Tokyo: I took in a homeless girl

It’s like he has Mo Yan’s work, but someone tells him, “You’d better revise it and make it into a work of the same level as Battle Through the Heavens before publishing it.”

From this perspective, it is no wonder that Sawayama Haruno's face looks so ugly. It can be said that he has a very good temper now that he did not just turn hostile and leave.

"I understand what Mr. Kiriyama means."

Seeing Sawayama Haruno's gloomy face, Morikawa Riho became increasingly frustrated and patiently explained again, "But I'm just giving you some advice. If you want to go for a full physical publication, you need to have a certain level of fame."

"If you are a new author without any fame, your book won't sell at all. Not to mention that it won't sell, but I'm afraid it will be a problem as to when to publish it and how many copies you can publish at a time."

"Teachers should also know that young people nowadays are less and less interested in reading physical books. Mobile phones, videos, live broadcasts and other new things have completely taken over the past as a means of entertainment."

"If Norwegian Wood had been published before the 21st century, or even in the early 21st century, it would have achieved considerable success, but now..."

As she spoke, Morikawa Riho looked at the other person with an embarrassed expression.

She made the suggestion sincerely for the other party. Although the book might not be a big success in reality, Sawayama Haruno's writing style and ability were there. If she changed the way of writing, it was only a matter of time before it would be successful.

Chapter 125: Asking each other for advice with the editor?

Listening to what Morikawa Riho said, Sawayama Haruno closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

What the other party said makes sense.

The current era and environment are different from the past, and the physical market has long been replaced by new entertainment methods.

Especially for a newcomer like me who has not yet made his debut, it is even more cruel.

Without fame and capital, why would a publishing house publish your book?

Without fame and capital, why would ordinary people buy your books?

These are the cruel facts before our eyes. It doesn’t mean that as long as you write well, people will definitely read it. After all, even good wine will not sell if it is not well-known.

If people will watch a work as long as it is great, then why did Vincent Van Gogh die in poverty?

No matter whether his works are ahead of their time or are replaced by other emerging things in the market, the essence is the same: they face the fate of being ignored.

The higher the fame, the easier it is to sell your works. Even if your writing is crap, there will be people who will buy it.

For example, Keigo Higashino wrote more than a hundred books in his lifetime, but the number of readable books can be counted on one hand. However, this does not affect his subsequent publication of new books.

“The reality is that the situation is really complicated.”

Sawayama Haruno laughed at himself inwardly.

If it really doesn't work, he can only consider other ways out.

If traditional literature doesn't work, maybe we can only try other literary works.

"Teacher Kiriyama"

As if she had seen through Sawayama Haruno's inner thoughts, Morikawa Riho struggled for a moment and then whispered, "Actually, there is a way to solve this problem."

"any solution?"

Sawayama Haruno's eyes lit up instantly.

"The biggest problem now is that Mr. Kiriyama doesn't have the fame accumulated from his past works, and his popularity is also lacking." Morikawa Riho carefully considered and patiently explained to him, "Due to these reasons, our company cannot offer good conditions, but there are other ways."

“For example, by participating in a competition and making a name for yourself, even if it doesn’t have a big impact on the readership, it will at least allow the company’s top management to see Mr. Kiriyama’s potential, and maybe you can get more opportunities to try things out.”

"I see."

When she said this, Sawayama Haruno immediately understood.

To put it bluntly, you still have to get some "chips" yourself.

If one participates in an award and successfully wins, the publishing group will be able to determine whether he is worthy of being published. In this way, even if he is a newcomer or not famous, the publishing group will be able to provide resources for support and external publicity.

It's a fair opportunity for cooperation.

"So what does Editor Morikawa mean?" Sawayama Haruno asked tentatively.

The other party immediately understood what he meant, took out his mobile phone, searched a few times, and then handed it over.

"This is the closest essay contest in the second half of this year, and the theme is also mainly about love."

Morikawa Riho slid her phone and showed the contents to Sawayama Haruno.

While skating, he also explained: "This essay competition is a joint effort of the four major publishing groups. Such competitions are held from time to time. Although it is not very well-known to the outside world, it is essentially a redistribution of the author resource planning within the four major groups."

"Morning Autumn Appreciation"

Sawayama Haruno softly read out the name of the competition.

"Although it is a joint effort of the four major groups, this competition is actually sponsored by other groups. Mr. Kiriyama should understand what I mean, right?"

Morikawa Riho looked at him helplessly.

This is such an artistic way of speaking.

To put it simply, there was definitely some shady dealings in this competition, so she couldn't guarantee what kind of ranking Sawayama Haruno would get after participating.

According to the unwritten rules of the literary world, most books will not get valid results in their first award evaluation. Not to mention being nominated, even continuing to participate in the competition will become very troublesome - the trouble here refers to "little hope".

“I think I understand.”

Zeshan Haruno nodded slightly and began to think deeply.

It's really troublesome.

If you don't participate in the competition, it will be difficult to get good cooperation conditions; if you participate in the competition, there is no guarantee that you will win.

Sure enough, reality is much more difficult than planned, especially in this era of rampant capital.

The gap with the 80s and 90s is really huge.

"Mr. Murakami's literary achievements have been up and down due to his political stance. I never thought that I would run into obstacles everywhere today because of similar contemporary issues." Sawayama Haruno thought helplessly.

But there is nothing we can do about it, since he is a complete newcomer.

Even though he knew there was something fishy going on, he had only one choice.

"I'd like to try, Editor Morikawa." Sawayama Haruno whispered.

“If you want to try it, there is one thing you need to pay attention to.”

Morikawa Riho straightened her sitting posture and said softly, "That's the problem with the word count. Mr. Kiriyama's book has only been written for more than 60,000 words, right?"

“There’s no need to worry too much about this.”

Sawayama Haruno immediately explained, "I have a very detailed outline and details for the follow-up. As long as the competition is not within this week, the progress should be caught up."

"This"

His straightforward words made Morikawa Riho a little confused.

This kind of traditional literary works cannot be rushed blindly.

After all, because of the length and word count issues, striving for excellence is the most important thing.

If you rush to achieve results, you will only destroy the beauty of the story itself.

However, looking at the other person's serious face, Morikawa Riho suddenly felt that the other person didn't seem to be joking.

The words that were originally intended to advise the other person turned into "I understand" when they came out of my mouth.

Forget it, let's just trust the other party for now, thought Morikawa Riho.

Anyway, there is no loss for me by helping the other party to register for the competition.

Moreover, there will still be some time between the start and the end of the game. If the opponent is really efficient, maybe we can catch up.

Thinking of this, she pursed her lips and added, "If that's the case, we must first draft Mr. Kiriyama's contract, and then we will provide a quota before we can sign up for the competition."

"Please give me more advice in the future."

"It is me, Mr. Kiriyama, who should be asking you for advice."

Seeing that Sawayama Haruno's expression didn't change much, he realized that this cooperation was most likely finalized.

Although she was still a little worried inside, Morikawa Riho's expression became much more relaxed.

In the following period, she negotiated with the other party in detail about the cooperation matters and agreed on a new time to sign the contract.

The two chatted until five or six o'clock, and the meeting ended completely only when people coming out of the group's headquarters building kept passing by the window in the distance.

Chapter 126 Fingers intertwined

In the evening, 6:12.

Haruno Sawayama took the train during the evening rush hour after get off work and returned to Shinjuku with difficulty.

As soon as he got out of the station, he leaned on the signpost beside him with a grim expression, his body swaying.

This was the result of him trying his best to hold back and not vomit.

It turned out that the reward of "improved physical fitness" could not alleviate the physical discomfort he felt when he was squeezed into the tram.

There were people everywhere, crowded together, and strange smells filled the air from time to time.

The ride from Bunkyo-ku all the way back to Shinjuku was, to put it bluntly, a hellish torture.

But then again, today is almost the weekend, which is the peak travel season and coupled with the surge in traffic as the weekend approaches, it is not surprising that so many people are taking the tram.

"I should have taken a taxi back."

Sawayama Haruno sighed.

Although taking a taxi in Tokyo is very expensive, it is better than taking this crowded train back home, and now I am in such a mess.

Next time when I go to sign a contract, even if I don’t take a taxi, I must travel during off-peak hours.

He really couldn't stand this kind of suffering.

Or maybe I can buy a car when I have enough money, Sawayama Haruno thought.

With his current savings, it is not difficult to maintain the daily expenses of himself and Miyazawa Maki. Even if they live in a high-end apartment, there is still a generous amount of money left in the bank.

But if you want to buy a car, then it is obviously not enough. At least you have to wait until you have a stable job before you can consider it.

If we take the path of plagiarism that we are going to take now.

As long as you can successfully achieve success in the physical market, you should be able to buy it soon?

Thinking of this, Zeshan Haruno's mood suddenly improved a little. When he was about to rush home, a slightly puzzled voice called him from behind.

"Haruno?"

"Ok?"

Hearing someone calling him, Sawayama Haruno subconsciously looked in the direction of the voice.

She was a girl with a sweet and familiar appearance.

Today, she tied up her long hair, which was like a waterfall, for the first time. The red and black plaid scarf fluttered gently in the breeze. She had long bangs on both sides of her hair, which made her look mature and a little playful.

——It’s Miyazawa Mana.

This girl, whose image was impeccable, was now folding her hands in front of her and smiling faintly at Sawayama Haruno.

"Good evening"

"good evening."

Sawayama Haruno looked at the other person in surprise.

This seemed to be the first time I saw Miyazawa Mana with her hair tied up.

In the past, she would never tie up her long, smooth hair even in private.

It is precisely for this reason that Sawayama Haruno always felt that the other party was very satisfied with her long hair.

So why did you tie it up today?

"Well"

As if noticing Sawayama Haruno's gaze, Miyazawa Mana subconsciously touched the red and black plaid scarf behind her and said a little embarrassedly: "Occasionally, I would like to try this neat hairstyle."

"suitable for you."