Tokyo Tycoon, Start as a Writer

Chapter 39: Millions of Sales, But Robbed...

The rush to buy New Trend lasted for five days.

Starting from the sixth day, the heat curve entered a flat period.

Thanks to the continuous spread of word-of-mouth, there was no decline in sales after the popularity, and the publications were sold out every day.

By the 50th, total sales of the August issue had exceeded 2010 copies, making it the highest-selling issue in the first eight months of .

But this is far from the end. The enthusiasm of readers and the popularity of "Dancing Girl" far exceeded the imagination of Xinchao insiders.

After the 10th, the number of new magazines printed per day decreased from 10 copies to 5 copies.

No matter how much the editor-in-chief of Panasonic urged, the distribution department always had only one answer - the craze had passed and printing too many copies would increase inventory.

The reasons given were very legitimate, and there was no suggestion that the editorial department put pressure on them not to print so many copies.

5 copies a day are simply not enough to sell.

After the 10th, Xinchao’s customer service hotline was flooded with calls.

Every day when Kobayashi Midori passes by the customer service area on her way to work, she hears the customer service ladies bowing constantly while holding the phone, repeating "I'm so sorry", fully demonstrating the professional attitude that the spirit of craftsmanship should have.

Whenever she saw this scene, she wanted to laugh.

These days, the smile on her face never stops.

From an intern on the verge of being fired to the pillar of the second editorial department, the editor-in-chief dared not speak loudly to her. All this happened in just half a month, all because of the appearance of one person...

Mr. Songeda, how can I repay you for your kindness?

On the morning of August 15th, Midori Kobayashi walked into the office building.

When I passed by the conference room, I looked inside. Some officials from the Ministry of Culture had arrived today, and the editor-in-chief and two deputy editors-in-chief were receiving them in the conference room. Several editors-in-chief were wandering near the door, as if they were on call at any time.

Although she really wanted to know what they were talking about, her rank was not high enough, so Kobayashi Midori could only hide her curiosity and return to the office of the second editorial department.

Before she even sat down, she received a message from the editor-in-chief of Panasonic asking her to go to the tea room.

She had no choice but to run out of the office again and go to the tea room.

Editor-in-chief Panasonic had a serious look on his face. When he saw her coming, he personally made her a cup of coffee and brought her some snacks.

"Ah, thank you, editor-in-chief..." Kobayashi Midori felt a little flattered.

"How are you getting along with Mr. Mishima recently?" asked Editor-in-Chief Matsushita.

"Hmm?" Kobayashi Midori was stunned and felt her face getting hot. This question seemed very ambiguous. She hesitated for a while and replied in a low voice: "It's pretty good. Mr. Mishima is a calm and friendly person..."

"Just being friendly to you..." Editor-in-Chief Matsushita smiled.

"Ah, this..." Kobayashi Midori smiled a little embarrassedly.

"In our line of work, we must take good care of great writers who can bring results. To put it bluntly, to small writers, we are Party A, and to great writers, we become Party B..." Editor-in-Chief Matsushita said with emotion.

"yes……"

Kobayashi Midori agreed in a daze.

"You are very lucky. You met Mishima right after entering this industry. If you want to have a say in the company, you must serve this kind of writer who can produce hit works well." Editor-in-Chief Matsushita said seriously.

"…It sounds like editors are like concubines in ancient times, vying for favor in front of writers." Kobayashi Midori said half-jokingly.

"This analogy is absolutely correct. If you don't perform well and he turns to another editor, you will cry. In order to avoid such a tragic ending, you have to serve him well, especially when he suffers injustice, you must stabilize his emotions..." Editor-in-Chief Matsushita said meaningfully.

"Uh..." Kobayashi Midori frowned, realizing that something must have gone wrong, "Editor-in-Chief, you mean..."

"Finish your coffee, and I'll take you to the meeting."

Kobayashi Midori hurriedly drank her coffee, followed the editor-in-chief, and entered the meeting room with a nervous heart.

The people sitting inside were the editors-in-chief and chief editors, and there were three others whom I didn’t recognize, who were probably officials from the Ministry of Culture.

The leading official was wearing a suit and glasses, and looked very polite. "Xiao Lin, come over here." Editor-in-Chief Matsushita waved his hand.

Kobayashi Midori came in front of the official, who looked up at her with sharp eyes. The powerful aura of a superior made her heart tighten.

"This is Seiichiro Ito, the head of the Copyright Division of the Agency for Cultural Affairs," Editor-in-Chief Matsushita introduced in a low voice.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ito Seiichiro, who was sitting on a chair, took the initiative to extend his hand to the editor: "Hello, Editor Kobayashi, it's our first meeting. Please give me your guidance."

"Hello, hello, thank you for your guidance..." Editor Kobayashi bent down to shake hands with him, his voice trembling with nervousness.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs is one of the external bureaus under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, responsible for coordinating cultural and religious exchange affairs in Japan.

The entire department is divided into two branches, Tokyo and Kyoto. Each branch has department-level organizations under it that manage sub-projects of the cultural and entertainment industries.

The Section Chief Ito in front of him is the head of the department that manages the copyrights of national entertainment works.

"Please sit down first." Editor-in-Chief Matsushita waved his hand.

Kobayashi Midori retreated to the back seat and sat down quietly.

All the editors of Xinchao also sat down, except for an official from the Department of Culture, who stood in front of the projection screen with a data in his hand and said, "According to our survey, 70 copies of the August issue of Xinchao have been sold in the fourteen days since it went on sale. Most of the 5 copies printed today have also been sold. According to the current trend, it is estimated that the monthly sales volume will reach the million level."

Million level...

When Kobayashi Midori heard this adjective, she was stunned.

She knew that this month's monthly magazine was selling very well, but she did not have the authority to obtain the latest sales data every day, so when she heard the figures of 70 in fourteen days and one million for the whole month, she subconsciously thought she had heard it wrong.

Such a terrifying sales volume is something that even before the Internet became popular, during the golden age of traditional literature, it couldn't achieve...

In front of the projector, the official continued to speak: "A work of this magnitude has already triggered a social impact. The subsequent publication of the text and film and television adaptations of the work must be treated with caution. In view of the current sluggish national atmosphere and the lack of confidence, motivation and enthusiasm of the people, after receiving the application for the text publication of "The Dancing Girl of Izu", after careful and responsible consideration, this department decided not to approve the application for the publication of the text version of the work for the time being."

"...?"

In an instant, Kobayashi Midori's expression was stunned, as if she had been struck by a bolt from the blue.

The trendy editors also looked solemn.

"Why?" Kobayashi Midori couldn't help but ask, her voice a little sharp.

"The style of the article is sad and the result is regrettable. I am afraid that it will aggravate the negative emotions of the people after publication." The official said without any emotion.

"You said it will not be approved temporarily, how long will this temporary period be?" Kobayashi Midori asked loudly.

There were a total of eight trendy editors present, the other seven were either editors-in-chief or chief editors, and all of them were men. But at this moment, she was the only female intern editor who dared to speak to the Ministry of Culture.

The official looked at her and said, "When our department assists the original author in modifying the ending and the copyright is shared."

Kobayashi Midori was stunned: "What?"

"It's like this, Editor Kobayashi, let me explain. I didn't want to get involved in this matter, but the section chief in charge of review came to me and asked for my help, so I had no choice but to be the bad guy."

Section Chief Ito, who had been silent the whole time, looked at her and said politely, "Because of concerns that "The Dancing Girl of Izu" would exacerbate the public's negative emotions, the headquarters reluctantly decided not to publish it. But the superior really couldn't bear to let such a good work be buried, so he assigned me to help the original author revise the ending to a positive ending, so that it can be published smoothly."

At this point, he smiled.

Very kind attitude.

But the feeling he gave to Kobayashi Midori was that of a ferocious hunter staring at his prey.

"Of course, because of our help in revising it, The Dancing Girl of Izu could be successfully published and became a new novel, so half of the book should be counted to us, that is, half of the copyright belongs to us. The royalties obtained from the current publication of the text version, as well as the copyright fees obtained from future film and television adaptations and related derivatives, all need to be divided into half to the Ministry of Culture..."

"..."

Looking at the gentle and refined official, Kobayashi Midori suddenly shuddered.

What she saw was not a human being, but a man-eating devil...

(End of this chapter)