Chapter 128: Asking each other for advice with the editor?
Listening to what Morikawa Riho said, Sawayama Haruno closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
What the other party said makes sense.
The current era and environment are different from the past, and the physical market has long been replaced by new entertainment methods.
Especially for a newcomer like me who has not yet made his debut, it is even more cruel.
Without fame and capital, why would a publishing house publish your book?
Without fame and capital, why would ordinary people buy your books?
These are the cruel facts before our eyes. It doesn’t mean that as long as you write well, people will definitely read it. After all, even good wine will not sell if it is not well-known.
If people will watch a work as long as it is great, then why did Vincent Van Gogh die in poverty?
No matter his works are ahead of their time or their market is taken over by other emerging things, the essence is the same, that is, they face the fate of being ignored.
The higher the fame, the easier it is to sell your works. Even if your writing is crap, there will be people who will buy it.
For example, Keigo Higashino has written more than a hundred books in his life, but the number of readable books can be counted on one hand, but this does not affect his subsequent publication of new books.
“The reality is that the situation is really complicated.”
Sawayama Haruno laughed at himself inwardly.
If it really doesn't work, he can only consider other ways out.
If traditional literature doesn't work, maybe we can only try other literary works.
"Teacher Kiriyama"
As if she had seen through Sawayama Haruno's inner thoughts, Morikawa Riho struggled for a moment and then whispered, "Actually, there is a way to solve this problem."
"any solution?"
Sawayama Haruno's eyes lit up instantly.
"The biggest problem now is that Mr. Kiriyama doesn't have the fame accumulated from his past works, and his popularity is also lacking." Morikawa Riho carefully considered and patiently explained to him, "Due to these reasons, our company cannot offer good conditions, but there are other ways."
“For example, by participating in a competition and making a name for yourself, even if it doesn’t have a big impact on the readership, it will at least allow the company’s top management to see Mr. Kiriyama’s potential, and maybe you can get more opportunities to try things out.”
"I see."
When she said this, Sawayama Haruno immediately understood.
To put it bluntly, you still have to get some "chips" yourself.
If one participates in an award and successfully wins, the publishing group will be able to determine whether he is worthy of being published. In this way, even if he is a newcomer or not famous, the publishing group will be able to provide resources for support and external publicity.
It's a fair opportunity for cooperation.
"So what does Editor Morikawa mean?" Sawayama Haruno asked tentatively.
The other party immediately understood what he meant, took out his mobile phone, searched a few times, and then handed it over.
"This is the closest essay contest in the second half of this year, and the theme is also mainly about love."
Morikawa Riho slid her phone and showed the contents to Sawayama Haruno.
While skating, he also explained: "This essay competition is a joint effort of the four major publishing groups. Such competitions are held from time to time. Although it is not very well-known to the outside world, it is essentially a redistribution of the author resource planning within the four major groups."
"Morning Autumn Appreciation"
Sawayama Haruno softly read out the name of the competition.
"Although it is a joint effort of the four major groups, this competition is actually sponsored by other groups. Mr. Kiriyama should understand what I mean, right?"
Morikawa Riho looked at him helplessly.
This was a very artistic way of speaking. To put it simply, there was definitely some shady dealings in this competition, so she couldn't guarantee what rank Sawayama Haruno would get after the competition.
According to the unwritten rules of the literary world, most books will not get valid results in their first award evaluation. Not to mention being nominated, even continuing to participate in the competition will become very troublesome - the trouble here refers to "little hope".
“I think I understand.”
Zeshan Haruno nodded slightly and began to think deeply.
It's really troublesome.
If you don't participate in the competition, it will be difficult to get good cooperation conditions; if you participate in the competition, there is no guarantee that you will win.
Sure enough, reality is much more difficult than planned, especially in this era of rampant capital.
The gap with the 80s and 90s is really huge.
"Mr. Murakami's literary achievements have been up and down due to his political stance. I didn't expect that I would also run into obstacles everywhere today because of similar issues of the times." Sawayama Haruno thought helplessly.
But there is nothing we can do about it, since he is a complete newcomer.
Even though he knew there was something fishy going on, he had only one choice.
"I'd like to try, Editor Morikawa." Sawayama Haruno whispered.
“If you want to try it, there is one thing you need to pay attention to.”
Morikawa Riho straightened her sitting posture and said softly, "That's the problem with the word count. Mr. Kiriyama's book has only been written for more than 60,000 words, right?"
“There’s no need to worry too much about this.”
Sawayama Haruno immediately explained, "I have a very detailed outline and details for the follow-up. As long as the competition is not within this week, the progress should be caught up."
"This"
His straightforward words made Morikawa Riho a little confused.
This kind of traditional literary works cannot be rushed blindly.
After all, because of the length and word count issues, striving for excellence is the most important thing.
If you rush to achieve results, you will only destroy the beauty of the story itself.
However, looking at the other person's serious face, Morikawa Riho suddenly felt that the other person didn't seem to be joking.
The words that were originally intended to advise the other person turned into "I understand" when they came out of my mouth.
Forget it, let's just trust the other party for now, thought Morikawa Riho.
Anyway, there is no loss for me by helping the other party to register for the competition.
Moreover, there will still be some time between the start and the end of the game. If the opponent is really efficient, maybe we can catch up.
Thinking of this, she pursed her lips and added, "If that's the case, we must first draft Mr. Kiriyama's contract, and then we will provide a quota before we can sign up for the competition."
"Please give me more advice in the future."
"It is me, Mr. Kiriyama, who should be asking you for advice."
Seeing that Sawayama Haruno's expression didn't change much, he realized that this cooperation was most likely finalized.
Although she was still a little worried inside, Morikawa Riho's expression became much more relaxed.
In the following period of time, she discussed the cooperation matters with the other party in detail and agreed on a new time to sign the contract.
The two chatted until five or six o'clock, and the meeting ended completely only when people coming out of the group's headquarters building kept passing by the window in the distance.
(End of this chapter)
