Chapter 651: Hunger Marketing (Silver Alliance Plus 1)
As the National Day is getting closer, the translation, editing and proofreading of the first volume of "World Literature Classics Collection", "French Literature", has been completed, and printing work has also begun.
After many consultations between Mou Chunzhi and the Aid Printing Factory, the printing business of "World Literary Classics Collection" was officially taken over by the Aid Printing Factory.
Because of the use of Bible paper and matching printing equipment and technology, the printing cost of "World Literature Classics Collection" rose sharply, increasing by 60% compared to the normal lead-printed version.
But it's all worth it.
Lin Weimin was holding a sample book that had just been delivered from the Amity Printing Factory. It was a 32-page, 456-page "The Count of Monte Cristo". It felt light in his hand, and its thickness was roughly equivalent to a 200-page lead-printed book.
As a person who likes to collect books, Lin Weimin had only one feeling when he got this book - he couldn't put it down.
Although the cost has gone up, the quality is definitely worth it.
For book lovers, it is hard to resist such temptation.
No matter what others think, Lin Weimin is determined to collect this series of books.
There was a knock on the door, and someone from the editor-in-chief's office came in and said, "Editor-in-chief, there's your international package downstairs."
Lin Weimin got up and went downstairs, and saw the postman standing at the door of the message room with a huge cardboard box at his feet.
After signing and confirming, Xiao Zhou helped Lin Weimin carry the cardboard box into the office.
After opening the layers of packaging in the box, what caught my eye was a whole box of original English books and manuscripts.
Some time ago, Richard Yates wrote a letter to Lin Weimin. He had a premonition that he did not have much time left, and hoped that Lin Weimin could help him publish a collection of his essays. Lin Weimin gladly agreed.
These books and manuscripts constitute all of Richard's life's work.
Lin Weimin touched these books and manuscripts and let out a heavy sigh: This is the life of a writer!
He handed these books and manuscripts to the Foreign Language Department and said to Chen Jiangen: "Richard Yates wants to publish his collection of works in China. This task is left to you."
The Foreign Language Department has a heavy workload this year, but as the saying goes, too many lice won't bite, and too many debts won't worry, Chen Jiangen has become numb to this.
It’s impossible to finish it anyway, so just take your time.
The next day, Lin Weimin received another international mail, this time from Italy.
When he opened it, it turned out to be a letter written to him by Roberto Benigni.
In the letter, Roberto Benigni first exchanged a few words with him, expressed his admiration for him, and then expressed his love for the novel "Life is Beautiful Anyway".
From plot structure, conflicts to character creation, he comprehensively expounded his views and also attached a special biography he wrote for the protagonist of the novel, "Gariyan".
Finally, he did not forget to express his feelings to Lin Weimin, hoping to obtain the adaptation rights of the novel and said that he would do his best to make this work well.
The entire letter was 40,000 words long, and a thick stack of letter paper was almost as long as a novella. It took Lin Weimin two hours just to read the letter.
That’s right, Lin Weimin “read” the letter. Roberto Benigni specially asked someone to translate all the contents of the letter into Chinese, so Lin Weimin had no difficulty reading it.
It is hard not to be moved by his sincerity.
After reading the letter, Lin Weimin pondered for a long time before writing him a letter back.
The general meaning is, thank you Roberto Benigni for your love of the novel and the efforts you have made.
However, the adaptation rights of "Life is Beautiful" have long been authorized to Hollywood director Spielberg. Spielberg has not made this movie yet, but it is still within the authorization period, so there is no way to give him the adaptation rights.
A few days later, the printing of the first volume of "World Literature Classics Collection", "French Literature", was completed, with the first print run of 3,000 volumes.
Don't underestimate the fact that there are only 3,000 volumes. "French Literature" has a total of 28 volumes, and 3,000 volumes means 84,000 volumes. In addition, the printing paper and technology have been improved, and the binding is exquisite. The price of each volume is as high as 362 yuan, and the average selling price of a single volume exceeds 12 yuan. It is definitely a high-end consumption.
The sales volume of just 3,000 volumes of French literature is as high as one million yuan, and this is just the tip of the iceberg of the "World Literature Classics Collection". The 3,000 volumes of books are just a test of the waters.
As the first volume of the World Literature Classics Collection has been printed and sent to bookstores and post offices across the country, the promotion of this series of books is also in full swing.
Because of its reputation as the "World Library", the "World Literature Classics Library" has attracted attention from the domestic publishing and literary circles since its inception.
Now, only half a year later, the first volume was released, which immediately triggered heated discussions in the publishing, literary and even academic circles.
It is rare that Guangming Daily took the initiative to publish an advertisement for this series of books without the Guowen Publishing House's prior notification.
The move by Guangming Daily surprised Guowen Press, and Lin Weimin made a special phone call to express his gratitude.
In addition to the advertisements in Guangming Daily, the book advertisements published by Guowen Publishing House through its own channels and in various newspapers and magazines are also constantly growing in influence.
Under the influence of these advertisements, more and more readers became aware of the series of World Literature Classics, and many readers flocked to bookstores.
The sales of the first volume of "Collection of World Literature Masterpieces" were strongly sought after by readers when it was first released. Among these readers are not only ordinary literature lovers, but also many writers and scholars.
The translations of the first volume of "Collection of World Literature Masterpieces" are all carefully selected by Guowen Publishing House, and the editing and proofreading level is first-class, so even though the book is priced high, there are still many readers who buy it.
Moreover, the book is beautifully bound and has outstanding printing quality, especially the use of Bible paper, which has given many readers an unexpected surprise.
Some readers had never seen a book printed on Bible paper, so they made a point to inquire about it. They heard that this was paper specially used to print the Bible. Even the U.S. Library used this kind of paper. This immediately made many people feel that it was great value for money, and even the originally high price seemed much more affordable.
In less than half a month, the first volume of the 3,000-volume "World Literary Classics Collection" was sold out, but readers' enthusiasm did not cool at all. The huge sales gap made bookstores and post offices across the country overjoyed, and they kept giving feedback to the Guowen Publishing House, asking them to speed up the printing of more copies.
However, the response given by Guowen Publishing House was that because the printing paper and technology used in the "World Literary Classics Collection" were relatively special, the printing plant's production capacity was limited and it could only print 3,000 volumes per month.
As soon as the news came out, many bookstores complained bitterly. Such a popular series of books could not keep up with the printing volume. Seeing that they could not make any money was more painful than killing them.
There is a constant stream of readers asking in the bookstore whether the "World Literature Classics Collection" is in stock. These bookstores have to go through this torture countless times every day. They have no choice but to suffer in silence, and gradually develop a love-hate relationship with Guowen Publishing House.
What we love is that their books are widely welcomed by readers, even to the point of being snapped up; what we hate is that their printing volume cannot keep up. It is really ridiculous that such a large national publishing house is controlled by the printing factory.
Unfortunately, no matter how dissatisfied they are, they cannot change the status quo.
On the contrary, some savvy bookstore managers contacted Wei Fengjun, the vice president of Guowen Publishing House who was in charge of distribution, early on.
The first volume of "World Literature Classics Collection" produces only 3,000 volumes per month. There are so many bookstores across the country, and it is a big deal to decide who gets more and who gets less.
Although most of the book distribution of Guowen Publishing House was handed over to Xinhua Bookstore, Wei Fengjun was in charge of the distribution business. It was just a matter of saying a few hundred more volumes to a certain region.
Wei Fengjun took over from Zhou Zhaoyun and had only been in office for more than half a year. At that time, Zhou Zhaoyun was about to retire and the work of the issuance department was in chaos. Lin Weimin suggested that Li Xin go to the issuance department to gain some experience, and then Wei Fengjun took over.
During this period, Wei Fengjun has become a popular figure in many bookstores. This was something that Lao Zhou would never have dared to think about when he was still around. This made him feel a little proud.
That afternoon, Wei Fengjun ran to Lin Weimin's office, intending to discuss matters concerning the printing factory with him.
During this period, the phone in his office was almost blown up by calls from bookstores all over the place, all asking Guowen Publishing House to print more copies as soon as possible. He went to find Mou Chunzhi, who was in charge of the printing business, but Mou Chunzhi said that the matter had to be discussed with the editor-in-chief.
There was no one in Lin Weimin's office. Wei Fengjun asked around and found out that he had gone to Cheng Zaochun's office.
"I think you're going a little too far."
Lao Cheng is an honest man. He has never done such a conscienceless thing in his life. Now he feels guilty when he sees people and has no confidence when speaking.
"How is it too much?" Lin Weimin sat steadily on the sofa and crossed his legs.
"Old Cheng, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but now is not the past. Some people have suggested that we change our system. Although we are a Chinese literature society, we still have to pursue efficiency. This is also a means of publicity. You can't undermine my work."
Cheng Zaochun said aggrievedly: "What do you mean by that? It makes me sound like a treacherous villain."
"I'm just reminding you!"
Cheng Zaochun asked worriedly, "Only 3,000 sets a month, is that really okay?"
"What could possibly happen? Do you understand what it means that things are valuable because they are rare? The World Literature Collection is a 'world-class collection' that was created by the combined efforts of our Guowen Publishing House, with countless manpower and financial resources.
The printing process and technical requirements are extremely high. Being able to print 3,000 sets a month is already very high, right?
When you go out and say this, be more confident and don't act like a thief."
Cheng Zaochun shook his head helplessly. "You always give me problems. You can obviously afford the printing quantity, but you insist on doing this crooked thing."
"I've said it many times, this is called a publicity strategy, a publicity strategy, do you understand?" Lin Weimin corrected.
"Yes, yes, publicity strategy. I want to see if your publicity strategy is useful!"
"Then you just wait and see!" Lin Weimin said confidently.
As the two were talking, there was a knock on the door. Wei Fengjun poked his head in and said, "Editor-in-chief, is this convenient? I have something I want to talk to you about?"
Lin Weimin stood up and reminded Cheng Zaochun before leaving, "Keep your mouth shut!"
Comrade Lao Cheng glared at him fiercely.
Back in his office, Lin Weimin asked Wei Fengjun: "What's the matter?"
"Regarding the World Literature Masterpieces Collection, bookstores everywhere are complaining that it is out of stock. Please ask us to print more copies as soon as possible."
"Didn't I tell you? The printing factory's output is insufficient. Right now, we can only produce 3,000 volumes a month."
"But..." Wei Fengjun hesitated for a moment, then said, "I heard that the printing factory has no problem with production."
(End of this chapter)
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