1980 My literary era

National Day is getting closer and closer. The translation, editing and proofreading of the first volume of "World Literature Masterpiece Library", "French Literature", has been completed, and the printing work has also begun.

After many negotiations between Mou Chunzhi and Aide Printing Factory, the printing business of "World Literature Masterpiece Library" was officially taken over by Aide Printing Factory.

Because of the use of Bible paper and supporting printing equipment and technology, the printing cost of "World Literature Masterpiece Library" has risen sharply, a full 60% increase compared to normal printed copies.

But it's all worth it.

Lin Weimin is holding in his hand a sample book that has just been sent from Amity Printing Factory, a 32-karat, 456-page "The Count of Monte Cristo". It feels light in his hand, and its thickness is roughly equivalent to a 200-page printed book.

As someone who likes to collect books, Lin Weimin only has one feeling when he gets this book - he can't put it down.

Although the cost has gone up, the cost is definitely worth the quality.

For book lovers, it’s hard to resist such a temptation.

No matter what others think, Lin Weimin has decided to collect this series of books anyway.

There was a knock on the door, and someone from the editor-in-chief's office came in and said, "Editor-in-chief, there is your international package downstairs."

Lin Weimin got up and went downstairs, and saw the postman standing at the door of the delivery room with a large cardboard box at his feet.

After signing and confirming, Xiao Zhou helped Lin Weimin carry the cardboard box into the office.

When I opened the layers of packaging in the box, I saw a whole box of original English books and manuscripts.

Richard Yates wrote to Lin Weimin some time ago. He had a premonition that his time was running out and hoped that Lin Weimin could help him publish a collection of essays. Lin Weimin readily agreed.

These books and manuscripts represent all of Richard's lifetime writings.

Lin Weimin touched these books and manuscripts and let out a heavy sigh: This is the life of a writer!

He handed these books and manuscripts to the Foreign Languages ​​Department and said to Chen Jiangen: "Richard Yates wants to publish his collected works in China, and this task will be left to you."

The Foreign Languages ​​Department has a very heavy task this year, but as the saying goes, if there are too many lice, don't bite them, if there are too many debts, don't worry. Chen Jiangen has become numb to this.

You won’t be able to finish it anyway, so do it slowly.

The next day, Lin Weimin received another international email, this time from Italy.

When he opened it, it turned out to be a letter written to him by Roberto Bernini.

In the letter, Roberto Bernini first exchanged a few words with him, expressed his admiration for him, and then expressed his love for the novel "No matter what, life is beautiful".

From the plot structure, conflicts to character creation, he comprehensively elaborated his views, and also attached a biography he wrote for the novel's protagonist "Galiyan".

Finally, he did not forget to express his feelings to Lin Weimin, hoping to obtain the rights to adapt this novel, and said that he would do his best to make this work a success.

The entire letter contained 40,000 words. The thick stack of letter paper was almost as long as a novella. Lin Weimin spent two hours just reading the letter.

That's right, Lin Weimin "read" the letter. Roberto Benigni specially found someone to translate all the contents of the letter into Chinese. Lin Weimin had no problem reading it.

It's hard not to be moved by his sincerity.

After Lin Weimin read the letter, he thought about it for a long time before replying to him.

Roughly speaking, I would like to thank Roberto Bernini for his love of novels and his efforts.

However, the adaptation rights of "Life is Beautiful, No Matter What" have already been authorized to Hollywood director Spielberg. Now Spielberg has not made the film, but after all, it is still within the authorization period, so there is no way to The adaptation rights were given to him.

A few days later, the printing of the first volume of "French Literature" of "World Literature Masterpiece Library" was completed, with the first printing volume of 3,000 volumes.

Don't underestimate the fact that there are only 3,000 volumes. "French Literature" has a total of 28 volumes. 3,000 volumes is 84,000 volumes. Moreover, the printing paper and technology have been improved, and the binding is exquisite. The price of each volume is as high as 362 yuan, and the average selling price of a single volume is also more than 12 yuan, a proper high-end consumption.

The cost of just 3,000 volumes of French literature is as high as one million yuan, and this is just the tip of the iceberg of the "World Literature Masterpiece Library". 3,000 volumes are just a test of the waters.

As the first volume of the "World Literature Masterpiece Library" has been printed and sent to bookstores and post offices across the country, the promotion of this series of books is also in full swing.

Because of its name as "World Library", "World Literature Library" has attracted attention from the domestic publishing and literary circles since its establishment.

Now, the first volume has been released in less than half a year, which has immediately aroused heated discussions in the publishing world, literary circles and even academia.

It is rare that Guangming Daily took the initiative to publish an advertisement for this series of books without the Chinese Literature Society's greeting.

Guangming Daily's move surprised the Chinese Literature Society, and Lin Weimin sent a special phone call to express his gratitude.

In addition to the advertisements in Guangming Daily, the Chinese Literature Society also continues to exert influence through its own channels and book advertisements published in various newspapers and magazines.

Under the influence of these advertisements, more and more readers know about the "World Literature Masterpiece Library" series, and many readers flock to bookstores.

The sales of the first volume of "World Literature Masterpiece Library" have been strongly sought after by readers since its launch. Among these readers are not only ordinary literature lovers, but also many literary workers and scholars.

The translations in the first volume of "World Literature Masterpiece Library" are all translations by famous writers selected by the Chinese Literature Society, and the editing level is top-notch. Therefore, even if the price of the book is high, many readers will still buy it.

Moreover, the book's exquisite binding and outstanding printing quality, especially the use of Bible paper, have surprised many readers.

Some readers have never seen books printed on Bible paper, and they inquired about it. They heard that it is a paper specially used to print the Bible. Even the American Library uses this kind of paper. This suddenly made many people feel It's great value for money, and even the originally high price seems much more approachable.

In less than half a month, the 3,000 volumes of the first volume of "World Literature Masterpiece Library" were sold out, but the enthusiasm of readers has not cooled down at all. The huge sales gap has made bookstores and post offices everywhere overjoyed, and they have continuously provided feedback to the Chinese Literature Society. message, asking them to hurry up and print it.

However, the reply given by the Chinese Literature Society is that because the printing paper and technology used by the "World Literature Classics Library" are relatively special, the printing plant has limited production capacity and can only print 3,000 volumes per month.

As soon as this news came out, many bookstores complained. The printing volume of such a popular series of books could not keep up. Seeing that they could not make money in vain, it was even more uncomfortable than killing them.

Readers in the bookstores constantly asked if the "World Literature Masterpiece Library" was in stock. They had to go through this kind of torture countless times every day. These bookstores were miserable and gradually developed a love-hate relationship with the Chinese Literature Society.

What I love is that the books they publish are so popular among readers that they are even being snapped up; what I hate is that their printing volume cannot keep up. It is really ridiculous that such a large national publishing house is controlled by a printing factory.

Unfortunately, no matter how dissatisfied they are, they cannot change the status quo.

On the contrary, some shrewd bookstore managers contacted Wei Fengjun, the vice president of the Chinese Literature Society in charge of distribution work, early on.

The first volume of "World Literature Masterpiece Library" has a monthly output of 3,000 volumes. With so many bookstores across the country, who gets more and who gets less is a great deal of knowledge.

Although most of the book distribution of the Chinese Literature Society is handed over to Xinhua Bookstore, Wei Fengjun is responsible for the distribution business and gives hundreds of volumes to any region. It is just a matter of opening his mouth.

Wei Fengjun took over from Zhou Zhaoyun and had just been in office for more than half a year. When Zhou Zhaoyun was about to retire, the work in the distribution department was in chaos. Lin Weimin proposed that Li Xin go to the distribution department to gain experience, and then Wei Fengjun succeeded him.

During this period, Wei Fengjun became a favorite among many bookstores, something that would have been unthinkable when Lao Zhou was around, which made him feel a little proud.

That afternoon, Wei Fengjun ran to Lin Weimin's office, intending to communicate with him about the printing factory.

During this time, the phone number in his office was almost inundated with calls from bookstores all over the country, asking the Chinese Literature Society to print more copies as soon as possible. He went to Mou Chunzhi, who was in charge of the printing business, but Mou Chunzhi said that he had to talk to the editor-in-chief about this matter.

There was no one in Lin Weimin's office. Wei Fengjun inquired and found out that he had gone to Cheng Wuchun's office.

"Isn't it a bit too much for you to do this?"

Lao Cheng is an honest man. He has never done anything so unconscionable in his life. Now he feels guilty when he sees people and has no confidence to speak.

"Why is it too much?" Lin Weimin sat firmly on the sofa and raised his legs.

"Lao Cheng, I'm not telling you, this is not the past. Now some people have proposed that we restructure. Although we are a Chinese literary society, we must also pursue efficiency. This is also a propaganda method. You can't dismantle my platform. .”

Cheng Wuchun said aggrievedly: "What do you mean by this? It seems that I am a treacherous villain."

"Didn't I remind you?"

Cheng Wanchun asked worriedly: "You only release 3,000 units in a month. Is it really okay?"

"What's the matter? Do you understand what it means to be rare and valuable? The "World Literature Classics Library" is a "world library" that has been built with the efforts of the entire Chinese Literature Society and spent countless manpower and financial resources.

The printing process and technical requirements are extremely high. Being able to print 3,000 sets a month is already very high, okay?

When you go out and say this, give me more confidence, don't act like a thief. "

Cheng Wanchun shook his head helplessly, "You kid will give me problems. You can obviously supply enough printing, but you still want to engage in such crooked ways."

"How many times have I said this, this is called publicity strategy, publicity strategy, do you understand?" Lin Weimin corrected.

"Yes, yes, publicity strategy. I want to see if your publicity strategy works!"

"Then just wait and see!" Lin Weimin said confidently.

While the two were talking, there was a knock on the door, and Wei Fengjun poked his head in. "Chief Editor, is it convenient? I have something I want to talk to you about?"

Lin Weimin stood up and before leaving, he did not forget to tell Cheng Wanchun, "Be strict with your mouth!"

Comrade Lao Cheng gave him a fierce look.

Back in his office, Lin Weimin asked Wei Fengjun: "What's the matter?"

"Regarding the "World Literature Masterpiece Library", bookstores everywhere are now clamoring that it is out of stock, asking us to quickly print more copies."

"Didn't I tell you that? The printing factory's output is not enough. Now it only produces 3,000 volumes a month."

"But..." Wei Fengjun hesitated for a moment, then said, "I heard that the printing factory's output is fine."