Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

Han Fei looked up from the thick stack of manuscripts, feeling a little dizzy, because he hadn't slept all night and had smoked eight cigarettes in a row. He checked his watch; it wasn't even eight o'clock yet.

He felt tired, but also very accomplished.

After calling Zhang Qiming, he came to the publishing house alone, first preparing some necessary materials and sending them to Zhang Qiming, including Qingniao Reading's business expansion plan, a comparison table of differentiated competitive advantages, an explanation of the content review mechanism, technical security and disaster recovery plans, external risk response strategies, and his personal profile.

He then drafted the author's contract, which clearly stated the guaranteed royalty amount, the revenue sharing ratio, the revenue sharing calculation method (definition of net profit), the exclusive period, the termination conditions, and the liability for breach of contract.

He hesitated for less than a second before realizing he was living in 2004 and it was completely unnecessary. In those days, no small or medium-sized publishing house would hire a lawyer to sign contracts with authors; some publishers even borrowed templates from their competitors, changed the names, and used them directly.

He is currently reviewing the twenty articles selected by the editorial department for the first issue of the magazine and has decided to speed up the publication of the print magazine, aiming to produce a sample copy today.

After all, publishing print magazines not only provides authors with additional income but also greatly enhances their sense of belonging to the publisher. It can increase the willingness of existing authors to sign contracts while attracting more new authors.

Moreover, for internet giants like NetEase and Tencent, online channels are their home turf, but offline channels require long-term accumulation and are difficult to replicate in the short term. Qingniao's strategy of seizing shelf space in newsstands and bookstores through physical magazines is essentially a preemptive deployment in areas where these giants have yet to venture.

Han Fei continued to bury himself in reviewing the manuscript.

The selection of manuscripts strictly followed the standards set at the meeting, giving priority to the top 20 works on the online paid charts. However, the balance of themes was also taken into consideration, with eight rural tales, seven urban romances, and five suspense and thriller stories.

It includes popular works such as "Borrowing Seeds" and "The Door Closed by Brothers," as well as representative works on the subject of "Living as a Widow."

The order of each article in the current issue is indicated in the upper right corner of the first page: P01, P02, P03... all the way up to P20.

The editorial department also prepared a table for the published works, which included the title, author, word count, and the position in this issue where the work would be serialized.

Han Fei nodded and straightened up. The manuscript was fine; all they needed now was an art editor.

The morning sunlight continued to stream in.

He took a deep drag of his cigarette. Nicotine coursed through his veins, traveling north through the narrow capillaries of his lungs. Nicotine is toxic, harmful to health, and addictive, but it tastes amazing. Damn it!

Han Fei grabbed the microphone, entered a number, and dialed. The number belonged to Zheng Xiaowen, a former art editor at the publishing house and one of the oldest employees of Qingniao, dating back to Han Baohua's generation.

Her layouts were clean, breathable, and had a sense of openness. She disliked large fonts, full-page designs, and flashy trendy styles, but she never complained. If Han Fei hadn't been forced into a corner, he would never have laid her off. So on the day of the layoff, Han Fei spoke to her sincerely, hoping to give her the psychological expectation that "it's not a permanent farewell, just a temporary one."

"You've seen the situation at the publishing house," Han Fei once said. "Staying here will only waste your time. You should take advantage of your energy and try your luck at GG or a bigger platform. Once I've cleaned up this mess and managed to carve out a path for myself, I'll call you first. You have to give me that face."

The call was answered. Han Fei knew immediately from the voice on the other end that she had been right. Her voice was excited, joyful, and she said she hadn't been able to find a new job since leaving Qingniao.

"The new magazine is called 'Bluebird: A Special Issue on New Rural Fiction,'" Han Fei said. "It will be published monthly, and you'll be fully responsible for the layout design. Can you come to work today?"

"I'll be right there."

Han Fei hung up the phone, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes. A gentle breeze blew in through the window, ruffling the papers. A milk delivery tricycle jingled past outside. Birds sang loudly outside.

There was a gentle knock on the door. Han Fei opened his eyes.

"Hey boss, you're here?" Zhang Meimei stood in the doorway, a bag slung over her shoulder. She came in and leaned against the table. "Why are you here so early?"

"Sister Mei is here," Han Fei said. "We need to finish the sample copies today."

"So fast?"

"Time waits for no one." Han Fei stacked the twenty manuscripts in order, then looked them over from beginning to end to make sure nothing was missing. "Sister Mei, you've come at the right time. Teacher Zheng is coming back. You used to be closest to her. Could you go and greet her? When she arrives, please have her come to my office."

"Xiaowen's back? Really?"

"Um."

"Okay, I'll wait for her at the door." Zhang Meimei smiled and turned to leave.

Han Fei glanced at his watch, then dialed the phone number of the veteran editor, Chen Jianguo. The timing was perfect; Chen Jianguo should still be on his way to the publishing house.

"President," Chen Jianguo said, "I'm almost at the publishing house."

"Don't come to the publishing house yet, Mr. Chen. We need to finish the sample issue today. I've already confirmed the manuscript, and the art editor is back. We can start typesetting around 8 o'clock and try to get the documents out before noon. Go directly to the printing plant now and confirm with the manager in person to see what time printing can be arranged."

"Send sample copies today? Okay, president, I'll go to the printing plant right away."

Twenty-five minutes later, graphic designer Zheng Xiaowen pushed open the door and came in. She was about forty years old, with messy long black hair, wearing a red oversized T-shirt, and holding a half-finished cup of soy milk in her hand.

"President, I'm here. Is the manuscript finalized?" she asked, as if she had never left.

"Welcome, Professor Zheng." Han Fei put the manuscript into a file folder and pushed it across the table. "It's settled, twenty articles. The order and serialization positions are already marked; just arrange them accordingly. We need it urgently today; can the documents be ready before noon?"

Zheng Xiaowen picked up the file folder, quickly flipped through it, and said hesitantly, "Twenty articles, sixty-four pages. According to our previous template, it would normally take four or five hours to format. Before noon... that's a bit risky."

"How about I find someone to help you?"

"That's fine. If you can find someone to help me with some of the proofreading, I'll just handle the layout and illustrations. It should be done in three hours."

Han Fei nodded: "Then go see if Lu Hai has arrived yet, and have him cooperate with you. Also, remember to make the announcements on the serial pages more eye-catching, increase the font size by one size, and add a background."

"I understand," Zheng Xiaowen said, taking the file folder and leaving.