"Zhang Chu, when will your air ticket fly to Türkiye?"

Zhou Kang asked anxiously on the phone, as if something urgent had happened. .

"What's wrong at 9:30 pm?" Zhang Chu thought that something was going on in Türkiye would change the itinerary.

He doesn't want to encounter such a thing before leaving, his life is important!

"Now the people from Random House want to sign a contract with us. They have been reviewed by the legal department before. The contract is fine. If you have time now, we will come to the cafe outside your community."

Zhang Chu looked at the time on the watch. It was only about four o'clock in the afternoon, and there were still a few hours before going to the airport, so he was not too nervous, so he agreed: "You just ask them to come here. What is the contract conditions like? Is it the same as before?"

"We are leaving. Random House is worried about the long and long nights. It was the British headquarters that asked the Chinese branch to take out the contract overnight. The conditions are so generous that you can stunned!"

Zhou Kang was kept silent. He wanted to see what Zhang Chu would look like when he saw the contract with his own eyes. It would be even better if he could be afraid of a video being posted online.

But Zhou Kang's idea was destined to fail because a traitor appeared among them!

Zhang Chu received a WeChat message from Blair, New York, USA, which read: "Dear Zhang, congratulations on getting the world's top royalty agreement. The 12 million pound prepaid royalty compensation is very generous."

"12 million pounds?" Zhang Chu thought Blairdo had entered a 0!

"The Da Vinci Code" will be a big seller, but it also surges in real manuscripts, rather than giving yourself so much money before the book is released.

There is no doubt that this new book will bring me a lot of £12 million, but if you get this one in advance, Zhang Chu's first thought was to have a big villa he was thinking about!

His brain turned around quickly, and he quickly came to the conclusion. It was almost 100 million yuan to convert it into RMB, and finally achieved the small goal.

The so-called advance payment is actually equivalent to a deposit, and the quantity is generally limited.

According to international practice, when a publisher purchases the copyright of a writer's book, he or she needs to pay a certain amount of deposit. After the book is published, the royalty rate shall be paid according to the royalty rate stipulated in the contract.

The advance payment can deduct part of the royalties, and royalties are not taxes.

Generally speaking, the prepaid manuscript fee will not be less than 50% of the estimated total tax payment. It can be seen that Random House attaches great importance to "The Da Vinci Code"!

Taking a clear understanding and pretending to be confused, Zhang Chu sat in the cafe downstairs of the community while playing with his cell phone while waiting for Zhou Kang. He didn't expect to receive such a big gift before leaving.

Half an hour later, Zhou Kang and Hanlin Culture Media partner lawyers walked in first, followed by two foreigners and several Chinese.

"Hello Zhang Chu, I am Xu Changrong from Random House China Branch. Our headquarters has received the English version of "Da Vinci Code". After evaluation, this is the contract we gave." The gentle and gentle middle-aged man took out three bound agreements from his briefcase.

Although he knew that his work was as high as 12 million pounds, Zhang Chu still planned to look at many details by himself, try to be clear about it so that he could avoid being deceived by others!

This kind of thing happens often in the entertainment industry. Not only people around you, but even people around you may turn against each other for money.

The 12 million pounds were not Zhang Chu's total income in the English version of "Da Vinci Code", but only gave a part of it first, because according to normal procedures, the novel was first released and then sold, and the royalties were handed over to the author according to the royalty rate.

The process in between may last for half a year or even longer. Obviously, the author can't wait that long, and many people have to live with the manuscript fee, so there is a prepaid manuscript fee!

Just like the advance salary, you will be paid to you in advance out of trust.

Zhang Chu collaborated with Random Bookstore for three books. The original "Detective Sherlock" had a royalty of only 8%, and the latter "Pi's Fantasy Drift" also had this number.

On the contrary, it rose to 10% in "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli", because Zhang Chu's first two novels sold very well and even won the Booker Award.

This time, the conditions given by "Da Vinci Code" are very superior. The first print of 3 million copies is 13% and the royalty rate will rise to 15%!

For Zhang Chu, he knew that selling 5 million copies of this book was extremely easy, and printing round after round was like a money printing machine.

This is only an English version, sold by Random House in English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia.

If the first 5 million copies printed can be sold smoothly, Zhang Chu's income will increase significantly, because the existence of the electronic version cannot be ignored!

The physical sale is 5 million copies, and the electronic version is at least this number, which shows how confident Random House is.

Zhang Chu remembers that Dan Brown made nearly $100 million on Earth with "The Da Vinci Code", which includes the novel's royalties and the film's adaptation rights. It is conceivable that 12 million pounds are actually less than one-fifth of the income!

According to the content above the agreement, Random House only signed the English copyright, and the rest of the copyrights were in Zhang Chu himself.

These conditions are indeed very generous!

Zhou Kang thought Zhang Chu would be surprised after seeing the series of numbers, but unfortunately he didn't find any surprised expression. Could it be that he missed it?

"The prepaid payment of £12 million is the top level. The prepaid payment of JK Rowling's new book "Occasional Vacancy" is only $8 million. Are you surprised or are you surprised?"

There are few authoritative and clear pricing for prepaid remuneration, which is expressed in a vague way like a cigarette brand, such as low-end five-digit numbers, mid-end six-digit numbers, soft seven-digit numbers, and highest eight-digit numbers.

Prepaid manuscripts, as a payment method that will be deducted from royalties after the publication of the book, is the publisher's estimate of the risks. The actual quantity will fluctuate with market trends, the author's sales records, and the potential of foreign copyright trade.

If Rowling is writing a sequel or extra for "Harry Potter", then the prepaid remuneration will definitely exceed 10 million, and it is not difficult to reach 20 million!

However, this new book "Occasional Vacancy" is her first adult reading, so the publisher's confidence is slightly weaker.

Facts also prove that the publishing company's harsh vision is indeed not very good. Although it has become the national sales champion, its total sales volume is one-thirty of that of "Harry Potter 7"!

However, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Even if the publisher expects sales may not be good, the 8 million dollar figure is enough to be in the top fifteenth place in the annual writers’ rich list.

The reason why Random House is so generous this time is nothing more than seeing the sales potential of "Da Vinci Code". If Zhang Chu brought the English version of "Ghost Blows Out the Light", it might be a miracle that the prepaid remuneration of $1 million may be considered a miracle!

It can be seen that publishing companies also pay for their meals when looking at works. No matter how good a writer is, if his work is not highly evaluated, his prepaid manuscripts will not reach the peak.

"If there is no problem, then how about we sign the contract now? The headquarters has already put up the publicity plan and is just waiting for us to sign the contract!"

Zhang Chu turned his head and looked at the lawyer. After seeing him nodding, he agreed: "No problem, let's sign the contract."
Chapter completed!