Chapter 759 New "Painting King"

Pushing open the door of Cheng Zaochun's office, Lin Weimin complained, "Is there anything you can't say over the phone?"

Cheng Zaochun shook the document in his hand and said, "The office has approved it!"

Lin Weimin showed some joy on his face, he knew that what Lao Cheng was talking about must be the approval document for the change of ownership of "The King of Painting Books".

"Finally it was approved. The efficiency is so slow!"

"Be content, it's only been a month. And there's another good news..."

Cheng Zaochun stopped talking here.

Lin Weimin said, "Don't keep us in suspense. What's the news?"

Seeing that Lin Weimin's appetite was whetted, Cheng Zaochun said, "My leader told me that the agency is now communicating with the Ministry of Rites to prepare for a major project. On the one hand, it wants to rectify the current chaos in the domestic comics industry, and on the other hand, it is also to support domestic comics."

When Lin Weimin listened to Cheng Zaochun's words, he immediately thought of the "5155 Project" launched by the Ministry of Rites and the General Administration of Press and Publication in December 1995, which aimed to establish five comic publishing bases in China, publish 15 sets of large-scale comic books, and create five original comic publications.

The "5155 Project" played a great role in promoting the development of Chinese comics in the 1990s. It standardized the industry and the market, promoted the birth of many comic publications, provided a platform for development for many comic creators, and provided experience and lessons for the subsequent development of Chinese comics.

However, because it is led by the government, the drawbacks of this project are also obvious. The government has stretched its hands too far, has become detached from the market, and has instead been overly focused on form and superficial numerical performance, resulting in many publications ultimately operating poorly.

Around 2005, many magazines founded during the 5155 Project period were unable to make ends meet and had to cease publication. The 5155 Project, which once had a great influence in the history of Chinese comics, also came to an end.

Overall, the 5155 Project has played a positive role in promoting the development of Chinese animation.

What Cheng Zaochun was talking about should be this project.

“This is a good thing!”

Cheng Zaochun also laughed, "Of course it's a good thing. I really don't know if you are just a fool with good luck, why do you always run into such good things with policy support every time you want to do something?"

"What does it mean that a fool has good fortune? What we do is to assess the situation and act accordingly." Lin Weimin said proudly.

Cheng Zaochun was about to criticize him when Lin Weimin said, "Then I'll notify Mr. Wang and ask him to contact the editor and author as soon as possible. The office conditions at Tongwen Press are tight, so I think we should put the Huawang editorial office in the family building."

"You decide on the arrangements. The rent..."

Cheng Zaochun was interrupted by Lin Weimin before he could finish his words. "Pay the rent. Brothers should settle accounts clearly! I understand!"

Comrade Lao Cheng nodded with satisfaction, and then asked: "The new publication can't be called "The King of Painting Books". The "Painting King" you mentioned before is a good one. It is close to "The King of Painting Books". Old readers will understand what it is at a glance."

This was something Lin Weimin had discussed with Lao Cheng early in the morning, and the leader was also relieved because of this. "Okay, let's call it this."

Lin Weimin called Wang Yongsheng and asked him to come to the Guowen Publishing House, and also called Li Xin to his office.

Upon hearing that "Hua Wang" was being published again, even though it had a new name, Wang Yongsheng couldn't help but feel ecstatic.

Wang Yongsheng was so excited that he could see the rebirth of this publication, which was the result of his countless efforts, in his lifetime.

"Teacher Wang, don't get excited yet. Now that the change of ownership of the publication has been approved, the task of resuming publication will still depend on you." Lin Weimin said.

"During this period, I have been contacting the editor and the author. Give me half a month and The Painting King will be able to resume normal operation."

Li Xinyi clapped his hands, "Thanks to Teacher Lin for inviting you here. I don't know how much trouble you have saved our company. Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Wang!"

Wang Yongsheng shook his head. “It’s not that hard. I have always kept in touch with everyone. These days, I just make more phone calls and write more letters. Everyone is looking forward to the possibility of resuming publication of “The King of Painting Books”.”

The most uncomfortable people who are suffering from the closure of "Hua Shu Da Wang" are the newly emerging Chinese comic authors. In the past two years, there have been many domestic comic magazines, but few of them really value Chinese comics. "Hua Shu Da Wang" is the only one that is willing to spend energy on young authors.

Without the platform of "Painting Book King", these young authors would have nowhere to display their talents.

At this point, Wang Yongsheng choked up again. "To be honest, I feel sorry for these kids. Many of them came to Yanjing because of me. But I didn't lead them on. They have had a very hard time in the past six months..."

In 1994, "The King of Picture Books" discovered a large number of gifted and talented Chinese cartoonists. In order to facilitate communication, Wang Yongsheng wrote special letters to these cartoonists, hoping that they could come to Yenching to become professional cartoonists.

Those young people pursuing their dreams came to Yenching with full of longing. At that time, the editorial office of "The King of Painting Books" was located in a primary school in Yenching. Several young authors including Yan Kaifu, Chen Xiang, and Zheng Xusheng rented a house next to the primary school and painted day and night.

But just when these young people were looking forward to realizing their dreams, "The King of Picture Books" suddenly ceased publication, giving everyone a heavy blow.

“When we first stopped publishing, I told them that our magazine was doing so well that we would never stop publishing. I also told them that our magazine would purchase the copyright of Nihong’s comics, hold a national comics competition, discover more comics talents, and provide more creative space for young creators…”

As Wang Yongsheng spoke, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

Li Xin and Lin Weimin listened with deep emotion. They had both run publications before, so how could they not understand Wang Yongsheng's mood and feelings.

Wang Yongsheng took out a handkerchief to wipe the tears from his face, suddenly stood up, and bowed solemnly to Lin Weimin and Li Xin.

Lin Weimin quickly stood up and asked, "Teacher Wang, what are you doing?"

"Thank you both leaders. Without you, there would be no rebirth of the King of Painting." Wang Yongsheng said emotionally.

Lin Weimin pulled Wang Yongsheng back to the sofa and said, "Teacher Wang, your words are too polite. We are all family now."

Li Xin also said: "That's right, we are all family. The work of the new "Painting King" will still be inseparable from you, Mr. Wang!"

Feeling the importance that Lin Weimin and Li Xin attached to him, Wang Yongsheng couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude that a man would die for his friend.

"Teacher Wang, let's talk about the specific matters of resuming publication." Lin Weimin said.

Wang Yongsheng calmed down a bit and said, "You go ahead."

"Although we have won the resumption of publication of 'The King of Painting Books', the name must be changed. It can no longer be called 'The King of Painting Books'. I just told you that the name will be 'The King of Painting'."

Wang Yongsheng said this name, "The King of Painting Books is called the King of Painting. Readers are used to it, so it's fine to use this name for the new publication."

"We will place the new editorial department of "The King of Painting" in Tongwen Publishing House, which is affiliated with Guowen Publishing House. Tongwen Publishing House specializes in popular reading materials, which is in line with the positioning of "The King of Painting". But you can rest assured that the salary and benefits of the editorial department are on par with Guowen Publishing House..."

Lin Weimin told Wang Yongsheng about the specific treatment of the editors of Guowen Publishing House, and Wang Yongsheng became more and more excited as he listened.

Wow, isn’t this much better than working for Ningxia People’s Publishing House?

The most important thing is, there is still a chance to get a separate room?

"This is basically how editors are paid. Next is the question of how much the authors are paid..."

When Lin Weimin said this, Wang Yongsheng's face became serious. Although Guowen Publishing House gave them, the editors, high salaries and good benefits, he was more concerned about the authors' royalties.

"Comic publications all calculate royalties based on the number of drawings. In the past, the King of Drawings charged 50 yuan per drawing. This can be adjusted appropriately."

Wang Yongsheng's heart skipped a beat, thinking that Lin Weimin felt that the previous standard of payment was too high, so he quickly said, "Teacher Lin, 50 yuan per piece of payment is actually not high. Some writers may not be able to paint a single picture in two days, and what's more, it's really hard..."

Lin Weimin smiled and waved his hand, "Teacher Wang, you misunderstood me. I wanted to say that after the resumption of publication, our manuscript fee standards should be divided into several levels, and we can't have a big pot of rice. My idea is to divide it into three levels: 30 yuan per page for new works by new authors, 50 yuan per page for powerful authors, and 80 yuan per page for top authors. Of course, this manuscript fee standard is not fixed. We can increase the price for comic authors depending on the popularity of their works. This specific quantitative standard needs to be formulated by your editorial department."

Hearing this, Wang Yongsheng felt relieved and happy at the same time.

The standard for royalties is divided into several levels. Although the royalties for newcomers are lower, the royalties for top authors are also higher than before.

Generally, comic book authors produce between 20 and 40 pictures per month, and receive a standard fee of 30 to 80 yuan per picture. If a newcomer draws slowly, he can still get 600 yuan a month, which is already higher than many office workers' income.

But if a top artist with superb skills draws 40 pictures a month and charges 80 yuan for each picture, that would be 3,200 yuan. Drawing in one month is equivalent to what an ordinary person can do in a year.

For a top author in the industry, this income level is reasonable.

It seems that the standard of royalties given by Teacher Lin is indeed more conducive to improving the enthusiasm of authors.

“I support your idea!”

Lin Weimin continued, "In the future, relying on the distribution channels of Guowen Publishing House and Tongwen Publishing House, the works published in Huawang can also be published as single volumes, and the authors' royalties will also follow the unified standards of our Guowen Publishing House."

The more Wang Yongsheng listened, the happier he became. Guowen Publishing House is one of the best publishing houses in the country, and its royalty standards have always been higher than the general standards in the industry. What's more, Guowen Publishing House has a huge distribution channel, so its sales will definitely not be bad.

He felt even happier for those young cartoonists and couldn't wait to tell them the good news.

Having said almost everything, Lin Weimin said to Wang Yongsheng, "The office conditions of Tongwen Press are quite tight now, with dozens of people squeezed into a few offices, so the press has allocated a storefront in the staff building for you to use as an office. It's a bit far, but the office conditions there are good. Come on, I'll take you to have a look!"

Wang Yongsheng happily followed Lin Weimin's footsteps and drove all the way to the staff housing building outside the East Third Ring Road.

The newly renovated store of more than 150 square meters is used as the editorial office, which makes Li Xin a little jealous.

He whispered to Lin Weimin, "Teacher Lin, our place is also quite crowded. There is only one editorial department for Hua Wang, and it is a bit of a waste to use such a large office. How about moving the editorial department of Hongdou here as well?"

"That's very kind of you."

Li Xin looked embarrassed, but still said, "It's really crowded over there."

"Don't even think about using this store. It's only for the comics editorial department. If you want it, just rent another one."

Li Xin murmured in dissatisfaction: "Don't we have to pay more to rent it again?"

"I see that you are becoming more and more like Old Cheng!"

Li Xin didn't say anything else, but just stared at the brand new store, drooling with envy.

At the same time, another question arose in his mind.

There were only a few editors in the early days of the "Painting King" editorial department. How could they have used such a large space? Why did Teacher Lin give them such a large office?

(End of this chapter)