Chapter 549 Freelance Writer
In late July, after a massive special rectification campaign, the domestic book market experienced a small spring boom, and the sales of genuine books in bookstores increased significantly compared with the first half of the year.
The sales of some of the most popular bestsellers have been rising to alarming levels.
For example, Cheng Zhongshi's "White Deer Plain" published by Guowen Publishing House was reprinted three or four times in three or four months, and its total sales exceeded 500,000 copies.
There is also Wang Shuo's collection of novels, "Die After Having Fun", which was published by Huayi Publishing House in February. The first print of 300,000 copies was sold out by April, and two reprints of 400,000 copies were made. As of late July, all of them had been sold out.
The sales of Not One Less, which was released only last month, were even more outrageous. Less than a month after the first print run of 500,000 copies was released, bookstores and post offices across the country bombarded Guowen Publishing House with calls. More than half of their inventory had already been sold, and it looked like it would all be sold out before mid-August, so they kept urging Guowen Publishing House to print more copies.
The sales of "No One Less" are so hot, not only because of the high quality of the novel and the widespread discussion and attention it aroused within two months of its publication, but also because there is no pirated copy of this novel on the market.
Colleagues at the Guowen Press were also shocked by the popularity of this novel in the market.
Fighting against pirated games actually had such miraculous effects that everyone felt like they were dreaming back to 85 years ago.
At that time, there were pirated books in the country, but they were very rare, and many literature lovers also sneered at pirated books.
However, with the soaring prices in recent years, people have been living a tight life, and many people have become more careful about spending money on books, which has given pirated books room to grow and develop.
In recent years, as pirated books have occupied an increasingly larger market share, many publishing houses, including Guowen Publishing House, have also felt the pressure.
The difference between the genuine and pirated versions of a book may be as little as two or three cents, but this prompts many readers to choose the pirated version.
Many publishing houses are not unaware of this problem, but they really have no room to make concessions.
Every step in compiling a book by a publishing house has labor costs, and the publishing house also has to pay royalties to writers. It is impossible to reduce the quality of printing and binding for genuine books, so the publishing house can only watch as piracy continues to erode the market.
Faced with such a situation, no one expected that a special campaign to combat piracy would actually lead to a rebound in the declining book market sales.
In their spare time, colleagues in the editorial department chatted about the recent changes in the book market.
"Weimin has really done a great thing for our publishing industry this time!" Liu Yin exclaimed.
"I heard that Director Du's face turned green at that time." Yao Shuzhi gossiped.
Liu Yin said with a teasing tone, "How can you not be embarrassed if you complain to the vice prime minister in front of him? If I were Director Du, I would definitely make him a commander without any troops!"
"No leader would feel comfortable with a subordinate like him!" Zhu Changsheng said quietly.
A burst of cheerful laughter broke out in the office.
It's more interesting to talk bad about the leader when you have nothing to do in this class.
As everyone was talking, Wang Xiaobo came to the editorial office with a smile on his face.
"Xiaobo, are you here to deliver the manuscript? Why do you look so happy?" his colleagues asked him.
Wang Xiaobo shook his head and said, "I'm not sending you a manuscript. I came here today to tell you some good news."
Everyone was curious and asked, "What good news?"
"A publishing house in Hong Kong plans to publish a collection of novels for me." Wang Xiaobo said with a happy face.
Everyone was very happy when they heard it, "This is a good thing!"
Everyone has seen Wang Xiaobo's works. His style is unique and some of his works are not easy to publish, let alone get published.
Several of his works were previously published in "Contemporary". The response to the five "Tang People Stories" was very general. "Thirty Years Old" and "Like Water Flowing Time" submitted in the early spring did not pass the editors' review due to style issues, and were recommended by Lin Weimin to "Hong Kong Literature" again.
Wang Xiaobo was talking to everyone when Lin Weimin came to the office to deliver a manuscript. Wang Xiaobo was happy for Lin Weimin when he heard that a publishing house in Hong Kong wanted to publish a collection of his novels.
Lin Weimin called Wang Xiaobo to his office and had a detailed chat with him.
"Speaking of this, I have to thank you. Without your recommendation, Hong Kong Literature would not publish my work, and the publishing house would not publish my work."
"I told you, there's nothing wrong with your novel, it's just that the style is a little trendy. Give it another two years, and you'll have your time to shine."
Lin Weimin’s encouragement strengthened Wang Xiaobo’s confidence.
At this time, Lin Weimin said, "By the way, the market has been good recently. Would you like to try to publish your Tang Dynasty Stories in a collection?"
Wang Xiaobo smiled happily when he heard this, "Which novels can be published?"
Lin Weimin nodded. "The response to your novels is average, but they have a unique style. You can try to publish them. However, the print run will definitely not be too large, so don't have too high expectations."
"It's fine as long as it can be published. It's fine as long as it can be published." Wang Xiaobo smiled so hard that his teeth were exposed. "Teacher Lin, thank you so much."
Lin Weimin raised his hand and said with a smile: "If you want to thank you, you have to thank the recent market. The sales of various books are picking up, so the publishing house is willing to take advantage of this period to publish more books."
Wang Xiaobo looked at Lin Weimin and talked about this matter, which seemed to have more to do with Teacher Lin.
In the past two months, the story about Lin Weimin buying a fake book in his name at a bookstall and then going to the deputy prime minister to file a complaint in anger has been spreading like wildfire in Yanjing City. The story is so detailed that everyone, young and old, knows about it.
When everyone heard the news, they all marveled at Lin Weimin's all-powerful connections, and no one doubted the authenticity of the news.
What kind of person is Teacher Lin?
What's so difficult about going to the deputy prime minister to file a complaint in anger?
Wang Xiaobo thought this in his mind and discussed the publishing matters with Lin Weimin in detail.
This year, the government issued new regulations on royalties, and the standard of royalties given by Guowen Publishing House is much higher than before. The basic royalties are 35 yuan per thousand words. Because the print run is very low, the royalties are only a few hundred yuan, totaling more than 9,200 yuan.
Wang Xiaobo was delighted to hear this figure. He taught at a university and earned only a hundred yuan a month. Including the royalties from previous publications, these articles of "Tang People Stories" brought him more than fifteen thousand yuan in income.
In addition to these royalties, Wang Xiaobo, through the recommendation of Lin Weimin, has published three works, "The Golden Age", "At Thirty" and "Like Water Flowing Time", in "Hong Kong Literature" so far, and earned nearly 50,000 Hong Kong dollars in royalties.
The publisher of his novel collection this time is Xiangjiang Fanrong Publishing House, which will pay him royalties on a per-word basis. He can probably earn HK$100,000 in royalties.
Converting all the royalties into RMB, Wang Xiaobo has earned more than 50,000 yuan in royalties through the publication of his works in the past two years.
This figure was already a huge sum of money in 1990.
When Wang Xiaobo thought about the royalties that would soon be received from the two publishers, he became restless and could no longer control the idea that had been brewing for many years.
"Teacher Lin!" Wang Xiaobo looked at Lin Weimin, his eyes gleaming with hope.
"What's wrong?"
"What do you think about me quitting my job and becoming a freelance writer?" Wang Xiaobo asked Lin Weimin expectantly.
Lin Weimin hesitated for a moment, "Are you sure? Is this a spur-of-the-moment idea, or have you been planning this for a long time?"
Wang Xiaobo answered truthfully: "I have had this idea for a long time. But before, my works could not be published, so I didn't dare to put it into action. Now it's different..."
Wang Xiaobo looked excited. "I now earn more from publishing than I have in twenty years of work. Money makes people brave. I plan to try to see if I can do this."
Lin Weimin laughed. "With your current writing skills, there will be no problem doing this kind of thing. The problem lies in your style. You have to think about it. If you maintain your current style, you may not be able to publish your works in the short term."
Wang Xiaobo nodded and said, "You are right, but I have received my royalties now..."
At this point, Wang Xiaobo couldn't help but smile again. "The royalties I earn now are enough for me to write for ten years without publishing any works. I don't believe that I won't be able to publish any works in ten years."
"Within ten years, domestic readers will gradually get to know you. By the way, have you discussed this with your family?" Lin Weimin asked.
"No. I mentioned this idea to Yinhe before, but it was just a fantasy at the time. This time Mr. Liu helped me contact the publisher, and when I got the news, I came to the editorial office to report the good news as soon as I could."
Lin Weimin advised: "When you go home, you must discuss this with your family. You must devote yourself to your writing career. You can't do it without the support of your family."
"Yes, I understand."
"in addition……"
Lin Weimin hesitated for a moment, then said, "Since you are a full-time worker, you must pay attention to the balance between work and rest, and don't neglect your health..."
Lin Weimin told Wang Xiaobo about Lu Yao's example. Feeling Lin Weimin's concern, Wang Xiaobo nodded heavily and said, "Thank you for your concern. I will pay attention to it."
After leaving the editorial office of Contemporary Magazine, Wang Xiaobo returned home and his wife Li Yinhe was cooking.
He took Li Yinhe's hand and told her that the novels would be published in both places. Li Yinhe was a little dazed.
“All of them will be published?”
"Um."
Li Yinhe seemed to need some time to digest the news, but Wang Xiaobo did not give her time and continued, "The royalties from these publications and publications add up to tens of thousands of yuan. I plan to quit my job and focus on writing. Do you agree?"
Her husband had already had this idea, and Li Yinhe knew it.
When they were in the United States, she worked to support him. Now that her husband can earn royalties from his works, what reason does she have to disagree?
The next morning, Li Yinhe took Wang Xiaobo to the department to resign.
"Sorry to trouble you!" Wang Xiaobo said this after entering the door, and then he said nothing and smoked alone.
The rest was left to his wife Li Yinhe to explain to the department head on his behalf.
After half an hour of communication, we successfully agreed on the resignation, and the next step was to go through the formalities.
After leaving the department director's office, Wang Xiaobo couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
He has never been good at interpersonal relationships, and only feels relaxed when he is with his literary friends.
Wang Xiaobo thought of Lin Weimin, whom he met yesterday. Especially when chatting with Teacher Lin, he always felt particularly relaxed and not restrained at all.
Now that he is about to resign, he won’t have to worry about these useless things anymore.
(End of this chapter)
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