I am a literary giant in Japan

Chapter 72 What is the top treatment for Japanese writers? (Leaning back and spreading his hands)

After completing various formalities at the Industrial Central Bank, and watching with pain and helplessness as 57.9 yen was instantly lost from the bank account, Kitagawa Hide and Chihara Masato said goodbye at the speed of light, picked up their bags and walked to the new headquarters of Kawaide Shobo in Sumiyoshi-cho.

Compared to the Bunkyo Ward where Kodansha is located, the Shinjuku Ward where Kawaide Shobo is located is more prosperous and charming, but also more dangerous.

Bunkyo-ku is known as the "cultural and educational district" by Tokyo residents. It is home to a large number of national and private universities, middle schools, and high schools, as well as the Tokyo Dome, a large indoor baseball stadium that was completed in 90. It is a top-notch cultural and educational district in Japan.

However, what Shinjuku District is most well-known for is its underground world which is the opposite of a cultural city!
There are two most famous places in the district. One is Sumiyoshicho where Kawaide Shobo Shinsha is located, and the other is Kabukicho, a commercial red-light district famous overseas.

The two are inseparable and must be discussed together.

Sumiyoshi-cho was originally just an ordinary town street, but in the Meiji era, a ruthless man named Ito Shogoro was born in this town. He gathered a group of relatives and friends and formed a violent society called "Sumiyoshi Family".

As time passed, in 1988, Masao Hori became the president of the Sumiyoshi Renhekai. His organization's power gradually surpassed that of the Inagawa-kai, becoming the largest violent organization in eastern Japan.

Four years ago, Shigeo Nishiguchi took office as the sixth-generation president and changed the name of the organization to Sumiyoshi-kai, thus giving birth to the second largest officially recognized gang in Japanese history.

The prototype of the Tojo Clan in the console game "Yakuza" that Hide Kitagawa loved to play in his previous life was the Sumiyoshi Clan.

The headquarters of the Sumiyoshi-kai is in Sumiyoshi-cho, but they are a legally registered Sumiyoshi Urban Construction Management Co., Ltd. and a good citizen who pays taxes according to the law!
Kabukicho, which is only 10 kilometers away from Sumiyoshicho, is naturally also under the jurisdiction of the Sumiyoshi-kai. Before the bubble burst, the glamorous life there was dazzling and irresistible.

Even now after the bubble burst, there are still about 3000 bars, clubs, hotels and other entertainment venues of various sizes and styles. At night, it becomes the "city that never sleeps" that men yearn for!
The Kawade Group must have an incredibly strong political background to dare to place its publishing house in such a remote place and still run it successfully.

Walking on the street, Kitagawa Xiu always sees bald men in black suits hurrying around one after another. Some of them have something tattooed on their necks, which looks very creepy.

In the corners of the streets and alleys, you can often see men in black suits cornering people and slapping them, which is very similar to the scene when Kitagawa Hide plays "Give Him Love".

Can't afford to provoke, can't afford to provoke, don't look at what is indecent, don't look at what is indecent.

Kitagawa Hide lowered his head and quickly rushed into the headquarters building of Kawaide Shobo Shinsha.

Kawade Shobo also has an old-fashioned design of a main building with a annex, but there is no security room or sliding door at the entrance. Instead, it is like a high-end hotel, with a beautiful front desk lady and three or five tall and muscular men in suits in the lobby.

I don’t know if it’s because he has seen too many members of the Sumiyoshi-kai just now, but Kitagawa Hide always feels that the muscular men in suits in the lobby of Kawaide Shobo Shinsha have a similar smell to them and have fierce looks on their faces.

After Kitagawa Hide explained his purpose, the lady at the front desk and the muscular man in a suit immediately turned into fans and surrounded him. First, each of them asked for an autograph, then respectfully led him to the VIP sofa seat in the hall, and then hurriedly ran to call the internal line to contact the staff.

"Teacher Beichuan! Please have some tea! These are snacks specially prepared for you, please enjoy!" The receptionist near the elevator entrance came over with a tray and bowed 90 degrees again.

Kitagawa Hidemoto wanted to say that it was not necessary and he could just go up and find someone himself. When he turned around, he saw a sign in the aisle behind the front desk. It was covered with red flowers and a silhouette of a man holding a book. A large banner read "Warmly welcome Mr. Kitagawa Hide to join "Wenyi"!"

This scene almost made him think that he had gone to the wrong door and entered some marketing bookstore by mistake.

This is too outrageous!

Are Kawaide Shobo always so exaggerated when signing new writers?

Kitagawa Hide had to drink tea to hide his inner embarrassment. After finishing the tea, he threw snacks into his mouth. In short, he did not want others to see his embarrassment.

After a while, the elevator door opened and a familiar figure walked out.

"Kitagawa, I thought you wouldn't be here until the afternoon." Saito Reina, wearing her OL outfit again, walked over in high heels. The twin ponytails behind her hips swayed with her body, making a familiar "click-click" sound.

"Thanks to Qianyuan, the bank is very efficient and we arrived early." Kitagawa Hide greeted her.

"Hello, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Saito!" The receptionist, security guards and others in the hall bowed to her one after another.

Saito Reina nodded in greeting, then walked inside with Kitagawa Hide: "Kitagawa, the people from the contract department have been waiting for a long time, let's talk while we walk."

"Well. It seems like you are living well here?" Beichuan Xiu followed her forward, looking around curiously and said with a smile.

"Eh?" Saito Reina tilted her head to look at him.

Beichuan Xiu gently tapped his cheek with his hand: "Finally, it's not swollen anymore."

"Ah, this." Saito Rena wanted to roll her eyes, but felt that this would damage her image in front of Kitagawa Hide, so she could only hold back her smile, pout her lips and nod, as a sign of her agreement.

The two talked as they walked, and when Rena Saito heard that Kitagawa Hide had brought all the manuscripts of his new book this time, she almost staggered and couldn't help but complain in her heart that he was indeed a "high-yielding sow."

It hasn’t been long since “A Wild Sheep Chase” was written, right?

I remember that when we had the celebration party, Kitagawa Hide was still hesitating about the subject of the new book. Later, after much hesitation, he mentioned to her shortly before the contract was terminated that it was a novel related to critical realism and absurdism.

How long has it been since?

Three days or five days?

Have you finished writing the new book?

"In fact, I have already reached an agreement with President Kawade about this book. This should be the first novel that Kawade Shobo will publish."

Kitagawa Hide went with her to the contract department on the third floor and went to the office of the deputy director of the contract department, which was specifically used to sign large and important contracts.

"So that's it. President Kawade mentioned it to me a few days ago, saying that she has prepared a hardcover paperback publication plan for your new book against all odds, and I will be fully responsible for the specific matters."

Saito Reina suddenly realized and asked curiously,
"I was just about to call you to ask how your book was going, and you came right over with the manuscript. That's right, what's the name of the novel?"

"The name of the novel is 'No Longer Human', and the protagonist is Oba Yozo, and his prototype is Izumi-san." Kitagawa Hide put away his smile and said word by word.

Saito Rena suddenly felt that the air around her became much more solemn. She blinked her beautiful big eyes and finally understood why society rejected Kitagawa Hide's new book idea.

This is not just a simple change of track. He obviously had a very strong purpose and direction in writing this new book.

Recalling "A Wild Sheep Chase", the last part of the "Youth Trilogy", Kitagawa Hide's writing style seems to be attempting to go in the direction of absurdity and heaviness, and Saito Rena feels that everything is connected.

Probably when he learned that Yan Jing's family had passed away, he began to conceive this novel!

Kitagawa Hide always said in front of her that he didn't care about any awards, as long as he could make money.

But in Saito Rena's opinion, what writer would not care about literary awards?
If he really didn't care, then when he was ridiculed by a group of literary critics, he would not have resolutely written "A Sheep Chasing Adventure" to refute their view that he could only write romance novels. Later, at a literary salon, Ishihara Shintaro blatantly "took in a disciple" and used the Akutagawa Prize as a bargaining chip, threatening that Kitagawa Hide's writing was not worthy of the Akutagawa Prize, and that he would only help him win the prize if he became a member of the Ishihara School.

This incident must have caused deep harm to Beichuan.

Plus the unexpected death of Yan Jingsang's family.

So does he want to use this book to criticize society, express his feelings, and compete for a prestigious literary award?
Saito Reina realized it, and when she opened the door, she suddenly nodded to Kitagawa Hide, and whispered: "Kitagawa, don't worry! I will do my best to help you achieve the results you want with this book!"

Kitagawa Hide was frightened by such a sudden remark. Looking at Saito Rena clenching her fists with a confident and motivated expression, he always felt that the other party seemed to have misunderstood something.

However, Kitagawa Hide did feel her determination.

If this were a video game, there would be a flame-like entry above Saito Rena's head at this moment, which might say something like "the power of bonds" or "the determination of a pure literary editor".

"Well, thank you, Saito."

Anyway, it’s always right to say thank you first!
"No, this is what I should do. Compared to everything you've done for me, it's nothing." Saito Rena shook her head, and the determination in her eyes became more obvious.

The two of them walked into the office while thanking each other.

The Deputy Director of the Contract Department, who had been waiting for a long time, stood up respectfully and saluted, and the first sentence he blurted out was: "Warmly welcome Mr. Kitagawa Hide to join "Wenyi"! " Then he asked the female secretary to hand the bound contract to Kitagawa Hide.

This enthusiasm made Kitagawa Xiu feel more and more embarrassed.

After returning the gift, he sat down and started reading the contract, while Saito Rena sat aside and watched "No Longer Human".

The contract template and operating model of Kawaide Shobo are basically copied from Kodansha, or it can be said that all Japanese publishing houses are based on the industry's big brother Shinchosha as a template, and one by one they use the shadow clone technique to copy everything from Shinchosha one-to-one.

Shizuko Kawaide did not play any tricks in the contract. The contract name simply stated "Cooperation Agreement between the famous writer Kitagawa Hide's new book____ and Kawaide Shobo Shinsha".

It is purely a one-book-one-cooperative freelance writer signing model.

The deputy director of the contract department was shocked when he received the contract from the president's office. Isn't this a top-level contract specially prepared for those "best in the world"?

Kitagawa Hide's name is well-known to him. After all, he is the top of this year's physical book sales credibility list and the winner of the prestigious Group Portrait Newcomer Award.

But isn’t a direct top-level contract too outrageous?
The deputy director of the contract department was puzzled, but at Kawaide Shobo, all employees followed one iron rule - at all times, they must obey the orders of President Kawaide Shizuko!
This is the core reason why Hechu Bookstore was able to slowly climb from a second-tier publishing house to a first-tier publishing house!
Beichuan Xiu quickly wrote the four characters "No Longer Human", signed where he should sign, and finally fixed his eyes on the place he cared about the most -

Royalties from physical book publishing!
The contract given by Hede Shobo clearly stated in black and white the content that he cared about most.

The royalty rate was initially set at 7%, one percentage point higher than Kodansha, and is the top treatment that a "middle-class" writer can get.

In order to specifically serve well-known writers, a royalty contract was signed, and Kitagawa Hide was paid directly based on how many copies were printed, regardless of sales volume.

Generally speaking, the sales revenue share ratio for paper books is 2:4:2:2 for the author, publisher, agent, and other fees, respectively. That is, according to this contract, the actual share Kitagawa Hide receives is 20% multiplied by 7%, which is 1.4%.

For example, the price of "No Longer Human" was 5000 yen, and if 1 copies were sold, Kitagawa Hideka would earn 70 yen before tax.

But in order to show their importance to him, Kawaide Shobo gave him this top-level contract and increased Kitagawa Hide's sales ratio to 25%!

Don't underestimate this 5%. Originally, Kitagawa Hide could only get 20%, but now it is equivalent to giving him an extra quarter.

This is all the money taken out of the profits earned by Hechu Shobo. You can't expect agents and other middlemen to be willing to share the money with you, right?
Of course, in order to comply with Japan's copyright and royalty laws, the contract will not explicitly state that the writer will receive a 25% share of sales, as this is not in compliance with regulations.

The sales share rate for authors of books written by Kawaide Shobo is still 20% (this is the same for all publishing houses), but there is an additional sales share bonus from the publishing house: 5% of sales.

This kind of additional clause is quite common in the private contracts of "upper-class" writers and "world-class" literary masters, and is a kind of respect shown by the publishing industry to these top writers.

In addition, Shizuko Kawaide also added a gambling clause at the end.

如果《人间失格》一年内总销量突破30万/50万/80万/100万，版税税率分别额外提高1%/2%/4%/8%。

In other words, if the total sales of "No Longer Human" exceeds 100 million, Kitagawa Hide will receive a royalty rate of 15%, which is almost the upper limit of the Japanese publishing industry!

What is the top treatment for Japanese writers?

This is!
Kitagawa Hide almost leaned back and spread his hands.

If he remembered correctly, No Longer Human had sold over 100 million copies in its first year of publication, but that was post-war Japan after 1948! The economic level and the number of readers were completely incomparable to today.

In the original world, "No Longer Human" has been published for more than 1200 years, with total sales exceeding 15 million copies, an average of more than copies sold each year, and a terrifyingly long sales life.

In Japan, where the literary world is more prosperous but the quality of literary novels is worse, Kitagawa Hide feels that selling 100 million copies in the first year is just a drop in the bucket.

Shizuko Kawaide is indeed the rich woman who rescued him from his misery!

Kitagawa Hide couldn't help but once again doubt the situation of this older eldest daughter of a chaebol family.

Could it be that he is really a crazy fan of mine?
That’s a 15% royalty rate!
Tell this number to the public in the industry. No matter how many you actually sell, this top-level treatment alone is enough for you to brag about in the pure literary world for the rest of your life.

"Teacher Beichuan, are you satisfied?" The Deputy Director of the Contract Department saw that he had no expression on his face and asked in a low voice.

President Kawade has reminded him countless times that if Kitagawa Hide is not satisfied and makes some other requests, as long as they do not involve the company's core interests, he will be granted them!

He could see that President Kawade was determined to keep Kitagawa Hide.

"Ah? It's very good. I'm very satisfied." Kitagawa Hide came back to his senses from his joy and signed his name with a smile.

But next to him, Rena Saito, who had almost finished watching half of "No Longer Human", was in a bad mood.

Why is this book like this?

She felt as if she had fallen into an icy cave. She was surrounded by negative emotions such as despair, loss, and frustration, and she couldn't breathe.

(End of this chapter)