Chapter 524: To Publish a Single Volume

Zhang Shouren kept shaking his head and sighing. Zhou Yan's appeal far exceeded his expectations.

"October" is not a small magazine. If you put all the literary magazines in the country together, even if they are not in the first echelon, they are definitely in the upper second echelon.

Most of the well-known domestic writers have published their works in their magazines.

But no writer has ever published a work that has received as good a response as Zhou Yan's this time.

Even if some works can become a big hit, it usually takes some time, unlike this time when the magazine was just published and sold so many.

Especially in recent years, literary journals can no longer be in the center, and fewer and fewer people pay attention to them.

People have more and more entertainment activities, and literary magazines are no longer as indispensable as before.

Not to mention compared with the 1980s, even compared with the first few years of the 1990s, it is much worse.

For example, the reason why Jia Pingwa's "Wasteland" received such a strong response at the time was actually related to the backward development of mass media and the control of erotic reading materials.

In just a few years, the domestic VCD market is now developing rapidly, especially this year, many new VCD brands have entered the market, and the people's entertainment activities have suddenly increased.

If Wasted City was published this year, the sales volume would probably be greatly reduced.

After all, many readers bought Wasted City not for literature, but just as a pornographic book to comfort their loneliness at night.

Now that we have VCDs, we can buy a few interesting discs with the money we spend on books. Isn't it more vivid and interesting than novels?

These changes have only happened in a few years.

From a glimpse of the leopard, we can see that the living environment of literary publications is no longer as good as before. Major magazines want to change, but there is no good way.

With such a big environment, it is difficult to reverse the situation.

Zhang Shouren had to get Zhou Yan's new work at the beginning. On the one hand, he really liked this novel, and on the other hand, it was because of Zhou Yan's influence.

Now it seems that his idea at the time was right and his goal was achieved.

"By the way, the publishing house said that they want to get the single volume out as soon as possible." said Ke Yan, the leader of the novel group.

The publishing house mentioned by Ke Yan naturally refers to Yanjing Publishing House. Their magazine was originally under Yanjing Publishing House.

It is not a big deal to publish a single volume. When we were discussing serialization, we had already agreed with Zhou Yan that the single volume would be published by Yanjing Publishing House.

It was just that they were planning to publish the single volume after the second issue was completed, or after the entire book was completed. Now it seems that the publishing house wants to publish it earlier.

It is understandable that the publishing house wants to publish it earlier, because the later it is published, the harder it is to guarantee sales.

If only two issues are published, and one issue is left unpublished, it is fine. If the single volume is published after the entire series is completed, many readers will not buy it, after all, they have read the book in the magazine.

And there is another problem, that is, after the entire series is completed, their legitimate single volume may not be published, and the pirated single volume will be published first.

Anyway, it is not difficult to make a pirated copy. Just tear out the content of "Don't Let Me Go" in the three issues of "October" to make a complete book and then print it.

"Does it mean that the second issue will not be serialized?" Zhang Shouren asked. He had not heard any relevant news.

Ke Yan nodded, "I heard them say that, but I don't know the details. If it's true, they should have a meeting in the next few days."

This matter cannot be delayed, because each issue of the magazine is typeset in advance. If they wait until the next issue is typeset before talking about this matter, it will be a waste of their efforts.

Zhang Shouren doesn't care much about whether the second issue will be published or not. Now that "Don't Let Me Go" has been published in "October" and the response is good, he is considered successful.

As for what happens next, it has little to do with him.

…

Zhang Shouren thought that even if the issue of the single volume was to be decided, it might take a few days, but he didn't expect that the matter would be brought up at the meeting the next day.

And the meeting was not for discussion, but for direct decision.

The publishing house decided to sell the single volume directly in half a month, with an initial print run of 100,000 copies.

Because the manuscripts are ready, the proofreading work has been completed, and even the typesetting and book number have been done before, it is very simple to sell the single volume now, just coordinate with the printing factory.

In other words, they can sell the book when the printing factory can finish printing.

There are two different opinions about the first print of 100,000 copies at the meeting.

One side believes that the novel has only been serialized for two days and is only popular in some places. There is no real valuable feedback yet. It is a bit risky to print 100,000 copies rashly.

The other side believes that the first print of 100,000 copies is a bit conservative. According to Zhou Yan's fame, there is no pressure to sell 100,000 copies.

The key is that Zhou Yan's fame is nationwide. If the first print of 100,000 copies is not enough to buy, it will be a waste of time to print more copies in a hurry, which will affect the rhythm of distribution.

The conservatives and radicals have different opinions, but this matter has been decided. No matter how they argue, it will not affect the decision of the publisher.

Zhang Shouren took an errand to inform Zhou Yan that the single volume will be published.

First, they have the obligation to inform, and second, they also want Zhou Yan to cooperate with the publicity. They even hope that Zhou Yan can cooperate with the publisher to hold activities similar to book signings.

When Zhou Yan received a call from Zhang Shouren, he was already in Yanjing.

When he heard that the single volume would be published in half a month, he was quite surprised. He didn't expect that the publishing house was so anxious.

Zhang Shouren smiled and said, "Actually, it's not too urgent. Many novels are done this way. It was previously agreed that when Yanjing Publishing House publishes a single volume, they have already started preparations."

"Since this matter has been settled before, I leave it to you. If you need my cooperation, just tell me."

"There's nothing specific that requires your cooperation. It's just that a new book is going to be released, and the publisher naturally hopes that you can help with more publicity."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Of course I will promote my own books, so don't worry about that."

"I might need you to cooperate in a book signing later, I don't know..."

"As long as you are in Yanjing and you confirm the time with me in advance, it should be no problem."

"If we want to hold a book signing, we will definitely confirm the time with you in advance. If there are any matters in this regard later, I may not be the one to communicate with you. There will be a dedicated person from the publishing house to contact you."

"Well, you tell the publishing house and if you have any questions, just contact our studio directly. There will be dedicated people at the studio to contact them."

"Okay, no problem, as long as we can connect."

Zhang Shouren also knew that Zhou Yan was usually very busy, so he understood this.

Zhou Yan said this now because he wanted to expand the business scope of the studio at the beginning of the new year.

Their studio was originally mainly engaged in film production, soundtrack production and music album production. The TV series department added last year has not officially started work, but it is almost on track.

Now Zhou Yan wants to expand a literary section based on these sections.

In the past, he had to handle his own novel business, or Zhang Youan helped to handle it. He felt that this was too troublesome. After opening this business in the studio, he could set up a department to handle the writing business.

Not only did he handle his own business, but he also handled the business of Yu Hua and Shi Tiesheng.

Text has always been a part of the film and television industry chain, and now it is reasonable to have an additional department.

Zhou Yan hung up the phone on Zhang Shouren. Next to him, Wang Zuxian put half a sugar orange into his mouth and said with a smile, "Is the single book going to be released so soon?"

It was very hot in the office, and the sugar orange was ice cold. It was quite refreshing in the mouth. Zhou Yan wiped the sugar orange from his mouth, and then smiled and said, "The publishing house is in a hurry."

"Hurry up and send us samples. We didn't even send the previous sample issue."

"Oh, I forgot to tell Chief Judge Zhang about this. It's okay. I'll ask him for it in two days."

"Xiao Rong knows that your new novel is serialized, and he is anxious to ask me for it. "October" is not available in Taiwan."

"Just buy a copy and send it to her. It doesn't have to be a sample."

"I originally wanted to buy a copy and send it to her tomorrow, but now that I heard that a single volume is going to be released, I'm wondering if I should wait for the single volume to come out. Otherwise, she will be more anxious after reading the first part, just like a sister-in-law. They are the same."

"That's true."

Please...you...collect_6_9_书_Bar (Six//Nine//Books//Bar)

After reading "Never Let Me Go", the Zhou family members had different reactions.

Of course everyone was praising it, but Zhou Yan could tell that not everyone liked "Never Let Me Go", at least not everyone liked the first part.

My grandparents probably felt that this novel was too long-winded and had no special meaning after reading tens of thousands of words. The style of the novel did not suit their taste.

Although grandma kept saying "it's good", her reaction was completely different from when she watched "Tree Hole".

I watched "Tree Hole" before, and the approval in my grandma's eyes almost overflowed.

Uncle Zhou Yaohua liked this novel very much and gave it a very high evaluation. He thought that the style of Zhou Yan's new novel was very international.

He also emphasized that it is internationalization, not Westernization.

It doesn't read like a Western novel, but it is very different from domestic novels. It is very easy to read and has almost no obstacles for readers.

Sister-in-law Gu Fangfang also likes this novel, but she reads "Never Let Me Go" as a suspense novel. She thinks that this school must be hiding some shocking secret, and she has been looking forward to the answer. .

Therefore, when she learned that the secret would not be revealed until the second issue, Gu Fangfang was very anxious and almost asked Zhou Yan for the manuscript.

In fact, if she really asked Zhou Yan for the manuscript, Zhou Yan would give it to her.

But the manuscript was in Yanjing, so he couldn't give it to him right away.

Well now, the single volume is about to be released, so my sister-in-law and the others don’t have to wait too long.

…

Zhou Yan ate a few more oranges, then got up and walked outside, "I'm going to talk to Liu Hang about something."

"good."

When Zhou Yan appeared in Liu Hang's office, Liu Hang showed a surprised expression, "Boss, are you looking for me?"

Normally, if Zhou Yan wanted to see him, he would call him and rarely come to his office.

"Tell me, Zhang Shouren from "October" just called and said that Yanjing Publishing House is going to publish a single volume of "Never Let Me Go". It is expected that the book will be on sale in half a month."

"So fast?"

"Well, they have prepared it in advance."

"It seems that the response to the new work is good." Liu Hang smiled and looked at Zhou Yan again, waiting for Zhou Yan's next words.

Liu Hang was not in charge of the novel, so he didn't know what Zhou Yan meant by saying this.

Zhou Yan sat on the sofa and said with a smile, "I was thinking of setting up a literature department. This time, I'll take advantage of the release of the single volume of "Don't Let Me Go" to settle this matter."

"Are you going to set up a new department?" Liu Hang didn't expect that the boss would make such a big move just after returning from vacation.

Setting up a new department is not a simple matter. There must be an overall plan. It is not just about setting up an office and throwing two people in to make it a new department.

It took a long time to set up the TV series department before.

This is under the premise that they already have a film department, so the personnel are relatively easy to arrange.

Now they want to set up a literature department...

I'm afraid the boss is the only one in their studio who understands literature?

Who will be in charge of this new department? Where will they recruit people? What is the main business?

Seeing Liu Hang's expression suddenly become serious, Zhou Yan said with a smile, "Don't take this too seriously. The purpose of setting up this department is to help me and Yu Hua deal with literature-related matters. Such a department doesn't need many people at the beginning."

Liu Hang nodded, "I roughly understand. The new department has no business expansion needs for the time being."

"Yes, not for the time being."

"In this case, it's easier to handle. The office location is in Building No. 3?"

Zhou Yan waved his hand, "The office location doesn't matter. There's no need to rush to decide. I want to ask you, do you know any friends in the book sector?"

"I don't have much contact with the book sector..." Liu Hang's eyes suddenly lit up when he was halfway through his words, "I think of someone."

"Who?"

"Chen Hongheng."

Hearing this name, Zhou Yan raised his eyebrows and said, "Isn't he a legal officer?"

Liu Hang was surprised, "Boss, do you still remember him?"

Zhou Yan nodded, "Well, before Shueisha asked us to make a collection of novels, didn't it entrust him to negotiate with us?"

"Yes, it's him. Although Chen Hongheng is a legal officer, he is mainly a copyright agent. We have been in contact for the past two years."

"How is his business doing?"

"He set up his own company last year. There is no special development, but he has good personal ability and rich experience in this area."

"Where is he?"

"Now in Shanghai."

Zhou Yan thought for a while and said, "Contact Chen Hongheng and ask him if he is willing to come to Yanjing to work. If he is willing, I will talk to him." (End of this chapter)