Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 370, "A Sudden Emergence," had an initial print run of six million copies.

The editorial board of People's Literature and Art consists of two groups: professional editors and writers.

The role of writers in the editorial board of "People's Literature" is not like that of office editors who handle the daily affairs of the editorial department; it is a part-time position.

Specifically, its role is to participate in the formulation of the magazine's editorial policy, help the editorial department grasp the direction, provide some planning suggestions, and offer some review suggestions for some manuscripts that are difficult to handle.

In addition, the editorial department of People's Literature and Art magazine appointed writers as members of the editorial board because it valued the writers' own works and their ability to recommend outstanding new authors to the magazine.

Editors who make it onto the editorial board are very likely to become the magazine's deputy editor-in-chief.

For example, this time, my good senior brother Cui Daoyi has become one of the candidates for the editorial board.

Wang Meng continued speaking to Liu Yimin: "Yimin, this time we've invited more than just you. We've also invited Comrade Jiang Zilong, Chen Rong and Huang Zongying, the authors of 'Middle Age,' and a group of energetic young and middle-aged writers. Of course, 'young' refers to you; you're the youngest."

After Wang Meng finished speaking, she took a sip of tea, her eyes constantly fixed on Liu Yimin's face, trying to see his reaction.

“Yimin, don’t rush to refuse us. Think it over carefully. People’s Literature is a national-level publication, and you have such a deep connection with us. People’s Literature really needs your help,” Wang Meng said quickly when she saw that Liu Yimin was about to refuse.

Liu Yimin smiled and said, "Comrade Wang Meng, I haven't said anything yet. I agree to join the editorial board."

As Wang Meng said, People's Literature is a national publication, and its status in the literary world is different from other magazines. It represents the will of the Writers' Association and the entire ideological front.

By joining the editorial board of "People's Literature and Art," Liu Yimin could legitimately express his opinions on the domestic literary scene, or influence the manuscript submissions and authors' creative direction through the editorial board, thus at least occupying a part of the literary and artistic front.

Wang Meng was surprised that Liu Yimin agreed so readily. Cui Daoyi grabbed Liu Yimin's hand and laughed heartily, "From now on, the two of us are practically in the same boat!"

"Good, Comrade Yimin, welcome to the editorial board of People's Literature. It will take time for the new editorial board to be established. When it is established, we invite you to attend the inaugural meeting of the new editorial board," Wang Meng said happily.

After the matter was resolved, Wang Meng and Cui Daoyi took their manuscripts and prepared to leave. As they were leaving, Cui Daoyi lingered behind Wang Meng and chuckled softly to Liu Yimin, "The emergence of 'The Birth of a Nation' is making Old Wang jealous. The magazine market has given Comrade Wang Meng a taste of her own medicine."

"Come on, I think you're trying to say that I gave Comrade Wang Meng a hard time." Liu Yimin shoved Cui Daoyi from behind.

"Some people gossip like this."

Cui Daoyi patted Liu Yimin on the shoulder and quickly followed Wang Meng.

Wei Lian and Li Jun, who were originally planning to leave, were still in Liu Yimin's study. As soon as Liu Yimin closed the door, Li Jun walked over with a smile and said, "Yimin, I think this could be adapted into a TV series. What do you think?"
The TV series adaptation of "The Flames of War in Beiping" was so popular; it was a low-budget, high-production-value series. I think your "The Legendary Shopkeeper" could also be good. Are you interested?

Li Jun felt that although the cost of television production had been rising in the past two years, "The Legendary Shopkeeper" only required two restaurants and a few courtyards to meet the filming needs, and the cost was about the same as that of "The Flames of War in Beiping".

Liu Yimin squinted at Li Jun and said, "Director Li, the decision to film a TV series rests with your factory. Our opinions don't matter."

Upon hearing this, Li Jun immediately said, "I'll go back and talk to the factory manager about this. I believe the factory will definitely agree. I'm sure the factory won't disagree with a business that can make money."

“If you can convince the film studio, I will definitely adapt this novel into a TV series,” Liu Yimin said.

"Okay, then it's settled!"

Li Jun and Wei Lian walked out of the Overseas Chinese Apartment happily. Li Jun kept telling Wei Lian that this trip was really worthwhile.

Back at the factory, Li Jun and Wei Lian went to the office of Deputy Factory Director Liu Peiran and told him about what they had found at Liu Yimin's house.

"Another one? Adapted into a TV series?" Liu Peiran had only heard Li Jun and Wei Lian describing the plot, and without seeing the full text, he was also wondering.

Seeing that Liu Peiran was hesitant, Li Jun walked from the sofa to Liu Peiran's desk and tried his best to show Liu Peiran that this was a business opportunity that could make money.

"Director Liu, I've done the math. We could make a profit even with 400,000 yuan for a movie, let alone a TV series. For example, 'Dream of the Red Chamber' has a budget of over a million yuan, but we only need 400,000 yuan. We can sell it to a TV station and definitely make a profit. If all else fails, we can do what we did with 'The Flames of War in Beiping' and co-produce it with a TV station."

Liu Peiran stood up and said, "You two are talking so much, it's giving me a headache. Let's go, let's go to Yimin's house and take a look!"

"Director Liu, the manuscript has already been sent to People's Literature and Art, but we can't find it at Yimin's house!" Wei Lian interjected.

"Let Yimin tell me, it's much better than the two of you telling me!"

Liu Peiran had the factory driver drive the jeep downstairs, and then took Li Jun and Wei Lian to the Overseas Chinese Apartment again.

Seeing the three men covered in sweat, Liu Yimin said, "Director Liu, why are you in such a hurry?"

Liu Peiran said, "Let me hear what your novel is all about. Old Li wants to make it into a TV series. If the movie is bad, China Film Group will cover the costs, but if the TV series is bad, the TV station won't bail it out!"

Liu Yimin understood Liu Peiran's caution, so he took out the outline of his novel that he had made before, and with his explanation, he let Liu Peiran explain the main plot and major events one by one.

After listening, Liu Peiran immediately made a decision: "My opinion is that it can be made into a TV series. The response to 'Wolf Smoke in Beiping' on TV was quite good. The number of episodes should still be around 12."

Li Jun and Wei Lian exchanged a glance and then looked at Liu Peiran expectantly, hoping to secure the filming rights in advance.

Liu Peiran ignored the two of them and instead asked Liu Yimin when the script would be finished.

Liu Yimin considered it in his mind for a moment, but did not tell Liu Peiran the specific time, only saying that it might be at the end of November.

"October is almost here, and the end of November won't be long either. We can wait. Our August First Film Studio has pre-ordered this notebook," Liu Peiran said generously.

Liu Yimin nodded in agreement, while Liu Peiran subtly expressed his regret that "The Birth of a Nation" could not be made into a film at present.

Liu Yimin didn't think much of it; these classic scripts only get better with age.

"There must be a reason why the higher-ups do this. Old Liu, your factory has already produced 'Triumph at Midnight' and 'Acacia Tree in the Minefield,' so you're going to have to fight your own people for the Hundred Flowers Awards and the Golden Rooster Awards," Liu Yimin joked.

Li Jun grinned. No matter which film won an award, he was the director. If both films won awards, he, Li Jun, would be famous throughout the world. Two films winning awards in one year—his colleagues couldn't stop envying him.

"No matter which film wins an award, our August First Film Studio will wholeheartedly support it. If we can win more awards, we can say that we've done something to vent the anger of the film studios in the north. The Shanghai Film Studio has won too many awards."

Before leaving, Liu Peiran invited Liu Yimin to watch "Acacia Tree in the Minefield" at the August First Film Studio a month later, hoping to win an award next year. "Acacia Tree in the Minefield" must be released before New Year's Day next year.

A month later, in November, plus the film purchase event and such, the film was basically released in December.

"Director Liu, Director Li, and Assistant Director Wei, it's been a pleasure working together!"

"Yimin, wait!"

On September 30th, just one day before the release of the standalone edition of "The Birth of a Nation," the Commercial Press and People's Literature Publishing House specially scheduled the sale of the standalone edition on National Day.

Liu Yimin was busy in his office at Yenching University when Li Shu and Huang Chunyu arrived.

Both men sent Liu Yimin a considerable number of sample books, the covers of which depicted a nuclear explosion in the desert, with a group of soldiers and scientists cheering on the distant sand dunes.

"Are you two having a competition to see who can send out the most sample books?" Liu Yimin looked at the two families and realized that they must have sent at least five or six hundred copies together.

Huang Chunyu chuckled: "Isn't it because I was worried you wouldn't have enough to give away? You need to give gifts to your teachers and friends, and also to some scientists and leaders you have a good relationship with. What do you think of our design? Isn't it a level above the aesthetic standards of People's Literature?"

"Comrade Xiao Huang, aren't you showing a bit of disrespect to the old comrades by saying this to my face?" Li Shu said with dissatisfaction.

Liu Yimin took out the book and flipped through it. The preface was written by the old commander and Cao Yu. The lyrics of the song "The Motherland Will Not Forget" were also printed on the last page of the book.

"The graphic designers at the Commercial Press are indeed very skilled. Comrade Li Shu, People's Literature Publishing House really needs to learn from the Commercial Press in this regard," Liu Yimin chimed in, supporting Huang Chunyu. Li Shu genuinely agreed that both the paper and the cover design were excellent, especially with the addition of this song, which was truly the finishing touch.

Several elderly professors flipped through the books in their hands. Wu Zuxiang asked, "Yimin, who are you planning to give these sample copies to?"

"Of course, there's a copy for you, sir." How could Liu Yimin not know Wu Zuxiang's scheme?

Wang Yao coughed to indicate that she was also present.

"Professors, please take a copy!"

The professors from the Chinese department surrounded Liu Yimin, and he signed one book and took one away.

Lecturer Qian Liqun leaned over and asked, "Professor Liu, do we have any lecturers?"

"Teacher Qian, here you go!" Liu Yimin handed the book to Qian Liqun, and the office was suddenly packed with people.

Zhu Guangqian asked Li Shu how many copies of "A New Beginning" were printed in the first printing. Li Shu and Huang Chunyu smiled at each other and held up the number "six" with their fingers.

"Hmm? Six million copies printed initially?" Zhu Guangqian asked subconsciously.

"Yes, six million. Our two publishing houses each printed three million. In order to meet the sales volume within this month and prevent the single volume from being out of stock upon release, each publishing house has found three printing plants in the south to be responsible for printing and supplying the southern region," Li Shu said excitedly.

Huang Chunyu said, "We want to make sure that everyone can buy the standalone edition of 'The Birth of a Nation' and avoid situations like the widespread shortage and prolonged inability to restock 'Triumph at Midnight'."

Wu Zuxiang praised, "Six million copies printed in the first print run—this is the first time I've ever seen anything like it! In the past, the paper allocated to several factories in our country wouldn't have been enough to support the first print run of 'The Birth of a Nation.' Your two publishing houses are very bold."

Huang Chunyu and Li Shu said in unison, "Professor Wu, it's not that we're being bold, it's that 'The Birth of a Nation' is so well-written that it's worth it for our two publishing houses to do this."

Liu Yimin gave away about eighty books to the Chinese Department. As an extra reward for several graduate students, Liu Yimin also gave each of them a book.

Afterwards, Huang Chunyu and Li Shu took Liu Yimin to the printing factory to shoot a news story, which would be published in the newspaper the next day. Even though the report covered the historic achievement of printing 600 million copies, it was also to promote the book.

Wei Junyi of People's Literature Publishing House and Chen Yuan, general manager of Commercial Press, went abroad to learn about the publishing and promotion methods of China Book and Periodical Publishing House. They believed that media could significantly increase book sales.

Upon arriving at the printing plant, a red banner hung above the workshop—the six millionth single-volume edition of "The Birth of a Nation" was rolling off the production line.

When a reporter from the Yanjing Daily saw Liu Yimin, he ran over quickly and asked, "Comrade Liu Yimin, what do you think about the first print run of 'The Birth of a Nation' being six million copies?"

"Thank you to the Commercial Press and People's Literature Publishing House for their trust, for their efforts in meeting the reading needs of our readers, and for all the printing workers who worked through the night."

The workers at the printing plant applauded and cheered for Liu Yimin's arrival. This was the same printing plant Liu Yimin had visited before because his copy of "Triumph at Midnight" had been rejected for printing.

Liu Yimin greeted everyone warmly, and the workers asked him about his trip to the United States and the front lines to make movies.

"Comrade Yimin, thank you for treating us to soda," a worker called out from behind.

"You're welcome, fellow workers. You've worked very hard printing these books."

In addition to the Yanjing Daily, reporters from the China Youth Daily and the People's Daily also came.

The reporter from China Youth Daily wasn't Yu Jiajia; she's already a key reporter at the newspaper. This kind of news has news value, but the story itself isn't difficult to write, and Yu Jiajia doesn't need to come.

Liu Yimin stood in front of the workers, holding up the "six millionth copy" of "The Birth of a Nation" to show to the reporter, while the sound of cameras clicking was incessant.

"Editor Li and Editor Huang, how many months do you predict the first print run of six million copies will sell out?" a reporter asked.

Li Shu and Huang Chunyu exchanged a glance; the reporter's question had left them feeling uncertain. However, Li Shu, being a veteran editor, quickly replied, "Based on the sales figures of 'Triumph at Midnight,' we believe 'The Emergence of a Nation' is expected to sell around six million copies within three to four months."

"To our knowledge, 'Triumph at Midnight' did not sell six million copies within three months."

"That's because of a shortage. The reason we didn't reach six million copies sold isn't a problem with the books; it's that our publishing house didn't print them," Li Shu said loudly.

After Li Shu finished speaking, the audience burst into applause.

Before leaving, each of the reporters received a copy of the book with their autograph and stamp.

Watching the reporter's retreating figure, Huang Chunyu said to Li Shu, "Editor Li, experience is the best teacher. I didn't even realize what I was doing just now, afraid of saying something wrong and making a fool of myself."

Liu Yimin waved goodbye to the printing factory workers and walked out, then asked, "You guys did this quite suddenly, didn't you even give us a heads-up before contacting reporters?"

"Well, this was something our president, Wei Junyi, came up with on the spur of the moment. To be honest, printing six million copies for the first time put a lot of pressure on both of our companies. We needed to quickly turn our funds back into circulation. We hit it off with the Commercial Press, and everything was done in a rush," Li Shu explained to Liu Yimin.

After leaving the printing plant, Liu Yimin did not return to Yenching University, but went to Beijing People's Art Theatre to give the sample books to Cao Yu and several directors.

After watching the rehearsal of "The Birth of a Warrior", he rode his motorcycle back to the Overseas Chinese Apartment with Zhu Lin.

When Zhu Lin got home, she touched her belly and said, "Teacher Liu, do you think I'm having a girl or a boy?"

Liu Yimin tapped her on the head: "They could also be twins!"

Zhu Lin's eyes narrowed into slits with laughter upon hearing Liu Yimin's words. Liu Yimin then told Zhu Lin to sit on the sofa while he went to the kitchen to cook.

Zhu Lin sat on the sofa watching TV while massaging his shoulders.

"Teacher Liu, tomorrow is National Day holiday, what are your plans?" Zhu Lin asked with a smile.

Where do you want to go?

"I don't want to go anywhere, I just want to stay at home," Zhu Lin said.

"I'll go to the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense and my old leader's house tomorrow morning to deliver a few sample books, then I'll come back to keep you company."

"it is good!"

The following day, before the bookstore even opened, news of the first print run of "The Birth of a Nation" reaching readers had already reached them.

"Good, good, good! The first print run is six million copies, and the results are in!" The old leader looked at the newspaper and laughed loudly at Liu Yimin.

Liu Yimin placed the sample book on the table and said, "Your preface is also very powerful!"

"Don't try to fool this old man. Six million copies? Great, six million copies. That'll keep the books selling for a while. The fact that a single book can print six million copies shows that our country's productivity is rapidly increasing."

After delivering the books, Liu Yimin chatted for a few minutes and then left the Ji'an Institute. He went to the entrance of Xinhua Bookstore to take a look. There was a special purchase window set up at the entrance of the bookstore for "The Birth of a Nation", with a sign next to it that read "Dedicated Purchase Channel for 'The Birth of a Nation'".

A long queue had already formed at the entrance; readers on holiday for National Day did not sleep in but lined up at the bookstore entrance early in the morning.

The hands of the sales clerks and cashiers were busy taking money and handling books from the moment the door opened. Usually, they could take a break after selling out of books, but now that there was plenty of stock, they had no time to rest at all.

Two hours after the sale began, the sales clerks and cashiers were hoarse from shouting, and their expressions were numb after a whole morning.

They can't sell out! They simply can't sell out!
(End of this chapter)