1994: I Became a Literary Master in America

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The first season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" premiered in March 97.

That same year, the little magician with a scar on his forehead and wearing glasses made his official debut.

But now, Buffett was born two years earlier than expected.

Xu Shengjie wasn't sure if he would rise to fame like he did in the original timeline, but he felt that things shouldn't be too bad.

After all, it has a novel as its foundation, and judging from market response, teenagers are very receptive to this kind of story, and the feedback among adults is also quite positive. As long as there are no production problems, it should be fine.

After all, this kind of subject matter is very novel.

Perhaps after the turn of the millennium, with the proliferation of all sorts of chaotic teenage fantasy films, similar themes will gradually disappear.

But in 95, Buffett was a trendsetter.

Just like that little magician, it sparked a fantasy craze.

Moreover, Xu Shengjie needs sustained popularity.

For Lola!

The hype has started to die down recently, which is not good.

However, this is an internal matter for ABC, and Xu Shengjie has no way to interfere.

Anyway, with Diane and Susanna around, there might be some resistance, but the final result shouldn't be too bad—right?

Xu Shengjie immediately put the matter out of his mind and continued the post-production of "Lola".

During this period, he also completed one-third of the creation of Tomb Raider, but the pace was indeed much slower than before.

As the new week begins, Robert brings good news.

The Matrix has officially signed a publishing contract with Simon & Schuster, and Xu Shengjie will receive 13% of the royalties this time.

Not high!

Slightly lower than those bestselling authors.

Danielle Steele's royalties are as high as 22%.

Who can blame them when they're a million-copy bestselling author?

That trust was built up by one novel after another.

Furthermore, her new book, "The Gift," has successfully signed a contract with DoubleJet Publishing and is expected to be published next March.

I heard that she terminated her cooperation with Elaine.

Elaine's reputation isn't very good right now, and Steele is also under pressure from all sides.

So she chose to terminate her contract with Elaine—however, as far as I know, Steele and Elaine had been unable to reach an agreement on the upfront payment since June. Furthermore, Andrew Wylie had been instigating Steele behind the scenes. The demand for a two million dollar upfront payment was a result of Andrew's instigation; Steele signed a contract with Andrew at the beginning of the month.

Andrew gave her an advance payment of 1.6 million.

"So, Elaine is just an excuse?"

"Yes—Steel has achieved considerable success now, she has made a lot of money, and she hopes to improve her status."

Elaine's abilities in this area are clearly inferior to Andrew's.

This is one of the reasons why she lost control and started causing trouble for me.

Xu Shengjie was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "So, Andrew Wylie—"

"Jeffrey, Jeffrey, sometimes you shouldn't be too smart."

"It's not that I'm too smart, but rather—it's too obvious! You've never been the type to argue with people."

Suddenly the atmosphere became so tense, and Elaine was even skinned alive.

"By the way, that employee from Elaine Books Brokerage last week, they must be connected to you, right?"

"You mean Elaine's secretary?"

Robert laughed and said, "That has nothing to do with me."

My job was merely to stir up public opinion; the real hunters responsible for the execution were Andrew and other literary managers—Elaine managed four million-selling bestselling authors, and everyone else was envious.

It was indeed a straightforward and unpretentious business battle.

Poaching, backstabbing, sparking public outcry —

"Ms. Coster must be having a hard time right now."

"It will definitely be tough for a while, but it will be very difficult to completely defeat her."

Her foundation is still very strong, and she has a proven track record of recognizing talent in the publishing industry. Even if Steele leaves, it will only be a minor blow. As long as she continues to discover new talent, the publishing house will always keep its doors open for her.

"Aren't you afraid of his retaliation?"

"What am I afraid of?"

"For example, she tried to poach me."

"Haha, then I'm even less afraid, because I believe our collaboration will be perfect. You won't leave me unless I retire completely, and I won't abandon you. Jeffrey, we will definitely be the best partners."

"But my partner thinks thirteen percent is too low."

"Don't worry, my royalty agreement with Simon & Schuster is a tiered revenue sharing agreement."

If The Matrix sells over a million copies, you'll receive at least 25% in royalties.

"What about Mulan?"

"You are indeed a newcomer to the children's book market."

Fisher really liked your book, but it was a fantasy story with an Eastern theme, and he wasn't sure. The scholars held two editorial meetings, and the four editors—Deborah, Fisher, Lisa Charlesworth, and Anne Schwartz—voted 2-2 each time. Deborah and Lisa were a little hesitant, but Fisher and Anne were optimistic—"

Robert sighed, somewhat apologetically, and said, "So, I only managed to get a 16% royalty share."

Slightly low!

But I understand.

After all, the standards for the adult book market and the children's book market are indeed quite different.

"Thank you, Robert."

"We're in this together—"

Robert and Xu Shengjie exchanged a few more pleasantries before hanging up the phone.

In any case, all seven works created by Xu Shengjie this year have found a home.

Next up is Tomb Raider.

After finishing this project, Xu Shengjie decided to take a good rest for a while, at least a month. He arranged a generous vacation for himself.

Besides that, I write songs.

Xu Shengjie and Manken agreed that after finishing the movie, they would dedicate a month to recording an album.

Currently, the album includes songs such as "You Are So Beautiful" and "Dance with My Father".

"Yellow", "Hall of Fame", "What Makes You Beautiful" and "Where ls

The Love song has six tracks—Manken is speechless! In his opinion, these six songs could make at least six albums, all of them being hit singles.

However, Xu Shengjie threw them all into the same album.

"Jeffrey, what a pity!"

"It doesn't matter. I'm not a professional singer. I'm just a film director and writer with a little money and a bit of a whims."

"But----"

"I will write two to four more songs next."

However, I'm not sure; if I get inspiration, I can finish it quickly.

No inspiration? These six songs will do! Also, I need five thousand CDs, ten thousand cassette tapes, and one thousand vinyl records.

How much would it cost?

How do you sell it?

"Just throw it into a record store and let it sell slowly."

"So when are you going to stop selling them?!"

"Hehe, whatever, I'm just having fun! Maybe after this album, my inspiration will stop and I'll fade out of the music scene. I just want to give myself an explanation. As for sales and stuff, I really don't care too much."

These six songs include Grammy Award-winning tracks.

There are also incredibly popular songs that have been sung by many people.

Xu Shengjie understood that there were two completely different things between him taking the initiative to sign with a record company and having a record company approach him to sign with a record company.

He needs autonomy and freedom.

This album was the source of his confidence in negotiating with the record company.

He consulted with Uncle Gui, who said that On Leong Tong had now gone legitimate and owned a record distribution company, with connections throughout Chinese communities in North America and Europe. At first glance, it might not seem like much. But in fact, Xu Shengjie could use On Leong Tong's channels to distribute these records to audio-visual product stores in Chinese communities in Europe and America.

Then, through the Chinese community, it spreads to the entire European and American regions.

It always manages to create a splash, which is an advantage that those regular record companies can't match.

To paraphrase a later saying, he followed the path of "heretical cultivation." As for how to proceed, that was left to On Leong Tong's record distribution company to decide.

Time slips away silently like this.

That day, Xu Shengjie was busy in the editing room when Toni Ann suddenly came in and said to him, "Jeffrey, someone is looking for you outside."

Xu Shengjie's hair was messy and his eyes were bloodshot.

He squinted, his face contorted with anger, and asked, "Who's looking for me?"

"Vivian brought one Asian and one Black person."

I recognize the Asian guy; I think it's Roger. But I don't think I've ever seen the Black guy before.

Roger, a Black man?

Xu Shengjie frowned slightly, put down his work, and got up to walk outside.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Jeff, my brother, long time no see, how are you?"

As Xu Shengjie walked out of the editing room, he saw a short black man with a brightly colored headscarf on his head opening his arms and laughing as he came to greet him.

"Bro, you look good!"

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