1980 My literary era

Li Xin said: "Yu Qiuyu called and said that he wanted to discuss the royalties."

Li Xin looked hesitant when he said this.

It has been more than four months since Guowenshe published "Cultural Journey" by Qiu Yu. When it was first published, no one at the Chinese Literature Society was optimistic about this collection of essays.

Firstly, this is because the author Yu Qiuyu is not well-known in the domestic literary circle, and secondly, Yu Qiuyu's prose style is different from previous works.

But no one expected that such a collection of essays would sell 500,000 copies in more than four months after it was launched, and the Chinese Literature Society urgently reprinted it 6 times.

During the printing process, "Cultural Journey" time and time again broke everyone's perception of prose collections at the Chinese Literature Society.

Print an additional 30,000 copies, 50,000 copies, 100,000 copies, 150,000 copies, 150,000 copies...

The readers of "Cultural Journey" seem to have a bottomless pit. No matter how many more copies the Chinese Literature Society prints, they can snap up this collection of essays in a short time.

In the 40-year history of the establishment of the Chinese Literature Society, the Chinese Literature Society has never seen such a monstrous book.

Even if the author is not well-known, his style is unique, and the genre is not considered popular, how on earth was he able to sell half a million copies in four months?

This question is not only a question lingering in the minds of everyone in the Chinese Literature Society, but also a knot in the minds of all publishers across the country.

No, why is it?

However, if you can’t figure it out, it doesn’t stop everyone from following the trend and making money.

Since "Cultural Journey" became popular, even the Chinese Literature Society has taken advantage of the momentum and released several collections of essays, not to mention the publishing houses outside.

In just two months, the number of prose collections published by major domestic publishing houses has exploded. Hundreds of flowers bloomed at once, forming a powerful trend that dazzled readers.

Not to mention the prose trend triggered by "Cultural Journey", Yu Qiuyu was happy at first when he saw that his collection of essays was selling well.

He is a cultural scholar himself. Although he has published books before, they were all academic works and sales were not even a concern.

The essays in "Cultural Journey" are all works he wrote during his lectures and inspections at home and abroad for many years. It is also the first time he has published a literary work. He never dreamed that this collection of essays would be so popular among readers. A wild welcome.

But not long after he was happy, he began to feel depressed again. The cause was a conversation between him and his good friend.

His friend was an editor of a publishing house in Shanghai. They had dinner together that evening. During the dinner, his friend talked about the great sales of "Cultural Journey" after its publication, which touched Yu Qiuyu's heart and made him extremely proud.

But after his friend praised him, he asked again as if he didn't mean it, "Qiu Yu, the royalties paid to him by the Chinese Literature Society for publishing your book must be very high, right?"

Yu Qiuyu smiled and said: "The Chinese Literature Society is very fair and gives 8% royalties."

My friend said: "8%, that's a lot. But..."

When her friend said this, she pretended to be hesitant, and Yu Qiuyu couldn't help but ask, "But what?"

"But judging from the current sales of "Cultural Journey", the royalties given to you by the Chinese Literature Society are really not high. It must be at least 10%!"

Yu Qiuyu smiled and waved her hands, "Who knew books could sell so well?"

The friend smiled and said: "Yes, I thought it was simple."

After finishing speaking, Yu Qiuyu did not take the conversation at the table seriously.

But when I got home, Yu Qiuyu was lying on the bed in the middle of the night, but couldn't fall asleep. She tossed and turned, and all she could think about was her friend's words, "It must be at least 10%."

His "Cultural Journey" is priced at 3.2 yuan. Half a million copies means 1.6 million yuan. The difference in royalties of 2% is a difference of 32,000 yuan. For 32,000 yuan, I can't even think about a new house, but It’s no problem to buy a house in Shanghai, and there may even be some left.

After thinking about it for several days, Yu Qiuyu finally couldn't hold it back and called the Chinese Literature Society.

His phone call was to Li Xin. The editing and review of "Cultural Journey" was in charge of the First Editorial Office of Contemporary Literature.

Li Xin also scratched his head after hearing Yu Qiuyu's thoughts.

In the past, when the works sold well, the Chinese Literature Society did not give the authors supplementary manuscript fees. During Mr. Lin’s tenure alone, there were many cases where contracts were changed to give profits to writers.

But the thing about Yu Qiuyu that made him scratch his head was that the royalty share given to him by the Chinese Literature Society was actually not low, but now Yu Qiuyu wanted more, which was not easy to handle.

Li Xinyou wanted to refuse Yu Qiuyu. After all, the previous royalties were not low, but "Cultural Journey" was a big hit now, so he couldn't say no directly.

He asked Yu Qiuyu to wait for his news, and he would discuss it with the leader. Naturally, the leader was referring to Lin Weimin.

After listening to Yu Qiuyu's request and Li Xin's thoughts, Lin Weimin said with a relaxed expression: "What do I mean? Promise him and give him 10% of the royalties, not only for this book, but also for the next book." You can also give him this amount. In addition, give him the difference in royalties from the last additional printing."

Li Xingyan's face was full of surprise, "Teacher Lin..."

"What's wrong?"

Li Xin hesitated to speak, but finally couldn't help but said: "You are too talkative."

Lin Weimin laughed and asked, "Do you mean not to agree to Yu Qiuyu's request?"

Li Xin hesitated. He actually knew what might happen if he didn't agree to Yu Qiuyu's request.

If Yu Qiuyu's request for a royalty increase is not agreed to this time, then it is very likely that his next book will not be given to the Chinese Literature Society. With the popularity of "Cultural Journey" and Yu Qiuyu's current popularity, it is certain that his next work, or even the next few works, will be a hit.

For the sake of a 2% royalty share, it is possible to shut out such writers, which is obviously not a good deal.

However, the Chinese Literature Society obviously favored Qiu Yu, but no one was optimistic about the collection of essays when it was first published. It was Teacher Lin who took the initiative to invite him and gave him a good share of the royalties.

As soon as Li Xin thought of this, he felt depressed.

Lin Weimin looked at Li Xin standing there, his expression changed, and asked with a smile: "What do you think? Do you agree or not?"

Li Xin said with difficulty: "From the club's perspective, we should agree."

Lin Weimin nodded slightly.

"When we work in a publishing house, we are not only engaged in cultural work, but it is also a business. Since it is a business, the most important thing is to make money by being friendly.

Assuming that "Cultural Journey" does not sell well, do you think he has the confidence to ask us to increase the royalties?

The biggest advantage of the royalty system is that, to a certain extent, the publishing house and the writer share the risk. If the work sells less, the writer will get less, and the publishing house will make less, and vice versa.

I know where you feel uncomfortable. In the past, the agency took the initiative to increase manuscript fees and royalties for writers. Now, someone suddenly takes the initiative. Do you think this person is a bit too snobbish?

But have you ever thought about a problem? In fact, it is not that writers in the past have never considered asking the agency to increase their prices, but many people are too embarrassed to say it.

Active or passive, this matter is not important, nor is it something we should consider.

The important thing is that we hold the resources of writers and works in our hands. As long as his works sell well, what does it matter if he pays a higher royalty? It's not as high as the sky, after all, it's within a reasonable range.

In a moment of anger, someone chooses another publishing house for his next book. His reputation has already spread, and his work has no worries about selling. What good does it do to our publishing house? "

Lin Weimin's tone was calm and unhurried, but Li Xin was sincerely convinced.

It's not that he didn't know what Lin Weimin said, but in his heart, his anger at Yu Qiuyu's greed for money and snobbishness outweighed his rationality in considering the publishing house as a whole.

This is also the trap that many people are most likely to fall into when thinking about problems. They are dominated by emotions instead of giving priority to reason.

Li Xin thought about Lin Weimin's words that he would also reimburse Yu Qiuyu with the difference in royalties from the last additional printing. He couldn't help but ask: "Teacher Lin, do you think someone like him will be moved by our behavior?"

Lin Weimin asked back: "Who said I was trying to impress him?"

Li Xin looked at Lin Weimin and didn't react for a moment.

Lin Weimin smiled and asked: "What kind of person is he in your heart?"

Li Xin's lips pursed, but he didn't say anything.

But Lin Weimin already knew what he was going to say, and continued to ask: "Have you ever heard of petty profit?"

Li Xin's mind suddenly opened up, and he immediately understood Lin Weimin's intention.

Yes, for a short-sighted person who is greedy for small profits, what is more attractive to him than the small advantages in front of him?

Yu Qiuyu is now well-known, and there must be many publishers who want to cooperate with him, many of which will offer high prices. And what does the Chinese Literature Society rely on to retain people like him?

It's this kind of petty profit that counts.

Li Xin couldn't help but have an idea when he thought of this.

Teacher Lin did this not only from a business perspective, but also from a righteous perspective.

You see, you proposed changing the contract and we agreed. Not only did I agree, but I also gave you a little extra, which can be described as being extremely kind and righteous.

When word spreads about this, who can not praise the Chinese Society for its unparalleled benevolence and righteousness?

From now on, when Yu Qiuyu thinks of Yao Mozi again, his saliva will drown him.

Teacher Lin is so tall!

Li Xin thought for a while and looked at Lin Weimin with eyes full of admiration.

"Teacher Lin, I understand!" he said excitedly.

Lin Weimin nodded, "Just understand. I'll call Yu Qiuyu back later and ask him to come to Beijing to change the contract. By the way, he will write the priority signing rights for the next book into the contract."

Li Xin immediately showed a tacit smile and said, "Yes."

No wonder it took Teacher Lin just one year to run the Tongwen Society into a great success. Look at his brains.

"Okay, let's go."

Li Xin strode back to the office vigorously and called back Yu Qiuyu's call.

"Ouch! Lao Yu, you have to treat me to a meal this time!"