Chapter 197 Establishing the company's position
"New Star", which He Yunlu took the initiative to deliver to the door, was highly regarded by the editorial department of "Contemporary" as a work of reform literature and was determined to be placed in the first issue of the magazine in 1983.
After Lin Weimin finished writing "The Horse Tamer", he took it to "People's Literature".
After reading it, Xie Mingqing praised Lin Weimin for writing a masterpiece.
It was circulated to other editors in the editorial department and also received rave reviews. Even Wei Junyi, who had always been very strict with Lin Weimin, did not hesitate to praise him and gave him a good compliment.
Lin Weimin was very happy for two days because of everyone's high praise.
However, the manuscript has been written, the editor has read it, and it is even ready for layout, but there is still one big issue that has not been resolved.
The title of the book hasn't been decided yet.
It's just outrageous.
For some reason, Lin Weimin felt strongly rebellious towards the name "The Man Who Lassoes Horses" which was unanimously approved by the editorial department, and he refused to use it no matter what they said.
Fortunately, after some heated debate, the title of the book was decided.
"The Horse Tamer".
In Xie Mingqing's mind, this name is far inferior to "The Man Who Lassoes Horses".
Now that the title of the book has been decided, the only thing left is publication.
"The Horse-Trapping Man" is a large book with 300,000 words. It is true that "People's Literature" can publish novels, but 300,000 words is indeed too many. If it is really published in one issue, it will take up the entire page, leaving no room for other works.
The editorial department of People's Literature held a meeting to discuss the issue and put forward two plans.
One is to divide the novel into two parts and publish them in two issues.
The layout of the magazine's novels has now been scheduled until November. If "The Horse-Trapping Man" is to be published, it can only be in the December issue or the January issue of next year.
With this arrangement, The Horse Catcher is the highlight of this year and the first masterpiece of next year. In terms of the importance attached to it, it is worthy of Lin Weimin, a popular writer, and the quality of The Horse Catcher.
Another plan was to issue a supplement, and the person who proposed this plan was Xie Mingqing.
"To be honest, Weimin's current level is already outstanding among young writers in China. Every time he produces a work, both the story itself and the artistry are impeccable.
Our People's Literature has successively published several works including "Farewell My Concubine", "The Whistleblower", and "If You Are the One", which can be said to have witnessed Weimin's growth along the way.
but……"
Xie Mingqing's expression and tone became serious when he said this. "Have you noticed a problem? It's a bit unfair to compare Weimin's works with other authors. It's like putting a ten-year-old child who has grown to an adult size among a group of children and asking them to wrestle..."
Today is the end-of-month pre-editorial meeting. Editors-in-chief, deputy editors-in-chief, and group leaders from all publications and editorial offices of Guowen Publishing House are all participating. Everyone fell into deep thought when Xie Mingqing said this.
When everyone was silent, Xie Mingqing continued, "And this is not the most important thing. Now the space we have reserved for him every year is enough to discover and cultivate several more potential seedlings. It may be a bit unkind of me to say this, but I think the existence of Weimin has indeed affected the discovery and cultivation of young authors by People's Literature.
Ke Weimin is a comrade of our Guowen Society, and his works are of outstanding quality. We must not let all the benefits go to outsiders.
In summary, I think using supplements is the perfect way.”
After Xie Mingqing finished speaking, he picked up the teacup on the conference table, took a sip of tea, and waited for everyone's feedback on his opinions.
After he finished speaking, his colleagues indeed started talking about it.
Lin Weimin is not only a rising star in the domestic literary world, but also a treasure of the Guowen Publishing House. The publication of his works has always been given high priority in the Guowen Publishing House.
When Lin Weimin had not yet become completely famous nationwide, the leaders of the publishing house went against the majority and gave him an unconventional standard of royalties, not to mention that Lin Weimin has now achieved such success.
Everyone was just discussing without any rules, and the editor-in-chief Wei Junyi, who was presiding over the meeting, mentioned Meng Weizai.
"Lao Meng, Weimin is a soldier under your command, so please tell us what you think."
Meng Weizai smiled bitterly, "What can I talk about? What Old Xie said makes sense. Weimin is growing too fast now, and his creative energy is unusually strong. Putting him in People's Literature does feel a bit like bullying a child. I agree with his opinion."
"Then we can't send supplements to this kid every time, right?"
Someone expressed everyone's thoughts. Indeed, issuing supplements is not something that can be regularized. If a supplement is published just for Lin Weimin every time, the reputation of People's Literature will probably be dimmed.
Xie Mingqing was also a little worried. His method might work this time, but he couldn't use it every time Lin Weimin released a new work in the future, right?
In that case, wouldn't "People's Literature" be founded for the people?
The impact is too bad.
What should I do then?
"If it doesn't work, just publish it directly," someone suggested.
"Wouldn't that mean I'd earn less in royalties?"
Don't think that writers regard money as dirt. If you look through the correspondence between writers in the past, or between writers and editors, you will find that most writers care about money, just like ordinary people.
Lin Weimin's works were originally published in magazines and then published, so he could earn two royalties.
If we publish directly now, without the step of publishing in a publication, the royalties will naturally be less.
"What should we do? We can't increase his fee, right? His fee is already very high."
Some people worried: "If we publish directly, the payment will be less, and people will submit to other publications directly, and the publishing house will not be able to say anything."
The topic seems to have reached a dead end here.
Wei Junyi could only say, "Okay, let's stop talking about Lin Weimin here. As mentioned earlier, People's Literature will publish a supplement to The Horse Catcher. The December issue is a bit tight, so I think we should put it after the January issue next year."
The layout and publication time of "The Horse Tamer" have been decided, and there will be other works to come.
After a whole morning, the pre-editing meeting of the Guowen Publishing House was finally completed.
"Old Meng, please stay for a moment." Wei Junyi stopped Meng Weizai who was about to leave.
Meng Weizai looked at her and said, "Let's go to Lao Yan's office."
Meng Weizai immediately realized that there must be progress on the matter he mentioned before, "Okay."
People in the conference room walked out in twos and threes.
Xie Mingqing and Li Jingfeng walked together, still talking about the topic they had just discussed at the meeting.
"It will probably become increasingly difficult for the society to monopolize works for the people in the future!" Li Jingfeng sighed.
Xie Mingqing chuckled and said, "It's unrealistic to want a monopoly. Weimin's reputation is growing. I have received countless letters and phone calls from all over the country asking for contributions. Even if I can turn them down today, there will always be times when I can't, like the last time I did Zhongshan."
Li Jingfeng nodded, "Indeed. No one would have thought that Weimin has been in the society for less than two years, right?"
"It's been almost two years. I entered Contemporary Magazine in October of the year before last."
"The young are really to be feared!" Li Jingfeng sighed again.
As he walked, he casually said, "Today's meeting, to some extent, is also a confirmation of Weimin's status in the society, right?"
Xie Mingqing paused and thought for a moment, "It's true."
Xie Mingqing did not finish what he was thinking. He was the first to raise the question about Lin Weimin at the meeting. In fact, it should not be an affirmation of Lin Weimin's status in the publishing house, but all the editors of the Guowen Publishing House affirmed Lin Weimin's status in the domestic literary world and his creative ability.
In late September, Han Zhuangzhuang finally returned.
"Farewell My Concubine" was performed in Shanghai for half a month, and the boy took the opportunity of a business trip to return to his hometown. After the performance, he took a few days off to accompany his father.
Han Zhuangzhuang was very excited having just returned from Shanghai.
"How is your dad doing lately? Is he in good health?"
Han Zhuangzhuang smiled innocently and said, "I'm fine. My dad was so happy when he heard that I was going to perform in Shanghai with the theater. He kept praising me for my success. He even brought me to our theater that day and mentioned to everyone that I was now in Yanjing People's Art Theater and was invited to perform in Shanghai with the crew."
"Your dad is so handsome!"
"That's right! It feels like there's wind even when I walk."
As Han Zhuangzhuang spoke, he took out a bunch of things from the bag he brought back, "Uncle, these are all things I bought for you, and some of them my dad asked me to bring back."
What he took out were basically Shanghai specialties.
Nowadays, things in Shanghai represent quality, taste, and sincerity.
Han Zhuangzhuang received a lot of subsidies when he went to Shanghai for a performance this time, which was equivalent to more than a month's salary for him, so he became generous.
Lin Weimin smiled and said, "Not bad, not bad. You know how to respect your uncle. Thank your father for me."
No words were spoken that night.
The next morning, the uncle and nephew went to work.
After getting off work and returning home, Han Zhuangzhuang mentioned during dinner that Liang Guanhua and Song Dandan had both passed the screening period.
"Uncle, they asked me to tell you that they want to treat you to a meal."
Lin Weimin waved his hand, "Goodbye. They don't make much money, and I didn't help much."
"Why didn't you help? The skit teacher of 'Yang Bailao and Huang Shiren' even praised them, saying that they did a good job of arranging it, hehe."
Han Zhuangzhuang couldn't help laughing as he spoke. He even went to help out in a guest role during the final exam and also received praise.
Lin Weimin didn't respond and asked, "So, they are considered actors of the People's Art Theatre?"
"It's too early. They have just passed the screening period and are now considered as interns. They still have to last another two years."
“So strict?”
"That's right." Han Zhuangzhuang said this, looking at Lin Weimin with a grateful look in his eyes, "If it weren't for you, uncle, I would have to go through as much trouble as they did to get into the People's Art Theatre."
"Don't flatter me, act well and that's the real deal!"
"That's a must."
Han Zhuangzhuang patted his chest and assured.
Chapter 3 has been reviewed. Please wait for a moment.
(End of this chapter)
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