situation."
At the end of this sentence, the discussion begins. Two things. As a result, the expansion direction of the children's publishing house was in the direction of art, with books such as "How to Improve Photographic Composition" and "The History of Art".
It corresponded to the direction proposed by Vice President Jin and President Jian respectively, and finally chose other options.
It seems that Vice President Kim is no match for the new president...
No one can figure out who will come first, tomorrow or the accident.
Let’s talk about Neon who had a pretty good life as a kid.
"Sato-san, can I ask you a question?" Kinoshita Kura's attitude was humble.
The appearance of Neon Greeting is well mastered, and the professional craftsmen lead the world. But as the editor-in-chief of a magazine, Kinoshita's attitude was too humble.
"Please tell me." Sato established a defensive mentality.
"Gu Sang, why are there no new science fiction short stories recently? This issue is released, and our translators will have no works to translate in the next issue." Kinoshita Kura asked a question that surprised him.
"Huh? Are you still translating and publishing Gu Sang's short stories?" Sato was shocked. Their "Christmas Magazine" had long been out of food.
Oh yes, Sato came to his senses, "SF Magazine" is a bimonthly publication. It is normal for "Raising God", which caused a sensation in Neon more than half a year ago, to still have manuscripts.
Sato wanted to understand and immediately asked, "Your magazine is short of manuscripts?"
For their Christmas magazine, it didn't matter if they didn't care about Lu's manuscripts.
"We have translated more than ten science fiction short stories by Gu Sang." said Kinoshita Hisara. "The quality is very good. There are two or three stories in each issue. After several months of serialization, we have cultivated a group of very loyal fans."
"SF Magazine" is Neon's No. 1 science fiction magazine. It is true that there is no shortage of good works, but the quality of short stories like Gu Lu's is still lacking.
Really? Sato didn't believe it. Who in Neon mentioned Gu Lu, except that he is a famous children's novel writer?
Seeing that the other party didn't believe it, Kinoshita said it was rude, took out the mobile phone from his pocket, and pulled out the antenna on the mobile phone.
The current appearance of neon mobile phones can be described as flourishing and quite advanced. For example, the one in Kinoshita's hand can watch TV channels online and play them back.
"This is the Osaka morning news, "The Association for the Defense of the Future of Science Fiction and Progress is Established." The news reported that readers of Gu Sang's science fiction novels established this association."
Playing the content to Sato, Kinoshita continued. , "When they are off work and on vacation, they will promote Gu Sang's science fiction works on the street."
It is too simple for Neon to establish a non-profit organization, and there is not even a minimum capital requirement. This has led to a variety of things. It is understandable that the Twin Tail Association manages and promotes Twin Tail, but it is really difficult to sleep in the station fan club.
"Teacher Gu Lu is the future son of science fiction. He not only has fairy tale works, please pay more attention to Gu Lu's science fiction works!" The president of the association spoke excitedly in front of the reporter's camera.
In news reports, dozens of people spontaneously took to the streets to promote. It indeed shows that Gu Lu’s science fiction short stories really have two brushes.
In "SF Magazine", Gu Lu's serialization has become a small signature after a few months. It is normal for the editor-in-chief to be nervous and want to invite manuscripts.
Looking at Kinoshita who was sincerely asking for help, Sato felt that Kinoshita was not optimistic when he thought that his previous invitation for a manuscript had been rejected.
After hesitating for a long time, Sato decided not to talk anymore and let the other party encounter the wall on his own. Writers with character write very personally!
“Do you need me to give you Gu Sang’s contact information?” Sato said, “To be precise, it’s Gu Sang’s agent’s contact information.”
It’s normal for a great writer to hire an agent. , Kinoshita quickly thanked him.
"Kinoshita-san, are Gu Lu-san's science fiction works really so exciting?" Sato was slightly curious.
Speaking of this, Kinoshita Kura became energetic, "Gu Lusang's science fiction is a rare work that combines human romance and social thinking. It is so wonderful, every piece is very shocking, It’s the same as the shock I felt when I read “Raising God”. “It’s just that other science fiction short stories don’t touch the nerves of society as much as the elderly care topic.” It’s true that Kinoshita is the editor-in-chief of SF, but it’s Gu Lu’s. Book lover.
“Especially at present, the last article translated by our magazine, "Mountain", made me excited after reading it!" Kinoshita Kura said, "I have never even changed a company bucket myself. After reading it, After that, we immediately replaced all the buckets of the four water dispensers on the two floors!”
Brother, is it really as exaggerated as you said? Sato thought thoughtfully, "So Editor-in-Chief Kinoshita had a sprained waist and was hospitalized before. Was it because of the water change?"
What you said was very rude! Kinoshita Kura was speechless for a moment and didn't know how to answer.
Sato realized that he had said something wrong and immediately bowed and apologized three times.
“Anyway, I love this article very much.” Kinoshita Kura didn’t say a word. Because he liked it so much, he saved it for the final release. It is one of the most romantic science fiction short stories he has ever read!
"Mountain"? What a strange name, it doesn't look like science fiction. A little curious.
He couldn't directly ask the other party for a manuscript, so Sato could only suppress his curiosity. After the magazine is released, he will buy it and enjoy it.
The next day, Gu Lu received the news that President Jian was transferred, and Neon's "SF Magazine" was also released today.
Why are the two things mixed together? Because Gu Lugang had a phone call with foreign copyright agent Yao Xiaoju. The reason why the latter called me was because of the invitation from SF editor-in-chief Kinoshita.
“I haven’t written science fiction short stories yet. However, the current short stories can be integrated into a single book. In addition, my new book "Flowers for Algernon" has also been published, and the two books will be released together." Gu Lu thought very well.
There is also a basis for this. The book Algernon on Earth is quite popular in Neon because it was adapted into a Japanese drama. Played by Tomohisa Yamashita, Gu Lu has also watched a few episodes.
In this case, wouldn't it be nice to publish the Japanese version and the collection of science fiction short stories together to boost sales of each other?
Yao Xiaoju also readily agreed. Since signing the contract, this is the first new book to go overseas. Whether he was right or not will be revealed soon.
The plan was perfect, but the change was sudden. Gu Lu received a call from President Jian in the afternoon and explained the ins and outs.
President Jian was also worried that Gu Lu would find it difficult to do, "My transfer is also a promotion. As long as we can run the Magic City People's Publishing House well, it will be much larger than the Children's Publishing House. So there is no need at all. You're worried about me. You cooperate well with Children's Publishing House."
To prevent Gu Lu from falling into a dilemma, President Jian directly asked Gu Lu to stay.
President Jian left, taking Gu Lu with him, and he was suspected of poaching. President Jian is indeed a scene person, and he doesn't want to be like this. I don’t want Xiao Gu to move around and delay the work.
After asking many times, Uncle Jian refused accurately, and Gu Lu finally gave up his preparations to change jobs.
Gu Lu is not stupid either. It only works if the management is good. What if the management is not good? There is no doubt that it is demotion.
It's really strange. Why should a "hero" who works hard and runs the children's publishing house in an orderly manner have to accept such a test? Do you deserve to be treated like this if you have the ability?
As for the royalty rate, Jianshe also apologized, but the promised surprise did not materialize. Because he guessed that when a new official took office, he would not have the courage to break the rules. If he was given 18 points, it would be 17%.
How can you blame President Jian for this?
Hang up the phone, Gu Lu rubbed his head, the adult world is really scary.
A change in the publishing house disrupted Gu Lu's plan. He was familiar with Uncle Jian and could discuss the Japanese version publishing in advance. Mainly I want the publisher to cooperate in publicity and so on.
“I hope the new president is an easier person to get along with.” Gu Lu murmured to himself.
What are you afraid of?
In the afternoon, Gu Lu received a call from the new president, President Yuan.
It turns out that President Yuan is more conservative than Uncle Jian imagined -
"Hello, Xiao Gu, I am the new president of the Children's Publishing House. It is such a pleasure to work with the publishing house. , just call me Uncle Yuan.”
The opening remarks seemed very affectionate.
Following that, "I have read the new work "Flowers for Algernon". It is a very wonderful work. Our publishing house will give all resources to promote it. The cooperation will be the same as before."
< br>
"Sometimes I really lament that there are talented people from generation to generation. When my uncle was your age, let alone writing books to earn royalties, he couldn't even write a composition."
A lot of sets are almost Gu Lu only heard the words "same as before".
So Gu Lu was not embarrassed and said to his face, "In terms of royalties, can our publishing house give you a higher rate?"
"Sixteen percent, which is already the first-tier level in the country. "Oh, Xiao Gu." President Yuan said on the phone, "If the price goes up, our publishing house will lose money. Besides, no young writer can earn such a high royalty in the book publishing market."
"But no young writer has higher sales than me." Gu Lu responded.
What follows is President Yuan's Xiao Zhi, who uses reason and emotions to talk a lot.
Gu Lu goes in through the left ear and out through the right ear. The core is just one sentence: "It is impossible to increase the price. Give me a face, and take this price for "Flowers for Algernon."
If Uncle Jian said this, Gu Lu Hui agreed without hesitation. As mentioned before, his character is like this. Help and deception can cancel each other out.
It's like borrowing one or two thousand and not paying it back. If the relationship or help is worth so much, Gu Lu won't say anything. It's just that the relationship will not be as good as before in the future...
"I want to think about it. The New Youth Publishing House will give me a higher price." The person I just met is here in Gu Lu What's the point?
After saying that, Gu Lu hung up the phone regardless of the reaction.
“The Little Prince broke one million, and Flatland broke half a million in two months. Even the most crotchless “Bing Guo” was a bestseller. In addition, “A Bouquet for Algernon” The quality is still 16%, but the appearance is a bit too ugly.”
Gu Lu’s mention of New Youth Publishing House was not a joke. Ever since President Wang co-published "Yesterday's Park", he has been coveting Gu Lu's fat piece of meat and often "hooked up" with him.
17% is the price offered by New Youth Publishing House, and it seems that it is still negotiable.
Since President Wang is also the leader of the Bingcheng Publicity Office, he knows a lot. First of all, it is the chief minister's love for "Young China", and secondly, it has also achieved great results in cultural diplomacy.
Based on these two points, you can tell me whether I should give 17%.
By the way, Gu Lu had a bad habit before. Because the work is a text copy, the emphasis is actually not enough, but Yao Xiaoju enlightened me and corrected it. Wherever the work should be placed, it should be treated accordingly!
Domestic matters have generally come to an end.
Tell me about Neon Magazine.
"Who does this five times a night? Do you really want to be a widow?" Sato had very heavy dark circles under his eyes.
The wife had a rosy complexion and was not angry when faced with her husband's questions. She helped arrange the tie in the entrance hall.
"Be careful at work and come back early in the evening. I made eel rice for you. The side dish is natto and the main dish is venison sashimi." The wife said gently.
Eel, natto, venison? Sato couldn't help but shudder. What's going on? It was obviously very warm in Tokyo in July, so why did he feel cold all over?
Sato didn’t even know how he got out of the house. He didn’t come back to his senses until he rode his bicycle to the subway station. Oh, it turns out I've already arrived at the station.
After sucking the milk hard, Sato got in, and Sato couldn't sit down at all. Even if you have never been to Neon, I believe that friends who have played "Goddess 5" will know the commuting conditions in Neon.
Fortunately, the space inside the car was crowded enough for Sato to sleep standing up. I'm too tired and didn't sleep well yesterday.
More than half an hour later, Sato logged off the site. When I was rushing to the company, I always felt like I had forgotten something!
“I almost forgot!” Sato thought of what he had forgotten.
It’s a magazine!
Sato, who was still curious, bought a book from a convenience store on the way to the company, and also bought some props.
The cover of "SF Magazine" is a simple drawing of Mount Everest, and the recommended work on the cover is: Mt.
But there is no way to watch while walking on the road. We have to go to the company first.
After being promoted to vice president, he cannot slack off at all.
At least pretend before establishing your authority in front of employees.
"It's so early, President, have you had breakfast?" "President Sato" "President Sato good morning" and so on, there are all kinds of greetings when entering the company.
Arriving at his office, Sato asked his secretary to make a cup of coffee. Then I ate the sour candies bought at the convenience store.
The coffee was so sour that it made him cry, and Sato cheered up a little.
It was still a while before the official work started, so Sato thought about reading "SF Magazine". Yesterday, Kinoshita praised Gu Lu's science fiction short story to great effect.
Without any further ado, just turn to Gu Lu’s page. It is also the only work in "SF Magazine" with color illustrations.
The story begins on a marine geological survey ship named "Ganghua". The protagonist Feng Fan is a crew member and is talking to the captain.
(End of this chapter)