Tokyo Tycoon, Start as a Writer

Chapter 41 The real conspiracy

Half an hour later, the young editor rushed into Matsueda's house. Without even having time to take a sip of tea, he recounted the entire story of the Ministry of Culture coming to rob copyrights to Matsueda Kiyoaki and his mistress who was listening in.

"In short, if we don't do what they ask, 'Dancing Girl' won't be published as a single volume. What should we do, Matsueda-kun? Can you think of a solution?"

Kobayashi Midori, who was a little panicked, subconsciously grabbed one of Matsueda Kiyoaki's hands and stared at him like a weak and helpless girlfriend, waiting for him to turn into a savior and save her.

"Ok?"

Matsueda Shinsako frowned immediately.

Looking at the young editor, she felt that the enemy had already arrived. The detection radar in her mind was frantically sounding the alarm, urging her to take quick action to kill the enemy.

■

The wind occasionally blew from afar, but it could not dispel the stuffiness in the tea room.

Editor-in-Chief Nitta felt extremely thirsty, so he picked up the cup and took a sip of tea. However, he felt the tea was too hot and turned around and spat it out into the trash can.

The others looked over at him.

"You're scalded, but it's okay. Let's continue talking." Editor-in-Chief Nitta put the teacup back on the table.

When Tachibana Mihoko saw this, she immediately refilled the teacup.

On the left side of the tea table sat the three editors-in-chief of Shincho Editorial Department, and on the right sat Tachibana Toshio and Ito Seiichiro.

The conversation was confidential and no servants were allowed to come in, so Tachibana Mihoko took the initiative to take on the task of serving tea and water.

There were some preserved fruits and snacks on the tea table. Tachibana Toshio took a piece of cake and ate it while saying, "We are all in the same boat, so I won't say any more polite words. I need you to influence the decision-making of the top management of Shincho to the greatest extent possible and eliminate any possibility of leaning towards Mishima. Do you understand?"

"Of course we know this." Editor-in-Chief Nitta nodded slightly.

The writer that is being promoted in the second half of the year is Tachibana Toshio. If he is not doing well, the performance of that film will be ruined.

What is more terrifying than the poor performance is that the second department, which has always had poor performance, has taken off on the spot. As a result of this increase and decrease, a large part of the decision-making power of the first department in terms of content must be ceded to the second department.

Whether for performance or for the fight for the right to speak, Ichiko must stand by Tachibana Toshio.

"Remember, copyright is not important. When the time comes, you can invite him to Shincho for an interview and remove half of the Cultural Affairs Bureau's copyright requirements, and only retain the Cultural Affairs Bureau's requirement to modify the ending." Tachibana Toshio said seriously.

Hearing this, the three editors nodded at the same time.

This plan is very vicious.

For a writer, the most important thing in his career is definitely publishing a book.

When you submit an article to a magazine, the royalties you receive are calculated based on the number of words. The amount is relatively low and is paid in one lump sum, with no subsequent income.

If you win a prize, the bonus is also a one-time income.

Even if you get windfall and earn copyright income from film and television adaptations, most of it is one-time income.

Only paper books such as single-volume books, library books, and hardcover books, which can earn 10% of the sales price in royalties for each copy printed, can provide a long-term and stable source of income.

The sales volume of physical books is the most important data to test the commercial value of an author.

Generally, after a writer makes his debut, his works will first be published in major magazines, journals and newspapers. Only the best ones will receive publishing invitations from publishing houses and be released as single volumes.

In the past, many writers who had won the Shincho Award had articles published in Shincho that were very popular with readers, but when they published their books, no one was interested in them and the sales were so poor that they could not recover the publishing costs.

Why is this happening?

Because "Xinchao" itself is the best platform, providing what newcomers lack most - traffic.

After leaving the platform, new and emerging writers lack fame and appeal to readers, so most of their sales will plummet.

After two or three deaths, the writer will basically have no chance of being published. He will either change his profession or stay in this profession in poverty for half his life and finally die in frustration.

Only writers who have been tested by the market are real writers.

For these writers, it is no longer a dream to earn over 100 million yen in royalties and receive invitations for film and television adaptations every year...

It is unacceptable for any writer to have half of his copyright taken away for no reason.

This is where Tachibana Toshio's brilliance lies.

They'll first jump out and ask for half of your copyright and help you modify the ending, otherwise they won't let you publish it.

When your struggle has been futile and you are in despair, they tell you that it’s okay for them to take a loss and don’t want your copyright, as long as they help you change the ending.

Generally, newcomers with no background will be completely subdued by this approach, and after the job is done they have to thank them for their kindness.

As a senior industry insider, Editor-in-Chief Nitta knows very well the reason why the Agency for Cultural Affairs, no, it should be said that it was Seiichiro Ito who wanted to seize the adaptation rights of "Dancing Girl".

No matter how high the copyright value of a short story is, it is only worth 100 million at most. This amount of money is not a lot of money for either the Tachibana family or the Ito family.

They blocked the review of "Dancing Girl" just for the adaptation rights.

"Dancing Girl" is currently enjoying explosive word-of-mouth. While the popularity is still there, as long as it is published as a single volume, the sales will surely be good.

But what if readers are eagerly waiting and preparing to collect the single volume, but what they get is a copy of "Dancing Girl" that has been changed beyond recognition, will these readers still buy it?

Of course they won't.

They would only criticize Mishima for changing his works for the sake of royalties, calling him a disgusting writer who was out to make money. The extreme ones would even send him razor blades online, ambush him offline and play Mortal Kombat with him.

If Mishima's first book had gone like this, his reputation would have been completely ruined and no one would read it anymore.

Who is the biggest beneficiary of this?
Of course it was Mishima’s rival, the mastermind behind this incident—Tachibana Toshio.

Whether in terms of sales or reputation, he was completely suppressed by Mishima and there was no possibility of turning things around.

"Eggs and High Walls, Part 2" will be published in the September issue of Xinchao magazine.

But now August is not even halfway through, and neither Tachibana Toshio himself nor the editors of Shincho-1 dare to have any expectations for next month's sales... Monthly sales of millions are not something they can possibly achieve.

At the moment, the only way for Toshio Tachibana to make a comeback is to beat Mishima in terms of single-volume book sales.

After ruining Mishima's reputation, he can look forward to winning the Akutagawa Prize in the second half of this year.

The Akutagawa Prize is the most prestigious award in the field of pure literature in Japan. It is a non-public award for new writers - it does not accept submissions from the public, but only selects winning works from new writers and new books recommended by major publishing houses that year.

"I am almost certain to win the Akutagawa Prize this year." Tachibana Toshio poured himself a cup of tea, smiled, and drank it in one gulp. "I have already prepared everything. Without saying too much, I have arranged in advance for half of the permanent judges of the Akutagawa Prize. Other publishing houses have not produced any amazing works this year. The only variable now is Mishima. Although "Dancing Girl" is short in length and it is difficult to be shortlisted for the Akutagawa Prize, it will be very dangerous if he produces a medium or long novel in the second half of the year..."

Editor-in-Chief Nitta glanced at him, then looked at Ito Seiichiro who had remained silent, and assured him, "We are very united in our internal opinions. We will definitely not go against the Agency for Cultural Affairs for a new author. So please rest assured. We will persuade him to accept the contract. I don't think a new author like him will cause any trouble."

Tachibana Toshio smiled and said, "I'm glad that your senior executives are so sensible. If he doesn't accept the contract, just keep him in the magazine and forget about publishing a single book in his life. The Japanese literary world does not allow such unruly people to appear!"

Hearing this, Editor-in-Chief Nitta subconsciously glanced at Seiichiro Ito.

The senior official of the Department of Culture maintained his superior attitude and nodded slightly: "This matter has been settled. There will be no more changes."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sky turned cloudy in an instant.

A gust of wind blew from afar, and the sunny doll on the eaves shook a few times, and fell to the ground with a "pop", as if foreshadowing that something representing beauty was about to fall.

Looking at the sunny doll on the ground, Tachibana Toshio laughed cruelly.

It will be soon. It won't be long before he will take back all the awards, fame, and the beautiful and intelligent Matsueda Kiyoyuki that he lost from Matsueda Kiyoaki!

(End of this chapter)