1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 362 "Give me a reason to give up Stephen King"

new York.

"Mr. Smith! Mr. Smith!"

A middle-aged white man wearing black-framed glasses was stopped by Judy.

He turned around and looked at the other person.

"Good morning, Judy."

"Good morning."

Judy smiled and greeted him, "Mr. Smith, the author of The Cross and the Sun came again today. He asked me to give you his manuscript and told me to tell you, Smith, that this time my novel will definitely sell like hot cakes."

"Okay, give it to me."

Smith took the manuscript from Judy.

"With all due respect, Mr. Smith."

Judy then spoke up, "The author of The Cross and the Sun has already published three works, all of which have very poor sales. Do we still want to sign his copyright this time?"

"Judy, if you want to enjoy the glory of blooming flowers, you must face the embarrassment of blooming without bearing fruit."

Smith held his coffee in one hand and said with a very gentlemanly smile, “In this industry, I can only tell you one thing, never predict the fate of a book.

When it comes to literary publishing, all you have to do is keep sowing seeds. As for the harvest, leave it to fate and let God roll the dice.

Let me tell you a story. Mazile signed the copyrights of five books by Marquez at once. The first four books sold poorly in the UK and he lost all his money. Then guess what? His fifth book was called One Hundred Years of Solitude.

"."

Judy held her chin with both hands and looked at Smith with admiration, "Sir, I am beginning to understand why you are known as the most important publisher in New York."

Smith smiled and kissed her cheek. "In this business, luck is very important, but the longevity of literary publishing does not depend entirely on gambles. Sometimes it depends more on courage."

This is said to Judy and also to Smith himself.

He has been working in publishing for 20 years and is currently a literary editor at HarperCollins, a well-known American publishing group.

Smith glanced at his watch and said apologetically, "Judy, I have to leave now. I have to catch a plane to meet Stephen King later."

"Oh, of course."

Judy gave an understanding smile, "Stephen King, the master of horror novels? I know him. I've read his The Shining. Can you help me get his autograph?"

"no problem."

Smith returned to the office, prepared the documents, then dragged his suitcase to the street and hailed a taxi to the airport.

"boom!"

There was a crisp sound, the taxi turned a sharp turn, and the driver shrunk his neck and slapped the steering wheel.

"Oh! Fuck!"

"What happened in front?"

"The guy stopped a Mercedes and he had a gun."

"Jesus."

Smith shook his head and sighed helplessly.

He's used to it.

After all, this is New York, a New York with simple folk customs.

The taxi stopped at JFK Airport in Queens.

Smith dragged his luggage into the airport lobby, went through the formalities, and went to the public telephone room to make a call to the office. The person who answered was his boss Ken.

"Hi, I'm Smith."

"Smith, where have you been?"

"Ken, I was just about to tell you that I'm going to meet Stephen King today."

Smith said as he looked at the boarding pass he had just received.

The destination of his trip was Maine, Stephen King's hometown, where he has lived for a long time.

"My God, I've advised you, Smith, not to meet Stephen King. This is a losing business. His book, Tales of the Four Seasons, is a collection of four novellas written at different times. These works, which are so different from the typical style, will not be able to sell well."

"Ken, I'm sorry, but I still say the same thing: never predict the fate of a book," Smith said.

"Four Seasons Tales" is a collection of novels, which contains four novels in total, namely:

"Hope of Spring: The Shawshank Redemption"

"Summer Sinking "NaX Chasing the Murderer""

"Autumn is no longer innocent "Corpse"

"Winter Rebirth: Breathe - Breathe - Breathe"

These four works are unrelated and have very different styles.

Especially the first spring hope, "The Shawshank Redemption", which is completely unlike the works created by the previous "best-selling king" Stephen King.

Therefore, most publishers were not optimistic about the manuscript of "Tales of the Four Seasons".

Not to mention the publishing house, even Stephen King himself has little confidence.

"Ok."

Ken on the other end of the phone sighed, "I have a task for you. Since you insist on meeting Stephen King, I'll give it to someone else."

"Whatever, Ken."

Smith was about to hang up the phone, but he heard Ken on the other end say:
"You really won't ask any more questions?"

"Okay, Ken, give me a reason to give up Stephen King."

".string."

"what?"

"STstring, Smith, I believe you are familiar with these two works, The Moon and Sixpence and Letter from an Unknown Woman."

"You want me to see string?"

"Yes."

"Damn, are you kidding me? Ken, string is a Chinese writer, you want me to cancel my flight to Maine and switch to a ticket to China?"

"No, he is in Iowa now. It's up to you, Smith, to decide whether to fly to the Northeast or the Central."

Without waiting for Smith to speak, the phone was hung up.

A minute later, Smith arrived at the ticket office.

"Hey, I need a ticket to Iowa today, as soon as possible."

Jiang Xian received a call from San Francisco, and the person on the other end of the line was Chen Ruoxi.

"Jiang Xian, have you contacted them?"

"Yes, I have contacted you. Thank you so much for your help, Ms. Chen."

"It's a piece of cake. I just found a contact number for you. It's the phone number of HarperCollins Publishing Group. You can find it anywhere."

"It's like this for you American experts, but it's not that simple for me."

The two sides exchanged a few pleasantries and hung up the phone.

Jiang Xian has to accompany Zhu Lin to the hospital for another check-up today. Nie Hualing also came with them to help them find her doctor friend.

"Daughter-in-law, slow down."

Jiang Xian supported Zhu Lin cautiously; her belly had obviously grown bigger.

After the inspection.

"Doctor, how is it?" Jiang Xian asked nervously.

"Yeah, very healthy."

The doctor held up the medical report and said, "This is the head, this is the hand, this is the foot"

"Are there any little ones?"

"How can a girl have a little pussy?" The doctor looked at Jiang Xian with a strange expression.

"Jiang Xian, the gender of the fetus can be known in the United States." Nie Hualing said with a smile.

"Is it."

Jiang Xian smiled awkwardly.

He had prepared a lot of tricks to trick the doctor, but he didn't expect the doctor to tell him so directly that it was a girl.

Then he looked at Zhu Lin with joy on his face.

"Wife, did you listen? It's a girl. I told you, her father's perception can't be wrong."

"You hit the jackpot by accident." Zhu Lin nodded.

Nie Hualing said, "I didn't expect Jiang Xian to be so open-minded. I'm not just talking about China. In terms of childbearing, favoring boys over girls is a common phenomenon."

"In our family, it's the other way around." Jiang Xian chuckled, looking like a complete daughter slave. Placing his palm on Zhu Lin's belly, Jiang Xian seemed to be able to sense some slight touches from the little majesty.

This feeling is very amazing.

Jiang Xian now completely understands Brother Pingao.

It’s no wonder he dotes on his daughter.

If it were him, he would also spoil her.

When we got back to the "Mayflower" apartment, Rao Yuemei opened the door. She was cooking at home and didn't go to the hospital.

In addition to her, there were Wang Anyi, Ru Zhijuan, Chen Yingzhen, and a white stranger in the house.

"Oh, you guys are back."

As soon as Rao Yuemei saw Jiang Xian, she said, "I don't know how this foreigner came to my house. I don't understand American, and he refused to leave. Later, I called Lao Ru and An Yi over. They also didn't understand American, so I called Teacher Chen over."

"I see."

Jiang Xian nodded slightly, then looked at the white American and Chen Yingzhen sitting on the sofa.

"Teacher Chen."

"Jiang Xian, this is Smith, the literary editor of HarperCollins Publishing Group. He seems to be looking for you." Chen Yingzhen greeted him with a smile.

His eyes were quite subtle, with a hint of surprise as if he had learned some inside information.

"I'm sorry to trouble you today."

"It doesn't matter. We are all Chinese writers and neighbors. We should help each other."

The two exchanged greetings, thanked Ru Zhijuan and Wang Anyi, and then Jiang Xian greeted the white man.

"Hello, Mr. Smith."

"Hello, this is my business card."

Jiang Xian took it and took a look. "I think I understand why you're here. Let's find a quiet place to continue discussing other matters."

"no problem."

Smith said quite casually.

The two of them went into Jiang Xian's studio.

"I didn't expect you to act so quickly. I accompanied my wife to the hospital for a check-up today." Jiang Xian handed Smith a cup of brewed coffee.

"Is everything okay, Madam?"

"thanks to you."

"That's good."

Smith picked up the coffee cup, put it down again, and waved his hands exaggeratedly, "How can I describe my surprise?"

"what happened?"

"I mean, I didn't expect string to be like this."

Smith said with great delight: "Your novels are written in such a sophisticated way, with simple and clear language and concise structure. Unlike young writers who focus on the wonderful plot, you always pay great attention to the inner world of people, so you don't use too many characters or particularly complicated plots. You just show the inner activities of the characters continuously and meticulously."

"So I should be an old man in your mind."

"To be precise, it should be an old man from a Western country," Smith said with a smile.

“Sometimes I just can’t explain it all.”

Jiang Xian said, "You know, the writer's mission is to bring his works into the world. If my appearance does not meet your expectations, I am sorry for that."

"Haha."

Smith smiled and said, "At least one thing is as I guessed. You will be a very funny guy, and you can be sarcastic occasionally."

"Maybe."

Jiang Xian shrugged innocently.

"Smith, let me talk about serious matters."

"no problem."

Although Smith had been on a flight and on the road all day, there was no sign of fatigue on his face when he talked about work.

"You should know us, HarperCollins Publishing Group."

"You should introduce yourself."

"Ok."

Smith said helplessly, "We are one of the largest publishing groups in the United States, with a very deep foundation. Give your book to us, and we can make your book spread throughout the United States and Europe."

“You also have a branch in Europe?”

“Mostly Britain.”

Smith said, "Do you know Tolkien?"

“The Hobbit. The Lord of the Rings.”

"Yes, we publish all these books, as well as Agatha Christie and C.S. Lewis."

The former's representative works include "Murder on the Orient Express" and "Death on the Nile".

The latter's masterpiece is "The Chronicles of Narnia".

Jiang Xian was also shocked when he heard this.

As expected of a giant in the publishing industry, its foundation is so profound that it is frightening.

Smith said, "You may not understand that in the United States, when discussing publishing, book agents usually act as matchmakers between authors and us. They also participate in the negotiation of publishing contracts. I am not used to talking to you directly like this. Which novel do you want to publish?"

"The two works you mentioned."

Jiang Xian said, "Letter from an Unknown Woman and The Moon and Sixpence."

Smith perked up. "It seems that my missed Stephen King post was worth it."

Everyone can see the success that the two novels "Letter from an Unknown Woman" and "The Moon and Sixpence" achieved after their publication.

Smith is very optimistic about the publication of these two novels.

Jiang Xian was curious, "Who were you talking about?"

“Stephen King.”

Smith smiled and told Jiang Xian about his experiences before coming to Iowa.

"I think you should go meet Stephen King."

Jiang Xian said, "If you were more sincere, I don't think he would be too angry about your lateness."

Smith nodded. "I will, but before that I need to negotiate the copyrights of The Letter and Sixpence. We can give you a quote."

“I want a 15% royalty rate.”

“15% is the highest royalty rate.”

"You should understand that the performance of these two novels is worthy of this royalty rate." Jiang Xian said directly.

As soon as these words came out, a sense of confidence and emboldening came over him that Smith could not refuse.

"Okay, string is worth the royalty rate we offer."

"Then I have one more condition."

Jiang Xian said, "I need you to pay me half of the royalties in advance."

"no problem."

Smith agreed readily.

American publishers invest in writing ability as a talent, and once the plan is approved, the publisher will pay the author one-third or half of the royalties in advance.

This is customary.

There is nothing wrong with Jiang Xian asking for half payment in advance.

The two men talked very quickly, and in just one afternoon, Jiang Xian negotiated the copyrights of the two novels "The Letter" and "Sixpence" to HarperCollins Publishing Group.

The HarperCollins proposal was produced very quickly.

"Letter from an Unknown Woman" is priced at $12 and has an initial print run of 6 copies.

"The Moon and Sixpence" is priced at $22 and the first print run is also 6 copies.

In the United States, the average first edition sales of a novel is around 3 copies.

3 copies is also the first print run for most new literary talents.

HarperCollins directly gave Jiang Xian a first print run of 6 copies, which is twice this number. This shows that they are full of confidence in these two novels and also give enough respect to the name String.

On a sunny morning, Jiang Xian looked at a check for an astonishing amount of money and smiled with satisfaction.

153000 dollars.

The money for the house had already been earned before The Drifter was published.

(End of this chapter)