1980 My literary era

Early the next morning, as soon as colleagues came to work, they gathered around Tong Zhonggui's desk and started talking.

After finally waiting for Lin Weimin to come to work, everyone quickly pulled him over.

"Lin Weimin, what is going on?" Everyone asked Lin Weimin, pointing to the comparative data that Tong Zhonggui finally compiled.

Lin Weimin was not surprised by the results of the data comparison and said calmly: "Didn't you all see it? That's it!"

Seeing that he seemed to have expected it, his colleagues were not surprised. Yesterday, Lin Weimin asked everyone to compare data. What surprised everyone was Lin Weimin's reaction.

"Aren't you in a hurry?" Liu Yin asked.

"What's the use of being anxious?"

Lin Weimin sat down and said, "Everyone, sit down."

Seeing that Lin Weimin seemed to have something to say, everyone returned to their seats.

Lin Weimin picked up the statistics on Tong Zhonggui's desk and counted the sales of six domestic mainstream literary magazines in the past three years, including "Contemporary", "People's Literature", "Zhongshan" and "October".

With a little observation, you can see a phenomenon.

In the past two years, the sales of various publications have been very stable, and some publications have even increased steadily.

But starting from this year, the sales of various publications have declined to varying degrees, and the decline is not large, generally between 3% and 5%.

If you look at the decline alone, it doesn't seem like a big deal.

Statistical data cannot be deceptive, and the decline in sales is not terrible. The most terrifying thing is that it is not the sales of a certain novel that are declining, but the sales of all publications.

Everyone knows what this phenomenon means.

But everyone still looked at Lin Weimin without giving up, hoping that he would say something exciting from his mouth.

"Everyone has seen the statistics compiled by Xiao Tong. The data is here, and everyone can understand it even if I don't tell you.

That's right! The sales of domestic literary journals are declining. The data of one publication may not mean anything, but the data of so many publications together represent a trend. Our literary journal market is shrinking! "

Lin Weimin said something contrary to everyone's expectations. Everyone's lips were tightened and their eyes were complicated.

"According to my observation, not only our journal market, but also the entire publishing industry, is likely to enter a downward stage in the next few years, with sales continuing to shrink."

"Isn't that true?" He Qizhi was a little doubtful.

Lin Weimin said unhurriedly: "If you think about it, it doesn't take long. Just three years ago, among those people who bought magazines and books all day long, how many people are still sticking to this habit now?"

He Qizhi frowned, and others also recalled it.

Everyone thought about it carefully, and they didn't notice it before. Today, Lin Weimin reminded them that the number of people reading books seems to have been decreasing in the past two years.

The domestic economy is constantly developing and changing with each passing day. The leisurely pace of the people during the planned economy period is constantly being broken. More and more people are beginning to succumb to economic changes and gradually transition from the early stage of reform that focused on spiritual life to one that focuses on material life. stage.

The spiritual satisfaction that literature brings to Chinese people is constantly weakening, and people are beginning to turn towards reality, not just ordinary people, but also people in the literary circle.

In the past two years, Han Shaogong led a group of people from the literary circle to march into Hainan, which is proof of this trend. However, these people have not experienced the various negative impacts brought about by the rapid economic development and the rapid social transition, and they still maintain their inner integrity. Somewhat ideal and romantic.

In a few years, this group of people will obediently bow their heads in front of reality.

“In addition to economic development, people are paying more and more attention to material enjoyment and ignoring spiritual life. Another important factor is piracy. I think everyone knows that piracy has become more and more rampant in recent years.

We are doing better as a publication. Book publishing has suffered greatly from piracy in recent years, and sales are shrinking.

The convergence of various factors indicates that our publishing market is likely to begin to decline in the 1990s. "

Lin Weimin expressed his pessimistic predictions about the future in a calm tone. Everyone listened with heavy faces and sad hearts.

"Weimin, are you sure this will really happen in the future?" He Qizhi asked.

Lin Weimin smiled, "How can I guarantee this? It's just my personal prediction, but the general trend will not change. You can wait until next year and see."

Lin Weimin's meaning is very clear. Market shrinkage is a major trend. As time goes by, this shrinkage will only become more obvious. You only need to observe it for a while, and everything will be clear at a glance.

We had just gone to work early in the morning, and everyone was in a good mood. However, after hearing Lin Weimin's pessimistic predictions, we couldn't muster the energy to work at all, and our hearts were filled with sadness.

"Weimin, I see why you are not worried at all?" Yao Shuzhi couldn't help but ask.

"What's there to worry about? The sales volume is not good, and it's not our family's fault. If it falls, everyone will fall together. This is due to the general environment, and it is not a crime of war.

Besides, this kind of change cannot be completed in a year and a half. We will have to fight against this situation for a long time in the future.

Just because I'm not in a hurry doesn't mean I won't find ways to deal with this change. "

When Lin Weimin said this, Tong Zhonggui suddenly said: "Mr. Lin, you are so anxious to get "The Dust Has Settled" to be released. Could it be that..."

"Absolutely. Now that the sales of publications are on a downward trend, we must take some measures to deal with it.

The simplest and most direct way is to find ways to improve the quality of the publication itself.

In my vision, in the next few years, we should at least ensure that our publication should publish one or two influential works every quarter, and one or two widely influential works every year. "

He Qizhi said: "For the people, your idea is too idealistic. The quality of the work is not directly related to the impact it can have after publication."

Lin Weimin nodded and responded: "You are right about this. But it doesn't matter, right? Everyone should have seen the advertisements broadcast by CCTV every day, right?

The effect of the eyeball economy will become more and more powerful in the 1990s. Whether we talk about influence or popularity, to put it bluntly, it means fame and presence in the eyes of the public. Of course, "Contemporary" is well-known enough, but we must strengthen our presence.

Only if we continue to emphasize our existence, old readers will not forget us, and new readers will know us. "

Yao Shuzhi frowned and said, "The more you talk about it, the more complicated it becomes. Why do I feel like you have already arranged all the work we will do in a few years?"

There were smiles on everyone's lips, and the atmosphere in the office rarely became relaxed.

"Don't tell me I'm just like a conspirator! It's true that I have some ideas in my mind, but they are also to cope with changes in the market.

The reason why I tell you so much today is actually to give you a vaccination.

The past ten years have been a golden decade for the domestic literary world and a golden decade for the development of our periodical industry.

Not to mention people like us, even if Amao and Agou start a magazine, there is no need to worry about not being able to continue, but there will not be such a good time in the future. "

When Lin Weimin said this, his tone was a bit sighing, and then his eyes became determined, "Only when the tide recedes can everyone see who is swimming naked!"

Although Lin Weimin spoke pessimistically, everyone still felt a sense of confidence and determination to move forward from his words, which gave everyone confidence.

No matter when, as long as Lin Weimin is there as the backbone, everyone can feel at ease.

Moreover, from what Lin Weimin said just now, it is not difficult to find that Lin Weimin has a full understanding of the pessimism about the future in his heart, and he must have some means of coping with it.

"Okay, stop scaring us, I think you just want us to work more!" Liu Yin said easily.

The solemn atmosphere dissipated, and everyone showed heart-warming smiles.

"Okay, okay, everyone can work with peace of mind. If the sky falls, there will be tall people to hold it up. Everyone should eat, drink, sing and dance!" Lin Weimin said jokingly.

The gossip ended and everyone returned to work.

Another day, Lin Weimin received a call from Roger Strauss from the United States. He had already contacted Richard Yates.

"Lin, you don't even know how much I went through to find him!"

Of course Roger Strauss' words were meritorious, but it was not easy for him to contact Richard Yates.

The old man has been writing all his life, but now he is over 60 and does not even own a house. A few years ago, he was still teaching at the university, working and writing at the same time. However, due to various reasons such as alcoholism, lung disease, and financial constraints, he suffered several mental breakdowns and was sent to the hospital.

Now Cat lives in a dilapidated small house in Boston. He still hasn't given up his alcohol addiction, but he doesn't drink during the day because he has to write during the day, and he is always drunk every night.

Perhaps only in this way can he temporarily escape the pain that life has brought him.

When Roger Strauss first talked to Richard Yates about someone wanting to introduce his books to China, he was not interested.

Years of loneliness and miserable life made him somewhat withdrawn, until Roger Strauss handed him the letter written by Lin Weimin.

Before Roger Strauss went to Richard Yates's house that day, he also found the newspaper where Lin Weimin was interviewed during his stay in the United States. In the report, Lin Weimin mentioned several times that Richard Yates was a man who had long been raped by the United States. Great writers who have been ignored by readers have been unfairly treated for a long time.

"Lin, he cried. Did you know? He cried as sadly as a child! He agreed to publish it without even negotiating remuneration. He also wrote you a letter and asked me to pass it on to you."

On the phone, Roger Strauss was also a little emotional.

It is true that he is a bookseller, but of course he would not be in this industry if it were not for his love of literature.

He fully understood the relief and emotion that Richard Yates felt after reading Lin Weimin's letter.

As the most underestimated and neglected writer in the history of American literature, Richard Yates has long been ignored by American readers. Even though many people in the mainstream literary circles appreciate him, more people feel that his writings Things are outdated, backward and do not conform to the trend of the times.

It was in this environment that had been neglected for a long time that a young and famous foreign writer suddenly appeared. He said that he admired his works and worked tirelessly to introduce his works to the other side of the ocean.

If Richard Yates knew Chinese, he would definitely use the word "confidant" to describe Lin Weimin.

"The manuscript fee must be paid. Although the manuscript fee for publishing in our country is not much, it is what Mr. Yates deserves. Mr. Strauss, thank you very much this time. Our publishing house will send someone in a few days Go and talk to Mr. Yates about publishing."

After communicating with Roger Strauss, Lin Weimin immediately went to find Cheng Wanchun. After discussion, Cheng Wanchun planned to entrust his colleagues in the United States to discuss publishing with Richard Yates.

Lin Weimin mentioned the current situation of Richard Yates, and Cheng Wanchun said: "Our domestic royalty standards are definitely not comparable to those in the United States, but I can give the highest standard within our jurisdiction."

The reason why Cheng Wanchun was so happy was because he recognized the hidden strength of Richard Yates.

After talking to Cheng Wuchun, Lin Weimin finally fulfilled his wish.