Training the Heavens

Chapter 65 Invitation from the Radio Station

It is not new to publish lyrics as poetry. Bob Dylan even won the Nobel Prize. Moreover, the lyrics of "The Crossroads Where the Phoenix Flowers Bloom" are indeed well-written and can fully meet the standards for publication. It can also help promote the next issue of the magazine. Why wouldn't the editor-in-chief do it?

The royalties for poetry are not calculated based on the number of words, otherwise all poets in the country would starve to death.

Ten lines count as one thousand words, and less than one thousand words count as one thousand words. So Gu Cheng's poem "A Generation" says: The night gave me black eyes, but I use them to look for light; twenty-three words can get the remuneration of one thousand words. From this point of view, the cost-effectiveness is extremely high.

The full text of "The Crossroads Where Phoenix Flowers Bloom" has a total of twenty-three lines, which is three thousand words. According to the standard of eighteen yuan per thousand words, Gao Jialin received fifty-four yuan, which is equivalent to a worker's entire month's salary.

When receiving his royalties, Gao Jialin felt a little regretful. If he had known this earlier, he would have split the lyrics of the original line, such as "the ups and downs of growing up, the moments of sharing", "sometimes happy, sometimes lonely", into two lines. This way, he might have received an extra 18 yuan in royalties.

I guess Gu Long also got paid by the number of lines, otherwise who would write such lines?

"You came."

"Yes, I'm coming."

"You shouldn't have come!"

"But I'm already here!"

Such words appear endlessly in Gu Long's novels. Just a few words can earn him a whole line of royalties. The three words "value for money" are really something he can play with in a variety of ways.

It was said to be the third day, but the next day Niu Xinliang called Gao Jialin and said that the revision opinions had come out and asked him to take leave from school and go to Julu Road to revise the manuscript.

Gao Jialin hurried to ask Zhang Changqing for leave. When Zhang Changqing heard that he needed to revise the manuscript, he approved it without saying a word and said that it would take as long as needed, so he could revise the manuscript on Julu Road without worry.

When they arrived at Julu Road, the house where he had revised the manuscript last time was empty, so Gao Jialin moved back in. For the next ten days, Gao Jialin lived a very leisurely life. He would wake up in the morning, have breakfast first, take a walk to digest the food, and then come back to start revising the manuscript.

I stopped changing it at noon and called Niu Xinliang to have a good meal. Then I rode his bicycle around the city. I took his newly bought camera and took pictures of any interesting scenes. After a few years, these would be precious materials for me to recall the 1980s.

When it was almost time to get off work, he would come back and call Xie Chao. If there was a suitable house available, they would go see it first and then have dinner together. After eating a few meals together, Xie Chao became more passionate about his work. He even went to housing exchanges in other districts to help Gao Jialin find villas.

Ten days later, Niu Xinliang's belly was noticeably bigger, and Gao Jialin's manuscript was finally revised. It was quickly reviewed and approved, and the editorial department decided to publish it in the next issue of the magazine.

This time, Gao Jialin wrote 128765 words and received yuan in royalties.

When the editor-in-chief told him the good news, he also specifically discussed the lyrics. "This issue of the magazine has only been out for a few days, and we've already received many letters from readers. They love the lyrics of 'Magnolia Crossroads' and even asked how the song is sung."

"Even the city radio station called and said that the lyrics of this song are particularly suitable for graduation season. They plan to give this song to all graduates in Shanghai when they graduate, so they wanted me to ask you if you can provide them with tapes?" "I've only written the lyrics, but I haven't composed the music yet!" Gao Jialin was a little embarrassed. He made rapid progress in learning guitar with Ma Chuanjie, and now he can play and sing by himself, but composing music involves a lot of things, which he doesn't know yet.

"Do you have any idea of ​​the general melody? If so, I can introduce you to a few composers." The editor-in-chief is a cultural person and naturally knows many people in the cultural circle, so it is easy for him to find a few composers.

"Yes, I can hum the general idea, but I'll have to ask them for help with the composition and arrangement!"

"Okay, I'll call and see if anyone is interested, and then set up a time for you to meet and chat."

After making several phone calls, he finally found a teacher at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. After hearing the lyrics, she was very interested and immediately invited Gao Jialin to discuss it.

No. 675 Julu Road is only a little over one kilometer away from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Ten minutes later, Gao Jialin appeared in teacher Liang Wanting's office with the lyrics.

Liang Wanting had been quite interested in the lyrics when she heard them on the phone just now, so after sitting down and chatting for a while, she asked Gao Jialin to hum it once. After listening, she commented, "The singing technique is very rough, but I basically understand the general melody."

She was not surprised, because the teachers at the Conservatory of Music often went out to collect folk songs. During the collection, she had seen many folk artists who could compose and sing songs without knowing musical notation.

"Come on, follow me to the piano room, and then I will sing for you. If there is anything wrong, please point it out." Liang Wanting took the music score that had just been recorded and took Gao Jialin out.

When she arrived at the piano room, she first tested the pitch and then began to play and sing. Every time Gao Jialin pointed out a mistake, she would patiently try each note one by one until she found the most suitable tune.

After working hard for an afternoon, the main melody of the song was basically out. Next, it needed to be refined and modified, which would take time, so Liang Wanting asked Gao Jialin to come back at this time next week.

After going there several times, the song was finally completed. Liang Wanting also arranged the music and found several students to play musical instruments to help Gao Jialin record a formal tape.

Gao Jialin took the tape to Shanghai Radio Station, thinking he'd just hand it over. Unexpectedly, the station's director told him something else: "Mr. Gao Jialin, your work 'Young Friends Come Together' is very popular with readers, so we'd like to adapt it into a radio drama and broadcast it during graduation season. What do you think?"

Hey, IP is developed so quickly?

Gao Jialin was secretly delighted when he heard this. If the radio station wants to develop IP, does that mean they have to pay me an adaptation fee?
He was just a student, and one who was planning to enter government after graduation. Talking directly about money with the radio station would easily leave a bad impression, so Gao Jialin did not agree immediately.

"I'm certainly happy that you're willing to adapt my work into a radio drama, but 'Mengya' is also planning to publish a book with the two parts combined. If you broadcast the latter part before the book goes on sale, I'm not sure if it will affect the sales. So I need to consult 'Mengya' first!"

Since Gao Jialin himself is not in a position to negotiate, then he lets Mengya step in. He is very familiar with Niu Xinliang, so he can ask him to help him get the money.

(End of this chapter)