I was in my final year of high school, and my deskmate found out I was writing a novel!

There is a very important reason why he can't do it now, which is that the contract hasn't been finalized yet.

After all, he's no longer a newbie; he's a near-legendary author who rose to fame with a single book, so there's room for negotiation.

However, he couldn't handle all of this since he had just graduated from high school, so he hired a lawyer to help him negotiate the contract.

Furthermore, on the advice of a lawyer, a studio was set up, which was actually for the purpose of legally avoiding taxes, otherwise the personal tax burden would be too heavy.

Actually, it's very complicated in every aspect, so complicated that even he couldn't quite understand it.

For example, he initially didn't care much about retaining the publishing rights for physical books, because it was, after all, an online novel, and he felt that the sales of physical books would definitely not be much, so it was somewhat unnecessary.

But the lawyer gave him an investigation report, which showed that the physical publication of popular books over the years, while not much in comparison, was still a considerable sum.

There's also film and television copyright, which is negotiable. For example, the industry average is around 10% to 15%, and the lawyer said that with his current fame, he could actually negotiate for a bit more.

Although the copyright for this book might be difficult to acquire, what about the rest?

There are also overseas distribution rights, the development of derivative products, and GG's revenue. You wouldn't know unless you knew about it, but after learning about it, you realize that this novel can earn more than just royalties!

He had considered trying to keep the copyrights himself, but the website would never agree. His lawyer also explained that the website needed to make a profit.

Another point is that the copyrights you keep yourself might not be as well-managed as those operated by the website. Things are different now than before; they can simply package your copyrights and sell them to another company at a low price. After all, authors aren't stupid.

Ye Feng also disliked trouble and thought this was fine; since everything was handled by the website, he could relax.

After coding for more than two hours straight, I was a little tired. I stretched my wrists, yawned, and looked at Su Miaomiao, who was already asleep, and asked for a blanket to put on her.

the phone is ringing.

"Attorney Kong."

He hadn't even realized it was almost 10 o'clock, and he'd been on the bus for almost three hours.

"Mr. Ye, the contract negotiations are almost complete. I'll take a look at the contract for you. If there are no problems, you can sign it."

"Thank you for your help, Attorney Kong. But I'm in the car right now and have to go out for about ten days. Could you send me the contract first? I'll take a look and then send it to you once I get there."

"I've already sent it to you. Are you free? Let me explain the contents of the contract to you."

Ye Feng then noticed an email had arrived. He immediately opened it on his computer, put on his headphones, and began reviewing the contract.

"The website negotiated an exclusive agreement with us, but some of the tiered licensing terms have been modified."

First, the copyright of physical books, with royalties of no less than 8%, are settled independently.

Then there's the revenue sharing for film and television adaptations. Previously it was 15%, but now it's 25% of net profit, and the authors of "Hundred Transformations Startup" will have the right to review the scripts.

......

The lecture lasted for more than half an hour. Ye Feng also focused his attention and carefully checked the notes. He couldn't be careless, or he would be the one to suffer losses if something went wrong.

"Okay, I'm all set. I'll need to trouble Professor Kong for the next step."

"No trouble at all. To be honest, the contract negotiations went quite smoothly, and they seem to have high hopes for your new book as well. They seem very optimistic about change."

Ye Feng had already sent over the outline of his new book and the first 30,000 words, but he had stalled the editor who wanted to sign the contract. Instead, he hired a lawyer to negotiate a new contract, which took quite some time.

He could have done without an outline, but he can't keep doing this. A book is four or five million words long; without an outline, what's the point of writing it?

I've forgotten most of what I wrote before, so how can I continue writing?

He really couldn't write the outline of a book himself, but since there's already the original text, he can easily figure it out. Besides, an outline doesn't need to be that detailed.

With the contract settled, Ye Feng was even more motivated. He took a sip of water, looked out the window to relax his eyes, and continued working!

"Hey handsome, where do you post your novel?"

"Um?"

Before he had even written many words, Ye Feng felt a tap on his shoulder and was asked where he was posting his novel!

Ye Feng's first reaction was to close the notebook; the manuscript had been leaked!

"Don't worry, I don't write novels, I make animations. I read your words just now, and I really liked them. Which website are you posting them on?"

"It hasn't been released yet; I just started writing it."

"Oh, I see... I think your novel is pretty good. Post it soon, it's sure to be a hit. Keep writing, and I'll help you make it into an animation!"

This guy looks honest and simple, but he's incredibly outgoing and friendly!

"Sorry, I haven't decided which website to post it on yet. No rush, no rush."

"Here, the price is on WeChat."

As he spoke, he took out his phone to scan WeChat QR code. Ye Feng was exasperated. Why was it a man asking for his contact information for the first time?

But Ye Feng was too embarrassed to refuse, so he took out his phone and added her, thinking that he could just delete her when he got there.

However, he also stopped typing on his computer to avoid being copied again. Although it was just a fragment, he was still very careful.

It was almost lunchtime anyway, so I decided to look out the window and enjoy the view.

"Ding-dong~"

A message came in. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the guy I had just added!

"Keep writing, don't worry, I won't leak it."

"I'm tired, let's take a break."

"It hasn't been that long, you should be working hard when you're young. Let me tell you, when I was your age..."

This guy doesn't look that old, but he's acting like a father figure, lecturing everyone!

Ye Feng was so angry that he put his middle finger behind his back, put on his headphones, listened to music, and ignored the other person.

He didn't know if the other person was angry or not, but he really found this guy very annoying.

It was finally lunchtime. The free lunch was pretty good, with fruit and drinks too. Ye Feng woke up Su Miaomiao, who was sleeping soundly.

"I'm not hungry~ I'll just have some fruit."

She had already eaten snacks in the morning, so she wasn't really hungry.

Ye Feng ignored her and started eating. The food was really good.

That's all, I've packed my things.

"Let's switch places."

"Why? I want to look at the scenery outside the window."

"I was trying to type, and there was this guy peeking at me from behind. He even came over and added me on WeChat!"

"Oh! There are people like that? Who is it?"

The guy behind me with glasses was trying to peek, so I just didn't write anything!

Su Miaomiao secretly glanced behind her and was startled to find that the guy was looking at her with a resentful expression.

"He's still watching us!"

"Ignore him, he's got a problem."

After changing positions, Ye Feng continued typing, while Su Miaomiao leaned on his shoulder and watched him type. Although she couldn't concentrate, she stayed with him.