After spending quite some time in the United States, Collins Publishing has finally got Star Wars ready and entering the publishing process.
The reason it took so long was because the publisher had to organize the illustration design. The previous release of the Star Wars series has proven that this is a very good strategy and can greatly boost sales.
Li Yu relied on his preliminary sketching skills and roughly drew some sketches of the settings, such as the robot army, stormtroopers, and many alien races that appeared in the prequel.
This thing will be very attractive in later generations, let alone the early twentieth century. It is simply the ceiling of imagination in the early twentieth century.
The story of the Star Wars prequels is indeed very exciting, and due to the late shooting time, the special effects technology has been updated a lot, and the script is better polished.
The first domestic understanding of Star Wars was actually the Star Wars prequels, so many domestic audiences watched Star Wars in the order of the prequels and then the main sequels.
When filming the Star Wars prequels, Lucasfilm had already achieved great success and was very willing to spend money on investment to create the first science fiction IP in the Western world.
The world shown in the Star Wars prequels is both grand and detailed, and the confrontation between different forces is much more intense. It can be said that the Star Wars prequels seem to be much more enjoyable than the original Star Wars.
Readers really like the various cool settings in it, and if they can be displayed in the form of illustrations, it will be a super selling point.
Editor-in-chief James of Collins Publishing House was hesitant about which selling points should be reflected on the cover, and finally called Li Yu to make a decision.
Li Yu and Lu Bicheng came to Collins Publishing House. Lu Bicheng stayed in New York for a while. Every time he saw these high-rise buildings with more than 20 floors, he still couldn't help but sigh: "It feels like living on a cliff. Aren't they afraid of falling or collapsing?" Li Yu said with a smile: "Don't worry. Well, this is not about cultivating immortals. Since you can build tall buildings, it means you have passed the safety verification." The two arrived at the headquarters of Collins Publishing House, and James immediately made them the best coffee.
"Sir and Madam, I can't wait to see the success of the Star Wars prequels, but now I need you to make a decision about the cover." Li Yu looked at the picture drawn by the illustrator. The movie I watched was much worse, but it was already very visually impactful for readers at this time.
The illustrator also drew the silhouettes of Li Yu and Lu Bicheng in the upper right corner of the cover. Li Yu thought for a while: "The first picture uses Anakin driving the shuttle, and also adds the appearance of Sith warriors and Jedi warriors holding lightsabers on both sides." James had read the entire work and said: "This way It can indeed reflect the conflict, and it can allude to the transformation of the protagonist Anakin in the prequel trilogy. Where are the other two?" Li Yu said: "The second part must of course reflect the confrontation between the robot army and the storm trooper army, and don't forget Put Anakin and the Queen of Naboo. As for the third part, it must focus on expressing Anakin's darkening, so the duel scene between him and his teacher must be shown." Li Yu said basically the key points, Zhan Ms. respected his decision: "I think they are closer to success. I immediately informed the illustrator to complete the final draft and it will be published soon. By the way, as before, it is still 2 US dollars per volume, and the first copy We decided to print 300,000 copies first. As for the royalties, we have raised them to 20% of the top price for you." Collins Publishing House dared to propose such a high royalties, and they must have expected that it would be a hit. The series is almost a cash cow to them, so they must reward Li Yu with a high price.
For Li Yu, the royalties were also huge, exceeding US$300,000. Europe is estimated to have almost the same sales volume.
In the future, Collins Publishing will release a complete set of collector's editions, which will make a lot of money. The next time a set becomes so popular in the United States will probably have to wait until "Gohewind" comes out during the Great Depression.
After the release of the Star Wars prequels, sales were really booming. After all, Collins Publishing did not increase the price and added more illustrations. It can be said that the volume is increased without increasing the price.
The setting of the protagonist Anakin Skywalker is also very meaningful. He himself is a slave, which alone is very attractive.
Because most of the current protagonists are people with great supernatural powers, but the Star Wars series has created a person with the lowest status.
Fortunately, there is a true story, and readers know that he will be a super villain in the future. Not only do they not accept it, but they are more looking forward to what he has experienced in his growth.
When Li Yu wrote the story frame, he deliberately used some of the most classic counterattack routines of later generations. It should not be too easy to use in this world.
The sales of 300,000 copies were so fast that Collins Publishing House could not imagine that it had underestimated the potential of this work, so it asked the printing house to print more copies day and night.
Li Yu's popularity has once again greatly increased among ordinary people. Pulitzer's eyesight had declined greatly. After listening to his assistant read the entire work, he actually went out to interview Li Yu in person.
So Li Yu and Lu Bicheng came to the headquarters of "Le Monde" again. After entering the door, Pulitzer said: "It's an honor to meet two best-selling authors. I would like to conduct an interview on behalf of the readers. Because everyone has many questions that they want to discuss with you." Li Yu smiled and said: "Sir, please speak." Pulitzer said: "It is well known that you are an extremely good physicist, mathematician and astronomer, one of the best in the world today."
"You're grateful." Li Yu said. Pulitzer continued: "The world you describe in the book is bizarre and infinitely magical. Everyone is curious whether they are just a kind of science fiction imagination, or whether they are predictions made by you based on your extremely high understanding of science." This is. The most common popular opinion at the moment is that although the Star Wars series has extremely advanced settings, everything in the book has come true, and there is no sign of a lack of control over the worldview.
Li Yu said: "Science fantasy is naturally based on some cutting-edge science, but it is also very fantasy, otherwise it would not be so interesting." Pulitzer said: "But I think some of it can be realized, such as your previous work An article about flight tests published in "Science"." Li Yu said: "Yes, not only flying, but also flying into space can be achieved. Because the goal of mankind is always the stars and the sea." Pulitzer was not sure about Li Li Yu said: "Even if it cannot be realized, it will not affect this work as an excellent science fiction work. In addition, why do you dare to use such a large space to depict the growth process of a big villain?" Li Yu said: " Because art cannot be separated from life, nor can it be separated from the two major themes of creation." Pulitzer asked: "The two major themes?" Li Yu said: "It is life and love. In fact, the Star Wars series is not only science fiction This work is also a complete family ethics drama." The second half of the sentence was not invented by Li Yu, but was said by Lucas, the father of Star Wars.
If you think about it carefully, the stories of the main trilogy and the prequel trilogy almost all revolve around the emotions and experiences of Anakin and his children Luke and Princess Leia.
Pulitzer pondered Li Yu's words for a while and said: "It's very profound. No wonder it sells so well. If you say that, I can understand why Anakin would go dark for his wife." Anakin's darkening The process and emotional journey are a main line in the Star Wars prequels, but many people who have watched Star Wars may have forgotten that love is actually prohibited in the Jedi doctrine.
The marriage between Anakin and the Queen of Naboo was held in secret, and many details hinted in advance that Anakin might turn dark.
Li Yu said: "He was a physical slave at first, but in the end he was an emotional slave, willingly from beginning to end." Pulitzer said: "What a tragic figure." Li Yu suddenly said: "This Reminds me of that sentence, I can't hug you if I pick up the lightsaber, and I can't protect you if I put down the lightsaber. Anakin can be said to be a collection of contradictions." This sentence has become a bad joke in later generations, but At this point, it was really lethal.
Pulitzer said: "It's so well said. This is the place that best reflects the artistry! Everyone speaks so highly of it because it not only has grand scene descriptions, touching story presentation, but also soul-stirring Dream-filled feelings."...The next day, Pulitzer sent out the transcript of his interview with Li Yu, and instantly many female readers became interested because
"I can't hug you if I pick up the lightsaber, and I can't protect you if I put down the lightsaber." It's too inspiring. It simply makes women heartbroken and burst into tears 0.0 Due to the popularity of this work, there are even some people who specialize in the Star Wars series.
"Xingxueshe" and published many
"Asterologists" and, of course, the book clubs that were so common in the early twentieth century. For a month, the theme of most book clubs was the Star Wars series.
In the past, it was basically a male readers' organization, but now many women's reading clubs have sprung up.
After the original women reported on Pulitzer's "World", they joined the readership one after another. Well, Li Yu also has a female fan!
Just like Jin Yong's martial arts in later generations. Martial arts is originally a favorite of men, but Jin Yong himself is actually very good at writing emotions. The emotional processes of Guo Jing and Huang Rong, Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu, Linghu Chong and Ren Yingying, Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min, etc. are all very well created.
Even Qiong Yao, a writer who specializes in romance, praised Jin Yong for being better at writing about romance than herself. It’s also a bit like a female video writer praising a male video writer for being good at romance, which is difficult.
It is because of these outstanding emotional threads that Jin Yong's martial arts dramas have quite a few female fans. Anyway, with this work, Li Yu has almost become the Taishan Beidou in the current science fiction world.
Because he created a lot of new things, such as mentioning robots in science fiction for the first time, more than ten years earlier than in history.
And his approach of expanding the perspective beyond the earth and even to the entire galaxy was also extremely groundbreaking, because he greatly opened up the minds of other science fiction writers.
It's a pity that there is no Hugo Award, otherwise it would definitely be indispensable. In Europe, the publishing speed of Hachette Press in France is also not slow, and they even quickly completed translations into multiple languages.
After Planck learned of the release, he immediately bought it back. After reading it in one breath, I was hooked.
"This guy really didn't make me wait for so long in vain." After a long pause, he thought to himself: "No, it can't be over like this! With such a grand background, isn't it too much for him to write some peripheral stories?" Pu Lang Ke was very satisfied with his sudden idea and was about to write a telegram immediately.
In Germany, another reader was even more inspired, his name was Zeppelin. Yes, the creator of Led Zeppelin.
Zeppelin's full name is Ferdinand von Zeppelin. Just look at the characters in the name.
"Ferdinand" and
"Feng" means he was born into a noble family. Zeppelin himself was a count. I have to say that Germany’s technology was really strong in the first half of the 20th century, and it was strong in all aspects.
Whether it is pure science, mathematics, physics, or the application of technology, they are almost all among the best in the world.
In 1900, the Zeppelin airship had successfully tested. Many people had done research in the decades before this. The earliest researcher of airships was a Frenchman, but his test flight failed.
Then it took Count Zeppelin more than ten years to successfully develop it by raising a large amount of funds through his aristocratic connections.
However, it is not yet commercially available. After Count Zeppelin read Li Yu's Star Wars series, he was greatly encouraged, especially when he saw another very inspiring sentence.
After "Our goal is the stars and the sea", he decided to use the popularity of the Star Wars series to promote his airship business.
There are many descriptions of aircraft in the Star Wars series, which makes everyone interested in flying. What's more, I have invested so much money to successfully develop it, so I must commercialize the Zeppelin airship.
Zeppelin quickly prepared to contact his assistant to spray paint on his airship
"May the force with you" slogan, and money will be invested in vigorously promoting it in newspapers. The slogan is: "Want to ride in an aircraft like a Jedi? Then come and take a look at our airship, it will realize your dream of flying. ! Let fantasy become reality!” However, when promoting the Star Wars series, it is necessary to inform Li Yu himself that the protection of intellectual property rights in Europe and the United States is now in place, not to mention that he himself is a respectable nobleman, so he cannot avoid sending electricity to Li Yu. Report.
Li Yu in New York received these two telegrams from Germany almost at the same time. He first opened Plank's book: "Little friend Li Yu, I have read the Star Wars prequels, which are very exciting. However, I am still very interested in many of the stories. Where such a grand background can be expanded, I I have a lot to think about. I hope you can write some peripheral works as soon as possible! It's better to get down to business as soon as possible!" Li Yu held his forehead and couldn't laugh or cry again. Who is this super young god who doesn't do his job...and saw another The message from Count Zeppelin was somewhat unexpected but also reasonable.
"Dear the great master of science in the East, I am Count Zeppelin. I am extremely interested in the world of flight you describe in your book, and I happened to have successfully developed an airship that can rise to an altitude of thousands of meters. I really want to use your star War series as a promotion, I hope you will allow it. In addition, you can ride on my airship for free, and the overlooking perspective will be unforgettable!"
