1836: I Became a Literary Giant in Great Britain

Chapter 104 The New Ceiling

Harper was making her own plans.

The United States has no international copyright law, and according to convention, he could have simply reprinted it in New York without paying Michelle a single penny.

But why did he make the special trip from New York to London?

It's because what he wants isn't the profits from piracy, but the right to "early proofs".

The so-called "early proof" refers to the right to publish legally in the US market first.

This right is usually granted only by the author, and once obtained, other American publishers have no reason to compete with him.

This is what Harper really wanted!

This was also an important reason why he traveled a long way to London.

Like Britain, the American publishing industry was also undergoing a period of dramatic change.

In just a few years, the New York Sun and the New York Herald were the first to start selling for 1 cent, abandoning boring political commentary and focusing on crime morbidity and gossip.

Bennett of the Herald even famously said, "The function of the newspaper is not to instruct, but to awaken."

However, this has also brought many problems, such as the proliferation of fake news.

Just two years ago, the American newspaper *The New York Sun*, in an attempt to boost sales, orchestrated a sensational lunar hoax that shocked the world...

The reporter, posing as the renowned astronomer Sir John Herschel, falsely claimed that he had observed details of the moon from South Africa using a 24-foot-diameter, 7-ton super telescope, and was even able to see objects as small as 18 inches (about 45 centimeters) in diameter.

Frankly, even in the 21st century, the Hubble Telescope couldn't do that.

Of course, it's possible in China's Chang'e 7 program, but it would have to be in a near-lunar orbit.

If such a telescope truly existed back then, then the only explanation is extraterrestrial technology.

As for Sir Herschel, he was born into a family of astronomers; his father was the discoverer of Uranus.

This report claims that the moon has ruby-like craters, sapphire-blue lakes...and is teeming with fantastical creatures such as unicorns and nest-building beavers...

The most outrageous claim is that they discovered "bat people" with wings who can walk upright, and these "bat people" even have a civilization and temples.

Goodness, bats have become astronauts too.

This report used a lot of scientific terminology and even included lithographs to pretend it was real, making the fake news look very convincing.

As soon as the news broke, newspaper sales skyrocketed, quickly becoming the largest-circulation newspaper in the United States, and media outlets across Europe and America reprinted the story.

Even the Paris Academy of Sciences was alarmed by this and held a special symposium...

Although astronomer Herschel himself had already denied it, the newspaper delayed for a long time before admitting that the content was entirely fabricated.

This is practically the ancestor of street vendor literature.

A fabricated report is being presented as a news report...

As expected of Americans, they've inherited the inhumane practices of the British.

This event has become one of the most famous hoaxes in the history of world news.

The same applies to the book industry, even though they don't have to pay royalties to British and French authors.

But this also brings a problem: American literature is extremely weak.

There's not a single one who can fight...

So in the end, everyone started engaging in homogeneous competition...

Harper's trip was precisely an attempt to break through the competition by taking a different approach.

"Ten percent," Harper said, holding up a number.

"In North America, we take a 10% royalty share."

"But I have one additional condition: it must include the Sherlock Holmes series, and I will decide the initial print run of the first edition, which must be no less than 50,000 copies."

"One hundred thousand copies," Michel corrected him.

"What?"

"The first print run is 100,000 copies."

Michelle's tone was calm.

"Didn't you just say you wanted to stuff it into every American's pocket? Fifty thousand copies wouldn't even fill New York City."

Harper stared at him, his Adam's apple bobbing twice.

"Do you know what 100,000 copies means? That's... "

"This means you'll have to mobilize Harper Publishing Group's entire distribution network in North America."

Michelle finished the sentence for him.

"Including major booksellers in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and the Southern states. That's why I chose you, Mr. Harper."

"If I only need to print 50,000 copies, I can hire anyone; you don't need to come all the way from New York."

Harper was speechless.

He found himself being outmaneuvered at the negotiating table by a young man in his early twenties.

Although the feeling was unfamiliar, it wasn't too unpleasant.

Because everything the young man said made sense, and more importantly, he had the manuscript in his hand.

The manuscript that drove two publishing moguls crazy.

"Deal." Harper held out his hand.

Michelle shook hands with him and then turned to look at Murray.

Murray sat in his chair, fiddling with his cane.

"What about the initial print run in Britain?" he asked.

"You can decide."

Surprisingly, Michelle actually gave him the power to set prices.

"I have never doubted Murray Books' judgment of the British market."

Murray nodded slowly.

This requirement was exactly in line with his thinking.

Let the Americans make the cheap stuff.

Murray Books aims to make this book a must-have on the shelves of the British upper class.

"One last question," Murray's voice returned to its steady tone.

"Copyright term".

"Ten years," Michelle gestured.

"Ten years from now, all rights will revert to my ownership. If there is any breach of contract within ten years, the contract will automatically terminate, and the copyright will be immediately reclaimed."

"Fifty years," Murray countered without hesitation.

"ten years."

Thirty years.

","ten years."

"twenty""

"Mr. Murray," Michelle interrupted him.

"Um?"

Do you think that ten years from now, I'll still only have this one book?

This sentence silenced Murray completely.

Yes.

This young man was only in his early twenties. *A Study in Scarlet* had already made him famous in London, as had *The Great Gatsby*.

This will allow him to conquer the entire English-speaking world.

All things considered, he's only been in the industry for a few months.

How many more works will he write in ten years?

If Murray Books performs well in this collaboration, then the next book, the one after that, and all the books for the next decade...

Thinking of this, Murray stood up and extended his right hand.

"As you said, deal."

And so, the three men stood beside a coffee table piled high with shredded contract documents and completed one of the most bizarre transactions in Victorian publishing history.

At the same time, this will also be the ceiling for royalties in the entire UK publishing industry!

"The contract details will be finalized by both parties' lawyers within three days."

Michelle added one last sentence.

"The manuscript will remain with me until the contract is officially signed."

"It's a pleasure working with you!"

Neither Murray nor Harper objected.

The two walked side by side up the stairs as they left the apartment.

They exchanged a glance, their expressions both complex.

There was hostility between competitors, and resentment at having just been outmaneuvered by the same young man.

But more than anything, it was a strange excitement.

They were all well aware that they were involved in a major event.

But what they didn't know was that this was just the beginning of an era. As Murray walked out of the apartment, reporters swarmed around him.

"Mr. Murray! Did you come to see Mr. Michel to discuss a publishing collaboration?"

"Mr. Murray! Could you tell me what kind of work it is?"

Murray straightened his clothes, resuming his air of a bookseller king.

"No comment."

He boarded the carriage, and before the curtain was drawn, he told the driver, "Back to Albemarle Street. Have the printing press men come to my office this afternoon."

Harper hurriedly climbed into the carriage; he needed to go back and prepare for the publication of Michel's book. Michel closed the door.

He stood in the empty room, looking at the manuscript on the coffee table.

The Great Gatsby.

Fitzgerald wrote the book in 21 months and then died in poverty, selling only a little over 20,000 copies during his lifetime.

The book was not rediscovered until twenty years after his death, and it has since become one of the greatest novels in American literary history.

Now, it will be under Michel's completely new adaptation.

It appeared in London in 1837 in a completely different way.

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