Chapter 61: Chapter 58: Chu Kuangâs Manuscript Fee l
Translator: 549690339
Indeed, Yu Rong was scared to set a price!
He had been the editor-in-chief of âFun Readsâ for ten years and had come across countless excellent novellas. Among his decade-long career, the novella in front of him definitely ranks among the top. Of course, this is Yu Rongâs personal opinion, after all, everyoneâs opinion of literary works varies. However, Yu Rong believed.
No one could possibly read âThe Gift of the Magiâ and give it a less-than-stellar review, because the story was so deeply moving, especially the unexpected ending that also felt reasonable upon reflection.
But one thing was certain:
He had to get his hands on this novel!
Yu Rong took a deep breath, made a phone call to Chu Kuang, and voiced his thoughts frankly, âIâm honored to be one of the first to read this novel. Iâm willing to represent the publishing company and offer 200,000 to purchase this novella. This isnât to say the novel is worth 200,000, but our magazineâs payment generally has a capâŠâ
â200,000?â
After a thought, Lin Yuan agreed. After all, the other party only provided a channel to publish âThe Gift of the Magiâ. They werenât buying the copyright to his novel, so he didnât make a big fuss about it.
âWhatâs 200,000 about?â
Lin Yuan was shopping with his sister and his younger sister. His sister perked up when she heard him on the phone, but Lin Yuan didnât plan to reveal his identity and brushed it off by saying, âThings like salary.â
âLetâs go, Yao Yao!â
Upon hearing this, Lin Xuan took her little sister and strode off, âThe clothes we just saw were indeed beautiful. Even though they cost over three thousand, who else has a wealthy brother like you?â
âNo need.â
Lin Yao couldnât bear the thought.
Although Lin Yuan seemed to have become richer, being frugal was deeply ingrained in these children. Neither Lin Yuan, Lin Xuan, nor Lin Yao would suddenly become spendthrift because of the sudden influx of wealth.
Lin Yuan proposed, âLetâs go back then.â
Lin Xuan huffed, âWhat a tight-fisted brother.â
Lin Yuan gave a stingy grin in return. He certainly wouldnât admit that among the two down jackets he had previously bought for Lin Yao, none of them were cheaper than three thousand. Any less than that and his little sister would feel burdened wearing it.
Back at home.
Lin Xuan started to frequently answer calls. Probably dealing with the work that had piled up during the holidays. After several consecutive calls, Lin Xuan lay exhausted on the couch and started to complain, âThe senior at my company says that authors always drag their work around during Chinese New Year. I now have first-hand experience of that. I estimate that 50% of them will fail to submit their work in upcoming months. 1 bet the editor-in-chief is wishing he could fire me.â
âWhat does ânot submitting workâ mean?â
Her younger sister Lin Yao seemed quite curious.
Lin Xuan explained, ââOpening the skylightâ is originally a professional term in magazines or newspapers that means an empty slot due to the failure of an author to submit work on time. In our novel world, it means to delay submission.â
Lin Yao asked, âSo what happens if someone delays their submission?â
Lin Xuan sighed, âGenerally, thereâs a deadline for authors. The former is the agreed-upon time for handing over the draft manuscript; if the manuscript is turned in on time, it can be edited smoothly. The latter is when the manuscript isnât finished and it becomes a risk affecting the publishing time. In other words, considering the time needed for printing, etc., the manuscript must be completed by a certain end time. You can say that the deadline is a terrible thing for authors. However, for some authors who have both talent and popularity, delaying and pushing the deadline has all but become their personal signature.â
Lin Yao wondered, âWould they get fined?â
Lin Xuan shook her head, âLess influential authors wouldnât dare to drag their work. We have contracts that stipulate fines if they fail to submit work on time. For high-profile authors, although we have contracts, we dare not withhold their manuscript fees due to their delays. For instance, 01â East Wind, he is the most high-profile author cooperating with our publishing company; he always delays for several months before submitting a manuscript, but nobody dares to mention a word about it other than the habitual reminders.â
âI see.â
Although it was a conversation between his sister and younger sister, Lin Yuan was listening attentively on the side. Even though he just started serializing novels under the pen name Chu Kuang, he knew nothing about the inner workings of the industry.
So he found this talk quite interesting.
For example, his sister mentioned that more than 70% of the authors had experiences of delaying work. It seems that physical publishing is just like the online novels in his previous life, where readers always fret about the authorâs slow updates.
âAlso, thereâs some good news.â
All of a sudden, Lin Xuan seemed excited, âBefore the Chinese New Year, 1 visited an author who had just ended her contract with another publishing company and invited her to write for us. To my surprise, she agreed. Now she is the most high-profile author that Iâm in charge of, and the new book she wrote is really fantastic, It will probably get published after the Chinese New Year!â
âEditors get a share?â
Lin Yuan asked a question he was interested in.
His sister shook her head, âNot exactly a share. But itâs close enough. Mostly itâs about the performance appraisal of editors. If you donât manage any influential authors, your performance is bound to be unsatisfactory, which affects our final salary and bonuses. So, itâs not much different from getting shares. Otherwise, why would 1 go to such lengths to seek authors.â âWhat about Chu Kuang?â
Lin Yao spontaneously blurted out, âSis, didnât you say that you knew Chu Kuang? When he finishes the book he is working on, wonât you also be able to bring him under your wing for the next one?â
Lin Xuan laughed, âYou sure are concerned about Chu Kuang⊠Chu Kuang has a deal with Silver Blue Books, one of the biggest publishing companies in Qin Continent. My company is insignificant compared to Silver Blue Books, so Chu Kuang isnât someone you can easily poach. Silver Blue Books would go to any lengths to continue its contract with Chu Kuang.â
âSo, heâs hot right now.â
Lin Yao glanced at Lin Yuan.
Lin Xuan nodded, âAs a newly-emerged novelist in the youth fantasy genre, Chu Kuang has already achieved success with just one book. The sales of âKing of the Netâ last month totaled 1.4 million copies, ranking twelfth overall among youth fantasy booksâŠâ
âOnly twelfth?â
âWhat do you mean âonly twelfthâ? Selling 1.4 million copies in such a large market means that Chu Kuang earned over a million in royalties last month. This is assuming he signed a typical newbie contract. However, by the looks of it, his share in the contract should increase after the New Year.â
Lin Yuan was stunned.
His sister actually knew about his royalties from last month!
But then again, the final sales of âKing of the Netâ broke one million, which could be attributed to the professional tennis player who acknowledged the bookâs professionalism and value, bringing a lot of hype to it.
Following that.
Lin Yuan suddenly caught onto the key point in his sisterâs words, asking, âWhy did you say that Chu Kuangâs share in the contract will increase?â
âItâs inevitable,â
Lin Xuan said with certainty, âThe new contract share for âKing of the Netâ was made assuming that the book wouldnât become a hit. But now that the book is such a success, the publishing company will certainly consider increasing Chu Kuangâs share in the contract, otherwise they might not be able to keep Chu Kuang for his next book.â
âMakes sense,â
Lin Yuan sincerely agreed.
Lin Xuan laughed, âYou donât write books, why are you interested in these? Since youâre working at Starlight, why donât you tell me some insider gossip about your companyâs big-name celebritiesâŠ.â
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