Chapter 711 Youthful Rag Tiger
At the press conference, dozens of pairs of eyes were staring at Cheng Zaochun intently. Cameras were already in place and were flashing non-stop as he spoke.
“Over the past year, thanks to the support of colleagues in the industry, many writers and enthusiastic readers, the Buhuhu series of books has made great progress.
During this year, our Bu Lao Hu series editorial team received thousands of manuscripts of long works, but due to various factors such as the selection style and scale of the Bu Lao Hu series, only a handful of works were actually selected.
In fact, among the large number of works we eliminated, quite a few were of excellent quality.
In light of this, our Guowen Press has decided to officially launch the call for submissions for the Youth Ragdoll Series. ”
As soon as Cheng Zaochun finished speaking, there was a commotion in the conference hall and reporters' cameras flashed non-stop.
Several reporters couldn't wait to ask: "President Cheng, can you tell us more about the rules for the Youth Tiger essay contest? What are the specific requirements?"
Cheng Zaochun on the stage faced the reporters' eagerness and questions with a calm expression, "Haha, it seems that everyone is very concerned about the 'Youth Ragdoll Series', I am very pleased."
He had just left the audience in suspense when the reporters in the audience started cursing in their hearts. Could they still continue talking?
"I won't keep you in suspense. I'll explain it to you all today. You don't have to remember it. The staff at the publishing house will send you the specific content of the essay contest later. You can just send it out directly when you report later."
As soon as he finished speaking, the reporters cursed in their hearts again.
It's really cunning. Are you using our newspapers as advertisements? Will you pay for the advertisements?
You can curse it, but it still has to be published. Who made the Cloth Tiger series of books so popular now?
Cheng Zaochun was speaking eloquently on the stage, introducing the specific essay solicitation for the Youth Rag Tiger series of books. People from the Chinese Literature Publishing House were already handing out essay solicitations to reporters.
“The Youth Rag Tiger Series is a bold innovation and attempt for our Guowen Publishing House, and it is also a revolutionary breakthrough for the Chinese literary world.
Our requirements for the Youth Rag Tiger Series are clear: the selected books must break the constraints of traditional literary forms and reinterpret traditional culture with their unique style and theme.
Abandoning the dull and solemn writing style of the past, it adopted an expression method that is closer to the lives of young people, full of vitality and passion.
Through in-depth analysis of contemporary social issues and the psychological state of young people, it has injected fresh blood into modern literature and led the trend of the times.
With its creative concepts and content that keep pace with the times, it has become a symbol of contemporary youth's pursuit of freedom, individuality and dreams.
The Youth Rag Tiger series also focuses on issues such as social change, the fate of the crowd, and individual growth. It deeply explores and reflects the inner world and values of contemporary youth, leads the trend of the times, and provides emotional resonance and ideological enlightenment for young people..."
Cheng Zaochun was speaking eloquently on the stage, but few reporters were listening to him at all, because what he was saying was clearly written in the materials.
The speed at which the leaders speak is far from as fast as that of the reporters who can read ten lines at a glance.
Lao Cheng spoke on the stage for a long time without mentioning anything important, but the reporters had already discovered the real important part of the Youth Rag Tiger Series before him.
"If a book is selected for the series, you can receive a 500,000 yuan manuscript fee for each book!"
"The author's date of birth must be after January 1, 1970!"
The reporters' eyes were fixed on the two lines of information in the document, and they could already imagine the far-reaching impact that these two pieces of information might have after being widely publicized in newspapers.
Without waiting for Cheng Zaochun to finish, they asked, "President Cheng, sorry to interrupt you, but can we ask what considerations led to the two items in your document?"
After a reporter finished speaking, he stood up and read the information word by word: "It's these two items: 'If a book is selected for the series, you can get a single book fee of 500,000' and 'The author's date of birth must be after January 1, 1970'."
His lengthy speech was interrupted by reporters, but Cheng Zaochun showed no displeasure at all. Instead, he said patiently, "Since the reporters and comrades have asked, I will explain.
As the name of the Youth Ragdog Series suggests, the important word is "youth". This series of books is aimed at readers under the age of 30, so the writing style is naturally younger. You ask an old man like me in my 50s to write those fresh and passionate words, which goes against the rules of literary creation.
This is why we have an age limit for the writers selected for the Youth Ragdoll Series.
I know that this is probably the first time in the domestic literary world that a publishing house has put forward age requirements for writers.
But what I want to say is that we are not deliberately setting up barriers to create gimmicks, but we hope to discover a group of young people with potential and talent for the Chinese literary world. "
After saying these words, Cheng Zaochun paused and drank some water.
The eyes of many reporters followed his movements, and Lao Cheng's style led the whole audience.
"As for the royalties..."
After drinking the water, Lao Cheng's voice became even louder. "500,000 yuan for each book is just a guarantee. When the royalty income exceeds 500,000 yuan, the payment method will automatically change to royalty payment. We will never let our writers suffer any loss. This is the consistent style of our Guowen Press!"
A reporter suddenly asked: "I saw that there is no specific requirement for the number of words in the writing requirements."
Cheng Zaochun laughed, "This reporter friend has a good eye! There are indeed no specific requirements. Regarding this, our agency also has its own considerations.
Children write freely and imaginatively, unlike mature writers who have a certain control over the content of their writing.
We want to discover talented and potential rising stars, so we don’t want to confine these kids with rigid rules and regulations.
Without a specific word count, there is no need to force things together. You can write whatever you want. Only when it flows naturally can you create a work that is natural and coherent. "
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a burst of warm applause in the conference hall.
Before Cheng Zaochun's explanation, many reporters had already labeled Guowen Publishing House as "sensational" just by looking at the text in the information.
Creating a "Youth Rag Tiger Series" is just a way to take advantage of the popularity of the Rag Tiger Series and use it to gain popularity!
It also requires that writers must be young. Since when has age become the determining factor in literary creation?
But after Cheng Zaochun's heartfelt explanation, most reporters finally understood the good intentions of Guowen Publishing House.
In particular, Cheng Zaochun’s words “I will never let my writer friends suffer any loss” left a deep impression on the reporters present.
Many of the journalists present were veterans with many years of experience in the industry. They knew very well that the treatment that Guowen Publishing House gave to writers was indeed impeccable.
In the 1980s, when the standard remuneration for royalties was capped at RMB 10 per thousand words, Guowen Publishing House once offered writers a sky-high remuneration of RMB 15 per thousand words.
In recent years, the remuneration of Guowen Publishing House has always been top-tier in the domestic publishing industry. Even though many publishing houses have now carried out commercial and market-oriented operations, it is difficult to compare with Guowen Publishing House in terms of remuneration.
In addition to high royalties, Guowen Publishing House also enjoys a good reputation among writers for its payment of royalties.
In recent years, more and more publishing houses have promised writers high royalties in order to obtain the publishing rights for their works, but have dragged their feet and are reluctant to pay the royalties after the works are published.
When reporters interview writers, they often hear some of them complain about being owed royalties by publishing houses. This situation was rare in previous years, but has become more and more common in recent years, and is even gradually becoming the norm.
In this regard, Guowen Publishing House can be called a role model in the domestic publishing industry. Not only has it never delayed payment of royalties, it has also taken the initiative to change contracts for writers many times due to changes in the country's royalty standards.
For example, the writer Cheng Zhongshi talked about the generosity of Guowen Publishing House in paying royalties when he was interviewed by many media outlets including the Yenching Daily.
In 1987, Cheng Zhongshi had not received any royalties for several years as he was working on White Deer Plain, and his family was in financial difficulty. After communicating with the Guowen Publishing House, the publishing house readily gave him an advance of 5,000 yuan in royalties.
At that time, even Cheng Zhongshi himself didn’t know whether the novel he was writing was worth 5,000 yuan.
"White Deer Plain" was published in 1988. Before the new regulations on royalties were announced, Guowen Publishing House raised the royalties for "White Deer Plain" in advance to 60 yuan per thousand words, which was an extremely rare price at the time.
Then, after the new regulations on royalties were announced, Cheng Zhongshi's royalties were increased based on the number of copies printed.
When the royalty system was implemented after the 1990s, it was the Guowen Publishing House that took the initiative to change the manuscript fees for many writers, including Cheng Zhongshi, into royalty sharing.
Whenever Cheng Zhongshi mentioned these things in front of the media, his words were always full of gratitude.
He is not the only one. Many writers who have been favored by Guowenshe in this regard have mentioned this matter in front of the media.
It has a good reputation, which has also created a good reputation and impression for Guowen Press among many media.
After the applause at the press conference, Cheng Zaochun continued to introduce a few more sentences and then announced that the press conference was over.
Next came the routine interviews. In addition to the writers, there was also a separate interview with Cheng Zaochun, the president of the Guowen Publishing House.
The breaking news of the launch of the Youth Rag Tiger Series of Books essay solicitation needs to be widely publicized, and it is inseparable from the promotion of reporters and many newspapers. Accepting interviews is certainly a good means of publicity, and Cheng Zaochun, as the president, is the best choice.
Lin Weimin stood in the shadow of the corner. He looked at Cheng Zaochun who was talking eloquently and nodded secretly.
Well, that’s good, Lao Cheng has matured!
Like a mastermind.
The next day, the content of the press conference appeared in dozens of media outlets across the country.
"One year after the release of the Rag Tiger series, Guowen Press staged a big move", "After the Rag Tiger series, the Youth Rag Tiger series is coming", "Youth literature becomes a hot topic, Guowen Press supports young authors"...
The launch of the Youth Rag Tiger Series of Books was undoubtedly the biggest news at yesterday's press conference, and it naturally became the hottest news in major media today.
With the two generous and unique requirements of 'a single book selected for the series will receive a royalty of 500,000 yuan' and 'the author's date of birth must be after January 1, 1970', the Youth Rag Tiger series successfully caught the public's attention and aroused strong attention from the literary world and the general public.
(End of this chapter)
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