Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 342 Earth-shattering
"150 million first print runs, 25% royalties...you are very brave." Zhang Chao was sitting in the yard with watermelon, soda and plums in front of him. Sitting opposite him was naturally the "most sincere" Lu Jinbo.

If in 2004, Zhang Chao was still wary of creating an overly entertaining and commercial image for his writers, now he doesn't care about it at all.

Since Lu Jinbo offers the highest price, let's choose him to cooperate with.

However, other publishing houses also gained something - Zhang Chao handed over the batch of essays he had previously written for Jia Pingwa's "Meiwen" magazine to Huacheng Publishing House, which ranked second in terms of bid. There were a total of 18 articles, just enough to make a small collection.

It also authorized Chunfeng Publishing House, which came in third with the bid, to compile his speeches and open letters at Changfu No. 3 Middle School, the "Orient Express Tour" in the United States, and the semi-finals of the "New Concept Composition Competition"... into a book and publish it. It is estimated that the sales will not be bad.

So at this "trial reading session", Zhang Chao actually sold the copyrights of three books in total, not just "Homeland".

All the publishing houses that "lacked sincerity" are regretting their decision now - they didn't expect that Zhang Chao had secretly reserved space for two books, and now they are suffering a huge loss.

Although the essays and speeches have been published on different occasions, if they are published as a collection, the sales volume may reach hundreds of thousands. The royalties Zhang Chao asks for are not high, so the publishing house can earn at least several million.

It would be a great achievement for any editor to get it.

No one can really blame Zhang Chao for doing this. After all, this is a reward for trust.

So although Zhu Yanling and Shan Yingqi did not obtain the copyright of "Homeland", they returned to the hotel happily and waited to discuss the contract with the legal department of "Tide Culture" tomorrow.

The person who can sit in front of Zhang Chao at the moment can only be Lu Jinbo, who has obtained the most important copyright of "Homeland", 150 million first prints and 25% royalties. Even if the retail price of this novel is only 20 yuan, he will have to pay Zhang Chao 750 million yuan for the first print alone.

This is an unprecedentedly high price in China's publishing history!
You should know that last year, when Yi Zhongtian was at the peak of his career, a grand copyright auction was held for his book "Appreciation of the Three Kingdoms" at the Media Center in Yanjing. In the end, Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House won the bid with a first print run of 55 copies and a 14% royalty. Yi Zhongtian will receive about 180 million yuan in royalties.

Although it cannot be compared with Zhang Chao's, it has shocked many people.

“If you are not courageous, how can you compete with those old-fashioned publishing houses? Three years ago, I missed you once; now, I will not make the same mistake again!” Lu Jinbo said firmly.

He did not eat fruit and drink soda like Zhang Chao, but carefully read the rest of "Homeland". As the party who took the greatest risk in the cooperation, he certainly had the right to preview it first.

Zhang Chao almost choked on his soda after hearing this - could you please stop being so ambiguous, what's the point of missing out? - After finally calming down his cough, he asked casually, "How is the sales of Thousand Years of Cold now?"

When Lu Jinbo heard the title of this book, his head started to hurt badly, but he didn't dare to show it in front of Zhang Chao. He could only grit his teeth and pretend to be relaxed and said, "Not bad. After all, it's Mr. Shuo's new work after he stopped writing for many years. He still has a strong readership base."

Zhang Chao laughed inwardly, thinking of how much harm Lu Jinbo had suffered from this book. The news had spread all over the literary and artistic circles at that time.

In order to sign Wang Shuo, Lu Jinbo reportedly printed 100 million copies of the book for the first time, and paid Wang Shuo a one-time guaranteed royalty of more than 360 million yuan.

However, the sales of this book were not as satisfactory as expected. Some said it sold 10 copies, while others said it sold 20 copies. Even Lu Jinbo himself later admitted in an interview with Deutsche Welle that the sales were unsuccessful.

So he needs to make a comeback!

Lu Jinbo, who has a strong gambling habit, placed all his bets on Zhang Chao this time.

But no one wanted to expose their own scars, and Zhang Chao could understand that, so he asked, "Then do you have any good ideas for the sales of "Homeland"?"

Lu Jinbo put down the manuscript and pondered - Zhang Chao's book was a science fiction novel. In the mature book market worldwide, science fiction novels have always had a tradition of peripheral sales, and Zhang Chao's book can also be sold in this way.

Compared with the novel's numerous descriptions of futuristic, technologically-charged scenes, it's entirely possible to publish a separate "illustration collection" and sell posters;
The novel also features futuristic items such as memory chips, and you can collaborate with digital manufacturers to design and sell exclusive USB flash drives;
Gu Feng in the novel has quite an idol demeanor, and if he is made into a doll, maybe it will sell well...

……

After thinking for a long time, Lu Jinbo told Zhang Chao about these ideas one by one. Unexpectedly, Zhang Chao shook his head and said, "These are all secondary. Whether it is an illustration collection, a figurine, or a USB flash drive, they all rely on the appeal of the novel itself.

With all due respect, you are too focused on the details, and this is not the kind of sale I want. And whether it is illustrations, figures or USB flash drives, the copyright of these derivatives will not be included in this contract.

If I agree to you, the guys at Tide Culture will probably want to strangle me to death."

Lu Jinbo's face changed when he heard this, and then he took a deep breath and said, "That was my inconsiderateness..."

Zhang Chao smiled and said, "Don't worry, read the book first, maybe you will get some inspiration after reading it!"

Lu Jinbo had no choice but to lower his head and continue reading, but he felt a little regretful in his heart. Was he too impulsive to spend such a huge price to acquire the copyright of the book "Homeland"?

If we only reach a verbal agreement now and finally choose not to sign the contract, it seems that we will not have to bear any legal responsibility?
After all, this is not a formal occasion like Yi Zhongtian's "Appreciation of the Three Kingdoms" auction. Not only is there supervision from peers and the media, but more importantly, the auction process and results are protected by law.

But not signing the contract would be too shocking, and Lu Jinbo couldn't bring himself to do that - what if he asked Zhang Chao to lower some of the conditions? For example, the first print run would not be 150 million copies...

Lu Jinbo lowered the manuscript in his hand, glanced at Zhang Chao, and found that he was looking at him with a smile, as if he knew what he was going to do. He couldn't help feeling a little flustered, and raised the manuscript again to block his eyes.

Although he and Zhang Chao only collaborated on one book, "Undercurrent Collection", and the book was like a stepmother's, with Zhang Chao only responsible for collecting royalties from beginning to end and never participating in any publicity and promotion activities, he still did his homework on the research of Zhang Chao.

Zhang Chao is not against letting others take advantage of him, but the premise is that you don't let him suffer any loss, especially don't launch a surprise attack on him or turn against him afterwards. History has proven that those who do so will end up in a miserable situation, often losing both their money and their lives.

He is also different from Han Han. Han Han is a donkey who is obedient, has many ideas but is easy to coax; Zhang Chao is more like a tiger lying on the biggest rock in the forest, who will not accept deception or fooling.

If I proposed to lower the first print or royalties at this time, Zhang Chao might not even turn hostile on the spot, but would agree to it with a smile. But what happened next would definitely not be under my control...

Thinking of this, Lu Jinbo shuddered.

After reading the manuscript in a distracted manner for a while, Lu Jinbo finally made up his mind and said to Zhang Chao, "I think if we want to sell "Homeland" well, your meeting with Mr. Ma Yueran is the key!"

Zhang Chao finally showed some interest and said, "Oh?"

Lu Jinbo went on to explain: "Mr. Ma Yueran is highly respected in the world literary community, and he is the most powerful promoter of Chinese writers going global. If he could read 'Homeland' and praise it a few words, the positive effect would not be underestimated." Zhang Chao rested his hand on his chin and tilted his head, as if thinking about Lu Jinbo's words.

Seeing this, Lu Jinbo was secretly delighted, as it showed that Zhang Chao was interested, so he continued, "I'm afraid that not many domestic readers can understand and accept the subject matter and content of the novel "Homeland".

But Mr. Ma Yueran is definitely not unfamiliar with it. After all, immigrant literature has been a hot topic of research in European and American academic circles in recent years.

The quality of your novel is beyond reproach. As long as he is willing to endorse it for you, then there is hope for sales.”

Zhang Chao smiled and said, "Mr. Ma Yueran, these are true words...are they really that magical?"

Lu Jinbo became excited and said, "I saw you reading Cao Naiqian's novel this morning? If it weren't for Ma Yueran's recommendation, I Can't Help Thinking of You Until the Dark Night would probably not have been published.

There is also Shen Congwen, who was almost forgotten, but Ma Yueran said, "Shen Congwen is one of the best writers in China since the May Fourth Movement," and his "Border Town" sold out that year.

And Eileen Chang..."

Zhang Chao was surprised and asked, "He also recommended Eileen Chang?"

Lu Jinbo said "Oh" and explained: "Zhang Ailing's resurgence was due to Xia Zhiqing's recommendation - but the principle is the same, our literary circle, whether writers, critics, or ordinary readers, are willing to listen to "outsiders" -

"Foreign monks can chant sutras!"

Zhang Chao nodded as he listened, then asked, "How can I be sure that Ma Yueran will approve of or even praise Hometown? And when I met him, was it too much of a purpose to deliberately give him this unpublished book?

The old man has lived for so many years and is quite a shrewd person. Won't he end up making things worse by then?"

Lu Jinbo patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, I've thought it through. You only need to talk about "Homeland" when communicating with him. You don't need to talk too much. Just say that you have just completed the creation of such a work recently.

If he expresses interest, you can give him a copy - we will print a sample first and you can take it with you. When it is officially published, we will print on the cover "A masterpiece that even the Nobel Prize lifetime judges have to see first!"

Zhang Chao couldn't help but cheer at this, and then asked, "What if he doesn't show interest? We can't force him to give it to us."

Lu Jinbo said confidently: "Then print 'A masterpiece that even the Nobel Prize lifetime judges have not seen before'!"

Zhang Chao: “…” No wonder Lu Jinbo was able to turn Guomai Culture into the most influential private publishing company in the country in just a few years, and later successfully listed it. It has to be said that he is a genius in marketing.

Seeing that Zhang Chao had affirmed his plan, Lu Jinbo gained confidence and concluded, "As long as you make good use of this opportunity to meet and communicate with Ma Yueran, we will have a lot to do in sales."

Zhang Chao said with emotion: "I never thought that Ma Yueran, a Swede, would have such a great influence on Chinese literature!"

Lu Jinbo said: "That's... Gao Xingjian won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2000, did you know that?"

Zhang Chao nodded. Although Mo Yan was the first Chinese writer to win the award, he was not the first Chinese writer to win the award.

Lu Jinbo said: "His works were mainly translated by Ma Yueran. So it is said that he won the award entirely because of Ma Yueran's strong recommendation in the Nobel Prize Selection Committee..."

Then he looked at Zhang Chao with some envy and said, "You are only in your 20s, and you can already have interactions with Ma Yueran. In the future...tsk tsk..." Although he didn't finish his words, the implication was obvious.

Europe is the center of world literature. It not only produces many great writers and works, but also has a stubborn reading taste and will not easily accept the works of writers outside of Europe.

And Ma Yueran is a bridge into Europe.

In time, Zhang Chao may win the award that most writers dream of because he has crossed this bridge early.

Zhang Chao continued to smile and said, "Your expectations for me and this meeting are really too high."

Lu Jinbo was stunned: "You guys?"

Zhang Chao said: "Yes, you guys."

Lu Jinbo immediately reacted and became even more excited, saying repeatedly: "You mean the Writers Association? That's great! I have another plan - wait until you meet the old man, and then we will hold a 'trial reading session' and invite all these old predecessors to come...

After the novel is published, I have to ask someone to write the recommendation for the back cover and the bottom cover anyway, so why not do it together? This way, the readers will have a higher expectation! "

Zhang Chao had to admire Lu Jinbo's marketing acumen. Seeing that it was getting late, he said, "The publishing is settled. I'll call Chaoxi Culture later, and you can go over and sign the contract with them tomorrow.

Oh, let's have dinner together tonight?"

Of course, Lu Jinbo declined politely. He could tell whether Zhang Chao really wanted to keep him or was just being polite. Anyway, the most important goal of today had been achieved, so whether or not we had dinner was not important.

After seeing off Lu Jinbo, Zhang Chao sat back in his recliner, looking at the dark clouds surrounding the courtyard. The blue brick screen wall in the courtyard was immersed in an amber halo; the brackets on the hanging flower gate cast a slender shadow; the smoke from the chimneys of every household in the alley rose up, wrapped in the scallion fragrance of fried noodles and the sweetness of sugar-roasted chestnuts, weaving a gentle mist over the courtyard...

After returning to the hotel, Lu Jinbo was so excited that he did not sleep all night. He discussed the contract with the company's lawyer until after 1 a.m., and then called several shareholders and executives to report the good news.

The next day, Lu Jinbo got up early, washed carefully, put on a handsome suit, and tied his lucky tie. He was ready to go to "Chaotide Culture" to sign the contract with the company team that had rushed to Yanjing overnight.

He has also informed the media, and this news will definitely become earth-shattering news in today's cultural world.

Before leaving, he glanced at the news push on his phone and saw the headline was -

"Shocking news: Young writer Zhang Chao refuses to meet with Nobel Prize in Literature lifetime judge Ma Yueran!"

(End of this chapter)