Literary Master 1978

Lin Chaoyang knew very well that writing a novel in this way would make the story seem popular and might even become mediocre, but he didn't care.

What he wants to do is to let more people see this novel, to make this novel more influential than "An Unfinished Game of Chess", and not to let the useless view of history in the movie affect a generation. people.

The barbarians are afraid of power but not moral!

As early as thousands of years ago, our ancestors told us the wise words.

Everything comes with a sacrifice. This novel is obviously weaker than his previous works in terms of literary quality. The outstanding storytelling and popularity also greatly lower the reading threshold of this novel, making it easier to have an influence.

After listening to Lin Chaoyang explain his thoughts, Zhang Dening asked another question.

"Then if Jiang Nansheng hadn't used Wu Qingyuan's experience, Li Zhuo would have been the same, right?"

What greeted her was Lin Chaoyang's silence. After holding it for a long time, Lin Chaoyang said: "I didn't say that."

"Ha!" Zhang Dening looked up to the sky and let out a mocking laugh, which made Lin Chaoyang feel uncomfortable.

"Why are you laughing? These are all groundless speculations made by you good-hearted people. The novel is purely fictitious and any similarity is purely coincidental."

"Yes, yes, it's all a coincidence, a coincidence, right?"

After scoffing twice, Zhang Dening asked seriously: "Are you afraid that others will know when you curse?"

"It's not that I'm afraid of others finding out, it's mainly that the giant river crab is watching."

"Who's watching?"

"It's okay, none of this matters."

Two days later, as soon as Lin Chaoyang went to work, he was called to the office by curator Xie Daoyuan. There was another person sitting in the office, the old man who was in the delegation of the Chinese University of Hong Kong that day.

"Chaoyang, I didn't give you a proper introduction the day before yesterday. This old gentleman is Mr. Xia Chengyingxia."

When Lin Chaoyang heard this name, he immediately thought of another name. Xia Chengying's pen name was He Fan. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, he ran several newspapers and was quite famous in the fields of prose and poetry.

Of course, the more famous one is his wife, Lin Haiyin, who wrote "Old Things in the South of the City".

Xia Chengying originally lived in Wandao. Two years ago, he was invited by the Chinese University of Hong Kong to become a professor at the school. This time, the school happened to be organizing students to visit the mainland. He wanted to take this opportunity to return to the mainland to see the wonderful places.

On that day, the Chinese University of Hong Kong delegation had an exchange at Yanda and donated books to the Yanda Library. In return, the Yanda Library presented fifty novels by Lin Chaoyang to the delegation.

During the two days of visits, Xia Chengying had nothing to do in the evening and read the novel "The Death of Van Gogh". Unexpectedly, he got out of control as soon as he read it. After reading the novel in two nights, he couldn't wait to come here Yan Da, I don’t even care about the next trip.

"Mr. Lin, your novel impressed me so much. It blends the story into real history and is full of suspense and tension. At the same time, the language is concise and accurate, full of literary beauty, and the reading experience is very smooth.

What is even more rare is the in-depth exploration of the theme of pursuing art, which is highly consistent with the narrative itself, which not only makes the plot of the novel fascinating, but also enhances the humanistic depth of the novel.

This novel of yours can be said to be the best novel I have read in recent years. "

Xia Chengying's compliment made Lin Chaoyang confused. He came all the way to Yanda, couldn't he just to praise himself?

He said a few polite words, and Xia Chengying continued: "At the exchange meeting that day, some students said that it would be great if your novels were introduced to Xiangjiang. This was of course a joke. But in the past two days, I have exchanged reading experiences with the students. They all praised your novel, and some people proposed the idea of ​​introducing it to the Chinese University of Hong Kong Press..."

Xia Chengying finally explained the purpose of his visit, "I came here today just to talk to you and see if I can hand over this novel to our school's publishing house for introduction and publication."

After listening to Xia Chengying's words, Lin Chaoyang pondered. Someone wants to introduce his novel to Xiangjiang. This is of course a good thing. This is free royalties.

Seeing that Lin Chaoyang was hesitant and did not express his position, Xia Chengying thought that he disliked the fact that the Chinese University of Hong Kong Press was a university press.

"Mr. Lin, our Chinese University of Hong Kong Press is not large in scale and has always been mainly publishing academic works.

However, it’s not like we haven’t published literary works from the mainland. We have published works by Lu Xun, Lao She, Mao Dun, and Ba Jin.

Our publications are well recognized in the academic and literary circles in Hong Kong. "

Good guy, Lin Chaoyang listened to the names that popped out of Xia Chengying's mouth. Lin Chaoyang felt that it would be a bit treasonous if he didn't agree to his request.

Xiao Ke, how can I be so virtuous and capable?

"Thanks to your school's love, it would be a good thing if my novels could be introduced to Xiangjiang so that more readers could see them." Lin Chaoyang said.

Seeing that Lin Chaoyang agreed, Xia Chengying looked happy and said a few words of thanks.

"In terms of manuscript fees, because we are a non-profit publishing house, the standard is not too high. Before coming, I communicated with Dr. Lin from the publishing house. What do you think of HK$300 for 1,000 words?"

The fees for manuscripts in the Xiangjiang literary world have never been high. The works of some top famous writers only cost 1,000 yuan per thousand words. The fees for ordinary writers are usually between 300 and 400 yuan per 1,000 words.

The fees for publishing articles in newspapers and magazines are even lower. For unknown amateur authors, the fee can be as high as fifty or sixty yuan per thousand words.

In the words of newspaper owners, if you don’t write, others will write, and it is impossible to increase the manuscript fee.

This is also why many Xiangjiang writers choose to set up their own publishing houses or companies to run their own works after becoming famous. For the books they have worked so hard to write, the boss of the publishing house eats meat and begs for mercy when he drinks some soup. No one is convinced by anyone else. .

After all, for the publishing industry, content is the core element.

The fee standard offered by Xia Chengying to Lin Chaoyang is relatively low in today's Hong Kong publishing industry, but the Chinese University of Hong Kong Press is a non-profit publishing house, so this fee is not outrageous.

The full text of "The Death of Van Gogh" has 220,000 words, and 300 yuan for 1,000 words is 66,000 Hong Kong dollars. According to the current exchange rate between RMB and Hong Kong dollars, it is about 20,000 yuan, which is almost 10% of the fee for publication in "Contemporary" times.

It’s still easy to make money in foreign exchange!

With a sigh in his heart, Lin Chaoyang communicated with Xia Chengying about the publishing details. The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press signed a one-time publishing contract with no time limit. The printing volume will be evaluated by the publishing house later, and it will not exceed 10,000 copies.

Although the Chinese University of Hong Kong Press does not pursue profits, it cannot lose money. After all, Lin Chaoyang is a mainland writer. The sales volume of the novel after its publication is still unknown, so it must be conservative in terms of print runs.

After talking about the novel, Lin Chaoyang offered to treat Xia Chengying to dinner. There were no decent restaurants around Yanda, and the Changzheng Restaurant had three Michelin stars nearby.

Lin Chaoyang invited Xia Chengying to dinner, and Xie Daoyuan, the curator, accompanied him, and both parties had a great time.

After seeing off Xia Chengying, Xie Daoyuan sighed: "I didn't expect that your novel would be published in Xiangjiang."

"This is also asking the library for help. If the library hadn't returned the gift, they wouldn't have acted like this."

Xie Daoyuan smiled and said, "I was asked to see you by name."

He looked at Lin Chaoyang with a look of relief on his face, "In the blink of an eye, it has been almost three years since you came to the library. You have grown so fast!"

"You taught me well!"

Lin Chaoyang's words were not compliments. He still remembered the advice and guidance Xie Daoyuan gave him when he first entered the library, which he still uses to this day.

Xie Daoyuan waved his hand, "It's because you have talent and you are willing to work hard."

After chatting for a while, Lin Chaoyang left the office.

Today is Saturday. Lin Chaoyang went directly to Tao's house after get off work. Not long after arriving at Tao's house, Tao Yushu also came back.

He whispered to Tao Yushu the news that "The Death of Van Gogh" would be published in Xiangjiang. Tao Yushu's surprise was hard to suppress.

"real?"

"Um."

"Great!" Tao Yushu couldn't hide the joy on his face, with a bright smile.

After the uncle saw the two of them whispering to each other, Tao Yushu was so happy that his teeth almost burst out, so he asked: "Why are you so happy about a good thing?"

"Guess!" Tao Yushu looked proud.

"It must be a good thing. I guess I got royalties."

"It does have something to do with the royalties, but there are more important things than the royalties."

"Is there anything that would make you, a money addict, more happy than royalties?"

Tao Yucheng boasted that he knew his sister's temper very well, and his words immediately made Tao Yushu roll his eyes and denounce him.

The brother and sister were noisy. At this time, Tao's father walked out of the room. Tao Yushu walked up and said in a showy way: "Dad, Chaoyang's novel is going to be published in Xiangjiang!"

Hearing this, Tao's father looked surprised. Before he could speak, Tao Yucheng spoke first.

"Chaoyang's novel is going to be published in Xiangjiang? Which novel?"

"The Death of Van Gogh."

"Which publishing house is going to publish it? How did you get in touch?"

The news Tao Yushu told made him full of curiosity, and he kept asking questions. Even Tao's mother and Zhao Li, who were cooking in the kitchen, were alerted and ran over.

Lin Chaoyang told everyone the ins and outs of the publication.

Zhao Li exclaimed: "The novel is going to be published in Xiangjiang, and Chaoyang has now become an international writer."

"Sister-in-law, you are an international writer! The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press is similar to our Yanda Press. Both are non-profit organizations that mainly focus on academic works. They are just like normal publishing, except that the royalties are a little more." Lin Chaoyang said modestly.

"Yes, Hong Kong's economy is more developed than ours. Last time Chaoyang wrote a script for the director of Xiangjiang, didn't he earn 30,000 Hong Kong dollars? How much is the script fee this time?"

Tao Yucheng's eyes sparkled when he mentioned the royalties, and Zhao Li immediately pulled him.

Lin Chaoyang smiled and said truthfully: "The publishing fee is three hundred Hong Kong dollars for one thousand words."

Tao Yucheng made a calculation in his mind and his eyes widened, "How about more than 60,000 Hong Kong dollars? How many Hong Kong dollars can we exchange for one dollar?"

"It seems like more than three yuan." Tao Yushu said.

"Hey! Isn't that 20,000 yuan?" Tao Yucheng's face was full of exclamation, "Chaoyang is rich!"

Tao Yushu looked down upon him and said, "Is this about money? This is about honor."

"Yo yo yo! Even 20,000 yuan is worth it, right? Mom is right, you have been pretending to be a big-tailed wolf since you were a child!"

"You're just pretending to be a wolf with a big tail!" Tao Yushu retorted in the face of his elder brother's provocation.

"Okay, okay!" Father Tao interrupted the quarrel between the two, "It is indeed a good thing that Chaoyang's novel can be published in Xiangjiang. Yucheng, go buy some more food and cook two more dishes tonight. Congratulations on the rising sun."

Tao Yucheng stretched out his hand towards Tao's mother skillfully, "Mom!"

For today's literary or academic circles, it is indeed an honor for a work to be exported.

Two more dishes were added to the dinner, and the whole Tao family was in high spirits.

Because tomorrow was Sunday, Tao Yumo went out to watch a newly released movie with her classmates after class. When she got home in the evening and learned the good news, she immediately regretted it.

"If you had told me earlier that you were going to add more dishes to the dinner, I wouldn't have gone out!"

Tao Yushu glanced at her speechlessly. Her cheeks were almost in line with her neck, and she was still eating!