1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 13 Surprise Editorial Department

"Actually, there are still some shortcomings, and these shortcomings are quite obvious."

On the one hand, the novel devotes a large amount of space to presenting the grand scenes of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's march, assembly, and battles, such as marching across the ice field, tank battles, and positional assaults, which have a strong visual impact, but also squeeze out the space for in-depth character portrayal.

On the other hand, the backstories of the main characters, such as Wu Qianli, Wu Wanli, and Lei Gong, are mostly explained through fragmented dialogues, such as Wu Qianli's "going home to build a house" and Wu Wanli's "from a naughty boy to a soldier". The transformation of the characters' arcs is somewhat abrupt.

These are all shortcomings of this novel.

The most obvious point, of course, is that excessive artistic embellishment leads to some plot points sacrificing realism for dramatic effect… Of course, this is a flaw that any newcomer writing a grand narrative would have, and these flaws shouldn't negate the novel's overall excellence.

Liu Jiaju has always been very perceptive, and he was clear about these issues. However, the main reason he didn't say anything was because he had too much emotion and resonance with this novel.

"Overall, this is an outstanding novel that will have a significant impact whether it is published in the military or domestically!"

Liu Jiaju gave his final summary of "The Battle at Lake Changjin".

The young and old editors in the editorial department are all getting restless. They've never heard this nitpicking team leader say anything like this before, let alone such praise.

Wang Chuanhong walked over, somewhat curious: "What novel is it? You two are talking about it like it's some kind of mystery!"

Wang Chuanhong joined the New Fourth Army in 41 and held several propaganda and editing positions in the army, such as proofreading the magazine "Anti-Enemy" of the 1st Division of the New Fourth Army.

After liberation, he worked at the PLA Literature and Art Publishing House, and the "PLA Literature and Art" magazine was a magazine established and supported by the publishing house. Because he was a veteran worker, Wang Chuanhong also held a significant position in the General Political Department, serving as the deputy director of the Literature and Art Department.

Hearing the tone of the voice, he turned around and said, "Old Wang, I just saw a pretty good military novel. Aren't most people writing about the fourteen-year War of Resistance against Japan or fighting landlords these days? This novel is about the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Chuanhong became genuinely curious.

"Oh! In that case, I absolutely have to take a look!"

"What manuscripts are they? Old Wang and Old Liu have all piled them up here!"

Calling someone "Lao" plus their surname is actually a term that existed in Yan'an, and these people like to call them that now that they're familiar with them.

"I just picked it up myself! And those two said it was good, but I don't know why it's good!" Wang Chuanhong left without drawing a conclusion, holding the manuscript.

Upon hearing this, the other editors swarmed over.

"Hey...hey!" Liu Jiaju complained, "I was still preparing to revise the manuscript! What am I supposed to revise if you take it away?"

A group of people exclaimed, "Wait a day or two. Anyway, the draft is already finalized this month, and the novel can only be published next month. There's no use in being anxious!"

These people spoke eloquently, but Liu Jiaju felt restless if he didn't work for even a minute, but he had no choice but to let them have their way.

The group of people watched for a long time.

reached a conclusion.

This novel is indeed quite original, and because of its good artistic processing, the story is vivid and exciting.

It has its flaws, but as a first novel written by a newcomer, these are actually acceptable.

in the afternoon.

The group returned the novel with lingering interest.

Wang Chuanhong said, "This novel is indeed excellent. For a new writer to be able to write a story of this caliber, I believe he is a thoughtful and courageous writer..."

The others nodded in agreement: "It's from the Wuhan Military Region! This is a draft from a grassroots unit, and it's even better written than those cultural troupes. I feel there's still room for improvement!"

"..."

"Give me the manuscript first?" Liu Jiaju shook his head and suddenly said, "Go show the novel to the editor-in-chief. I think this novel is so well written, Comrade Zhou Xu should be called over to revise it!"

The distance between the Wuhan Military Region and the "PLA Literature and Art" publication is not far; it only takes two or three days to get there.

Liu Jiaju wanted to use these few days to revise the manuscript as soon as possible, so that he could also call Comrade Zhou Xu over to revise it.

The current "PLA Literature and Art" magazine does not have unified leadership, but Hu Qi is mainly in charge.

Hu Qi served as a member of a cultural troupe, a war correspondent, and also as a reporter accompanying the army in the 3rd Column of the Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu Field Army, a political instructor of the Dabie Mountain Armed Work Team, and the head of the cultural troupe of the 3rd Corps of the Second Field Army.

Her creative focus gradually shifted to children's literature, and she authored novellas such as "Colorful Road", "Green Distance" and "Unforgettable Winter", as well as reportage such as "Female Sailor" and the play script "Model Farmhouse".

As mentioned earlier, everyone in "PLA Literature and Art" had served in the military, specifically during those specific years.

They knocked on the door and entered Hu Qi's office.

Today, Lao Hu is still in his office organizing manuscripts.

Liu Jiaju, the deputy head of the novel group, handed "The Battle at Lake Changjin" to Hu Qi: "Editor-in-Chief Hu, I saw a rather excellent manuscript today and would like you to take a look!"

Hu Qi rubbed his wrist, a hint of confusion in his eyes:
"Old Liu, you're always very strict and discerning when it comes to reviewing manuscripts. Is there any manuscript you're unsure about?"

Liu Jiaju said, "That's not the point. It's just that this novel is not only original but also excellent, so I'd like you to help me appreciate it!"

Hu Qi is the editor-in-chief, and the review process isn't his responsibility, but Liu Jiaju actually said that as the editor-in-chief, he naturally has to take a look.

After quickly reading it through, Hu Qi nodded: "This novel is indeed well-written. You're lucky to have received a good manuscript."

Of course, Hu Qi knew that Liu Jiaju's feelings for this novel were different from those of the editors.

Read books! The most comforting moment is when you come across a point in a book or a sentence from the author that resonates with you!
Liu Jiaju's most persistent point about this novel is that he was a participant in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, so his sense of resonance is much greater than that of all the editors and contributors.

"I know, but this manuscript has many flaws, and it's a novella. According to our rules, we need to invite the author to our magazine office to revise the manuscript!"

"Regarding revising the manuscript, that's definitely the rule!"

Most of the time, there are opportunities to revise manuscripts by magazines.

What was delightful was that Zhou Yanru admired Yu Hua and sent him to "Beijing Literature" to revise his manuscript. She then reimbursed his travel expenses and gave him a daily allowance of two yuan. Yu Hua arrived with nothing in his pants and left with a few dozen yuan in his pocket.

Most of the edited manuscripts are longer; some, even those with several thousand words, don't need editing and are published directly after a few tweaks by the editor.

As for medium-length novels with more than 100,000 words, they naturally need to be revised.

"By the way, in which issue was this novel published?" Liu Jiaju asked.

Hu Qi took out the final draft of this issue and the preliminary work for the next issue.

The magazine has accumulated a lot of manuscripts. Taking Yu Hua as an example, before he became famous, his works, such as "Going Out at Eighteen", were displayed in the magazine for several months.

As the saying goes, it's like queuing up. Novels that are neither accepted nor rejected are in a queue, which can take as short as two or three months, or even as long as half a year.

As for well-known writers or excellent manuscripts, there is no need to wait in line. They can be published whenever they want, and it is not uncommon for them to be re-formatted on the eve of the final draft.

Zhou Xu's manuscript wasn't so extraordinary that it would have to be withdrawn and published outright in November, but it was definitely better than those manuscripts that were waiting in line, and it was at the level where it wouldn't need to wait and could be published directly next month.

“Perfect timing. There are a few articles I don’t really like next month. You can call him over to revise them. If he finishes revising them within a month, they can be published before the final version is released next month!” Hu Qi gave Liu Jiaju face.

Liu Jiaju nodded: "Then I'll go revise the manuscript now. I'll call him over when it's finished, and it will be published in January."

(End of this chapter)