Reborn in 1977

Chapter 557: Sold Out Upon Release

In the blink of an eye, it was May Day.

After restoring the Spring Festival and National Day holidays last year, this year took another step forward, and the May Day Labor Day was also a holiday!

Truly gratifying and worth celebrating.

New Year's Day 1 day, Spring Festival 3 days, Labor Day 1 day, National Day 2 days, a total of seven days of public holidays throughout the year. Counting one day off every Sunday, there are a total of 59 public holidays in a year.

Much less than in later generations, the advantage is that there are no make-up days, and you don't have to count the days on your fingers.

However, for Chen Fan, today was not a day off.

It wasn't that the school wasn't on holiday, nor that Professor Xu wouldn't give him a rest, but that after "A Brief Discussion on Hard-Pen Calligraphy", his first independently published novel, "Yunhu Love", was officially released and put on sale through Xinhua Bookstore today.

As the leader of the Jiangnan Literature and Art Publishing House, He Qingsheng dragged him to the Xinhua Bookstore in the provincial capital early in the morning to observe the situation.

Not far from the Writers Association, there was a Xinhua Bookstore with a relatively large venue.

Before the bookstore opened, a long queue had already formed at the entrance. Because the queue was too long, it had already reached the entrance of other stores, and even turned a corner, about to reach the road.

These were all customers waiting for the bookstore to open and then buy books.

The vast majority were young literary enthusiasts, interspersed with a small number of older people. They didn't necessarily want to buy literary books, and they might also want to buy professional books.

The desire for literature and knowledge has kept the scene of "queueing to buy books" going for more than ten years, and has thus maintained the prosperity of the literature and book market for more than ten years. During this period, I don't know how many writers have become rich by writing.

(Queueing to buy books)

This great wealth... still won't be Chen Fan's turn.

Because he only has royalties, no matter how much it sells, it has nothing to do with him!

So he seemed a little absent-minded, squatting on the curb across from the bookstore, holding a bag of buns and gnawing on them.

He Qingsheng stood next to him, one hand folded, supporting his other hand and pinching his chin, "The day before yesterday, Jiangnan Daily and Wenhui Daily simultaneously published the news that this book was about to be released. I guess these people are all here to queue up to buy 'Yunhu Love'."

Chen Fan swallowed the bun in his mouth, picked up another one, "Jiangnan Daily publishing is understandable, why did Wenhui Daily also join in?"

This was pure advertising, quite different from the news about the correspondence center for literary creation that was published a few days ago.

That at least had a certain degree of news value, "Opening the road to creation for the vast number of literary enthusiasts, and cultivating more literary talents," look, how lofty the intention is.

What about this?

"Yunhu Love" is on the market, welcome to buy?

There's no selling point at all!

He Qingsheng lit a cigarette, exhaled a puff of smoke, "I had a discussion with their editor-in-chief. When 'Yunhu Love' is released, he will help me promote it. When 'Shanghai Spy Shadow' is released, Jiangnan Daily and 'Jiangnan Literature' will help them promote it."

Chen Fan blinked, "Exchange of benefits?"

He Qingsheng rolled his eyes, "What is this exchange of benefits? At most, it's a win-win cooperation."

He said, squatting down and smoking, "Before a new book is released, publishing the release news in relevant newspapers and periodicals is a tradition. Otherwise, how many people would know that a new book is on the market?

Wenhui Daily has a large circulation and can cover most areas of the country with the news. However, Jiangnan Daily also has its own advantages, that is, it has deep roots in the local area. From the provincial capital to the rural production team, it can be said that it is ubiquitous. Cooperation between the two parties does not mean that anyone is taking advantage of anyone, and there are benefits for both."

Chen Fan nodded, um, um, um, and ate two more buns.

He previously thought that there was no advertising in this era, but the reality was somewhat unexpected.

There was no pure commercial advertising, but "pseudo-commercial advertising" emerged endlessly.

For example, when the Yunhu Automobile Factory was established, Yunhu Daily and Jiangnan Daily both reported on it, and even the Ministry of Machinery Industry's "Construction Machinery" reprinted relevant information. These were all solid advertisements and promotions, even more ruthless than commercial advertisements.

At least the units that want to buy cars basically know that there is now a Yunhu Automobile Factory, and it is also a model recognized by the Ministry of Machinery Industry and FAW. Many people are eager to buy it.

Book publishing is the same.

For example, the first issue of "Literature" magazine in 1979 mentioned that "Xinhua Bookstore Beijing Distribution Office" issued the book "Selected Readings in Library Professional English". Xinhua bookstores in various places also regularly announced the news of new book releases in the bulletin boards in the store.

This time, "Yunhu Love" received such treatment.

It's just that He Qingsheng was even more ruthless, directly pulling Yunhu Daily and Wenhui Daily to the field to wave the flag, which is several million audiences.

If the sales of this set of books are less than 200,000 sets, it can only be considered that Chen Fan is incompetent!

Thinking of this, Chen Fan turned to look at He Qingsheng, "Uncle He, how many copies were printed in the first edition?"

He Qingsheng didn't turn his head, "200,000 sets, 400,000 copies."

"Yunhu Love" has a total of 320,000 words, divided into two volumes, each volume with 160,000 words, priced at 0.55 yuan.

This price is relatively fair. When Zhejiang publishes "Gone with the Wind" next year, that will be expensive. The entire book will be published in three volumes, and the three books together will cost 3 yuan and 15 cents, while novels with more content before were priced at 0.75 yuan, which is considered high.

Even so, under a lot of criticism, the first edition of "Gone with the Wind" still sold 600,000 copies. The distribution manager of Shanghai Xinhua Bookstore ran to Hangzhou and asked for 50,000 sets as soon as he opened his mouth.

Not only that, Zhejiang People's Publishing House also published a book called "What Kind of Book is \u003cGone with the Wind\u003e", priced at 0.26 yuan, and made some nonsensical "localized modernization" comments on the characters inside.

Well, it is to divide them into classes, and it actually sells well.

This shows how big the current literary market is.

He Qingsheng's decision to set the number of the first edition of "Yunhu Love" at 200,000 sets had some risks when he made the decision. Now he can only bite the bullet, otherwise he wouldn't have dragged Chen Fan over today.

But it's not a big problem, Chen Fan thinks it should be stable.

Swallowing the last big meat bun, rubbing the oil paper into a ball and throwing it into the trash can a few meters away, Chen Fan picked up the kettle he was carrying and took a sip of water, and asked, "Uncle He, have you ever come to the store to see a new book launch before?"

He Qingsheng turned to look at him, "No, what's wrong?"

Chen Fan was a little curious, "Then why did you want to come and see it today?"

He Qingsheng glared at him and said angrily, "Isn't it because of you? Although you are not a lecturer at the correspondence center, you are the top card of the correspondence center after all. The correspondence center is about to start, and it happens to be the release of your new book. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if it is met with cold reception and can't be sold?!"

Chen Fan smiled, "You have pulled Wenhui Daily to promote it, there will definitely be no problem."

At this time, it was exactly 7:30, and the gate of Xinhua Bookstore was opened from the inside.

The crowd queuing outside immediately poured in.

Among the crowd, came the rough voice of an aunt, "Everyone, line up, line up, I'll see who doesn't line up, I won't sell it today..."

Chen Fan and He Qingsheng looked at each other, and at the same time got up and crossed the road. (Remember traffic rules, don't learn from them)

Crossing the road, the two didn't join the queue, but instead leaned in at the entrance, craning their necks to look inside.

The middle-aged woman at the entrance was still shouting, "Those buying literature books, continue to queue here. Those buying other books can come inside and queue there."

Many people in the queue turned their heads, looking around. Unfortunately, almost no one moved.

It seemed they were all here for the literature section.

The question was, how many were here to buy 'Romance of Cloud Lake'?

Chen Fan leaned against the entrance, craning his neck to look inside.

The Xinhua Bookstore in the provincial capital was different from the one in Nanhugongshe.

The Nanhugongshe one was somewhat similar to the layout of bookstores in the 90s, with counters around the perimeter and open bookshelves in the middle, allowing customers to browse and choose for themselves.

Chen Fan didn't know why the Nanhugongshe Xinhua Bookstore was so "advanced." The transformation of Xinhua Bookstores from "closed-style" to "open-style" happened after the mid-80s, and some places didn't even start transitioning until the 90s.

Before that, they were similar to department stores, with salespeople separated from customers by counters. If you wanted something, you could only ask the salesperson to get it for you; self-selection was not an option.

The bookstore in front of him was like that.

A circle of glass counters surrounded the perimeter, with several square counters in the middle, arranged according to different book categories.

(Interior view of Xinhua Bookstore)

The literature counter was undoubtedly the largest, located in the long strip facing the entrance, against the wall.

The head of the queue was also there.

Chen Fan saw that the bookstore employee was still shouting, "Those buying other books can come inside and queue there."

So he directly squeezed through the gaps in the queue.

He Qingsheng followed immediately.

Actually, if he were to call the leaders of the Xinhua Bookstore in the provincial capital, he could directly "inspect" the store, so there would be no need for this hassle.

Inside the bookstore, one could see a small blackboard hanging on the bookshelf behind the literature counter, with new book information written on it.

"New Release Today: 'Romance of Cloud Lake,' Author: Chen Fan"

Chen Fan looked at it from afar, unable to help grinning.

It was like the first time he saw his words turned into print; it felt magical.

His previous articles were all published in magazines, squeezed together with other people's articles, which could only be considered a "shared dormitory."

Today, he finally saw his novel published independently, which could be considered a "detached villa," right?!

It's just that the staff were busy maintaining order, distributing books, and collecting money, so no one was paying attention to them. Otherwise, seeing two people wandering around the store, they might have been kicked out.

Among the people queuing, some had already gathered in small groups to discuss.

"'Romance of Cloud Lake'? With the word 'romance,' is it a love story?"

"Probably. I just don't know what kind of love it's about."

"Chen Fan's previous works have mostly been about rural themes. I guess it's very likely a rural love story!"

Chen Fan's face darkened instantly as he listened from the side.

I'm not Brother Shan!

Then someone offered a different opinion, "Not necessarily. Chen Fan's style is known for being versatile. Although he's only been writing for a year, his works are rich in content and large in quantity.

From the rural-style 'On the Fields of Hope' to the documentary literature 'Tanka Fishing Boat,' from the anti-Japanese war-themed 'Reed Marsh' to the 'Ferryman' depicting educated youth love, his style has never been limited."

"That's right, I remember now, 'Ferryman' was about love, wasn't it? Could 'Romance of Cloud Lake' be a similar story?"

"If you ask me, it's useless to guess now. We'll know when we buy the book and read it."

Then a girl was seen waving her hand with shining eyes, "Comrade, comrade, can I take a look at the synopsis?"

The young man who had just bought the book hesitated for a moment, looked at the pretty female comrade, and finally carefully opened the book and handed it to her, "You can only look, don't touch."

"Thank you, thank you."

The girl quickly thanked him, and then several heads gathered together to look at the synopsis on the title page.

The other people in the queue all turned their attention here, as if they could see the words on the book as well.

The girl had only just read the beginning when she couldn't help but cover her mouth and exclaim, "Oh, it's actually the daughter of a Kuomintang general, and she's an overseas Chinese who returned from America?!"

As soon as these words came out, the queue, which had been quiet for a few seconds, instantly became noisy.

"What? Kuomintang?"

"And an overseas Chinese?"

"How dare Chen Fan write this?"

"How dare the publisher print it?"

"How dare the bookstore release it?"

"How dare you buy it? Hey, hey, hey, if you don't dare to buy it, leave quickly, don't take up the space in front!"

"Who said I wouldn't buy it? Hurry up in front!"

"I really want to read it!"

At this time, the staff in the counter were busy, but everything was in order. They just didn't have time to pay attention to these people.

Anyway, this was always the case on the first day of a new book release by a well-known author. They were used to it.

The question was, how many days could this queue last?

So the people in the bookstore were very calm.

But it wasn't long before they couldn't stay calm anymore.

"What? Out of stock?"

The saleswoman stared wide-eyed, "We ordered 1,000 copies today. Were there even 1,000 people in the queue just now?"

"There definitely weren't 1,000 people!"

The young girl who had just joined this year looked nervous, "But, Auntie, there were definitely three or four hundred people. Some people bought three or four copies at a time. 1,000 copies aren't enough for them to buy."

The middle-aged woman glared, "How many times have I told you, don't call me Auntie at work."

Then she waved her hand, "Don't be nervous. If the goods are sold out, we'll just get the main store to transfer more."

The young man at the front of the queue looked hopeful, "There are still books, right? How long will we have to wait?"

Before the middle-aged woman could speak, a voice came from behind a small door, "I just asked the main store, they're completely out of stock!"

The middle-aged woman was stunned, "Didn't I hear that the main store ordered 50,000 copies this time? How are they all gone?"

A middle-aged man with sleeves rolled up came out of the small door, wiped his sweat, and said with a wry smile, "Don't even mention 50,000 copies. Chen Fan is from Jiangnan, shouldn't we support him? The provincial company directly ordered 100,000 copies, and the provincial capital accounted for half of them."

He spread his hands, "But it can't stop so many people from buying. I heard that Yunhu ordered 20,000 copies, and before they even opened, they were all ordered by some units. They all ordered collectively in the name of the unit. The Health Department wanted 200 copies, the Machinery Factory wanted 500 copies, the Cotton Mill wanted 500 copies, Nanhugongshe wanted 1,000 copies… It's just not enough to sell. Now many people are making trouble in the store…"

The middle-aged woman stared wide-eyed, "Sold out as soon as we opened?"

Not far away, Chen Fan gave He Qingsheng a look, without saying a word, and the two quickly left.