Chapter 197 You call this concession?
"It's actually in English. Mr. Li, are you also good at English novels?"
Pei Wencong took Li Ye's manuscript and was stunned.
Although China has produced literary masters such as Lin Yutang and Gu Hongming, they were able to conquer many Western literary media with English.
But not everyone is Gu Hongming or Lin Yutang, and Li Ye is obviously better at creating commercial literary works, which are completely different from those works of the masters.
Commercial literary works first value commercial value, and literary value is only its accessory. Moreover, the reading groups they target are also different.
In Pei Wencong's opinion, for a person whose native language is not English, to write a commercial literary work that will be accepted by readers in the English-speaking world is probably more incredible than the fact that mainlanders were able to develop nuclear weapons.
However, since Li Ye has taken out the manuscript, Pei Wencong will definitely take a look at it. This is the minimum respect for an author.
Especially when the author has a special "personality".
Pei Wencong's native language is Cantonese, but the medium of instruction at the University of Hong Kong where he studied was English. As an excellent student, he had a very good command of English and had no problem reading an English novel.
He looked at it carefully for twenty minutes, then turned back and started looking again, then slowly frowned.
"Mr. Li, the story of A Song of Ice and Fire is pretty good, but I think it may not be easy to promote it to the whole world."
Pei Wencong expressed his opinion tactfully and found that Li Ye was still calm and composed.
Pei Wencong then explained again: "Mr. Li, I have actually read many original English novels, and I feel that your work is similar to Mr. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
But that was a novel written thirty years ago, and the writing style of your work is too special and may not fit the reading habits of Western novel readers. "
Pei Wencong felt that he had put it very tactfully. If another author had submitted a work to his literary club in this way, he would have turned into a Maxim machine gun and sprayed him all over his head and face.
[Are you writing a novel? You are writing a textbook, a middle school textbook at that.]
Li Ye's original translation requirement for Wen Leyu was "straightforward and accurate", which also came from the experience of later generations. Many Chinese works that successfully went overseas in later generations pursued straightforward writing to facilitate translation and publication.
If your writing is too flowery, foreigners will be confused when they see it. How can they know what you are trying to express?
A little deviation here, a little distortion there, and in the end the translation ends up with a completely wrong meaning.
"Oh~, it's not possible, it's definitely not a good match."
Li Ye smiled, and then he said frankly: "Mr. Pei, there is no need to be so tactful. I know the problems with this book, so I have also prepared a proper solution."
"A proper solution? Then I'm all ears."
Pei Wencong smiled, but he disagreed in his heart.
Literary works are not industrial products. As long as they can achieve their purpose, they are fine. They are very subtle.
Not to mention those crappy novels, even many excellent novels may not suddenly become popular until decades later. Who dares to say that the problem has been "properly resolved" before the work is released?
Li Ye said: "Mr. Pei, does your publishing house have the ability to solicit manuscripts in the English cultural circle?"
Pei Wencong was stunned for a moment, then said, "Yes, Hong Kong Island is one of the 52 members of the Commonwealth. I have many foreign colleagues and friends, and sometimes I also adopt some translated manuscripts from abroad."
"That's good," Li Ye said confidently, "I'll give you $30,000 as a prize. You can find a way to publish a prize-winning advertisement worldwide and find someone to translate my manuscript for the second time.
After soliciting opinions and ratings from readers, we will select several outstanding works for publication and put them on the market for a second round of market practice testing. Finally, we will select the winners based on market response and publish them as final versions.”
Pei Wencong: “.”
The plan that Li Ye mentioned actually adopted part of the screening mechanism of later online literature, weakened the review rights of book reviewers, greatly increased the weight of readers' opinions, and finalized the draft based on market reactions.
Whether a commercial literary work is good or not is determined by readers and the market.
To give an inappropriate example, take the Golden Plum Blossom. Critics may criticize it as the stubborn dregs of the old times, but it will be passed down from generation to generation because of the support of readers.
And for many literary works that were once popular, who will still read them decades or hundreds of years later?
"Mr. Li, I think the idea you mentioned is great. I can immediately arrange for someone to start making a plan and put it into practice as soon as possible."
In fact, Pei Wencong had already understood what Li Ye meant when he was halfway through what Li Ye said, and even came up with multiple subsequent operational plans in his mind.
Pei Wencong didn’t know whether Li Ye’s novel would be successful, but this method was definitely feasible. Thirty thousand US dollars these days was definitely a strong attraction for many authors.
Pei Wencong couldn't help but ask himself in his heart, is he still an insider in the publishing industry?
Why didn't I, a graduate of the University of Hong Kong and working in the Hong Kong Island area with a very strong business atmosphere, think of the method that Li Ye mentioned?
Li Ye nodded slightly and said, "Then, we need to talk about cooperation next."
Here it comes, that familiar feeling is here again.
Pei Wencong seemed to see the figure of the Causeway Bay boss again. The sharp machete was shining brightly in the sun. With one cut, a large piece of fat on the buttocks was cut off.
"Mr. Li, this time, are you still going to follow the partnership model and take 20% of the publisher's profits?" Pei Wencong said with a smile: "I have to say, Mr. Li's conditions are not much worse than those of the novel masters."
In fact, the current cooperation model between Li Ye and Pei Wencong is that Li Ye uses "Shuo Feng Fei Yang" as a technical shareholder and earns 20% of the profits of Talang Literature Publishing House.
When Li Ye first proposed this model, Pei Wencong could hardly accept it, because according to the convention in Hong Kong Island, Li Ye wanted too much.
[Do you think you are Gu Liangjin? ]
If Pei Wencong hadn't been desperate, he would never have accepted it.
But just a few months later, Pei Wencong felt that he had "made a profit".
A small company like Talang Literary Publishing House may not have much strength but also little burden. A hit book can make it take off and transform itself into a medium-sized publisher.
What's more, after the reputation of "Seven-Inch Blade" became famous, it became a cash cow!
Anyway, "North Wind Flying" has not been completed yet, and Li Ye still needs to take 20% of the profits. It's no big deal to take advantage of this period to promote "A Song of Ice and Fire". If it fails, I have Li Ye's 30,000 US dollars as a foundation. If it succeeds, I can get 80%. It's fair no matter how you calculate it.
More importantly, based on Pei Wencong's understanding of Li Ye, he felt that he would not accept cooperation conditions lower than those of "The Wind Rises".
Sure enough, after listening to Pei Wencong's words, Li Ye shook his head slightly and said, "Last time we didn't know each other, and we didn't know each other's strengths very well.
Now that I have proven my ability, I think a 70-30 split is more appropriate.”
"37?"
Pei Wencong said with difficulty: "Mr. Li, I know you are confident in your work, but my publishing house is also booming. You just provided a work and took 30% of the profit. It is too high."
"You misunderstood," Li Ye waved his hand and said, "You are three and I am seven."
“.”
Pei Wencong stood up suddenly, staring at me and said anxiously, "Mr. Li, are you kidding me? You want to be my boss just because you publish a work?
No one in the entire Hong Kong Island or the entire Asia-East region has such a reason. You are simply kidding. "
If Pei Wencong hadn't had a new understanding of Li Ye on Zhongying Street, he might have impulsively shouted out dirty words like "Pu Ni Amu" at this moment.
You bring here a manuscript with an uncertain future, and you want to become the major shareholder of Talang Literary Publishing House by paying 30% off. Are you trying to take advantage of my rich character?
"Mr. Pei, please be patient. We must talk about cooperation."
Seeing Pei Wencong almost jumping up and down, Li Ye said calmly: "Since Mr. Pei feels that this cooperation condition is unreasonable, I will take a step back."
"I don't want your publishing house's profits this time. The operation of this book will be calculated separately. You get 30% and I get 70%. Is that okay?"
What the hell!
Do you call this a step back? Apart from your two books, the entire publishing house has little income. What difference does it make whether you step back or not?
Pei Wencong tugged at his tie and unbuttoned a shirt button before he released the depression that had been pent up in his heart.
The award-winning essay writing plan that Li Ye just mentioned may seem like just a few simple words, but it is actually very complicated to implement and requires a lot of energy and connections.
Pei Wencong had to coordinate and complete all these tasks, but when it came time to divide the profits, he took 30% and let the author take 70%?
Am I the capitalist or are you the capitalist?
In fact, Pei Wencong really wronged Li Ye.
Because based on his experience in writing online articles in later generations, the royalties sharing ratio for those great authors is 30:70.
For example, at a certain point that occupies a leading position in the domestic online literature industry, the subscription profit sharing ratio between ordinary authors and the platform is 50-50, while for top-level authors it is 30-70.
Although this is the profit sharing ratio after deducting operating expenses, it at least gives the author a sense of "fairness".
With the current status of “Seven-Inch Blade”, is it too much to ask for a contract with a big star?
Pei Wencong looked at Li Ye, who was calm and composed, and his emotions finally calmed down.
"Mr. Li, your proposal is difficult to implement because my publishing house needs to pay a lot of hidden costs. It is difficult to calculate the profit of a specific book."
Li Ye is right, since it is a cooperation, let’s talk about it!
But after Pei Wencong finished speaking, Li Ye showed no intention of negotiating.
"Then let's take a look at the scenery of Hong Kong Island first, and then we'll talk about it in a couple of days."
After Li Ye finished speaking, he stood up and walked out. Pei Wencong wanted to say something but stopped himself, so he had no choice but to follow him.
When Li Ye and Pei Wencong went downstairs, they found that Hao Jian and Jin Peng, who had just come out for a "walk", had not gone far at all. They were standing at attention not far away, alert to the situation around the hotel like sentinels.
This time when the three of them came to Hong Kong Island, they were very clear about their role, which was to take good care of Li Ye.
Li Ye did not say why he gave the invitation to Hao Jian and Jin Peng, but the two felt that it was not just because they spoke the best Cantonese.
This is a kind of trust.
Seeing Pei Wencong coming down, Amin, who was in the tea restaurant nearby, hurried over and whispered something to Pei Wencong.
Pei Wencong nodded slightly, then asked Li Ye: "Mr. Li, where are we going to visit?"
Pei Wencong still remembers the first time he spoke to Li Ye, Li Ye not only said that he wanted to visit Victoria Harbour, but also wanted to visit Joint Publishing Company and other publishing houses.
Pei Wencong was really conflicted at the moment, he didn't want to lose Li Ye's reputation, and it would be a win-win situation for the Talang Literary Society and Seven Inch Blade to establish a long-term cooperative relationship.
But the 3:7 ratio proposed by Li Ye was too much, and Pei Wencong found it difficult to accept it for a while.
However, Li Ye did not suggest visiting any publishing house. Instead, he said, "Do you know any fashion stores that make clothes? I want to order some clothes."
Li Ye was afraid that Pei Wencong didn't understand, so he added: "Try to be more fashionable, and each person's budget should be within 10,000."
"Yes, yes," Pei Wencong said immediately, "I know a store. The owner went to Europe to study fashion design, and after returning, he opened a store not far away."
Amin drove the car over, took a few people through many turns, and soon arrived at a small street.
This is a small street in standard Hong Kong style. The street is very narrow, with tall buildings on both sides. There is a row of shops along the street, and the decoration of the storefronts is quite good.
"Mr. Li, don't be fooled by the small size of this shop. It is very famous in Hong Kong Island. Many movie stars come here to order clothes. It can be said to be the most fashionable clothing store."
While introducing Li Ye, Pei Wencong led Li Ye past several shops, turned into an alley next to the small street, and came to the door of a small clothing store.
“Ahem~”
Facing Li Ye's expression of "Are you a shill?", Pei Wencong coughed twice and whispered: "Mr. Li, the owner here is one of my junior sisters, but I definitely don't mean anything else. Besides, you may not know much about Hong Kong Island. Many people have some misunderstandings about mainlanders."
"I know, you're worried that they won't welcome us, right?"
Li Ye smiled, pushed the door open and walked in.
The clothing store is not big, but the decoration is okay. There is a young woman in her twenties inside, who is looking at a children's picture book with a little boy.
The woman stood up quickly. Before she could say anything, Li Ye asked in standard Mandarin: "Hello, we would like to make a few clothes. Is it convenient for you to receive us?"
Not to mention 1983, even 30 or 40 years later, there are still some people in Hong Kong who don't like mainland visitors! You speak Mandarin to him, he speaks Cantonese to you, you speak Cantonese to him, he asks you if you can speak English.
Some people from Guangdong Province angrily scolded: "Since you speak Cantonese, why don't you recognize your ancestors?"
So Li Ye didn't wait for Pei Wencong to introduce him, and spoke in Mandarin, "If you don't want to do it, just say it earlier, don't make things difficult for yourself because of Pei Wencong's face."
"Of course it's convenient! How can we open the door for business without receiving guests, not to mention that they are friends of Senior Brother Pei."
The young woman in the store actually spoke good Mandarin, which made Li Ye feel much better.
Pei Wencong stepped forward and said, "Ah Ling, these gentlemen want to make some fashionable clothes. Can you recommend some?"
"Okay, gentlemen, what do you want? Take a look at these albums. What style do you like?"
The shop owner named A Ling was neither overly enthusiastic nor negligent. He called a young girl to measure Li Ye and others, and took out a stack of picture albums for Li Ye and others to choose from.
In fact, Pengcheng No. 7 Factory has its own clothing master, and Li Ye has been wearing custom-made clothes in the past six months.
But after all, there was a forty-year difference in perspective. Sometimes, the requests made by Li Ye were not understood by the old masters who had retired from state-owned factories.
Li Ye couldn't be sure whether it was the master's fault or his own thinking was too avant-garde, so he took the opportunity to verify it when he came to Hong Kong Island.
It turns out that it was both of these reasons.
Those retired masters who were re-employed were indeed constrained by the level of development of the mainland's clothing industry and their vision was somewhat limited.
But Li Ye's fashion thinking is indeed avant-garde.
Li Ye picked out several models from the album provided by A Ling, and then asked to change some details. A Ling quickly understood Li Ye's intentions and hand-drew new sample drawings.
However, looking at the surprise in A Ling's eyes, it is obvious that she, a "sea turtle designer", cannot escape the limitations of the times.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
