Chapter 261 You Can Make Money on the Ship
Nowadays, popular literature in Europe and America is booming. France has Alexandre Dumas and his "The Count of Monte Cristo", and Britain has Stevenson and his "Treasure Island", which describe stories about treasure hunting and adventure.
Zhang Xingjiu brought out "Pirates of the Caribbean", the culmination of Hollywood's later work, and instantly attracted these adventurers from Europe to the Far East. If you talk to them about Oxford and Cambridge, they may find it boring, but if you talk to them about treasure and adventure, they will suddenly no longer be sleepy.
Everyone held their breath and stared wide-eyed as Zhang Xingjiu told the story of Jack Sparrow's adventures. They were deeply attracted by the magical magic, the glittering treasures and the unique customs and culture of the Caribbean.
They drank one drink after another, completely immersed in this magical story, and were reluctant to leave until the bar closed. "Mr. Zhang, can you tell me another story? Did Jack escape Barbossa's pursuit? If I don't know this, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep tonight."
Zhang Xingjiu could only assure them, "Everyone, we still have a long journey ahead of us. If the story is told in one day, the days after that will be too boring. Tomorrow night, we will continue to gather in the bar. Can I continue to tell this story?"
"Okay, it's settled. I'll treat you to drinks tomorrow night!" Bernard then reluctantly let Zhang Xingjiu leave.
Through this magical story, Zhang Xingjiu suddenly became the most popular guest on the entire passenger ship. Even the captain would come here every night to listen to him tell about the thrilling adventures of his predecessors.
He also upgraded Zhang Xingjiu's cabin, so he could stay in the first-class cabin without paying any extra money. "These cabins are empty anyway. If you can have a good rest and tell more beautiful stories, that would be great."
The life of a passenger ship captain is naturally not as interesting as Jack Sparrow's. He plans to remember these stories well so that he can show them off to other guests when he goes to sea again in the future.
Unfortunately, his dream was shattered after just three days. When Zhang Xingjiu came to the bar again and started telling stories, Bernard was already waiting there with paper and pen, ready to take notes.
"Mr. Zhang, this story is so interesting. Compared with your story, Mr. Stevenson's Treasure Island is so bland. Such a story should be read by more readers, so I take the liberty of recommending myself as the recorder. When I return to London in the future, I will take this story to the publishing house. They will definitely be willing to buy it, and it will make your study abroad in Paris easier."
At first, Zhang Xingjiu only intended to use this story to kill time on the boring journey and improve his status on the ship. But after hearing what Bernard said, he realized that this might also be a good opportunity to make money.
As soon as Bernard finished speaking, the other foreigner immediately raised his hand and said, "I am a lawyer. I can draft a contract for you two to ensure that the money can reach Mr. Zhang."
"That's great! I'll pay you according to the market price." Bernard immediately urged him to draw up a contract.
The lawyer said as he was writing the contract, "I will stay in Hong Kong for a while. If this story is not finished by Hong Kong, I won't hear the ending. If it can be published, I can avoid this regret."
"Me too. My journey will end in Manila. Unfortunately, even if it is successfully published, it is still difficult to buy this book in Manila. I can only ask my friends to help mail me a few copies."
"Ha, such a good story, unless the publisher is a fool, he will definitely buy the copyright at a high price; by the way, I can also bring this story to Italy, they may like it too."
"Perhaps France can do the same. How about this? We each make a copy and ask the lawyer to witness it. Then, when we go ashore, we will send it to the publisher in our country."
Zhang Xingjiu also said generously, "Bernard, and all the gentlemen, if it is successfully published, I will also pay you. Please ask the lawyer to note this."
He doesn't have time to run around to different countries selling copyrights, so these people save him a lot of trouble.
With the interests at stake, these people listened to the story more attentively. When they arrived at Xiangjiang, some people who had to get off the ship looked back every three steps, repeatedly begging Zhang Xingjiu to reveal some follow-up content in advance. Did Will Turner marry Elizabeth? Can Jack Sparrow escape from the dead world controlled by Davy Jones? When the ship finished coaling and water and left Xiangjiang, another group of people were attracted by the story and became regular customers of the bar. Now the owner of the bar wanted to worship Zhang Xingjiu as the God of Wealth. Since he came, the sales of alcohol have more than tripled, so every time Zhang Xingjiu can get his free alcohol and snacks.
When they arrived in Mumbai, a new group of customers came to the bar, including a Londoner whose family was in the publishing business. He gave Zhang Xingjiu an overview of the current royalties in the UK.
Originally, the royalties for European authors were very meager. Shakespeare could only get eight pounds for a play, and Milton only got ten pounds for a work.
With the popularization of newspapers, the development of printing technology, the increase in literacy rates and the growth of the urban middle class, people's demand for excellent works became stronger and stronger, and writers finally became a specialized profession.
Scott became the first person in Europe to make a fortune from writing. He could earn an astonishing income of 10,000 pounds every year from his novels.
Balzac's first novel, Clotilde of Lusignan, earned him 2,000 francs in royalties, which was not enough to support his life, so he often inserted advertisements in his novels to earn income.
After the 1950s, some later practices gradually took shape, such as extending the copyright period to the author's lifetime plus 60 years after his death, the gradual rise of the royalty system, etc. It seems that there is no essential difference between this and the publishing industry of later generations.
Hugo's contract with his French publisher, Pierre-Jules Etzer, entitles him to about 20% of the proceeds; Zola's first novel, The Confession of Claude, yielded him 10% in royalties.
Based on these, Zhang Xingjiu can probably get 10% to 20% of royalties. If "Pirates of the Caribbean" can be as popular as "The Count of Monte Cristo", Zhang Xingjiu's annual income will be very considerable.
When "The Count of Monte Cristo" was at its most popular, Dumas could earn 200,000 francs a year. He used the money to buy a piece of land in the suburbs of Paris at the time, and then built a castle on the flat ground, which was built exactly according to the Count of Monte Cristo Castle in the book.
After it was built, he held parties here all day long and spent many years in debauchery until he spent all the royalties from writing "The Count of Monte Cristo".
Zhang Xingjiu deliberately controlled the pace of the story and only finished telling the stories of the first four parts the day before he arrived at the port of Marseille. As for whether he would continue to tell the rest, that depended on how much money the publishing house would pay.
(End of this chapter)
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