Chapter 44 Chat with him for three days and three nights (Third update, please vote)
Li Ye did not end up becoming "Shuo Ye". He single-handedly broke the shackles of the industry on the spot and set a groundbreaking precedent for "print-based remuneration" for the majority of writers.
But after several rounds of wrangling with Blue Ocean Publishing, he finally pried open a crack in the contract and added an additional clause that seemed impossible to achieve.
[If the number of copies of this novel printed reaches more than 500,000, the author will be paid a royalty fee of 5% per 10,000 copies in accordance with relevant regulations.]
A print run of 500,000 copies was nothing decades later, but in the early 1980s it was an astronomical figure for a new writer.
"Legends of the Past and Present", which was founded in 1981, sold more than 2.7 million copies in five years, ranking first in the literary magazine category.
But it is a journal, and the circulation of each issue is less than 100,000 copies. This high sales volume is brought about by word-of-mouth fermentation for several consecutive years.
At that time, the number of copies of each edition of many novels was only a few thousand, and those with tens of thousands of copies were rare.
As for the phenomenon that "Fortress Besieged" sold over a million copies within ten years of its reprint, no one thinks it has anything to do with Li Ye.
Who is the author of Fortress Besieged? Who are you, Li Ye?
Li Ye is a newcomer. Even if the content of "The Hidden" is good, can it compare with the classic "Fortress Besieged"? It is nothing but a pipe dream to want to sell more than 500,000 copies.
Of course, Blue Ocean Publishing House also did some calculations and priced a novel at nearly two yuan.
Even if Li Ye's book becomes a huge hit and sells more than 500,000 copies, their profit will reach 600,000 to 700,000 yuan.
By then, even if other peers accuse Blue Ocean of breaking the rules, Blue Ocean can come up with an irrefutable excuse - if you want to accuse me, print 500,000 copies first.
Well, that’s what Dong Yuejin told Gengzhi from Dahe Publishing House.
Gengzhi followed the entire process of the dispute between Dong Yuejin and Li Ye, and kept trying to intercept them.
But unfortunately, he did not have the responsibility of Dong Yuejin, and the Dahe Publishing House behind him did not have the courage of the Blue Ocean Publishing House. In the end, not only did he fail to impress Li Ye, but it stimulated Dong Yuejin to get more motivated and sign the exceptional contract "on impulse".
So when Li Ye went to the station to see Dong Yuejin off, the latter held Li Ye's hand tightly and said, "Classmate Li Ye, we are now grasshoppers on the same line. If you become famous, I will definitely benefit from it. If you... ah."
Li Ye was also a little embarrassed. To be honest, Dong Yuejin was not a bad person and was someone worth making friends with.
So Li Ye said, "If this book doesn't become popular, I'll write another one for you at a friendship price."
"Write another one?"
Dong Yuejin instantly became interested and asked, "Do you have any ideas now? What kind?"
【I have more ideas.】
Li Ye thought for a moment and asked Dong Yuejin, "What kind of novels do you want? History, romance, science fiction. I'm fine with any of them."
“.”
Dong Yuejin didn't know how to respond. If he hadn't been familiar with Li Ye's "arrogance" these days, he would have spat in his face on the spot.
What kind of novel do we want? History, romance, or science fiction? Do you think you are a chameleon? Can you change your skin by shaking your head?
But Dong Yuejin finally said, "Martial arts novels are quite popular now, can you write one?"
Li Ye pursed his lips and said in embarrassment: "Martial arts. I'm really not good at it."
Dong Yuejin squinted his eyes, with an expression that said, "I let you brag, and now I've exposed you."
Li Ye is really not good at martial arts, because when he was writing online novels to sweep the charts, martial arts had already declined.
The times are progressing, and so are readers' tastes.
You, Guo Jing, have done it before, so it's fine if Yang Guo does it again, but if you ask Xiao Yan to perform the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms again, is this martial arts level high enough? It must be able to destroy heaven and earth!
The development process of popular novels is just a drama of the new wave beating the old wave. Even the most classic works by famous authors can make readers numb and tired.
"There's still some time before departure, let's talk about history!"
Dong Yue still gave Li Ye face and changed the subject.
"I read some martial arts novels in Hong Kong, and they are all related to history. The authors use the historical background to promote patriotism.
I read a line at the time: 'The greatest heroes serve their country and their people', which made me feel deeply moved."
Li Ye: [It is not appropriate to talk about "A Step into the Past" in this situation! ]
Listening to Dong Yuejin's talk, Li Ye pondered over suitable works and finally chose a more meaningful novel - "The North Wind Flying".
"As for history, I have an idea for now," Li Ye asked Dong Yuejin: "Editor Dong, do you know the Battle of Talas?"
"The Battle of Talas?"
Dong Yuejin recalled carefully and shook his head slowly.
Li Ye patiently explained: "The Battle of Talas was a battle that took place in 751 AD between the Tang Empire and the Arab Empire, both of which were at their peak. During their respective expansions, it was a large-scale collision between the two great empires of the East and the West at that time."
The story of "The North Wind Flying" is actually not complicated. It is about the descendants of the losers of the Xuanwu Gate Incident, who were expelled and exiled to the west of the Pamir Mountains, and then participated in the famous Battle of Talas.
If it is just a simple description of war, Li Ye would not recommend this novel very much.
But after the Tang Dynasty's power faded from the Western Regions, the male protagonist still led the remaining Tang troops to continue fighting, allowing the Tang Dynasty's flag to continue flying in the surrounded Western Regions for decades.
The story of the Tang Dynasty's lone army in the Western Regions is a bitter tragedy, but it is also an epic that deserves to be remembered forever by the descendants of the Tang people.
However, Dong Yuejin was not much moved after listening to Li Ye's narration.
He asked Li Ye: "If you write a novel based on this idea, what do you want to express?"
Li Ye stretched out his finger and pointed solemnly at the ground under his feet.
“I want to do my best to let more people know how powerful this land once was.”
“.”
Dong Yuejin was suddenly stunned, as if something passed through his mind.
Li Ye asked: "Editor Dong, have you ever come into contact with imported goods? Are they good?"
Dong Yuejin nodded: "I've used it before, it works well."
Li Ye asked again: "Editor Dong, do you know about the trend of going abroad?"
Dong Yuejin nodded again: "I know. Now a place to study abroad can turn a husband and wife against each other and brothers into enemies."
Li Ye asked again: "Editor Dong, do you think the West is better, or our land is better?"
“.”
Dong Yuejin said nothing.
Li Ye asked again: "Editor Dong, do you think that as we have more and more contact with the outside world, will people's confidence in our land increase or decrease?"
"this"
Dong Yuejin didn't know how to answer.
Because the island city he lives in is a port city, it has far more contact with the outside world than the inland areas.
Now, almost all people who have seen the West believe that the West is better, and judging from this trend, this awareness will become even stronger in the future.
Even Dong Yuejin himself believed that the West was superior to his side in all aspects at this moment.
At present, this kind of awareness is still hidden and suppressed, but it is foreseeable that in the near future, it will become popular openly.
"Li Ye, what exactly do you want to say?"
Li Ye lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said seriously: "I want to say that in the next period of time, we may be subjected to a strong ideological shock.
Many people will despise the land under our feet, despise our ancestors and their former glory, and think that this nation that has nurtured us for thousands of years is backward and worthless.
What Li Ye said is true.
In his previous life, the phenomenon of worshipping foreigners and fawning on them lasted for a long time.
However, decades later, when the two most powerful polar forces on the planet began to "challenge" again, Li Ye and others suddenly realized that the Dragon Kingdom was still so great and powerful.
It can be said that because of his advanced vision and experience, Li Ye has completely different perspectives and views from people of this generation.
Li Ye looked up at Dong Yuejin and chuckled, "Actually, my original intention of writing novels was for money, but I still want to make a little meaningful contribution besides making money."
"For thousands of years, our nation has always stood at the top of the world, with its power radiating thousands of miles. Now it is just a brief period of silence and decline."
“I believe that an excellent author has the responsibility and obligation to promote the history and culture of our nation and let readers know how powerful we once were.
Let readers feel proud of their identity as descendants of the dragon, rather than feeling disgusted and pathetic. "
This is Li Ye’s personal thought.
No matter how outrageous or weird the online articles in later generations are, most of them will stick to one belief - we are strong, we are awesome, and we have great hope.
It is true that there are all kinds of suffering in life, but instead of holding on to those sufferings and feeling sorry for yourself, why not run towards beauty?
Although everyone knows that they are not Long Aotian, no one wants to live like Xu Fugui.
Looking at Dong Yuejin's confused face, Li Ye, who once wrote novels of over a million words, now felt that his vocabulary was so scarce that he was unable to express his beliefs to the other party.
However, Dong Yuejin felt Li Ye's emotions and had a clear ideological resonance with them.
Cultured people are easily emotional.
He grabbed Li Ye's hand and pulled him out of the station.
"Hey, Editor Dong, where are you going? The car is about to leave."
"I won't leave. I have to talk to you about him for three days and three nights."
“.”
. . .
Dong Yuejin really talked with Li Ye for three days and three nights, so much so that Li Ye was a little scared - I won’t give birth to an XX fighter, right?
(End of this chapter)
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