Chapter 41 Editorial Department of Contemporary
No. 166 Chaonei Street, the red brick building in the backyard of the National Literature Publishing House.
Occasionally, shouts of playing basketball could be heard from the basketball court, and Lin Weimin walked up the stairs to the second floor.
A cover torn from a magazine is pasted on the wall next to the editorial office door. It looks simple, but reveals immense confidence.
Lin Weimin knocked on the door of the editorial office, waited for two seconds, and then pushed the door open and walked in.
"Ed. Rong!"
"Hey, Weimin is here?"
When Rong Shihui saw Lin Weimin, he immediately stood up enthusiastically and poured him a cup of tea.
The last time Lin Weimin came was when he was off work. There were only two people in the office, including Rong Shihui.
This time we arrived at noon and the office was full of people.
Rong Shihui took him and introduced him to everyone: "Everyone, this is Lin Weimin, the author of "The Death of Yura"."
He then introduced them to Lin Weimin: "This is Zhu Changsheng, He Qizhi, Liu Yin and Xiao Yao."
Including Lin Weimin, there are seven people in the office, five editors, four of whom have names, but the last young man is simply ignored and doesn't even have a name.
Young people have no human rights, so Lin Weimin never calls himself "Xiao Lin" modestly, as it is too disadvantageous.
Lin Weimin's "The Death of Euler" was published in the last issue of "Contemporary". Everyone has read his manuscript before it was printed. His style is unique and unforgettable.
Liu Yin, who is nearly 30 years old, has an outstanding temperament. She smiled and joked: "I really didn't expect that "The Death of Yura" was written by such a young and handsome guy."
"Liu Bian, you are too kind."
"I'm not flattering you. Didn't Mr. Xie from the previous building praise you a lot in Reading? Compared to him, what I've done is nothing."
Her words made everyone present laugh. Xie Mingqing was the deputy group leader of the North Fiction Group of People's Literature. He was from the same department as Contemporary Magazine and they were very familiar with each other. Everyone had read his book reviews published in Reading.
Rong Shihui nodded and said, "The feedback from our editorial department and readers for Weimin's novel is generally very good. It's normal for Old Xie to give a few more compliments."
After the greetings, Rong Shihui took Lin Weimin back to his desk. When passing by the fat middle-aged man sitting next to Zhu Changsheng's desk, Lin Weimin felt that he looked familiar. Everyone had been introduced just now, but this man had not been introduced.
"Have you finished writing the manuscript this time?" Rong Shihui asked him.
Lin Weimin turned his head and said, "Yes, I have finished writing it. I am giving it to you to have a look. Please give me some suggestions."
As he spoke, he took out a stack of manuscripts from his bag.
Rong Shihui took the manuscript and saw a stack of manuscript paper in his bag. "These are..."
"It's the group writing that Teacher Zhang talked to you about before. Several students in our class have also finished writing it. If it's convenient, please take a look at it." Lin Weimin took out the manuscript. This was also one of the purposes of his visit today.
Rong Shihui laughed, "Not only me, but also the people in our editorial department think your idea is very interesting. We all want to take a look at it!"
Then he said loudly, "Come on, everyone. Weimin has brought their collective manuscript. Come and take a look."
After he said this, several editors in the office swarmed over. The pile of manuscripts on Rong Shihui's desk suddenly became popular and were divided up in less than two minutes.
Lin Weimin's manuscript was still in the hands of Rong Shihui. He was Lin Weimin's editor, so naturally he would be the first to review the manuscript.
He first glanced at the contents of the manuscript. As an experienced person, he could tell that the manuscript was of a good standard and had a completely different style from "The Lurker" previously published in "Zhongshan". The text was very cold and stern.
"Same story, two styles!" he said.
Lin Weimin said: "Yes, we can't make them too similar, so the styles vary greatly."
Rong Shihui shook his head and laughed, "Boy, this is really a show of skill!"
Lin Weimin quickly clarified, "Don't say that, at most it's just a scam to get the manuscript fee."
Rong Shihui immediately glared at him, and then couldn't help laughing, "How can you say that so confidently?"
"I typed these out word by word with great effort. They are the fruits of my labor, so of course I am justified in saying so."
"Okay, okay, stop being so funny. I know you're awesome."
"No, no, it's all thanks to you, Editor Rong, for your good training."
"The more you talk, the more you breathe!"
After some banter, Lin Weimin talked about the main purpose of his visit.
"Editor Rong, I actually have something else to do this time."
"What's up?"
Lin Weimin pointed to the manuscript in his hand and said, "I brought a lot of manuscripts with me today, and I may send some more to you after they are finished. I want to ask you if we can publish an album based on these manuscripts?"
"Album?"
Rong Shihui looked at the manuscript in his hand, then looked at Lin Weimin, "You are such a bold thinker!"
"Isn't this a request for your advice?"
When you use someone, the name changes, and you become "you".
Rong Shihui keenly sensed the boy's cunningness, and he asked back: "Why do you think you can release an album?"
Lin Weimin picked up the magazine on the table. It was the newly published "Contemporary", the second issue of this year. He flipped through the contents.
"Editor Rong, please take a look at our magazine. We have a wide range of columns, including long stories, medium stories, short stories, documentaries, talk shows, etc.!
But there is a problem. That is, it has not released any album since its inception. For such a large magazine, this is a pity.
Look at the works of our classmates. There are long stories, novellas, and short stories. We have many people and many works, so you can choose any of them. I have already thought of a title for the album, which is "Tell a Story".
Our Institute of Literature has resumed operation after 23 years of suspension. The fifth batch of students are creating collective works with the same core. What do you think of this gimmick? "
Lin Weimin spoke his thoughts in one breath, staring at Rong Shihui with burning eyes.
Rong Shihui pondered Lin Weimin's words in his heart. Although he didn't want to admit it, he had to say that what this kid said was indeed very tempting.
"But a magazine that only has one theme or even one core is too monotonous."
When Lin Weimin heard this, he thought it made sense.
"Editor Rong, you've got the wrong idea. This is what makes our album so special. You should also know that which literary enthusiast who reads magazines doesn't have a literary dream in his heart? But most people don't even know how to start writing because they lack writing training.
Our album is a chance for everyone to practice writing.
With the same subject matter and the same core, dozens of writers with profound literary skills have repeatedly demonstrated to everyone how to write a novel.
Isn’t this the best writing training? In a broader sense, this approach can fully inspire new people with potential creative abilities. As long as they are willing to write and try, they may embark on the path of writing and become excellent writers in the future.
Don’t you think this is the truth?”
(End of this chapter)
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