In the next ten days or so, Qi Yu has been immersed in his own creation.
He worked day and night and stayed up all night, reliving the sense of urgency he felt during the imperial examination.
The difference is that this time the purpose is to make money.
Rush the manuscript!
Finally, the day before he took office, the first volume of "Sword Go" was released.
very nice!
Qi Yu looked at the stacks of manuscript papers in front of him, feeling filled with emotion. He never thought in his dreams that he still had the potential to be a writer.
Yes, people are lazy and never take the initiative to change themselves. If so, it was forced out by life.
This is the case for myself.
While sighing and sighing, I also have some small worries in my heart. I wonder if a fairy-tale style story like this will be accepted by this era.
Qi Yu came to Xiong's Literary Society with an anxious mood.
Xiong Da was startled at first, and then politely asked him to sit in the back hall.
Xiong Da was quite surprised by this. He thought that Mr. Qi was just talking about it, but he didn't expect that he actually came here with the manuscript in hand.
Regardless of how well he writes, in terms of spirit alone, he is worthy of face-to-face respect.
So, I made a pot of perfunctory tea to receive him.
Hmm~~
Qi Yu frowned and sipped the tea cup, then put it down and stopped drinking. Then he hurriedly took out the final draft and handed it into Xiong Da's hand.
After the latter took it over, he also began to read the manuscript briefly.
"Vernacular? How do you write something like this?"
"Mr. Xiong, please read on. If I really can't catch your eye, it means I can't serve this meal, so I'll give up on what I wrote."
"okay."
Because of his face, Xiong Da had no choice but to show off and browse quickly.
At the beginning, Xiong Da still had a look of disdain, but as the reading gradually deepened, he showed a look of disbelief, then he was surprised, shocked, and finally his eyes were like bells, and his eyes were shining.
Qi Yu didn't interrupt, he just sat there quietly, but his heart was already beating nervously.
Gradually, a trace of greed appeared in Xiong Da's eyes. It seemed that what he saw was not the manuscript paper, but the white banknotes.
Qi Yu observed the words and expressions there, and couldn't help but feel secretly happy.
It seems that good things are coming!
Sure enough, after Xiong Da put down the manuscript paper, he immediately put on a very friendly smiling face and moved Qi Yu's seat from the companion seat to the guest of honor seat. Then, he shouted majestically to a waiter: "You worthless thing, did you make this bad tea? Please bring me a better one!"
The guy looked innocent, but he still ran away.
Soon, good tea was served.
"Mr. Qi, try this tea. It's quite good."
"It cost Mr. Xiong money."
After Xiong Da laughed, he went straight to the topic: "With all due respect, I have never seen it written in vernacular before." However, his tone suddenly changed and he added: "But, your A book has changed my previous views. The theme of "Sword Go" is so novel, and the storyline is also fascinating. I really don't know how you came up with such a thing..."
Qi Yu hurriedly cupped his hands in humility and said, "Mr. Xiong is so complimentary. I got this wonderful pen by chance."
After finishing his evaluation, Xiong Da expressed his worries: "Because this subject matter is too new and strange, I am very worried about sales, that is, whether readers will recognize and accept it. According to my years of experience Judging from experience, this book will either become a huge hit or it will fall into the dust.”
Understand, there are unknown risks involved.
Thinking about it, it takes a process for the world to accept such advanced things.
This process can be long or short, it may be a moment, or it may be a long time.
No one can tell.
Qi Yu also has a deep understanding of this. He thought he had encountered this situation when he was promoting "Profit and Loss Has a Solution".
Overall, Xiong Da was very satisfied with this book and wanted to accept it.
Later, we started talking about the deal.
According to the rules of the industry, the literary publisher only needs to pay a remuneration to buy it. This is somewhat similar to the practice of purchasing copyright in later generations. Once a book manuscript is sold, the author cannot sell it to other literary agencies. That is, it is prohibited to sell more than one book.
This is very reasonable.
Then there is the issue of benefit distribution.
In this regard, Xiong Da also made an introduction.
Receiving the manuscript is a cash transaction. Once it is done, neither party can go back on it.
The literary agency is responsible for printing and selling, and also bears all risks in the entire process. Even if it loses money, the author will not be allowed to lose money. Of course, if you make a profit, all the profits will belong to the literary publisher, and the author can no longer take a share of the pie.
Yes, the literary agency is also betting on whether the film will be a hit.
For now, everything is still unknown.
Going further, we come to the negotiation stage.
It was Qi Yu's first time submitting a manuscript for sale and he had no experience, so he himself didn't know how much money he could sell for.
So, he came up with a way to ask questions, that is, let Xiong Da make an offer first.
"One price! Fifty taels!"
Fifty taels?
Darling, there are so many...
Qi Yu tried his best to pretend to be calm and said: "It seems that there is a little missing."
"Huh?" Xiong Dayi was startled and began to increase the amount: "Sixty taels at most. I don't want one more tael."
"..."
In the end, Qi Yu sold the first volume of "Sword Go" for sixty-five taels.
As for the subsequent volumes, the two have not discussed it for the time being. If they even lose money on the first volume, there will be no so-called second volume and beyond.
Neither party has objections to this transaction.
make a deal!
The money is also paid in cash on the spot!
After collecting the money, Qi Yu couldn't wait to say goodbye and leave.
Before leaving, he specially asked Xiong Da to protect his vest and never reveal his true identity.
Xiong Da said that he can rest assured about this. He said that he is the most trustworthy person in this industry, and his professional ethics is very good!
Okay, let me believe you for once!
On the way home, Qi Yu made a special trip to the vegetable market.
What is the first thing to do after making money?
Of course it was a big meal.
So, the dinner was very sumptuous, with big fish and meat on the table.
Seeing the children devouring their food, Qi Yu felt a sense of satisfaction that only a father could have in his heart.
Qi Yu, who was in a happy mood, also poured himself a small glass of wine as a reward. While drinking alone, he told his family about the process of selling the manuscript.
Sixty-five taels of silver?
Mrs. Zhou was so happy when she heard this. She hurriedly put down her bowls and chopsticks and ran to the backyard, saying she wanted to burn incense for the Bodhisattva to thank him for his blessing.
Liu Quan was also very happy, but after she silently settled the account, her face turned cold.
She said: Nine times out of ten, the manuscript of this book will be sold at a loss!
Sold at a loss?
What's the basis?
Liu Quan said that this morning, she went to buy "Tai Shi Gong Shu" for Xiaotong. As a result, only half of the book cost 800 yuan. This shows that books in the capital are not cheap.
You must know that historical books like "Tai Shi Gong Shu" are printed in large quantities and are the lowest cost. Books published in private editions must be more expensive. If you use this as a reference, the selling price should be No less than one tael of silver.
In other words, the literary agency only needs to sell a hundred books to recover all the costs. If it sells more, it will be considered a profit.
It makes sense. How can a new book only sell a small 100 copies?
Qi Yu smiled self-deprecatingly. It seemed that he was still not attentive enough. He only paid attention to the subject of the investigation but did not pay attention to the selling price. Now he is at a disadvantage, right?
Not to mention, the lady is smarter than herself, and she figured it out just by thinking about it.
However, there is nothing unbalanced. Other literary companies are also gambling. Who can guarantee that they will not lose money?
So, no need to worry.
