Reborn Bao Guowei, I really didn’t want to be a great writer!

Chapter 400: Merchants’ tactics! Is Xiao Bao in the newspaper again?

Mr. Jack Williamson has been very busy these days.

So, even though he was very curious about what that magical science fiction novel in "Seaside Magazine" was about, he still did not contact Mr. Green.

Mr Williamson had more important things to do.

The air was filled with the aroma of coffee, and looking at the empty coffee pot next to Williamson, you could tell how many cups of coffee he had drunk.

Thick velvet curtains hung on both sides of the windows, blocking out all the noise from the outside world and also keeping the bad air of central London out of the room.

On the dark wooden desk in the study, an exquisite typewriter made rhythmic mechanical sounds, and the shiny metal parts gleamed under the light.

Williamson had two heavy dark circles under his eyes and would stop from time to time to look at the information that had been prepared in front of him.

He is preparing his new work "Legions of Time".

In fact, at the beginning, Williamson had only a vague concept of the creation of "Time Legion".

But after studying with Bao Guowei on the cruise ship, Williamson decided to bring this story into this world ahead of time.

This is a story about a protagonist who meets a man from the future who traveled from 1930 in 2004.

Inspired by Bao Guowei, he decided to introduce this novel concept into his own work.

When saying goodbye to Bao Guowei, Williamson had already shown him the contents of the previous chapters.

However, for some reason, Bao Guowei has not written to me in the past few days to tell me his opinion on this opening.

I guess Mr. Bao is very busy.

Williamson thought so.

"Legions of Time" actually does not deviate from the category of "space opera" and still has the flavor of a knight novel.

It's not that Jack Williamson is repeating the same mistakes, but that he is following Bao Guowei's teachings perfectly.

"Mr. Bao once said that every writer has his or her own style. It is irrational to forcibly change one's writing style and devote oneself to a field that one is not good at.

It’s like a big gamble, but most talented writers fail in this gamble with themselves.”

Therefore, Jack Williamson followed Bao Guowei's teachings and was not in a hurry to change his previous style.

Instead, take a step-by-step process.

"Time Legion" is an important attempt to implement this concept.

In this novel, he looked up many related conjectures about "parallel universe".

Transform the explorations of those outstanding scientists into your own things and integrate them into the story.

"Time Travel"

"Timeline"

"Parallel Universe"

He introduced various concepts one after another, but there was no essential change in the plot structure, which was still the same "space opera".

“This is my first attempt. As I continue to create my works, I will gradually break away from the vicious circle of traditional science fiction!”

Williamson, who was thinking about the plot, encouraged himself.

But when he looked back at the contents of his novel, he couldn't help but look worried.

"It's so similar to The Rural Teacher. The impact of this work on me is so deep that it's engraved in my bones!"

Williamson is not opposed to imitation, but he found that after reading "The Country Teacher", his creations were subtly moving closer to this work!

"This is suspected of plagiarism." Williamson said to himself sternly.

Afterwards, he decided to change some of the plot to avoid being similar to "The Rural Teacher".

Now, in Williamson's eyes, "The Rural Teacher" is no less than a science fiction bible on his growth path!

baah~
A dozen thick manuscripts were sucked into the shredder and turned into a pile of debris in a short while.

But at this moment, footsteps suddenly came from outside the door, and a middle-aged man walked in.

When he saw this scene, he almost jumped to the ceiling.

The middle-aged white man with thinning hair stretched out his red neck and spoke angrily.

"Damn it! Mr. Williamson, what are you doing?"

Williamson was startled, then recognized the man and said.

"Mr. James Howard? Why are you here?"

The bald man in front of you is the editor-in-chief of "Amazing Stories" in London and one of the main persons in charge of this magazine in London. He is responsible for the final review of almost all articles of "Amazing Stories".

James Howard quickly squatted down and completely turned off the power of the shredder before the back half of the manuscript was about to be rolled into the shredder.

Then, he rearranged the half-finished manuscript and placed it on the table like a treasure.

"Humph!" Howard exhaled through his nose. "If I hadn't come, you would have ruined our plan!"

Williamson spread his hands and explained, "Mr. Editor-in-Chief, you don't have to be too sensitive. This is just a scrap. I may need to make some changes to the plot."

Since he started creating, he has basically lost contact with the outside world and hid in the hotel all day.

The only people I interacted with were Green, who visited me last time, and Mr. Howard, who often came to supervise the progress.

"That's right! That's why I'm going to stop you!" Howard's voice was rough. With his tall body and bald head, he didn't look like an editor but more like a professional fighter practicing fighting.

However, Howard still maintained due respect for the writer who came all the way from the United States.

He then explained, "Perhaps you don't know? Remember the last time I told you about the Seaside Magazine."

"What's wrong with them? This looks like a challenge for us."

There was something odd about Williamson, but that wasn't a reason for Howard to be so nervous.

Even the gentleman in front of him never took "Seaside Magazine" seriously.

But Howard crossed his arms and said with a sarcastic expression on his face.

"Just yesterday, after Smith knew that the news had been leaked, he actually announced it directly, saying that a mysterious writer comparable to Conan Doyle would soon appear, and his works were exquisite.
Did you know that Smith even took out a few pounds from his trousers and placed an advertisement in the newspaper?

When Howard mentioned this, a smile appeared on his face, and he said it without hiding his disdain at all.

"This is the funniest joke I've heard in the past few months!"

"It seems that the editor-in-chief doesn't think that Seaside Magazine can beat us?" Williamson continued.

Obviously, he still didn't understand the purpose of Howard's action just now.

"Indeed." Howard sat down on the chair in front of him and breathed a sigh of relief. "We don't need to worry about the threat from The Strand Magazine. We have already established connections with most of the excellent novelists in the UK. Even Ms. Agatha, who is about to return to London, I have received accurate information that she has no intention of providing works for them."

"Hehe." Howard laughed dryly from the back of his throat. "I even suspect that this is just a way for Seaside Magazine to attract attention."

"That" Williamson became increasingly confused.

"But," Howard said suddenly, "we still don't know the work mentioned in the Strand Magazine, or who the gentleman is.

From what I've heard, this seems to be a piece that they're extremely excited about.

So we have to be on guard!" Seeing Howard's sinister eyes, Williamson couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He was worried about his friend Green and couldn't help asking.

"What are your plans, sir?"

"Hey!" Howard sneered. "The stupid and arrogant British always think they can beat us in business.

In order to avoid any surprises, I decided to release this issue of Amazing Stories in advance.”

He looked up at the young writer in front of him and said.

"Mr. Williamson, I am very optimistic about your work. I think it will be loved by readers in London.

So I hope you can speed up the process and submit the manuscript for this issue ahead of time."

After listening, Williamson finally understood the purpose of the bald editor in chief.

Early Release
Williamson knew very well that Amazing Stories was a bimonthly magazine in London, usually published on the fourth and twentieth of the month.

The main feature is that it offers large quantities and is even cheaper than other magazines.

This is the key advantage of Amazing Stories.

The reason why the headquarters far away in the United States reached an agreement with Williamson and funded his trip was to enable Williamson to improve the level of the novels in "Amazing Stories" and to provide relevant manuscripts in a timely manner.

"You know, your work is meant to attract the attention of those self-proclaimed elegant Londoners," Howard said without any concealment.

But at this moment, Williamson was no longer in the mood to listen. His mind was full of what the other party had said before.

Release in advance?

This move is so powerful that the "Seaside Magazine", which is also a bimonthly magazine, was also released on the 20th.

As long as "Amazing Stories" can be released one day earlier, it will be able to seize the originally small market of "Seaside Magazine".

In the context of the Great Depression, it was difficult for people to spend extra money to buy another magazine after reading it.

In fact, because of the large number of stories in "Amazing Stories", it is very likely that readers have not finished reading "Amazing Stories" on the day when the 19th issue of "Seaside Magazine" was published?

Stories are like spiritual snacks.

When you already have enough snacks on hand and are short of money, it is difficult to motivate you to buy a second helping of snacks.

It is foreseeable that with the size and style of Amazing Stories, Seaside Magazine will lose miserably!
Next, Williamson heard Howard's old sayings.

It's just asking him to work harder and finish the manuscript as quickly as possible.

Howard even asked him to pick up the discarded manuscripts and re-transcribe them so that he could meet the deadline.

Williamson merely agreed to this, but after Howard left, he completely forgot about it.

thump~
The door was closed again and peace returned to the study.

But Williamson had no sense of tension about finishing the manuscript. He just sat in his chair in a daze.

There was a constant tangle in my head.

"Should we tell Mr. Green about this news? Or what other methods can we use to help them?"

On the one hand, he had a contract with Marvel Magazine and it was impossible for him to delay the work and progress. Moreover, this was not in line with Williamson's character. He took every work of his seriously.

On the other hand, Mr. Green had a very deep friendship with him. He was a kind man and did not want the decline of "Seaside Magazine" to cause this gentleman to lose his valuable job.

But after thinking for a long time, Williamson sighed.

Even if I told Seaside Magazine the news, even without Howard's special business methods, could Seaside Magazine win?

It is simply impossible to win over the wide variety of exciting stories in Amazing Stories with just one article.

Williamson is very confident about his work.

But he thought, even if "Legions of Time" was not published, could "Seaside Magazine" surpass other stories?
"Unless they can find a legendary writer like Mr. Bao."

This possibility suddenly popped into Williamson's mind.

But then I felt it was a little ridiculous.

Mr. Bao had just arrived in London for a few days, so how could he have any connection with Seaside Magazine?
It was still difficult for Orientals in this era to publish articles in London newspapers and magazines.

Unless the other party has a friend who is of a particularly high status in London to help with the matchmaking.
According to Williamson, the other party said on the cruise ship that he did not have any powerful friends in London.

Unless we just met in the past few days.
"This is too story-like." Williamson shook his head, thinking that this was a plot that only appeared in novels.

I sat in my seat for a long time. On the one hand, there was my career, and on the other hand, there were my friends. It was really difficult to make a decision.

Finally, Williamson let out a breath, took out a piece of letter paper from the drawer, and began to write carefully.

"Bao Guowei! How do I look in this outfit?"

In a clothing store in London, Zhang Nianyue came out of the dressing room, turned around in front of Bao Guowei, lifted her skirt slightly, imitated the etiquette of London ladies, half squatted and spoke.

"It looks good." Bao Guowei looked at his excited fiancée in front of him and nodded slightly.

In his eyes, Zhang Nianyue was wearing a wide-brimmed felt hat decorated with flowers, which was slightly tilted, giving her a playful look.

The top is a very common slim-fit silk shirt, which highlights Zhang Nianyue's proud figure, and there is an exquisite silk scarf at the neckline.

She wore a straight skirt that matched the color of her top, and a pair of black mid-heeled leather shoes that made tapping sounds on the tiled floor.

To be honest, Bao Guowei didn’t think this outfit was very good-looking. Instead, it gave her a sense of how a middle-aged woman in later times would dress.

But there is no way. On the one hand, Zhang Nianyue likes it, and on the other hand, this is also the most fashionable dress in London nowadays.

"We have to dress up to attend the banquet. In London, if you don't have decent clothes, you can't even enter the hotel."

After buying clothes, Bao Guowei looked at the old Londoners on the street who were trying to maintain their dignity even when they were hungry, and couldn't help but sigh.

Compared with Zhang Nianyue's outfit, his clothes were very simple, almost the same as when he was in Hangzhou.

A neatly slicked-back hair, a pure black suit, a top hat and a civilized cane, and he is all set.

By the way, I also arranged a set of clothes for Cao Yanhai, but this guy was not used to it. After putting on the clothes, he kept twisting his body, as if something was crawling inside his clothes.

"This seems to be similar in the Shanghai Stock Exchange, right?" Zhang Nianyue said after thinking for a while.

"." Bao Guowei was silent for a while, and then he had to admit it. "That's true."

But Cao Yanhai also complained: "Foreigners are so hypocritical, they dress themselves up to look presentable, but these clothes are not comfortable to wear at all!"

The banquet will be held tonight at the Belmond Cadogan Hotel, which is located in Chelsea in the center of London. It is an old "rich area" and the intersection of London's culture and social life.

Bao Guowei and his companions planned to go back to the hotel to rest for a while and then take a taxi to Chelsea.

Just as I was about to get in the car to go back to the hotel, I heard a timid voice next to me.

"My pretty lady, my generous gentleman, would you like a copy of the latest Scotsman?"

Bao Guowei was stunned for a moment when he heard the voice, but when he saw the other person's bare feet, he finally bought one.

He didn't rush to read it, but threw it to Zhang Nianyue first, so that she could practice English.

But after a while, I heard the other party say in surprise.

"Eh? Bao Guowei, you're in the newspaper again? This time it's a London newspaper!"

(End of this chapter)