Tokyo Literary Godfather

The next day, Kei Fujiwara went to a magazine company that had made an appointment in advance.

He straightened his hair in front of the glass curtain wall of a coffee shop and walked in with a straight back.

Twenty minutes later, he walked out again with a straight back.

The reason for rejection was very different from that of "Spring and Autumn Literature Appreciation", and it was just that the socialists were not popular among readers.

Although he still expressed his affirmation of Fujiwara Kei's stories in the previous chapters, there was also a more or less polite element in them.

Fujiwara Keiya has learned shrewdly. It seems that the resistance faced by a new author who wants to publish a work that is ahead of his time is not as great as usual.

So he no longer foolishly made appointments with one publishing house a day. He made appointments with three publishing houses last night and planned to visit them in turn today.

Moreover, the distance between publishing houses is usually not too far. Most companies in Tokyo have formed industrial clusters. Just like TV stations and production companies are concentrated in Minato Ward, most publishing houses are also gathered in Chiyoda Ward.

Within half an hour, Kei Fujiwara appeared at the door of another publishing house. This time the chat lasted longer. This time the editor was a woman and seemed to be somewhat interested in Kei Fujiwara's works.

She looked at it for a moment and said: "Fujiwara-kun, your work is very interesting. Although I am not sure whether this book will be popular with readers... but I personally like it."

The female editor read the first few chapters several times, "Social reasoning? It's such a niche subject. But to be honest, Fujiwara-kun, you are a new writer. You may not be able to pass the serialization meeting if you come up with a new subject so rashly. Have you considered changing the subject matter? This book may be adapted into a romance novel by removing some of the dark plots.”

The main readers of the fiction magazine published by this publishing house are women. This suggestion is reasonable, but Kei Fujiwara rejected it after thinking for a few seconds.

"Sorry, Miss Kakyoin, I have no intention of changing the original writing path of this book."

"That's it..." The female editor looked at the manuscript in her hand and thought for a moment, "Fujiwara-kun, would it be convenient for me to photocopy a copy of your manuscript?"

"Of course you can."

Kei Fujiwara agreed directly. He had already registered the work with the Screenwriters Guild and was not very worried about the work being stolen. Japan's copyright protection is not generally strict, unless they want to survive in the industry they will take this risk.

The female editor copied the first few chapters and outline of the manuscript, chatted with Fujiwara Kei for a few words, and gave him a business card. Fujiwara Kei left his number on the copy and left, heading to the next place.

Kei Fujiwara came to Asakawa Bookstore again, which is also a large publishing house.

After explaining his purpose to the front desk, Kei Fujiwara kept waiting, but the wait lasted several hours.

It wasn't until it was getting dark that a fat man came over. After talking to the front desk for a few words, he walked up to Kei Fujiwara and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Fujiwara, but I kept you waiting for so long. I was just in a serialization meeting."

"It doesn't matter." Although he scolded this guy hundreds of times in his heart, he still kept a smile on his face.

"Just give your work to me directly. If there are too many submissions, I will review them one by one."

"Sorry, I only have the original here, you can make a copy."

The fat editor directly stopped a female clerk and said: "Ms. Kudo, please make a photocopy of this gentleman's work and give it to me later. I have something to do now, so I'll leave first."

After speaking, he left without looking back. The female clerk smiled and said to Fujiwara Kei: "Please come with me."

After copying the manuscript, the clerk took the copy away. Kei Fujiwara stuffed the leather bag into his backpack and walked out of Asakawa Bookstore.

As soon as he went out, the cold air penetrated into his neck. Kei Fujiwara's nose felt a little itchy, so he sneezed a few times in the crowded street.

Pedestrians subconsciously stayed away from him. Only an old lady saw Fujiwara Kei's eyes light up and walked over: "Hello, do you believe there are gods in this world? Do you feel particularly lonely now?"

Fujiwara Kei smiled and waved to the missionary, then turned and left. When passing by a nightclub, he saw the fat editor just now smiling and walking in with a group of people.

This nightclub seemed to have been completed just a few months ago. It was already overcrowded within a few days of its opening. Luxury cars were driving around the nightclub, and it was filled with well-dressed men and women.

There was a drunk male guest who took out a lot of money from his arms and threw it around.

Seeing the picture in front of him, Kei Fujiwara felt a strong sense of unreality:

Isn’t it about the Great Depression? Didn't it mean that the economic bubble burst? What's going on with this scene?

In fact, Japan in the 1990s was a place full of contradictions. On the one hand, the economic bubble burst, companies went bankrupt, employees were laid off, and graduates could not find jobs. On the other hand, the entertainment industry developed rapidly.

In addition to the development of the TV and film art industry to a peak, even entertainment venues such as nightclubs have sprung up one after another on the land of Tokyo.

"The age of contradictions, damn Tokyo..."

Kei Fujiwara looked at the shining English signboard on the nightclub, and cursed with a smile.

At this time, a drunkard threw an empty wine bottle at the luminous signboard. After being hit, a luminous letter on the signboard flashed for a few times and then went out.

…

It was Saturday in a blink of an eye, and Kei Fujiwara also went to many publishing houses, but he still didn't get any positive answer.

It's not all because the socialism doesn't fit the market. It is extremely difficult for a newcomer to debut without an award.

In Japan, the more influential newcomer awards in the mystery category are nothing more than two awards: the Ranpo Award and the Horror Novel Award, but these two awards have already missed the deadline for submission.

So if you want to debut with the rookie award, you have to wait another year, but Kei Fujiwara doesn't want to waste another year.

Is there really no way out for socialists in this world? Is my judgment wrong?

Fujiwara Kei thought to himself.

He walked to the reasoning novel area with a heavy heart. The bookshelves were almost all works of the Changing School. Almost all the mystery novels were fantasy. What are the ten commandments of reasoning novels, and what "magic cannot appear in reasoning stories", in this It's like farting in front of the era's mystery writers.

But it has to be said that this kind of fantasy-style reasoning works has indeed aroused some readers' resentment. When Kei Fujiwara used the computer in the bookstore to browse the forum, he often saw people complaining that "there are fewer and fewer authentic reasoning works now", "I don't want to read superpower crimes and criminals with secondary illnesses anymore", etc. .

Although readers may not be able to fully believe what they say, and there are many people who say they are honest, it also conveys a message that perhaps the world of mystery novels needs to usher in a new turning point.

Kei Fujiwara suddenly stopped, making up his mind.

Kei Fujiwara said in his heart: Just hold on a little longer, Biange faction has been popular for thirty or forty years, and its lifespan should have come to an end.