BXBX NOVEL Chapter 115 - 112: Sincerity is Priceless 1
Silver Blue Books.
An office somewhere.
Editor-in-chief Lu Bei was getting ready to head for a meeting when he saw 01′ Xiong huffing and puffing like a heavy tank, running towards him.
“What happened?”
Lu Bei quickly stepped aside.
01′ Xiong leaned against the door, panting heavily. It was a while before he could speak, “I’ve just sent you the new book by Chu Kuang. You must read it!” “Chu Kuang’s new book?”
A notion struck Lu Bei, and he nodded. Seeing 01′ Xiong panting heavily again, he didn’t say anything more and directly proceeded to the meeting room.
It was an internal meeting.
A leader was pontificating about a certain proposal while Lu Bei surreptitiously took out his phone and opened the newly released book by Chu Kuang that 01′ Xiong had mentioned.
Lu Bei is a big fan of Chu Kuang.
The short novel “The Gift of the Magi” written by him last time deeply moved Lu Bei. He even took time off during the New Year to go home and spend the holiday with his family. Since then, he had been following Chu Kuang’s work enthusiastically.
“Zhu Xian?”
‘The title of this novel is quite domineering,’ Lu Bei thought to himself. He began to sneakily read the book in the meeting, which tended to be long and tedious, typically lasting more than a few hours.
Just don’t get caught.
It wasn’t the first time Lu Bei was slacking off during a meeting, and he had never gotten caught before. He didn’t just bury his head into the novel, he would occasionally pretend to listen attentively to the meeting reports, nodding his head occasionally, and even solemnly tap on his laptop as if he was taking notes for the meeting- –
In reality, all he typed was gibberish.
The kind that even programmers wouldn’t understand.
But Lu Bei was less cautious this time. He hadn’t expected “Zhu Xian” to be so mesmerizing that he was completely enthralled within just ten minutes. He totally forgot to pretend to be taking meeting notes and even missed when someone called his name:
“Editor-in-chief?”
“Editor-in-chief?”
Finally, the leader who had been expounding on his views banged the table in anger. His voice was full of fury, “Lu Bei!”
“Huh?”
Lu Bei was brought back to reality. He couldn’t help but grin sheepishly and reluctantly put away his phone. Most of the higher-ups present at the meeting were his peers; if he wasn’t so annoying, they wouldn’t have referred to him by name.
The meeting continued.
Lu Bei was in agony.
He wanted to continue reading because all he could think of was the plot of “Zhu Xian”. He couldn’t help but anticipate the next developments. He didn’t pay any attention to the discussion during the meeting; all he wanted was for the meeting to end quickly so he could go back to his book.
“Meeting adjourned!”
Finally, the meeting ended.
Lu Bei quickly left the meeting room and was about to call 01′ Xiong when he noticed that 01′ Xiong was waiting for him by the door. He sounded quite anxious, “Should we increase Chu Kuang’s contract?”
“What was it before?”
“Seven percent.”
“Raise It to ten percent.”
Lu Bei immediately responded. This was the rate given to many best-selling authors. Though Chu Kuang wasn’t quite there yet, Lu Bei was convinced that this new book by Chu Kuang would no doubt be as popular as his previous work “King of the Net”. He was sure of this even though he’d read only a small portion.
“Got it.”
01′ Xiong was not surprised.
After reading “Zhu Xian He’d never thought that
“, his first reaction was that this novel would take off. a fantasy novel could be this fascinating!
He was stunned!
That’s why he sprinted out of the meeting room earlier!
He had to personally liaise with the public relations, publishing, and other departments, and draw the editor-in-chief’s attention to just how good this novel was.
“Remember.”
Just as 01′ Xiong was about to leave, Lu Bei spoke again, sounding a tad annoyed, “I asked you to get me an autograph from Chu Kuang last time. Why didn’t you do it?”
01′ Xiong was taken aback.
He had completely forgotten about it, and he thought the editor-in-chief had as well. But the appearance of “Zhu Xian” reminded Lu Bei.
Lin Yuan had no idea of the impact “Zhu Xian” was causing at the editorial department. However, he received a call from YangFeng that evening after school.
“Teacher Chu Kuang!”
YangFeng could clearly detect a diminishing assertiveness in his voice when speaking with Chu Kuang, “Your new book is simply amazing! The company is considering publishing the first volume of “Zhu Xian” next month. What are your thoughts on this?”
It wasn’t like this before.
In the past, YangFeng might have said something like this, “Chu Kuang, congrats! Your novel has passed our editorial department’s review. We have arranged for the publication of your novel next month.”
The message is the same.
But with a different attitude.
Lin Yuan, however, was completely oblivious to the subtle shift in YangFeng’s tone.
As always, he was succinct, “You can publish it. When are we signing the contract?”
“Well!”
YangFeng laughed and said, “The company has decided to raise your novel’s royalty to ten percent, which is a high rate in the industry. Please let us know if there are other things you need…”
“That’s great!”
Lin Yuan subconsciously raised his tone.
YangFeng was somewhat surprised. Didn’t Chu Kuang not care about money? Why was he so excited at the news of a higher royalty?
Right.
Money can represent many things.
Perhaps what Teacher Chu Kuang cared about was not the small increase in the royalty, but the company’s recognition of his writing skills and the sincerity expressed through the money!
Yes, royalties have a price.
Sincerity is priceless.
He must have faced some psychological pressure writing in a genre like fantasy this time, so he probably needed validation now more than ever.
Thinking about this,
YangFeng laughed and said, “As long as you’re satisfied. Also, I need to inform you that the company will soon start the presale promotion for “Zhu Xian”.” “Mm.”
“Is that all?”
“Yeah, that will be all.”
After hanging up the phone, Lin Yuan was in a good mood.
Silver Blue Books always took the initiative to raise prices, which pleased Lin Yuan.
It seems like the decision to continue cooperating with Silver Blue Books was the right one.
Will they continue to raise prices in the future?
He should ask his sister about it later.
His sister, Lin Xuan, is a publishing guru; she should know more about this.
Speaking of this, Lin Yuan had considered taking “Zhu Xian” to his sister’s publishing company,
But after investigating, Lin Yuan found that his sister’s publishing house was not large enough and would definitely not make as much money as Silver Blue Books. Therefore, he decided against it.
Compared to boosting sales for his sister, making money was more important.
As for his sister, he could simply share some of his earnings with her. She was working hard to earn a higher salary, which Lin Yuan understood perfectly.
His sister must love money even more.
Is there anyone in the world who doesn’t love money?
That very night when Lin Yuan and YangFeng finished their call,
News about the author Chu Kuang releasing a new book in July was finally posted on the official website of Silver Blue Books. This was a pre-heating mode for the new book’s promotion.
When the news came out,
Chu Kuang’s fans were thrilled!
PS: I’ll continue writing after dinner. It might take a while, don’t rush.