Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 219 I'm still young, I don't want this to end badly!
"It...it was them!?"

George Charpentier's voice was filled with disbelief.

The wealthy young man from the publishing industry leaned back abruptly in his chair, as if trying to avoid the conclusion.

"Is...is this even possible? 'Kalman-Levy'? Or...'Ezel'? Or...even 'Hachett'? To use such despicable means to attack me? This..."

He paused, seemingly processing the information.

However, George Charpentier quickly pieced together the outline—

"But upon closer examination, it's not entirely impossible. 'Ezel' has always been ambitious, wanting to take Emile and you away from me."

"As for 'Kalman-Levi,' ever since Michel Levy the Elder passed away, they've been trying to revive their literary publishing prowess and have long been dissatisfied with us."

"As for 'Hachette,' they were the main distributors of various textbooks before. If they see us potentially encroaching on their territory, they will definitely see us as a threat."

……

He shook his head and didn't say anything more, but the gloom on his face said it all.

Lionel calmly added, "This is just a deduction based on the logic of self-interest, George. We have no evidence."

Perhaps it's just a coincidence, or perhaps there are other forces we haven't considered.

Charpentier scoffed: "Coincidence? I don't believe it! The publishing business, on the surface, is an elegant word game, but underneath it's all dirty tricks!"
Anonymous attacks, poaching authors, hoarding paper, suppressing printing plants... this time the tactics are particularly insidious!
They went through all that trouble to come straight for you! Damn it!

He slammed his fist on the table, making the inkwell jump.

He took a few deep breaths, and looked at Lionel with a hint of gratitude in his eyes: "Anyway, Lionel, thank you for telling me all this."

This matter cannot be left unresolved; I will thoroughly investigate this information.

If it really is one of those families… Hmph, I, George Charpentier, will not be manipulated by anyone!

Lionel nodded.

He knew that once Charpentier began a serious investigation, his family's influence in the Parisian publishing world would surely uncover some clues.

The topic seemed to have come to an end, and there was a brief silence in the office.

Charpentier picked up his glass again and took a big gulp, as if to extinguish the anger in his heart.

Then, he forced a smile: "Alright, let's not talk about these troubling things. You didn't come here today just to tell me this bad news, did you?"
Is there some new idea in mind? A sequel to *The Curious Case of Benjamin Bouton*? Readers are eagerly awaiting it!

Lionel smiled slightly: "It's about that. George, I'm here to formally inform you—"

The serialization of "The Curious Cases of Benjamin Bouton" is expected to conclude no later than June of this year.

"What?! It's over?!"

Charpentier nearly jumped up from his chair as if pricked by a needle: "June? Good heavens! Leon! My Leon!"

Are you kidding me? Absolutely not!

He waved his arms excitedly: "You can't end it now! Absolutely not!"
Do you know how much sales "Modern Life" has achieved thanks to the serialization of "Walter Benjamin"?
Do you know how many people buy four or five copies of each issue just to collect all four color illustrations?
Many readers even wrote to say that they bought the magazine specifically to follow "Benjamin" and collect Renoir's paintings!

Ending it now is like tearing the roof off the house of "Modern Life"!

Lionel was not surprised by his reaction, and his tone remained calm: "George, the story has its own life and rhythm."

By June, Benjamin Budon's story had reached its natural end; it was time to conclude.

Forcing a continuation will only make the plot drag on and become tedious, the characters lose their luster, and ultimately bore the readers.

That would truly damage the magazine's reputation and also jeopardize my own—I'm still young, and I don't want this to end badly!
Since it's time to end it, it must end it cleanly and decisively.

Charpentier was sweating profusely: "Dragging? Boring? How could that be! The readers love it!"

Benjamin could have lived through so many historical events, including the July Monarchy, the 1848 Revolution, and the Second Empire!

He can fall in love, get married, have children, and encounter even more amazing adventures! He can even slow down the process of becoming 'young' a little?
Yes! If we slow down the 'youth' process, wouldn't the story be able to be longer? Length won't be an issue at all! Readers will only wish they had more!

Lionel looked at Charpentier, who was almost out of control, and a sense of doubt arose in his heart.

Charpentier was Paris's premier literary publisher, working with writers of the caliber of Zola, Flaubert, and the Goncourt brothers. Logically, he shouldn't have reacted so violently, almost panicked, to the completion of a work.

Lionel interrupted his plea: “George, calm down. This isn’t like you, the esteemed ‘Charpentier’s Bookshelf’!”

Upon hearing the words "the prestigious 'Charpentier's Bookshelf'", Georges Charpentier seemed to have been struck on a sore spot, and his mood instantly plummeted.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end it turned into a long sigh. Then he slumped back into his chair, as if he had aged several years in an instant.

After a long pause, Charpentier finally spoke, as if having made up his mind: "You're right. A dignified 'Charpentier's Bookshelf' shouldn't be like this..."

But in reality, our current financial situation... is indeed not optimistic. There are many reasons for this—

Paper prices are rising, printing costs are increasing, and competition is becoming more intense—but these are not the most important factors.

The main problem is... the royalties paid to you.

Lionel laughed: "George, I hope you won't whine about being poor like those third-rate businessmen... that's not like you."

George Charpentier quickly waved his hand: "I'm telling the truth!"

Then he started counting on his fingers: "Emile, Gustave, and you... As your fame grows, your royalties naturally increase as well."

Moreover, as you know, royalties for standalone books are paid in a lump sum.

Lionel nodded; he was certainly aware of this rule, as it was the prevailing practice in the French and even European publishing industry.

Once a publisher is interested in a manuscript, it will negotiate a total price with the author based on the author's reputation, the quality of the manuscript, and the expected sales volume, and then buy out the copyright in one lump sum.

After that, whether the book became a bestseller or a flop, whether it was reprinted once or ten times, it had no further economic connection with the author.

Seeing that Lionel understood, George Charpentier continued to complain: "The risks and pressures are too great for our publishing house!"

Take Emile's *Nana*, for example; the royalties we'd pay him would be...an astronomical figure!

Georges Charpentier did not reveal the exact amount, but the pained expression on his face said it all.

He spread his hands: "Paying such a large sum of money at once means that a lot of our cash has been depleted before the books are even released for sale."

But book sales take time, a very long time, to generate revenue! We have to bear printing costs, inventory pressure, distribution expenses…

If the book sells well, that's fine; you'll eventually break even and even make a profit. But what if the book doesn't sell well? Or what if sales are lower than expected?

That huge initial investment could be completely lost! The warehouse is piled high with unsold books, each one representing a burned franc!

Over the past few decades, countless renowned publishing houses have suffered setbacks, even going bankrupt and closing down, simply because of one or two ill-advised "blockbuster" books!

He wanted to continue, but Lionel interrupted him: "But it's just as unfair to us authors!"
Yes, we received a considerable sum of money in one go.

But if the book unexpectedly becomes a bestseller and goes through multiple reprints, it's you publishers who will make a fortune!
We can only watch helplessly as we don't get a single Su! Is that reasonable?

You paid an astronomical sum for *Nana*—but how much did you earn from *The Little Tavern* and *Sprout*?

George Charpentier wasn't angry; instead, he explained helplessly, "But whether a book becomes a bestseller is unpredictable!"

Lionel understood that this was the Achilles' heel of the 19th-century publishing industry.

Buying out an author's work outright does not guarantee long-term benefits and also puts a huge financial burden on publishers, making them hesitant to try out new authors and new works.

After Charpentier finished speaking, Lionel slowly said, "George, you're right—how about we try a different game?"

Georges Charpentier put down his glass and looked at him somewhat blankly.

Lionel gave a harmless smile: "Just like how the Comédie-Française pays me a share of the box office revenue every time they perform 'The Chorus'."

"Once the standalone edition of 'The Curious Cases of Benjamin Bouton' is published, how about we try settling the royalties using a royalty system?"

Georges Charpentier repeated Lionel's words with a puzzled look: "To settle royalties using a 'royalty system'?"

Lionel stood up and wrote a few words in chalk on a small blackboard in Georges Charpentier's office, which served as a memo board:

"Royalties", "Floating royalties", "First print run", "Licensing period"...

(End of this chapter)