Chapter 81 The treatment of top authors (please read)
The last time, when Zhang Wei came to the publishing house, he was still a rich second generation who published books at his own expense.
In the eyes of editors, Zhang Wei is a shaobao who has money but nowhere to spend it!
This time, Zhang Wei came to the publishing house and became a cash cow "Teacher Zhang"!
In the eyes of editors, this young man is likely to become the second Han Han!
21st Century Publishing House is well aware of Han Han's power. After all, it has published two national best-selling books for Han Han.
Not to mention the second Han Han, even one-fifth of Han Han has already beaten many best-selling authors.
Editor-in-Chief Chen Jianfei personally welcomed Zhang Wei into the office. The time of both of them was precious. After exchanging a few words, they went directly to the topic.
"Teacher Zhang, Editor Wang has already communicated with you on the phone about the purpose of inviting you here this time. At present, it seems that our disagreement lies in the royalty sharing ratio, right?" Chen The editor asked.
Editor Chen said this because he hoped to determine first whether Zhang Wei is willing to continue to cooperate with 21st Century. Only with the willingness to cooperate can both parties negotiate the price with their hearts out.
Zhang Wei nodded: "10% royalty is definitely too low. I think 15% is a more appropriate number."
Editor Chen frowned slightly. In his opinion, this number is Some lions opened their mouths.
15% royalty is top-notch in any country.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling’s royalties are 15%, Japan’s Haruki Murakami also gets 15%, and Keigo Higashino after 2010 can also get 15%.
In China, after Han Han won the book sales championship for three consecutive years, he also received 15% royalties. Later, other publishing houses poached him to switch jobs and offered 20% royalties. This was a special case and not under the rules. product.
Other writers, Zheng Yuanjie can get 15% of the royalties, mainly because of the characteristics of children's works. Mo Yan after winning the Nobel Prize for Literature, and Liu Cixin after winning the Hugo Award, all of these can also get 15% of the royalties.
Zhang Wei, a newcomer who has only written one book, dares to ask for 15% of the royalties, and the publishing house will definitely not agree to it.
"Teacher Zhang, we in the 21st Century are very sincere and hope to continue to cooperate with you, but the 15% royalty rate is definitely too high and we cannot agree. Don't say it's us, I think No publishing house in the world would agree!" Editor Chen said.
"Editor Chen, don't refuse in a hurry. The 15% I want is not for a copy of "The Ancient City", but for the entire "Dead Man Blows Out the Lamp"!" Zhang Wei didn't panic. He said calmly.
"You mean, you have finished writing the entire novel?" Editor Chen was surprised.
Zhang Wei nodded, then opened his schoolbag and saw several manuscripts inside.
"Including Jingjin Ancient City, there are eight books in total. Jingjin Ancient City has been given to you, and here are the remaining seven books." Zhang Wei said.
“Looking at the thickness of this manuscript, it must be about 2 million words!” Editor Chen estimated in his mind.
"A complete set of "Dead Man Blows Out the Lamp", eight books, I can authorize them all to be published by you!"
"How long is the authorization period?"
"Five years! Counting from the first publication."
"It's only been five years!" Editor Chen said with some dissatisfaction.
But in fact, the five-year publishing authorization period was also a common rule in the industry at that time.
Zhang Wei continued: "After five years, under the same conditions, you can have priority to renew the contract."
Hearing that there is priority to renew the contract, Editor Chen fell silent and began to think. The gains and losses therein.
Chen Jianfei must be extremely reluctant to give a newcomer 15% of the royalties. It took Han Han three years to prove himself, so why should he give it to you for just one book?
But Zhang Wei suddenly took out a set of eight volumes of "Dead Man Blows Out the Lamp"!
Although the share ratio required is relatively high, the cake is big enough!
If you don’t compromise on quality but focus on quantity, you can still make money just by relying on small profits but quick turnover.
Editor Chen knows only too well how much profit this series of books can bring.
In the 21st century, we started out by making children's books. Children's books are basically series of books. You can read them when you are three years old, your son is reading them when he is three years old, and your grandson is reading them when he is three years old.
With the ability to operate a series of books in the 21st century, the economic benefits that eight "Dead Ghost Blows Out the Lamp" can bring are definitely not as simple as 1 times 8.
Zhang Wei had already seen Chen Jianfei's entanglement, so he said: "If Editor Chen feels embarrassed, we can also continue the previous cooperation model. I can publish at my own expense, and you are only responsible for channel sales!"
Chen Jianfei suddenly remembered that the second-generation Shaobao rich man in front of him had money to spend and he printed hundreds of thousands of copies at a time. He could really afford it!
But if Zhang Wei publishes it at his own expense, it is up to Zhang Wei to decide how many copies to print, and there is no five-year authorization period. If the book sells well, Zhang Wei can change to another publishing house at any time. If it is reprinted, then the 21st century will lose any initiative at all.
At this moment, Chen Jianfei suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. Usually the publishing industry took control of the author, but now it was the author who took control of the publishing house!
"It's all caused by money! If this is not a rich second generation, but a child from a poor family, it won't matter what I say! This is the power of capital!" Chen Jianfei sighed in his heart .
Zhang Wei still looked unhurried, and he continued: "How about this, I will keep the remaining seven manuscripts for you to read first, and then make a decision after reading them. How about it?"
"Okay!" Chen Jianfei agreed without hesitation.
Inspect the goods first, and if the work is strong enough, we will give you a 15% royalty, which will at least provide you with some psychological balance!
...
Ten thousand copies were sold out within a few days, which shows that there is a market for this kind of tomb-robbery novel. Therefore, the next inspection is not about the writing style, but mainly about the story frame. As long as the story frame has continuity and can maintain an exciting rhythm, nothing else matters.
Aren’t there still editors?
The editor of a physical book is different from the editor of an online article. The editor of a physical book is also responsible for polishing the work. If the author is not good at writing, it doesn’t matter. As long as the story is good enough, the editor will polish it for you.
Inspection of goods could have been done by his editors, but Chen Jianfei couldn't wait to pick up the manuscript of "The Dead Ghost Blows Out the Lamp: Confusion in Longling" because he wanted to know the next plot direction.
Since there is no need for previous character foreshadowing, "Longling Confusion" will enter the plot faster. As the plot progresses, the protagonist team will make new discoveries in each chapter, and Chen Jianfei gradually becomes deeply involved.
The process of reading is also a process of continuous puzzle solving. Chen Jianfei’s brain was refreshed by new scenes and settings one after another, and he himself was involuntarily brought into the perspective of the protagonist Hu Bayi among.
“The human skin map! What does it have to do with the Tomb of King Xian? Hey, it’s the last page and I’m so excited to see it. Why is it gone?”
Chen Jianfei couldn’t wait to see it. I picked up the next manuscript, "Dead Ghost Blows Out the Lamp: Yunnan Insect Nest".
Although there is no Kerrigan in the Yunnan insect nest, the holes dug inside and the hooks left behind still make Chen Jianfei's heart itch and his heart flutter.
He immediately picked up the next book "The Dead Ghost Blowing the Lamp: El Shrine" and continued to fight for El!
……
At half past five in the afternoon, it’s time to get off work.
In the large office, several editors looked at the office of editor-in-chief Chen Jianfei and found that Chen Jianfei was not there yet, so they could only continue to stay at their workstations.
The leader is still working overtime, how dare these workers leave!
After another half an hour, seeing that the leader still had no intention of leaving, the workers began to become anxious.
"Brother Wang, it's been half an hour since I got off work, why hasn't the leader left yet!"
"Yes, Brother Wang, I never heard from the leader that I have to work overtime before!"
"Brother Wang, why don't you go and ask when you can get off work today. My sister-in-law is waiting for me to come home for dinner!"
My sister-in-law is waiting for you to come home? This is an editor with a story.
Editor Wang nodded helplessly. He was the most senior person in the office, and he was the only one who could do this kind of thing.
So Editor Wang knocked on the door of Chen Jianfei’s office.
At this time, Chen Jianfei has already seen the fifth part of the "Dead Man Blows Out the Lamp" series, "Dead Man Blows Out the Lamp: Minions' Grave".
Seeing this posture, Editor Wang immediately understood that the editor was so absorbed in reading that he forgot the time.
Editor Wang felt relieved a lot when he thought that the manuscript of "Dead Man Blows Out the Lamp" looked like this when he first saw it.
I just heard Editor Wang ask: "Editor-in-Chief, we are going to order a box lunch. What would you like to eat?"
"Order a box lunch?" Chen Jianfei was stunned and looked at the wall. He turned on the clock, looked at his colleagues who were working overtime with him, and understood instantly.
Editor Wang is reminding himself that the time is up and it’s time to get the lunch and leave!
“Look at me, I was busy reviewing the manuscript and forgot the time!” Chen Jianfei said apologetically.
Are you a reviewer? He really makes up for himself!
You were clearly fascinated by this, which made us work overtime for half an hour with you!
Chen Jianfei then said: "Go and tell everyone, don't waste time here, go home quickly! If you can't catch the bus, take a taxi, bring the invoice back tomorrow, and the company will reimburse you!"< br>
Reimbursing a taxi is considered as compensation for the workers under my command. After all, what I spent was the money from the publishing house and what I sold was my favor.
Editor Wang continued to ask: "Editor-in-chief, what about you, when will you leave?"
"I'll read it for a while, um, let's continue reviewing the manuscript for a while," Chen Jianfei said shamelessly.
"It's time to get off work. How about you take it home for review?"
"That's not possible! If we take it back, I can't tell what accident happened in the process!"
< br>Manuscripts that have not yet been officially released for sale will definitely not be taken home. Moreover, a manuscript of this quality has to be locked in a safe after reading it.
“The editor-in-chief worked overtime to review the manuscript. The last time it was Teacher Zheng Yuanjie’s masterpiece, I guess!” Editor Wang thought to himself.
At this time, Editor Wang was very clear that the 15% top royalties were a given!
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(End of this chapter)