I am a literary giant in Europe

Chapter 451 The Possibilities of an Island (Seeking monthly votes, recommendations, and subscriptions!!)

“I know you don’t like this kind of marketing, but…”

Mela handed Liu Jin a cup of coffee, then walked around the desk and sat down.

"Chicago needs some stimulation."

She smiled gracefully and said, "I'm starting to regret it now. I shouldn't have given 'The Man Who Will Disappear' to Midnight Publishing House."

Currently, the total sales of "The Man Who Will Disappear" have exceeded one million copies, and it is expected to surpass two million by the end of the year... Last month, Ms. Elena even called me to express her gratitude. What could I say? I could only accept it with tears in my eyes.

Liu Jin burst into laughter.

He took a sip of coffee, pure Martini coffee beans.

"I told you, you'd regret it."

"How was I supposed to know that a book you wrote casually would sell like this?"

At first, I thought you were just being stubborn with Guillaume, thinking you could only get a few hundred thousand copies, but…”

Mela smiled wryly and shook her head.

The realm of genius is perhaps truly beyond the comprehension of ordinary people like them.

Even the editor-in-chief of Hachette Publishing Group called to express his hope to strengthen cooperation with Liu Jin in the future.

Hachette had collaborated with Liu Jin before.

The Old Man and the Sea and Pirates of the Caribbean made them incredibly wealthy.

The problem is that Liu Jin's output decreased in 03, and the results of his books were rather mediocre.

But now it seems that what is considered "ordinary" is only in comparison to the sales figures in 02. Compared to most authors, the sales figures are still astonishing.

Therefore, Hachette Publishing Group has recently strengthened its ties with Méra.

However, the 04 Meira is different from the 02 Meira.

With an author like Amos on board, Mela as his agent, and a mid-sized publishing house under her wing, getting another book from her would truly be a matter of luck. Hachette is also a multinational publishing group with global distribution channels, but behind Liu Jin are institutions like Random House, HarperCollins, and Midnight Publishers. In terms of strength, these publishing companies are by no means inferior to Hachette.

This also prevented the Hachette Group from using unconventional methods.

Moreover, Hachette Group and Little Life have a close working relationship.

Life Is Beautiful made them a little hesitant.

They were worried that publishing Liu Jin's work would affect their collaboration with Little Days. Furthermore, Little Days already held shares in Hachette... This was also a reason why Hachette wasn't very enthusiastic after the end of Pirates of the Caribbean.

But now...

This is a gold mine!

The opinions of the board members of Xiao Rizi are no longer important.

After listening to Mela's complaints, Liu Jin did not offer any opinion.

From a business perspective, that's understandable.

But if they want to cooperate, Hachette needs to show sincerity; it's not something Liu Jin can just do by simply saying so.

"You talk to them, but why hold a book signing?"

Liu Jin lit a bottle of white cigarette and asked in confusion.

"Are sales bad in Chicago?"

"I guess you haven't been paying attention to the French book market lately."

"I don't have time!"

"Sales are alright, similar to last year's Wind-Up Bird. Sales in the French domestic market are estimated to be around a million copies. However, HarperCollins predicts that it will be very popular in the North American market."

"That's it!"

"That's not how it works; we hope to achieve even better results."

Next month, the French editions of Midnight Publishers' *The Girl Who Played with Fire*, Singella Publishers' *Inception*, and *The Eye of the Beast* will be released simultaneously. The commotion the Beast caused in America has generated immense anticipation. Therefore, Ms. Irene and I discussed it and decided to hold six book signings early next month.”

"what?"

"Two shows in Paris, one at Shakespeare and Company and one at Café de Flore."

One match in Lyon, one in Marseille, and one in Grenoble, a total of seven days.

"You are crazy!"

Liu Jin's eyes widened. "This is going to kill me!"

"Hehe, think about the royalties you've received over the years, and think about your fans. I think you can work a little harder."

At this point, Mela's smile faded.

"The main purpose of this book signing event is to gather all of your works."

Use your previous work to stimulate the release of three new books next month and boost the sales of "Chicago".

Do you know how many of your book fans have been looking forward to meeting you over the past four years?

Café de Flore is willing to offer 300,000 euros as a fee for your hard work in attending the book signing at Café de Flore.

"Forehead……"

Liu Jin thought about it and it didn't seem like a bad idea.

"But, does it really have to be this big?"

"It's to build momentum for the Goncourt Prize... We originally thought Notre Dame de Paris was a sure thing, but this year Michel's book, The Possibilities of an Island, is gaining momentum, and there are voices in the Goncourt Prize jury calling for it."

Michelle Obama has been making frequent public appearances over the past six months, which is a way of promoting herself.

You have to come out and make a trip; it's also a way of building momentum.

"The possibility of an entire island? That's incredible!"

"To date, sales have approached one million copies, and this year's sales are expected to exceed two million copies."

Besides that, you have two competitors for this year's Goncourt Prize.

One is Roland Goldie's *The Sun of Stark*, and the other is your compatriot.

"Compatriots?"

"Her pen name is Shansa, and her work is called 'The Go Girl'... However, I feel that you might not like the themes she promotes in that book. Her book has a good chance of winning the Goncourt Prize for High School Literature."

Liu Jin was stunned for a moment.

A Go-playing girl?
He seemed to know about the book, but hadn't read it.

What does "don't really like" mean?
Liu Jin scratched his head, not taking it to heart.

"So, my opponents this year are Roland Gauthier and Michel?"

"almost!"

"Well... let's go then." *The Stark Sun* is a new book published this year.

It has been in the top five of the French bestseller list for sixteen consecutive weeks.

"The Possibilities of an Island" has remained at number two for thirteen weeks, and in recent weeks it has consistently ranked second, with sales not far behind "The Vanishing Man." If things aren't careful, "The Vanishing Man" could fall off the top spot.

This feels a bit like the leaderboard on Qidian.com. Is it that competitive?

"What's the current situation with 'Later...'?"

"It has already dropped to eighteenth place. SLF estimates that sales will fall to around 400,000."

But he still made a profit; apparently, he's already preparing his next book… Elena said she'll keep an eye on that guy.”

"He and Jennifer..."

It's over!

During the two months you were away, many singers stood up for Jennifer.

They think Guillaume was using Jennifer…anyway, it made quite a mess. I heard that Bernard ended up getting paid to shut Jennifer up. But for Guillaume, this whole thing still boosted his fame considerably.

Liu Jin nodded.

Actually, it's pretty much useless!

Guillaume's debut novel sold over a million copies in the original timeline.

Now that it's been cut in half, it's gained a terrible reputation.

Next book...

Liu Jin was unsure whether he could rise to prominence as he had in the original timeline.

Because his two best works, one "Later..." did not meet expectations; the other "He Who Will Disappear" has been taken over by Liu Jin.

Well, let's see!
And with Elena watching him, he probably won't have an easy time either.

So never offend a woman!

Especially older, successful, and wealthy women—they are really not to be trifled with…

……

Alizee is home!

Summer vacation has arrived, and schools are on holiday.

If you count the time, Alizee hasn't been home for over a year.

Her parents visited Toulouse several times during this period, but they did not visit Liu Jin.

Because Alizee had moved to the school dormitory at that time.

The child who hasn't been home for over a year should go back.

She has already selected the songs for her third album and will go to Universal Music America in September to record it.

Universal Music provided her with a top-notch producer.

It's estimated that she might not be able to return to Toulouse before the end of the year...

Poor child, he's going to be a beast of burden!

Liu Jin couldn't help but laugh when he thought of how pitiful she looked when she left.

Mela began promoting the signing event.

Ottilie stayed in Toulouse, miserably proofreading manuscripts.

She currently has two books by Liu Jin: "The Da Vinci Code" and "Nemo".

Chloe, on the other hand, had it much easier.

Last year's attack has long since faded into history.

NM continued to pour into Toulouse, but no one dared to cause trouble for Chloe.

After all, last year's major overhaul made NM in Toulouse much more obedient, at least no longer daring to act recklessly.

Genevieve was thus able to relax.

"A book signing?"

Genevieve smiled and said, "I'm fine with it, I'm ready to follow your orders anytime."

"After the book signing, I need to go to America. Is that alright with you?"

"No problem at all."

Anyway, French passport holders can travel to America visa-free.

On the contrary, Liu Jin is in a bit of trouble, as he is signing a contract almost every year.

Mela advised him to change his nationality.

If you don't like America, you can choose the European side.

France, Germany, Spain... he can immigrate anywhere without any obstacles.

But Liu Jin refused without hesitation!
Americans are definitely not suitable.

In the magical world twenty years later, America pulls off far too many outrageous stunts.

Moreover, given the precedent of the Chinese Exclusion Act, it's not impossible for them to do it again in the future, just waiting for Chinese people to come and exploit them.

As for Europe...

Forget it!

If things go wrong, one day the Heavenly Gang might be overthrown, and the people of this country might become second-class citizens.

China is still the best!
……

On June 27, Liu Jin held a book signing event at the BookStore in Toulouse City Hall Square.

The following day, he held another book signing at the Ombres Blanche bookstore.

This is the first apartment Liu moved into after leaving the school dormitory in Toulouse.

That apartment is right above the bookstore.

Liu Jin took a few more glances at it, feeling quite nostalgic and sentimental.

After the book signing ended, he quickly left under Genevieve's protection and went straight home.

Drive the Porsche Touring van out of the garage.

Liu Jin, carrying Eva, led Julie and Adrian directly into the RV and hurriedly drove away from Toulouse in the night.

……

(End of this chapter)