Tokyo Tycoon, Start as a Writer

Chapter 61 A large wave of black people attacks
On September 9th, the Japanese literary world was very turbulent.

As the much-anticipated "Shiosao" is about to be released, Keisuke Takahashi, dean of the Graduate School of Letters at Kyoto University, permanent member of the Japan Literature Committee, and veteran writer, published a review under his real name in the literature section of the Asahi Shimbun.

The subject of the comment is Mishima, a new and emerging writer who has become very popular recently.

In his review, Takahashi Keisuke first affirmed the literary quality of "The Dancing Girl" and Mishima's fresh and beautiful writing style, and also praised his courageous resistance in the face of pressure from the Agency for Cultural Affairs.

The first half of the comment sounds very much like what a literary veteran would say to encourage a newcomer.

But from the middle, Takahashi Keisuke changed his writing style and criticized Mishima with sharp words.

The writing style of "The Dancer" is beautiful, but it lacks the seriousness of pure literature. It uses love as the theme to drive the development of the plot, which makes the whole work too superficial and the content lacks depth, failing to bring deeper thinking to readers.

The upcoming "Tide of Love" still has a cliché happy ending, which is even more superficial than "Dancing Girl".

Keisuke Takahashi believes that such works are not worthy of being presented in a formal setting.

In order to make his point more convincing, he also analyzed the work "Eggs and Walls", believing that works like this, which depict how people work together to overcome difficulties and rebuild their confidence and homes during a disaster, are what a country really needs.

In addition, Takahashi Keisuke also commented on Mishima's frequent appearance on online hot searches.

He believes that writers who focus most of their energy on marketing will no longer have the energy and passion to write.

This kind of guy who craves fame and sensationalism does not deserve to be called a writer.

If everyone tries to learn from you, what will happen to the literary world?
Finally, Keisuke Takahashi said bluntly in his comments: The Akutagawa Prize will never be awarded to such a vulgar writer.

It can be said that a veteran literary figure who has a say in all aspects publicly jumped out to accuse a new writer. This can be said to be a very serious blow. Many people in the circle immediately smelled the smell of blood and rain.

Following closely, three literary predecessors, who are also judges of the Akutagawa Prize, posted on their respective social media platforms, expressing their dissatisfaction with the phenomenon of "over-marketing" and believing that this situation should be eliminated to restore the literary world to a pure land.

What is the Pure Land of Literature?

That was of course before the Internet became popular.

At that time, if new authors wanted to stand out, they could only promote themselves in the literary columns of major magazines and newspapers, but the right to speak in magazines and newspapers was firmly in the hands of these old guys.

If they want someone to have a baby, they will praise him in their column.

If you want someone dead, just curse him in your column and then bring in your colleagues to criticize him collectively.

When Hawking comes, everyone has to stand up and offer him a few cups of tea before he can make his debut smoothly.

This system in which respected elders control the channels of expression and have the power of life and death has been impregnable for nearly a hundred years, and no external force has been able to break this structure.

But in this year, everything changed after a guy named Mishima appeared out of nowhere.

Many veterans suddenly realized that as long as they have enough strength, newcomers can easily soar to success with the help of the Internet platform.

There is no need for recommendations or promotions from old people.

The Japanese literary system is about to collapse!

Mishima was at the height of his popularity during this period, and the old guys didn't dare to say anything.

Now that a big and influential figure had taken the lead, the vested interests of the old system could no longer sit still and jumped out to launch a massive attack on Mishima. It took only one morning to create a huge wave of public opinion.

Readers of Lao Dongxi are also following suit.

"As an author, if you don't write your novel well, you will be on the hot search all day long..."

“Only thinking about being famous…”

"If he likes trending so much, why doesn't he become an idol?"

"As a son-in-law, what real talent can he have?"

"Any man with self-respect should not choose to marry into a woman's family!"

"I think he must have hired a ghostwriter!"

The controversy was raging on the internet, and several other large publishing houses saw the opportunity to strike down their peers, so they immediately stepped in to divert public opinion in another direction.

"Boycott this kind of garbage!" "Never buy his new book, let him die violently..."

"What's so interesting about a crappy romance novel? If you want to read something, read Shueisha's XXX..."

The waves of negative traffic on Twitter made Kobayashi Midori furious.

She really didn't understand why those old guys jumped out to criticize a new writer. They didn't act like they were respected at all!

She had been holding a grudge since morning, and her high heels made the clicking sound as she walked.

The atmosphere in the entire office area of ​​Editorial Department 2 was also quite depressing.

All editors were paying attention to what was happening on the Internet and were distracted.

Kobayashi Midori was so angry and thirsty from reading so many comments that she left her workstation and went to the tea room to drink some water.

As soon as she walked out of the office area, two editors started whispering.

"Hey, do you think any of these online opinions are fueling the flames?"

"Of course there is! Don't you think about how bad the sales of the September issue, which is mainly promoted by the content of the first issue, are. According to the most optimistic calculation, the total sales this month will not exceed 30. If our second issue rises at this time, the right to speak in the top management of the first issue will definitely be snatched away by us. If you were the one in charge of the first issue, would you be able to sit back and watch the second issue rise?"

"Of course not..."

"Editor-in-Chief Matsushita looks unhappy today. It seems like he can't handle it... Hush!"

When Midori Kobayashi walked in on high heels, they immediately shut their mouths for fear of disturbing her.

Half of the literary veterans came out to attack a new writer. It was sudden and fierce. All kinds of groundless slander, badmouthing and doubts broke out at the same time, as if they wanted to crush Mishima to death completely.

Mishima's future also concerns the future of the editors of the second department.

Therefore, they did not dare to discuss it in front of Midori Kobayashi, for fear of affecting her work - after all, she was Mishima's editor, Mishima's old classmate, and Mishima's lover.

But part of their discussion was heard by Kobayashi Midori.

The editor feels extremely heavy-hearted.

Don't underestimate the influence of these literary veterans. They have been famous for a long time and have a huge number of loyal readers. The spit of each of these readers can drown out her and Kiyoaki Matsueda.

"No, I can't just sit there and wait for death. I have to do something to help Songeda-kun..."

Kobayashi Midori gritted her teeth, turned around and ran to the editor-in-chief's office, and pushed the door open: "Editor-in-chief Matsushita, I have something to discuss with you..."

"Ah, it's Xiaolin..."

Seeing his subordinates looking anxious, Editor-in-Chief Matsushita couldn't help but smile bitterly.

He is more anxious than the editor now.

The first print run of "Chao Sao" was 10 copies, and a huge amount of publicity and promotion had already been invested in advance.

The initial investment was so huge, but such a thing happened the day before the release... Even the editor-in-chief was at a loss.

"Editor-in-Chief Matsushita, you have to negotiate with the editor-in-chief of the first department!"

"..."

"The internal fighting has reached this level, and it has seriously affected the interests of the company!" Kobayashi Midori said sternly, unconvinced. "You know better than me how much preparation we have made for the launch of 'Tide Sao'. If this incident causes sales to plummet tomorrow, we will all be responsible... If it gets serious, we will all pack up and leave."

"Of course I know that..."

Editor-in-Chief Matsushita smiled bitterly, looked at the young editor with a childish face and little experience in the world, and said in a low voice: "But Xiaolin, the degree of sensation caused by this incident is beyond the ability of a film to create. Our enemies are much more terrible than you think..."

"..."

Kobayashi Midori's heart slowly sank.

Holding on to the last glimmer of hope, even though she knew it might be useless, she still called Kiyoaki Matsueda.

(End of this chapter)