no doubt,
"Roger's Mystery" sold out.
Even Lu Shi didn't understand why this happened.
In the original world line, this book also received a lot of doubts when it was first published. It was not until it was brewing for a while that sales began to rise sharply, becoming Sha Po's instantly famous work.
The current situation is truly unexpected.
…
the next day,
Jasmine Wood from the Royal Publishing House.
Natsume Soseki served a cup of black tea.
Wood took off his hat and gloves and reported the results to Lu Shi with excitement:
"Professor Lu, all 6,000 copies of the first edition of your "Roger Mystery" have been sold. The owners of various bookstores are crying and asking for more copies. Our printing press has been started and we are ready to supply another 10,000 copies."
The unit price of "Roger's Mystery" is six pounds two shillings.
The first edition was 6,000 copies, and an additional 10,000 copies were printed...
"hiss……"
Natsume Soseki took a deep breath.
We looked at him curiously and cupped his palm with our head.
Natsume Soseki showed a shocked expression,
"My dear, you..."
He showed an expression of relief like an old father, and was about to wipe away tears.
Lu Shi couldn't help but snicker, thinking that Natsume Soseki was really easy to deal with, and he was so moved by being handed over by me.
Wood looked at us curiously,
"Did you raise this?"
Lu Shi nodded,
"Well, to help Natsume write."
As soon as he heard about writing, Wood immediately became interested.
Because of Lu Shi's magic, he was now curious about scholars from East Asia, so he asked: "What type of works did Mr. Natsume write? Can I be lucky enough to read it?"
Natsume Soseki scratched his head,
"My writing speed is not as fast as that of Lu. I haven't finished writing yet~"
Wood leaned forward,
"It's okay, just watch the beginning."
Natsume Soseki looked at Riku Toki with some embarrassment.
Mr. Wood began to cooperate deeply with Lu Shi after being introduced by the Queen.
In other words, this is Lu Shi's personal relationship. Recommending "I Am a Cat" will consume Lu Shi's favor.
Natsume Soseki didn't want to separate Riku Shi and Mr. Wood because of him.
What's more, Mr. Wood is the editor of the Royal Publishing House, and the Royal Publishing House is strict in reviewing content, especially popular content, which is generally not published.
"Roger Mystery" and "No Survivor" are special cases among special cases.
Natsume Soseki asked: "Is it appropriate?"
He valued his brotherhood with Lu Shi very much and didn't want to get into trouble.
Lu Shi said: "Don't worry, I am very optimistic about your work. "I Am a Cat" is a good book."
Before time travel, "I Am Cat" was a super masterpiece.
Natsume Soseki nodded gratefully, organized his manuscript, and handed it to Wood.
Wood glanced at it,
"Japanese story?"
Natsume Soseki nodded sheepishly and replied: "I originally wanted to create the work with London, England as the background, but... alas, I am not as comfortable as I was in London, so I decided to take root in the Chinese culture."
It’s hard to say whether this choice is right or wrong.
I say it’s right because Natsume Soseki’s creation has indeed become more convenient.
As he said, if London was the setting, I probably wouldn’t be able to hold back five words in six days;
To say it is wrong is to consider it from the perspective of sales.
Wood said: "With a Japanese background, I'm afraid it won't be loved by gentlemen and ladies."
Japan is too far away and too small.
For the vast majority of British people, it is a place they have never heard of, a place that is only mentioned briefly even if there is news in newspapers.
Natsume Soseki nodded helplessly,
"Feel sorry."
Wood waved his hands repeatedly,
"No, no, no, no, no, what's there to be sorry for? It's us British arrogance."
Lu Shi laughed and said, "Mr. Wood, you are such a peculiar Englishman. It is not easy for you to know that you are arrogant."
As soon as this was said, the three people in the room laughed.
Lu Shi said: "Actually, there is nothing wrong with the arrogance of the British today. This is the British Empire, the center of the world, the center of the universe. What's the problem with the arrogance of the British?"
Wood continued to laugh,
"Professor Lu, you don't mean what you mean~ That's not what you wrote in "Yes! Prime Minister"."
The three laughed again.
Lu Shi could clearly feel that as his works gained a foothold in London, the attitudes of these white people towards him had changed significantly.
At first, Doyle looked down on him, while Scott and Cooper distrusted him.
And now?
People seemed to be showing goodwill to Lu Shi,
Even Riku Toki's roommate Natsume Soseki was cared for because of this. He had no reputation in London, but his first English work was praised by an editor like Wood.
It was difficult to grow up before becoming poor,
Once you become famous, you will be known all over the world.
Nothing more than that.
Lu Shi said, "Mr. Wood, would you like to take a look first?"
Wood nodded and began to read the previous chapters of "I Am Cat".
He frowned at first,
"this……"
Natsume Soseki's heart was raised and he asked: "Mr. Wood, is there any problem?"
Wood said: "Mr. Natsume, does he have no experience in English writing? Why do I feel that there are some... uh... some very... very low-level errors in your article, such as tense, how can you use the present tense here? ?”
Natsume Soseki blushed.
He is indeed not good at writing in English, which leads him to first conceive the original Japanese text in his mind and then "translate" it.
In this case, of course there will be syntax errors.
"A sensation in your private Marseille!"
Natsume Soseki apologized.
Wood:? ? ? ?
He doesn't understand Japanese etiquette.
Lu Shi chuckled and said, "Mr. Wood, Natsume is apologizing to you~"
Wood said "Oh" and thought to himself that the Japanese are really interesting. How could they be so confident when apologizing?
He usually speaks softly and softly, but he apologizes so loudly.
He waved his hand,
"It's okay, the important thing is not the words, but the story."
Wood read on.
He originally thought that "I Am Cat" would not be very interesting in terms of content because it had so many grammatical problems.
What I didn't expect was that, excluding those low-level mistakes, this turned out to be a good book.
Except for some special Japanese culture that I couldn't understand, it was very smooth to read.
The most important thing is that this book is also very humorous.
When Wood reads it, he feels like he is admiring a Japanese Ukiyo-e, or a set of humorous cartoons describing the Japanese marketplace, which is very interesting.
After reading the first chapter, he couldn't help but comment: "Great book!"
Hearing what he said, Natsume Soseki's eyes lit up.
"Mr. Wood, you..."
Wood nodded,
"The title of the book is "I am a Cat", but I didn't expect that the cat is actually the first person."
As he said that, he turned his eyes to us and smiled,
"You really made the right choice in raising a cat. In this book, the cat's movements and moods are vividly written. There are also those psychological activities. When I read it, it seemed as if the cat was really thinking that way."
Me: "Meow?"
It felt like these humans were discussing it, but it couldn't understand it.
Lu Shi reached out and touched my big head.
We immediately made a sound of "Hululu~".
Wood put down the manuscript,
"However, this book still has obvious weaknesses. The first is the two things I just mentioned. First, there are many low-level errors in the text; second, it describes Japan."
The first point is very easy to change.
All major publishing houses have powerful editors, just let them polish the manuscript.
If that doesn't work, you can also ask Lu Shi to come forward.
As a professional translator, Lu Shi's goal is to be faithful, expressive and elegant, so he is very good at dealing with such problems.
But the second point...
Natsume Soseki said helplessly: "I'm sorry, Mr. Wood, although I want to move the background to London, but my writing skills are not enough, and I don't know much about the upper class life in London. If I insist on writing, it will only become something imitated."
Wood nodded,
"But no matter what, this is a good book. I think you should publish it. There is no problem in selling two thousand copies. The royalties will make you live a comfortable life. Moreover, you can also use it in Japanese later Re-edit and counter-sell to Japan."
This idea is very essential.
Just like in modern times, many "antiques" and "artifacts" are taken abroad, authenticated in private museums abroad, and then sold back to China.
The Japanese in the early 20th century worshiped foreigners and were very fond of this.
Lu Shi secretly gave Wood a thumbs up.
Wood continued: "I have to admit that you Asians are really innovative. "I Am Cat" uses a cat as the first-person perspective. It should be the first of its kind in the world, right?"
Even the author Natsume Soseki cannot answer this question.
He couldn't help but scratch his head,
"This...I don't know if it's the first of its kind."
Wood said: "It should be. As an editor, I still read a lot, and I don't remember any similar works."
As a result, as soon as he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Lu Shi: "No, this is not Natsume's first initiative."
Wood looked shocked,
"Are there any similar works?"
Lu Shi shook his head,
"It's not similar. But if you want to say that the cat is the first-person perspective, it does exist. Hoffman's "Moore the Tomcat's View of Life" is written in this way."
(Whether Natsume Soseki plagiarized Hoffmann’s works is an open question.)
Wood looked surprised,
"Is it the German writer Hoffmann?"
Hoffmann is among the most complex and controversial writers in the history of German literature.
The international debate surrounding this writer's ideological tendencies, artistic techniques and historical status has been protracted.
So, it’s nothing to have heard of Hofmann.
After all, this is a great writer along with Goethe, Schiller and Heine.
What really surprised Wood was Lu Shi's reading volume.
He asked: "Does Professor Lu know German?"
Lu Shi coughed slightly,
"No, I just...well...understand a little bit."
Shen Te Miao’s “slightly understood”,
Wood had a feeling that Lu Shi didn't just understand, but really understood.
Then, a question lingered in his mind,
He couldn't help but ask: "Since there is a work with a cat as the first-person perspective, "Tomcat Moore's View of Life", then, like "Roger's Mystery"... um... that kind of strange writing method, isn't it? Is there also a previous work?”
Lu Shi was curious,
"Why do you ask about this?"
Wood replied: "Because I want to publish a book review to promote "Roger Mystery". The slogan is 'the first of such and such a genre', or 'following such and such a work, another masterpiece of such and such a genre'. The former is far more popular than the latter. Gimmick.”
Lu Shi understood,
The Royal Publishing House will use its strength to continue to promote "Roger's Mystery".
Wood obviously knows his stuff and knows what works will become more and more popular.
Lu Shi said: "That kind of writing is called narrative trick."
Wood has a pair of eyes,
"Good! What a 'narrative trick'! Such a naming really sums up the characteristics of "Roger's Mystery"."
As he spoke, he lowered his voice again,
"Professor Lu, tell me the truth, are there any similar works before?"
This is worried about Lu Shi learning from it.
In fact, "Roger's Mystery" is indeed the pioneer of narrative trickery.
But this book is so famous,
Before Lu Shi traveled through time, many college classmates "took advantage of" this book.
Some read halfway through and turned to the last chapter;
Some read dozens of pages and searched for Sha Po’s character profile on the web, only to find out that the core plot was revealed and they fainted on the spot;
Some people watch pirated versions on their mobile phones, only to find that someone has taken notes at the beginning;
…
Lu Shi couldn't help but laugh when he thought of the past.
He said: "Before "Roger Mystery", there was indeed no narrative trick. But similar writing methods are not absent, such as "The Hound of the Baskervilles", with complete information asymmetry, the key to cracking the truth in the book There is absolutely no information on Watson’s side, and if Holmes doesn’t tell it, the readers won’t know it.”
"Poof!"×2
Natsume Soseki and Wood burst into laughter on the spot.
They all felt that Lu Shi was seeking personal revenge by citing Doyle as an example.
Lu Shi was helpless,
"Both of you, I'm serious."
The tone was very serious.
Wood was slightly surprised, then put on a serious expression and asked, "You mean, you were inspired by Dr. Doyle?"
Of course Lu Shi was not inspired at all.
He just copied Sha Po's original work.
He said: "No, I just...well...I can't explain clearly."
Wood chuckled,
"Many people have said, 'Once the work is finished, it has nothing to do with the author.' From this point of view, Professor Lu also feels the same way. No wonder he can't explain it clearly."
In saying this, it was obvious that he had misunderstood what Lu Shi meant.
Lu Shi felt that it was better not to defend himself.
Save yourself the trouble of making too many mistakes.
Wood mused,
"Well, Professor Lu, are you interested in writing a review for your own book "Roger's Mystery"?"
Before Lu Shi could answer, Natsume Soseki on the side asked: "The author writes his own book review, wouldn't he inadvertently spoil the book?"
This is indeed a problem.
Wood asked back: "But besides Professor Lu, can anyone explain clearly what the narrative trick is?"
Natsume Soseki was stopped by one sentence.
Wood looked at Lu Shi,
"Professor Lu, although I just said, 'After the work is written, it has nothing to do with the author,' but that was just a joke. The right to explain the narrative trick is yours, and you have to explain it clearly yourself, right?"
It’s okay to write a book review.
but,
"Spoilers ahead of time will affect sales, right?"
Lu Shi was puzzled.
Since the purpose of publishing book reviews is to boost sales, why do you do anything contrary to that?
Wood laughed,
"Professor Lu, Professor Lu, you are both a 'narrative trick' and an 'information asymmetry'. You are so professional. How many readers will seriously read your book reviews? So, just go ahead and post it, no questionable."
By implication, if you read Lu Shi’s book reviews, you will know that “Roger’s Mystery” is very good.
But you still have to read the original article to know how awesome it is.
After all, the early 20th century was not a modern era of information explosion. Even if the narrative trick is explained thoroughly, readers may not be able to understand it.
Lu Shi nodded,
"Okay, then I'll write it and read it, and give it to Mr. Scott after I finish it."
Wood smiled,
"I believe 'Roger's Mystery' will make history."
To be more precise, Roger Mystery is making history.
(End of chapter)
