No matter how much Li Shifei and Su Chen complained in their hearts, they had to admit that Lin Chaoyang did have the confidence.

Regardless of the quality of his works and their influence, these frivolous things, in terms of the actual sales of his works, Lin Chaoyang has never experienced failure since he entered the literary world.

There are many published works that have sold more than one million copies. Works such as "Garland Under the Mountain" that have sold more than 10 million copies have created a sales myth for contemporary Chinese literature.

To be more honest, publishing houses rely on best-selling writers like Lin Chaoyang. Without their best-selling works, many publishing houses can only rely on grants. How can they live such a prosperous life now?

Huacheng Publishing House is a typical example. Since the publication of "Crossing the Boat" last year, Huacheng Publishing House has been full of food.

Two million copies of one issue of the magazine were sold, and together with the book publication of "The Ferrying Story", the publication volume of a novel reached four to five million.

You know, if a general publishing house publishes contemporary literary works that are not very popular, the print run is usually several thousand copies, and the sales cycle may be calculated in years. In many cases, the publishing house cannot even make money from printing, binding costs and author fees.

return.

However, "The Story of a Crossing" can bring millions of foreign income to Huacheng Publishing House. After excluding various costs and expenses, Huacheng Publishing House's net profit is as high as more than 1.7 million yuan. Huacheng Publishing House used to have a whole

The annual profits may not be as high as those created by this novel.

The difference between heaven and earth is actually a best-selling work. This is also the truest situation in the publishing industry.

Therefore, even though the two of them represented Huacheng Publishing House, a provincial publishing unit, they were still in a passive state when facing Lin Chaoyang.

When the store is big, it will bully the customers, and when the customers are big, it will bully the store. It is the same principle.

"That's right, that's right. Chaoyang's two novels, "Crossing the Boat" and "Crossing the Guandong", were published consecutively in our "Flower City". Our cooperation has a solid foundation.

This time we come to Yanjing with full sincerity..."

Su Chen had a smile on his face and his tone was sincere.

He said a few words, and finally mentioned the most critical issue under Lin Chaoyang's expectant eyes.

"As for the idea of ​​'royalty payment' that you talked about with Lao Li before, this should be the first time in our publishing industry in China.

To be honest, the two of us didn't dare to make the decision without permission after discussing it for a long time.

Finally, I made a report to the superiors..."

Su Chen talked a lot about how they fought for their superiors and how many difficulties they overcame.

Negotiation, posing difficulties and making conditions are all common methods.

At the end of his speech, he made his attitude clear, "After the final discussion, our publishing house has decided that as long as you hand over the publishing rights of "Crossing Guandong" to us, we will pay you a royalties rate of 12%!"

Su Chen's final tone was decisive, with a tone that surprised Lin Chaoyang.

Originally, after listening to Su Chen's previous words, he thought that today would definitely involve another round of back and forth between you and me. Unexpectedly, Su Chen actually offered a 12% royalty rate as soon as he opened his mouth.

This number is not low even in the publishing industry of later generations, let alone now when the royalty payment system has not yet been implemented?

The surprise was so big and sudden that Lin Chaoyang didn't know what to say.

Su Chen was full of confidence when he said the "12%" royalty rate, but when he saw Lin Chaoyang was silent after hearing this number, he didn't respond for a long time, and his original confidence was gradually eroded.

What? Still not satisfied?

Su Chen and Li Shifei looked at each other again, asking with their eyes: This is too dark!

Su Chen dared to pat his chest and said that the royalty rate they set was based on the royalty standards of Hong Kong, Japan, and the United States, and it was absolutely conscientious. However, Lin Chaoyang seemed to be still not satisfied.

Li Shifei said anxiously: "Chaoyang..."

Lin Chaoyang only reacted when he heard his voice, "This royalty..."

Hearing this, Su Chen and Li Shifei immediately became worried, fearing that Lin Chaoyang would make more excessive demands.

"...You're quite sincere, so that's settled."

Lin Chaoyang's words relieved the two of them. Su Chen held his hand excitedly, "Comrade Chaoyang, happy cooperation!"

“A pleasure to work with!”

Lin Chaoyang had a chuckle on his face and looked relaxed.

In later generations, the royalty standard in China's publishing industry was generally between 6% and 10%. When Han Han published "Three Gates", the royalty rate was only 8%.

Later, as his fame grew, the royalty rate he enjoyed increased to 12% and 15%. At that time, a group of top best-selling writers including Yi Zhongtian, Shi Kang, Zheng Yuanjie, etc. also enjoyed this treatment.

The standard of 12% is a middle number compared to the royalty rates received by later best-selling authors. However, this is 1984 after all, and the royalty payment system is still new to the domestic publishing industry.

It is unrealistic to think of getting it right in one step. At the moment, we still need to solve the existing problems first, and then solve the bad problems.

The two parties reached an agreement, and Su Chen was very happy.

Huacheng Publishing House was very determined to come up with a royalty rate of 12%, not only to convince internal comrades and leaders above, but more importantly, to produce tangible results.

After all, royalties are calculated based on the number of dollars. If the work sells well, even if it is just a point, it will be a considerable profit.

If more than ten percentage points of Ma Yang are transferred and the corresponding results cannot be achieved, Su Chen, as the president, will not be able to explain it.

"Chaoyang, I have another unkind favor!" Su Chen said.

"you say."

"You should also understand that agreeing to pay you royalties is indeed a major decision for our publishing house, and it will also affect the future development of our publishing house to a certain extent.

I hope you can promise us that the next work can still be handed over to our publisher."

Su Chen's words made Lin Chaoyang fall into silence. After a moment, he said: "I can only promise you that under the same conditions, I will give priority to your Huacheng Publishing House."

Su Chen nodded vigorously, "Your words are enough!"

"But..." Lin Chaoyang spoke again, and during the pause, Su Chen's heart started to rise again.

"I'm afraid my works won't appear on the pages of literary magazines in the future."

Su Chen immediately understood what Lin Chaoyang meant. The literary magazine market has been booming in recent years, but the payment method is still in the form of a thousand-word manuscript fee.

With Lin Chaoyang's current fame and appeal among readers, after receiving royalties, it would be a huge disadvantage if his works were published first in magazines and then published as before.

The biggest benefit of publishing in a magazine is to increase the popularity of the writer and the influence of the work. It gives the work an opportunity to be exposed in advance, but it is detrimental to subsequent publishing sales.

In the past, with the variable of no royalties, publishing would only earn some remuneration for the number of prints. A little more or a little less would not have much impact, but now the situation is different.

The author earns income from every copy of his work published and sold, so it is natural to give up the publication channel of magazines.

"Understood." Su Chen nodded.

Then he added: "I'll find a place tonight and let's have some food together to celebrate that our cooperation has entered a new stage!"

Just as Lin Chaoyang was about to speak, a burst of crying children suddenly came from the room next door. Lin Chaoyang quickly apologized to the two of them and went in to see Xiao Dongdong.

The child had just woken up. Without an adult around, he felt as if he had been abandoned by the whole world. He kept crying, so Lin Chaoyang held him in his arms and coaxed him for a while.

"Let's eat at home tonight, I'll cook something for you!" Lin Chaoyang said to Su and Li while holding his son.

Seeing that Lin Chaoyang still had to take care of the children, Su Chen and the others did not insist on going out to eat. Su Chen said with a smile: "I have heard that you are a good cook, so we would be disrespectful!"

They signed a publishing contract first and chatted for a while. In the evening, when Tao Yushu got off work, Lin Chaoyang prepared a table of dishes. After eating, Su Chen and Li Shifei left with satisfaction.

After the two of them left, Tao Yushu took the publishing contract and looked at it curiously.

"So you will earn royalties from now on?"

"yes."

"Hey, can other writers also get royalties?"

Lin Chaoyang hesitated and said: "It's possible, but I'm afraid the publishing industry still has to go through an acceptance process."

Tao Yushu thought for a moment and said, "That's not right. Implementing a royalty payment system should be a good thing for publishing houses.

Every cent of royalties they pay corresponds to sales. Although they pay more royalties when their books sell well, they also earn more.

Similarly, if the book is unsaleable, the royalties they pay will be very small, right?"

Lin Chaoyang looked at her with a gentle face, "Theoretically, that's the case. But you have to understand that what really hinders publishers from changing now is not the issue of efficiency, but inertia."

Tao Yushu understood what he meant at once, "How big is this inertia?"

"It's not small anyway. If a person has been in an environment where frogs are boiled in warm water for a long time, even if he knows that the water outside is cold, he may not be willing to change the environment."

Tao Yushu listened thoughtfully, then became happy again and said to him: "Now that you have received royalties, other writers will definitely get them in the future, and they will have to thank you!"

Lin Chaoyang laughed and said: "No need to thank you, it's more affordable to take some commission."

"I think you are crazy about money!"

A few days later, Lin Chaoyang received a notice from Chen Huaikai, saying that "The Master of Chess" had just finished filming and that he wanted to treat him to a drink.

Lin Chaoyang first came to Yan Film Studio. Chen Huaikai was busy editing, so he took him to the editing room to watch some preliminary cuts.

The first cut just spliced ​​the filmed materials together in the order of the script. There was no narration, no music, and no dubbing, and the atmosphere was very poor.

But Lin Chaoyang can still feel the effort Chen Huaikai put into this movie. At the beginning of the movie, a large panoramic shot captures the bustling and lively scene near the City God Temple after the Spring Festival.

Then a long shot continuously travels through the streets. The bustling market, the vendors selling goods along the street, and the crowds of tourists. In the first few seconds of the long shot, a joyful and peaceful festival scene is presented.

But as the camera continues to advance, this scene fades away little by little.

Street performers risked their lives to make the audience laugh. The audience cheered loudly, but only a few people invested money.

At the door of the restaurant, the waiter was chasing the beggar at the door. The beggar was so weak from hunger that he fell to the ground after being pushed by the waiter.
To be continued...