Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 195 The Eve of the Awards Ceremony

Su Jing?

Cao Sheng looked at the name on the business card again, and his eyes subconsciously swept over the stewardess who had just passed by. He didn't know which stewardess Su Jing was. He hesitated and put the business card into his windbreaker pocket. He thought it was a courtesy.

The plane landed smoothly and Cao Sheng got off with the crowd.

At the airport exit, he saw Wang Jing waving at him with a bright smile from afar.

A few days ago, Wang Jing called him and asked him when he would arrive in Shanghai. He casually told her the date, so she asked him to tell her the flight number before he boarded the plane, saying that she would come to pick him up and give him a welcome.

He couldn't refuse politely, so he agreed.

In fact, he didn't really want to refuse.

After all, he was not very familiar with the Magic City. Although he had been there several times, he always came and left in a hurry.

I haven't really looked around this city and I don't recognize many of the roads.

It’s naturally nice to have Wang Jing entertain us.

When they met, Wang Jing gave him a warm hug, then helped him drag his suitcase, and took him out of the airport while chatting and laughing.

She didn't have a car, so she took him in a taxi.

In the car, she said the hotel had been arranged and asked him whether he wanted to go to the hotel first or go to dinner first.
Cao Sheng thought it was already dark and he couldn't let her go back to rest too late, so he said they should go eat first.

She asked him what he wanted to eat? Anhui cuisine? Shanghai cuisine? Japanese food?

She was very enthusiastic all the way.

After dinner, she asked him with a smile if he wanted to find a place to relax.
Because of the smile on her face, Cao Sheng couldn't tell for a moment whether she was joking or not?

He declined the offer and went to the hotel she had booked for him in advance.

In the taxi to the hotel, she said, "Tomorrow's award ceremony will be held in this hotel. I specially booked a room for you in this hotel because I hope you can have a good rest tonight and don't have to get up too early tomorrow. By the way, do you need me to call you to wake you up tomorrow morning? Haha, I can provide you with this service for free."

Cao Sheng laughed, "That's not necessary! But if the award ceremony starts tomorrow and I haven't shown up yet, you can call me."

After finishing the conversation, Wang Jing looked at Cao Sheng, her smile faded slightly, she moved closer to him, and whispered, "Your new book is suddenly serialized on our website. This afternoon, several publishing houses have contacted us, saying they want to sign your new book, but you didn't reply to their emails, including well-known publishing houses such as Hetu and Baihua Literature and Art."

After a pause, she asked curiously, "Hey! Mr. Cao, have you signed the publishing contract for this new book? It should have been signed, right?"

Cao Sheng smiled and shook his head, "Not yet."

"Not yet? Then why did you serialize it online first? Didn't you always publish it first and then post it online?"

She was surprised.

Cao Sheng: "Who said that? Wasn't my book "Living with a Flight Attendant" first serialized online? And then it was published quite a while later?"

Wang Jing frowned, "That was when you first debuted. After you became famous, how could you do that again?"

Of course, Cao Sheng would not say that he published it online first this time in order to save time and ensure that the book was released before the devil's "Gantz".

The reason he gave was: "I am too lazy to submit my manuscript, so I will publish it online first. Interested publishers will naturally come to me."

Wang Jing: “???”

This reason confused her.

As an author, I am too lazy to submit my work. How is this different from a farmer being too lazy to farm?
……

After settling Cao Sheng in the hotel, Wang Jing walked out of the hotel door, stopped, took out her cell phone, and looked at an unread text message.

"Ms. Wang, I know that you were the first person under the banyan tree to come into contact with Zhongyuan Yidianhui, and you were usually in charge of contacting him. I believe you have a good relationship with him.

So, if you can help us sign his new book during his visit to your website's awards ceremony, we will definitely give him a generous gift. If it is inconvenient for you to help us do his work, then you can tell us his address when he comes to Shanghai this time, and we will also give you a generous gift. Is that okay with you?"

This text message was sent by a manuscript editor at a publishing house in Shanghai.

After reading it, Wang Jing burst out laughing.

Put away your phone and just walk away.

She didn't dare reveal Cao Sheng's address tonight.

Because she estimated that she was the only one who knew his address tonight, so if he was disturbed tonight and couldn't get a good rest, he would definitely guess that it was her who leaked his whereabouts.

How could she get along with him in the future?

Besides, he is a shareholder of Rongshuxia. If he suggests to Mr. Zhu that she be fired, will she still be able to keep her job?

……

Yes.

Cao Sheng’s new book was suddenly published under the banyan tree today and has attracted the attention of many publishing houses.

Not only mainland publishing houses, but also manuscript editors stationed in mainland China of many Taiwanese publishing houses have noticed this.

Like Kang Yuming of the River Chart.

Hetu and Rongshuxia have a strategic partnership. Rongshuxia has been selecting high-quality works for publication for a long time. Today, Rongshuxia has put up a banner on its homepage to promote Zhongyuan Yidianhui's new book. If Kang Yuming didn't know this news, he would be derelict in his duty.

There are also Zhao Guobin and Lin Baohui from Adventurers, Bai Fengyin from Talking Band, and mainland representatives from publishing houses such as Gaia, Jiuxing, Xinyue, and Xinran Culture.

As the largest fiction website in the mainland, Under the Banyan Tree has representatives of these publishing houses coming here almost every day to look for manuscripts. It is hard not to notice the banner that Under the Banyan Tree put up on its homepage today.

Zhao Guobin was calling Lin Baohui at this time.

"Baohui! I asked you to find out which hotel under the banyan tree will hold the award ceremony tomorrow. Did you find it out?"

"Well, Mr. Zhao, I just found out."

"Well, that's great! Then you have to make some effort tomorrow and go to that hotel! You must try your best to meet Cao Sheng, do you understand what I mean?" On the other end of the phone, Lin Baohui was silent for a few seconds, and hummed with a complicated tone.

……

Under the Banyan Tree, which was hosting this award ceremony for the first time, did not seem to have thought about receiving all the authors who came to attend the ceremony in advance.

When inviting these authors, they only told the name and location of the hotel where the award ceremony would be held, as well as the time when the award ceremony would officially begin.

We promise to reimburse everyone's travel expenses.

But he didn't say he would send anyone to greet them.

So, those authors who arrived in Shanghai early that night stayed in different places.

Some people went directly to the hotel where the award ceremony was held and stayed there.

Some people just got off a train or a plane and are too lazy to run again, so they find a place to stay near the train station or the airport.

There were also those who simply rested on the bench at the train station that night in order to earn some money for accommodation under the banyan tree. The pen name of this author was: Frog Maru.

He is a dull young man in his late 30s.

He was dressed simply, wearing a pair of camouflage pants that had been washed to a pale color, a blue cotton jacket, and a pair of glasses as thick as the bottom of a bottle.

He didn't bring a suitcase, only a somewhat old backpack.

He was wearing a pair of cheap sneakers, the kind that cost about a dozen yuan a pair.

He sat on the bench at the station, lowered his head and took out a pack of instant noodles from his backpack, munching on the noodles silently, and occasionally drinking a sip of the boiled water he brought with him.

Just looking at his shabby appearance, no one would have thought that he was also an author attending this award ceremony.

But he did come to attend the awards ceremony.

His work is titled "Legend of the Weapon Refining Sect".

It tells the story of a small miner in the Weapon Refining Sect, who gradually ascends to the throne of the Sect's leader.

This book is quite popular under the banyan tree.

The number of clicks ranks among the top 20 among all the works under the banyan tree.

In this year's Under the Banyan Tree award-winning work voting, his book was voted into the top 30 by readers.

But his book was never published.

Although this book was recommended by Under the Banyan Tree, Hetu did not like it.

He himself has also submitted manuscripts to several publishing houses in Taiwan.

Without exception, all were rejected.

Some publishing houses replied: "Thank you for your manuscript! However, your work does not meet our publishing requirements. Please keep up the good work and we look forward to our next cooperation!"

Some publishing houses replied: "Unfortunately, your work did not pass our final review. The editor's opinion was: the plot is too depressing, the protagonist's character is not positive and cheerful enough, and it lacks the qualities to be a big seller."

Some publishing houses simply did not respond at all, just like a fisherman throwing bait into a toilet, with no reaction at all.

Therefore, although he came to attend the award ceremony under the banyan tree this time, he did not earn any royalties.

But he received an invitation from Under the Banyan Tree and came to the Magic City anyway.

Because he had a little hope in his heart: if my book can win an award, maybe a publishing house will be willing to publish it.

As for the positive reviews and support for his book from readers online, they are actually useless because book fans cannot decide whether his book can be published.

Similar situations have occurred many times during the development of online literature in the original time and space.

Many works that are very popular on the Internet have no chance of being published because they are not favored by publishing houses due to the type of work or writing style.

For example, online game articles.

For example, some works with depressing style and not exciting enough.

On the contrary, there are some erotic novels, which obviously have no substance, but are favored by publishers because the protagonists promote enough women.

……

Cao Sheng knows what kind of works the market likes in this era.

Just tonight, when he was typing on his laptop in the hotel room, Chu Yun, the male lead of "God's Tomb", pushed another beauty.

However, he did not write it very explicitly.

Because he didn't want to be forced to go back and modify these plots when the Internet is cleaned up in the future.

But even so, he still felt distracted while writing and felt his anger rising. Every time this happened, he felt that those authors who wrote erotic novels didn't have it easy either.

Especially those who are single and write erotic novels.

Just then, he received a text message from Huang Qingya.

"Have you been to the Magic City?"

Cao Sheng picked up his phone and took a look, then replied, "Well, how dare you text me tonight? Aren't you afraid that your family will find out?"

Huang Qingya: "Don't be afraid! My eldest brother is not at home today, and I have done a lot of ideological work on my mother and sister-in-law recently."

Cao Sheng was a little surprised. "Oh? How did you convince them?"

Huang Qingya: "I haven't met any of the blind dates they arranged for me recently, and my sister-in-law asked me privately if I still couldn't forget you. I admitted it, and she expressed her understanding. Then she worked with me to persuade my mother, and with my father's help, it was settled!"

(End of this chapter)