Training the Heavens

Chapter 99: Sensational Neon
"One hundred thousand copies are not enough, we need at least two hundred thousand copies, otherwise we will be scolded to death by the bookstore managers! Such a book will cause a sensation in the whole of Japan once it is released!" Ren Shengping's face turned red with excitement.

The Japanese workplace is very particular about hierarchy. Nibu Heita's current behavior was really rude, and Yasuki Wada, the director of the book publishing department of Tokuma Shoten, subconsciously scolded him.

"You must control your emotions. As an editor, you absolutely cannot act impulsively based on personal preferences. When I was your age, even if I came across a work by my favorite author, I would calm down after reading it and reassess the book's sales from the perspective of a professional editor. You're being too impulsive right now. Get out now and come back to report after you've thought it over."

"Hey, Smi Masai!" Ren Shengpingtai bowed and apologized quickly, but he didn't leave. Instead, he handed over the manuscript like a treasure. "I still stand by my judgment. You'll understand after reading this manuscript."

Editors are known for their speed reading abilities. In just an hour, Wada Yasuki had finished reading the 200,000-word manuscript. His earlier composure had long since vanished, and he became even more enthusiastic than Mibu Heita. "Two hundred thousand copies isn't enough! Notify the printing house and start with a print run of 300,000! Distribute the stock to all bookstores in Japan. Immediately contact Kinokuniya, Maruzen Junkdo, and Yurindo to get their best display space."

The bookstore chains he mentioned are all among the top in Japan and dominate the Japanese book retail sector. It is not easy to ask them to provide the best display space, but Yasuki Wada firmly believes that as long as the managers of these bookstores see the sample books, they will make the same decision.

"Go visit Mr. Komatsu Sakyo, Mr. Toriyama Akira, and Mr. Buronson, and invite them to write a recommendation for "Showa American Story"!"

“Invite the best designers to design the cover and waistband, and the best illustrators to draw the illustrations!”

"The Publicity Department immediately came up with a promotional plan. I want to see ads for 'Showa America Story' in both the Yomiuri Shimbun and Shonen Jump! We must let everyone in Japan know that this book is coming out soon!"

Such a grand gesture even scared Heita Nibu a little, "Buyer, this is going to cost a lot of money. Will the president agree?"

"The money I spend now will be earned back tenfold, twentyfold in the future. I'm going to ask the president right now. This book might become our Tokuma Bookstore's best-selling title! No, not just a possibility, but a certainty! Everyone, let's work together towards this great goal!"

"Hi!" Everyone stood up and bowed in unison. It was such a Showa-style scene.

The manuscript also conquered Yasuyoshi Tokuma, who decisively gave the most generous budget and personally contacted those chain bookstores to secure the best display and advertising positions for "Showa American Story".

Those writers and cartoonists also accepted the invitation and wrote slogans for Tokuma Shoten, and the staff of Tokuma Shoten's publicity department immediately put these recommendations full of middle school-like temperament in newspapers and comics.

"The bulldozer of the Japanese science fiction world, Mr. Sakyo Komatsu, highly recommends: 'Showa American Story'—a miraculous 'super-impossible science fiction novel' born at the Lagrange point where universality, entertainment, and literary quality are perfectly balanced!"

"Manga artist Akira Toriyama was so engrossed in reading that I forgot about the deadline and almost missed the next Dragon Ball update."

"Mr. Buronson, the author of Fist of the North Star: Compared to the world created by this genius Chinese author, Kenshiro's world is simply too boring and too shallow."

"This is a masterpiece filled with fantastical ideas. You won't be able to stop turning the pages. It is the greatest apocalyptic work since the birth of science fiction. If you want to see what will happen after Japan buys the United States, please look forward to the official release of "Showa America Story"!"

Hey, Japan bought American science fiction? That's so interesting! I have to buy it and read it! Many readers who saw the above advertisement had the same thought.

Some Japanese people questioned whether Japan buying the US was science fiction. It's almost a reality, isn't it? But the Statue of Liberty in a kimono is quite interesting. I wonder if there will be a large poster included with the book purchase?

The publicity staff of Tokuma Shoten knew how to arouse readers' expectations. Every one or two days, they would publish a new promotional poster in the newspaper. The content was the things that Gao Jialin described in the book: the Statue of Liberty in a kimono, the Golden Gate Bridge hung with red lanterns, the torii gate in the sea off the coast of California, and the President of the United States watching neon cartoons in the White House.
When Japanese people saw these posters, it was like a young woman who had been lonely for a long time was stuffed into a small toy that was running at full power. She immediately began to tremble and was immersed in uncontrollable desire.

They quickly ran to the nearest bookstore, asking when they could buy "Showa American Story" while looking at the large poster on the wall. "Is the poster for sale?"

"I'm sorry, sir, this poster is for display only and cannot be sold." The bookstore clerk immediately bowed and apologized.

"What? How do you do business?" The customer had no choice but to leave unwillingly.

At night, someone plucked up the courage to sneak outside the bookstore, ready to secretly tear down the poster and take it home to collect it. Unexpectedly, someone had already done it before him, leaving only an empty space on the wall, and the poster was no longer visible.

"How could he be so shameless! Are these shameless guys still Japanese? How could they do such rude things?" He cursed with gritted teeth, as if he had forgotten why he came here.

That night, fights broke out in several places in Tokyo over posters, which added a lot of workload to the Tokyo Police Department.

Many tabloid reporters rushed over upon hearing the news and took pictures of them scrambling for the posters, which were published in their own newspapers the next morning, thus providing voluntary publicity for Tokuma Shoten.

In the printing factory, workers print, cut, bind and print books day and night. Then they load the books onto trucks. As soon as the new books, which smell of ink, come off the production line, they are loaded into large trucks and sent to various bookstores.

The day of the official release finally arrived. Editors such as Heita Mibu were sent out to inspect major bookstores to collect first-hand sales data, while Yasuki Wada sat anxiously in the office, waiting for news from the front.

Before lunch, Wada Jingshu received a call from Mibu Heita, "Boss, this is bad!"

(End of this chapter)