Chapter 539 The Charm that Has Nowhere to Go

Hojo Kyosuke raised his eyelids and counted the number of people in the venue. There were fifty-six, five more than the information Xisaki gave him.

Among them, the most familiar one was Kinokuniya Bookstore, which he had cooperated with several times. It was impossible for the president of such a large chain bookstore to come in person, but the department employees who were responsible for purchasing new books. In addition, the identities of the owners of some small bookstores were not simple. They were generally representatives sent by regional bookstore associations.

Yes, in Japan where associations are everywhere, how could there be no associations for bookstores? Although most associations changed their original intentions after their establishment, from uniting to protect everyone's interests to squeezing the bottom to protect the interests of the boss, it is undeniable that the existence of associations is still beneficial.

For example, in the purchase of new books, if it is a small and unknown bookstore, it will suffer a little in the distribution of interests with the publisher. Generally, the author's royalties are 10%, the publisher and the bookstore distributor each have 40%, and the remaining 10% is the delivery fee. For a person like Hojo Kyosuke, whose royalty rate is 15%, his share must be squeezed out from other places. The same is true for small bookstores. Without the help of the association to negotiate with the publisher, they can only buy from the publisher or distributor at a high purchase price.

If you join the association, you can even get some benefits from the publisher, such as various peripherals, or ask the author to hold a book signing event. However, these benefits are not available to ordinary member bookstores. For example, the book signing event of Hojo Kyosuke last time was basically held at the store of the president or committee member of the association.

In summary, the big store bullies the publisher, and the big publisher bullies the store. The publisher relies on the bookstore to return the money, and the bookstore relies on the publisher to supply new books. Both sides want to make more money, so it depends on who has the bigger fist and who is easier to bully.

So although there are only more than 50 people in the meeting room, as long as they are dealt with, the first print of 500,000 copies can be almost completely consumed. In addition to the association representatives who will confirm the number on the spot, the bookstores behind them only need to contact the publisher to report the number as usual.

The bookstore owners greeted Hojo Kyosuke enthusiastically, and Hojo Kyosuke responded enthusiastically. Not only could he call out the other person's name, but he would also ask about the current situation of the clerk he met in the bookstore last time. Although he cannot be said to be approachable, at least he is like a relative. His familiar demeanor made even the store owners who were used to false courtesy a little stunned, and began to doubt whether they were really so familiar with this Hojo teacher?

"Ah, Amamiya has been promoted. Congratulations. I have to make up for the promotion gift later. She took too much care of me in the previous few times..."

Hojo Kyosuke shook the hand of a man in a gray suit and said in a friendly tone.

In just a few minutes, he has become the center of attention. His superior memory and excellent social skills made everyone present admire him. Those who had interacted with him in the past were satisfied with their vanity, thinking that they were not a small character. Didn't they see that Hojo teacher still remembered them after so long? The bookstore owners who met him for the first time were conquered by the witty words of this writer who was not silent at all, and they thought about how to persuade him to hold a book signing event in their bookstore.

Writers are obviously a polarized group. Some are taciturn and extremely socially phobic, which makes people wonder whether the perverted killers in their novels are based on themselves. Some are eager to stand in the spotlight, and will talk about any social hot spots in newspapers and media as soon as possible. If the personalities of writers in other countries are faithfully reflected in their works, then the personalities of Japanese writers are faithfully reflected in their suicides.

Some took a lot of sleeping pills on a gloomy rainy day and died quietly, achieving endless life through silent death. There are also writers who were beheaded three times after cesarean section but failed to cut off their heads. Writers who write dramas finally died like a drama.

The tastes of the masses are varied, and they can find reasons to like any of them. As businessmen, bookstore owners naturally prefer social elites like Hojo Kyosuke.

Even if he hadn't read the novel and didn't know anything about the content, just by spending time with Hojo Kyosuke, a bookstore owner would be curious about "what kind of work would such an excellent person write?"

A gorgeous appearance may be rotten inside, but he looks good! Haven't you seen that those books with nonsense content, weird titles and marketing of the author's personality can also deceive a bunch of fools? Bookstore owners don't want the content of the book to be profound, but want it to be popular.

In just a moment, without mentioning a word about the novel, Hojo Kyosuke provided strong confidence to bookstore owners and distributors through his strong personality charm. Several of them have already patted their chests and said the order quantity, and promised to put it in the most conspicuous place.

Tetsuta Kisaki stood in a corner of the hall, looking at his elder brother with pride in his eyes. This is the person he chose to follow for life! All-round and powerful! No matter how impossible the task is, it can be easily accomplished in his hands.

If it was Tetsuta Kisaki himself, the whole thing would be a different story.

First, he cut off the head of Kurokawa Toyomasa's puppy and placed it on his bedside. When the other party was still in shock, he sent a new puppy. In this way, he directly tied the other party's neck with the fear of death. The promotion of the bookstore was even simpler. He just sent hundreds of his men out, stuffed a few boxes of books into each bookstore, and stood guard at the door, asking everyone who entered the store to buy a book.

"Don't I know Mr. Hojo's works? Not to mention the new generation, I think there has been no better writer than you in the past 20 years!"

A somewhat simple shopkeeper, now blushed with a few subtle compliments from Hojo Kyosuke.

"Haha, you are too kind, I still have a lot to learn." Hojo Kyosuke, who was walking towards the podium, stopped, turned around, and bowed slightly to express his gratitude.

Today's publishing house is in a hurry, not only the employees are in a hurry, but also the promotion meeting is in a hurry. The people in the audience are not even holding finished novels in their hands, but rough products bound by printing paper. But this did not affect the warm atmosphere of the promotion meeting at all. As soon as Hojo Kyosuke stood on the stage, the people below began to applaud enthusiastically.

Hojo Kyosuke smiled and bowed to express his gratitude. He actually had not experienced such a thing, but he knew that no matter whether it was a promotion meeting or anything else, everything in this society could not escape the word "people". And in terms of dealing with people, no one will be better than him. There is no reason why someone who can handle a group of women with ease cannot handle a group of men.

After the scene quieted down, he first briefly introduced the content of the novel. Although he had already sent samples to the people below, he estimated that most of them had not read it. This kind of promotion meeting is also a time for major store owners to get together. They are more keen to keep in touch than new books. After that, he talked about the original intention of creation and several interesting plots and characters. His words were humorous, and bursts of applause rang out from time to time. Obviously, everyone was very happy to listen.

In a joyful atmosphere, with Akamatsu Yuki's greeting, an employee of a publishing house came in with a stack of forms and distributed them to the bookstore owners one by one. This is to write the order quantity.

Anyway, if you can't sell all the books in the end, you can return them to the publishing house, but if you return too many, the money you earn will not be as much as the return fee.

The simple store owner who spoke just now was about to fill in the number without thinking, but at this time he heard someone talking again.

"Um, excuse me, Mr. Hojo, I want to ask a question." A man in a black and gray suit raised his hand.

"It's Mr. Yanohara from Shimayama Bookstore, please go ahead."

Hojo Kyosuke, who was interrupted, kept smiling. Although everyone knew that anyone who jumped out to speak when the atmosphere was good must be trying to spoil the show, his attitude was still gentle.

The bookstore owners turned their heads and saw that it was Mr. Yanohara Noboru, who was always upright. Just now, when everyone was chatting, he was one of the people who lowered their heads and concentrated on reading. As a cadre of the headquarters of the fourth largest chain bookstore in Japan, he had extremely strict requirements on the quality of novels.

In the past, when everyone attended the promotion meeting, there were often writers who were speechless when he asked them questions, even if the publishing house tried to smooth things over. There were even cases where they attended the promotion meeting but did not order any books, which was a strange thing in the publishing industry. But at the same time, his performance was also terrifying. As long as he approved and signed the order, the book would not be sold out, but at least it would be on the bestseller list.

Thinking of this, the simple shop owner who had just filled in the name of the bookstore and wanted to fill in two thousand in the quantity column stopped writing, wanting to listen carefully to what this senior had to say.

Hojo Kyosuke's personality charm is terrifying. Everyone present is a master at reading the air. Even if they are of a lower level, they at least know to follow others. Yanohara Toshi, who dared to raise his hand and speak, is obviously not an ordinary person. But even such a person, when he saw the extremely friendly smile of Hojo teacher on the stage, his serious face actually showed a trace of hesitation, and his mind couldn't help but think of the scene of the cordial conversation with Hojo teacher before.

But this serious man still took out the posture of a large chain bookstore executive, and asked with a stern face:

"Mr. Hojo, as far as I know, you are the most popular candidate to win the Neon Mystery Writers Association Award. At this critical moment, you would choose to publish such a work, and the most important thing is that you are so hasty?"

He said that he picked up the draft in his hand and gestured. As he spoke, his tone became more severe:

"Excuse me, this is just like a Molotov cocktail made in a critical moment."

Molotov cocktail? It's a wonderful and appropriate description. Hojo Kyosuke was happy.

Yes, wouldn't such content cause dissatisfaction with the association? Aren't you afraid of affecting the award? Why are you so hasty? Why not publish it after officially winning the award? Wouldn't it be easier to sell more with the momentum of winning the award?

Many people present came here for the terrifying sales of Hojo Kyosuke's last book and his title as the candidate for the award. When Yanohara Toshi reminded them, it was like taking an antidote and freeing themselves from the charm of Hojo Kyosuke's personality, a human-shaped aphrodisiac. A bunch of questions suddenly popped up in their heads.

"Yes, Mr. Hojo, I came here this time to ask if "The Devotion of Suspect X" won the award, what arrangements will be made for the subsequent reprint." The simple bookstore owner also asked, and others also asked.

The smile on Akamatsu Yuki's face, who was standing next to the podium, disappeared. He took a step forward and wanted to help his own writer out of trouble, but was quietly pulled back by Kisaki Tetsuta.

What are you doing?

Kisaki Tetsuta looked unhappy, but he was not looking at Mr. Yanohara who was asking questions from the audience, but at the editor Akamatsu next to him.

Want to steal the limelight from big brother? Don’t you know that the more crisis moments like this, the more my Aniki’s personality charm can be revealed? Stand aside and watch carefully. Your only task is to give respectful eyes and warm applause!

Looking at big brother who seemed to be drowned by questions, Xisaki didn’t worry at all, because...

Everything was calculated by big brother!

Hojo Kyosuke kept smiling and raised his hand to signal silence.

“Why did you choose to publish at this time? Why not wait until you win the award? There are many reasons, the most important one is my irresistible desire to talk. Such a story appeared in my mind, and I couldn’t help wanting to share it with the world!

Because of my willfulness, I have caused a lot of trouble to editor Akamatsu and everyone at the publishing house. I must thank everyone for their support here.”

Hojo Kyosuke said a few small things he saw at the publishing house at noon today to liven up the atmosphere. Seeing that Mr. Yanohara was still standing there motionless, he knew that his answer would not satisfy the other party. But it doesn’t matter, he knows what the other party really cares about.

"Everyone, please look." He raised his hand to signal Xisaki to come forward and operate the projector.

The simple store manager looked up and saw two reports on the big screen.

"I know everyone is concerned about whether I can win the award. I believe everyone is familiar with Mr. Kurokawa Toyomasa and Mr. Naganuma Hiroki. These two are elders in the association who take good care of me. I can write this novel thanks to the guidance of these two teachers."

Hojo Kyosuke smiled. The two reports on the screen could not be called reports. They were completely praises for him. Yesterday's efforts were not in vain. The two judges were not only scared by him, but also turned into obedient puppies in his flexible room. They took the initiative to start doing things without him saying anything. It was only a short time, and they had already shown him favor in the magazine.

Mr. Yanohara frowned slightly and read the report on the screen quickly with great concentration. The more he read, the stranger his expression became.

If he remembered correctly, Mr. Kurokawa had blasted Mr. Hojo in the newspaper three days ago, writing a long article, which roughly meant that Mr. Hojo was a complete borer in the mystery novel world, and if he was not kicked out, something bad would definitely happen.

Why now...

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