Back to 17, My Brother is the Cult Leader

The manuscript was published because his high school Chinese teacher, Jiang Shan, was Li Minghao's classmate. The teacher wrote a letter of recommendation, and Li Minghao thought the manuscript was good.

Fang Yuan was seventeen years old at the time, and it was the first time he had seen his name printed in lead type.

Later, Fang Yuan published several novels in "Mengya" magazine, and Li Minghao rose from an ordinary editor to deputy editor-in-chief.

Four years have passed.

But he never lost contact with Li Minghao.

As Li Minghao approached the reception room, he saw Li Minghao standing by the window looking at the business license on the wall.

He was wearing a dark blue jacket and was much thinner than Fang Yuan remembered. He had more gray hair at his temples, but he seemed to be in good spirits.

"Teacher Li." Fang Yuan walked in.

Li Minghao turned around, smiled, and shook hands with Fang Yuan.

"Fang Yuan, long time no see. You've tidied up this place nicely."

"It's alright. Please have a seat."

Li Minghao sat down and pointed to the middle-aged man next to him who was wearing a light gray coat and black-rimmed glasses.

"This is Liu Jing, the deputy editor-in-chief of *Story Club*. He came with me today specifically to visit you."

Liu Jing stood up and shook hands with Fang Yuan. "Mr. Fang, it's an honor to meet you."

Fang Yuan smiled. "You're too kind, Teacher Liu. Xiao Mei, make some tea."

The three of them sat down on the sofa.

Xiaomei placed three cups of Longjing tea on the coffee table and then left.

"Teacher Li, did you come to Beijing specifically to see me?" Fang Yuan asked.

Li Minghao picked up his teacup, took a sip, put it down, and nodded.

"I suppose so. Fang Yuan, I'll cut to the chase—Old Liu and I came here this time to ask for your help."

"Please speak."

Li Minghao glanced at Liu Jing. Liu Jing then continued the conversation.

"Mr. Fang, you are probably aware of the situation of 'Story Club'."

In the early 1990s, single-issue sales could reach over seven million copies, but that's no longer the case.

Last year, the average sales volume per issue was over three million copies, which seems like a large number, but in reality, it has been declining.

The stall owner ordered 100 books but returned 40 or 50, which ended up piling up in the warehouse.

With the rise of the internet, young people are no longer buying magazines, and middle-aged and elderly readers are also being lost.

Fang Yuan nodded and turned to Li Minghao. "What about 'Sprout'?"

Li Minghao gave a wry smile.

"In the mid-1990s, the number of submissions dropped to 20,000, but the New Concept Writing Competition in 1998 gave it a boost, bringing it to over 400,000."

Orders have continued to decline this year. The print media industry as a whole is shrinking, and this is not just a problem for one magazine.

Last year we organized a "New Concept Writing Competition 10th Anniversary" campaign, inviting Han Han and Guo Jingming back to write articles. Sales went up for one issue, but dropped back down the next. Relying on veteran authors can't sustain a magazine's longevity.

Liu Jing continued:

"Our biggest problem right now is not distribution channels, but content."

The authors submitting articles are still the same old faces from the 1990s; newcomers can't get in, and even if they do, they can't stay.

Low royalties are one issue, but another is that young people don't feel a sense of accomplishment when publishing in magazines.

They prefer to post online because there are more readers and faster feedback.

Fang Yuan listened without rushing to reply.

Li Minghao glanced at him and paused for a moment.

"Fang Yuan, I know you're now involved in film and television production and investment, and you don't rely on writing articles for a living anymore."

However, both "Sprout" and "Story Club" faced the same problem—they did not have an author who could support their sales.

When your article was published in "Mengya" in 1996, the journal went on an additional print run of 20,000 copies.

Twenty thousand copies may not mean much to you, but for us, it's a lifeline.

Liu Jing added, "I've discussed it with Lao Li."

I'd like to ask for your help. If you have a novel, submit it to *Mengya* magazine; if you have a story, submit it to *Gushi Hui* magazine. This way, you can help both.

Fang Yuan leaned back on the sofa and tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest twice.

He did not answer immediately.

The reception room was silent for about ten seconds.

Fang Yuan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and put it down.

"Teacher Li, Teacher Liu, I understand your difficulties. I need to think about this matter and cannot give you an answer immediately."

Li Minghao nodded without saying anything. Liu Jing didn't urge him either.

"It's not that I don't want to help," Fang Yuan said.

"It's a scheduling issue. My schedule is already full this year. If I agree to write the article, I have to submit it on time and can't delay. I need to make sure I can squeeze in the time."

Li Minghao said, "Fang Yuan, this matter isn't urgent. Think it over first, and give me an answer when you've made up your mind."

Fang Yuan glanced at Li Minghao, then at Liu Jing. He began to make plans in his mind.

He roughly knew the payment standards for articles in "Sprout" and "Story Club".

The market price is 100 to 200 yuan per thousand words. Even if we take the highest price of 200 yuan per thousand words, a short story of 10,000 words would only cost 2,000 yuan.

Money is a small matter, even insignificant.

Then why even consider it?

He was thinking about two things.

First, there's the favor Li Minghao has done for him.

While the recommendation of the Chinese teacher certainly played a role in the success of "Flying Colors," it was definitely not a simple matter for Fang Yuan that Li Minghao, as the editor in charge of "Mengya" magazine, selected a manuscript from a high school student among many submissions and then carefully edited, scheduled, and published it.

At that time, he was beginning to think about a new life and faced a directional choice. His first success gave him a clear life goal.

Now he needs to consider how to repay this favor, how much to repay, and in what way.

Second, the value of copyright. If a work is only published in a magazine and you only receive two thousand yuan in royalties, then it is meaningless.

However, if "publishing in a magazine" is used as initial exposure, and the film and television adaptation rights are subsequently held by the creator, that's a different story. The key is that the copyright must belong to the original creator, and this must be taken very seriously.

Literary journals generally do not buy out copyrights, so the risk factor is still very small.

Fang Yuan thought all of this through, which took him about two or three minutes.

He looked up at Li Minghao and Liu Jing.

"Teacher Li, Teacher Liu, I've made up my mind."

Both of them were looking at him.

"You've all helped me before, and you still came to see me today. You don't treat me like an outsider. I'll write the article."

But I won't write individual pieces; I'll write a series. In *Mengya* magazine, there will be three youth-themed pieces, each around 80,000 words, serialized in three or four installments. That's enough to last nine months or a year.

"From *Story Collection*, there are three comedy stories, each around 100,000 words, which should be enough for a year's worth of content."

Li Minghao's expression relaxed a little.

Fang Yuan continued, "My time is limited, so I can't submit manuscripts every month. Therefore, I will submit them to you two as soon as I finish writing them, and you can arrange the publication schedule yourselves."

Liu Jing said, "That's fine. When will you submit your manuscript?"

Fang Yuan thought for a moment. "I'll try my best to speed things up, the first one by the end of June. After that, I'll submit one every two months, and finish all of them by the end of the year."

Liu Jing glanced at Li Minghao, and Li Minghao nodded.