12 Trending: [Stories About The Ming Dynasty] (4)

"What? You're the author of [Stories About The Ming Dynasty].

Returning home, Jiang Dejun walked in to be shocked by Jiang Cheng!

Jiang Cheng was actually the author of [Stories About The Ming Dynasty].

"So the reason why you didn't go to Hainan with us, was because you actually wanted to stay home and write a novel? I thought you gave up on writing and wanted to become an actor?" Jiang Dejun asked, completely puzzled.

"Yeah, Xiao Cheng, are you picking up writing again?" Jiang Cheng's mother Gao Linlan asked puzzled.

"I never put it down and I still plan to act. I've had the idea for [Stories About The Ming Dynasty] for a while now but I was afraid of affecting my studies, so I pushed it aside till now!" Jiang Cheng lied.

"But when did you become interested in history? Let alone the Ming Dynasty?" Jiang Dejun quizzed, still with doubts.

"There's a quote online that sparked my interest and gave me inspiration - There is no China without the Qing Dynasty and no Qing Dynasty without the Ming Dynasty. I became very interested in the Ming Dynasty, so I collected information and began to write a book about the Ming Dynasty. A lot of it is thanks to your collection, Dad! Otherwise I couldn't find such a wealth of information on my own." Jiang Cheng said, pointing to the thick stack of history books on the computer desk.

Bright Moon was his son.

Jiang Dejun thought, realizing the reality of his situation. He was stuck in two minds, pride and sheer surprise, his son had surpassed his expectations with this one.

When he learned that Jiang Cheng wasn't just randomly hiding behind the scenes but in actual fact waiting for them to arrive back in order to discuss the matter of publishing. Jiang Dejun and Gao Linlan were relieved and the issue of publishing [Stories About The Ming Dynasty] became the main focus.

"I suggest you choose one of those large publishing houses. I think People's Literature Publishing House would be good. These large-scale publishing houses are generally more formal. They have their own sales models and networks, but they are also more prone to bullying. Their share splits are very low, and authors can generally only get 5 to 15% of book sales.

Only well-known authors and novels can get over 15%. But the average author can only take less than 8%. So when you talk to these publishers, you must pay attention to grasp their bottom line and maintain your bottom line as well or else they will squeeze you dry." Jiang Dejun as an industry expert explained, giving advice.

"So that's how it is, what about those smaller publishing houses?" Jiang Cheng nodded. Fortunately, there was someone in his family who knew the inside story, otherwise he could have potentially lost several million. Because in his memory, sales for [Stories About The Ming Dynasty] in his previous life exceeded 10 million copies making it the best-selling historiography in 30 years.

"Well naturally, smaller publishing houses can't compete in terms of reach and network, which leads them to take more risks. These small publishing houses generally look for newcomers with potential to raise. Whilst also swooping in from time to time when those large publishing houses turn down less profitable books. They live in the cracks of the larger publishing houses. As for their share splits, it's slightly higher but overall pretty similar to those of larger publishing houses."

"Why don't they increase the percentage split to attract well-known authors?"

"It's not that they don't want to, but they don't dare. If they did, then they would have to face the joint suppression of the major publishing houses. Every industry has its own rules, and some rules can't be broken. "

Jiang Cheng understood the principle but seeing how badly authors were currently being squeezed, he couldn't help but feel slightly unresigned.

"Dad, what would you think about me handing over [Stories About The Ming Dynasty] to Southern Weekly for publication and distribution?" Jiang Cheng asked, putting forward his own idea.

Jiang Dejun said with relief: "As the CEO of Southern Weekly, naturally I would love to have [Stories About The Ming Dynasty] at Southern Weekly; but as your father, I have to remind you to think over your choices carefully before making a decision, after all, although Southern Weekly isn't small, it's definitely not a huge publishing house, so the benefits you could gain might not be comparable. I need to discuss it with your Uncle Xu, but I estimate that we can give you a maximum of 30%. This is because of your current popularity and the fact that you are family, otherwise it would be 20% at most. "

Jiang Cheng nodded seriously and said, "Understood, I'll talk to Uncle Xu then before making a decision."