Chapter 7

Wang Yifan did not expect his master to speak so highly of "Country Teacher." He thought that being published in "Science Fiction World" was already the limit, but he did not expect that it could go further and participate in the competition for the Galaxy Award.

Chen Chuhe sighed, "It's a pity that this novel is too short, only twenty thousand words. If it were longer, it could be published directly."

Then he became excited again, "I'll show it to Lao Yang and the others. Ah, this is a novel we discovered."

The manuscripts in the magazine had to go through cross-review and had to be approved by two editors before they could be published. Therefore, the novel "Country Teacher" quickly spread among the editors and sparked discussions among these literary enthusiasts.

"Could this be Lao Liu's pseudonym? The writing style is quite similar."

"I don't think so. Isn't Lao Liu currently writing 'Memories of Time'? The use of words and sentences in this novel is not something a newcomer would do. He was probably a writer of other genres before and now wants to transition, hence the strong realism."

"With so many science fiction authors now, very few can write such a framework. It's a perfect combination of extreme realism and extreme romance."

"This article is amazing. It will definitely generate discussions when published, and maybe even attract expert reviews. Combining a country teacher with science fiction, this is not something an ordinary person can do."

"Who has information about this author? Xiaowang, did you sign a contract?"

Wang Yifan unexpectedly became the focus of the editorial department. He swallowed his saliva and said, "I haven't signed a contract yet, but the fact that they submitted their manuscript to us means they acknowledge us publishing it, right?"

"You still have to pay the author, right? I think it should be 400 RMB per thousand words."

For a newcomer, 400 RMB per thousand words was a very good price. Usually, newcomers could only get 200 RMB per thousand words, but Chen Chuhe wanted to build a good relationship with Lin Han. Perhaps he could be a future science fiction master. It was important to establish a connection now.

So he said, "Lao Yang, you're being unfair. 'Country Teacher' is obviously a strong contender for the Galaxy Award. Isn't 500 RMB per thousand words reasonable? We can offer the highest price of 500 RMB per thousand words to newcomers. Do you want someone like him to go to other magazines? Twenty thousand words at 500 RMB per thousand words is only ten thousand RMB. Are we being so stingy? It's not like you have to pay out of your own pocket."

"Yeah, what if he becomes popular later and goes to other magazines? We will be earning if we can get such a good manuscript for ten thousand RMB."

"That's right. An author who can write such high quality text definitely doesn't care about a small sum of money. Let's show our sincerity."

The chief editor, who had silently finished reading the novel, immediately made a decision, "Since you all say that, let's give him the price of 500 RMB per thousand words. Also, proofread the novel and let the design department reformat it. Let it be published next month!"

With these words from the chief editor, Wang Yifan immediately responded, "Great, I'll call the author right away to communicate!"

Excited, he returned to his desk and immediately called Lin Han, whose phone number was attached to the submission document.

...

Lin Han, who was reading seriously, suddenly felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He took it out and saw an unfamiliar number. Since he was not in a place to answer the phone, he quickly ran to the men's restroom.

"Hello, who is this?"

Wang Yifan thought no one would answer, he was about to hang up, but now he was excited and said, "Is this Mr. Lin Han? I am a staff member of 'Science Fiction World.' After unanimous approval from the editorial department, your novel 'Country Teacher' will be published in next month's 'Science Fiction World' and will also be shortlisted for the Galaxy Award competition."

After hearing this news, Lin Han's first reaction was not joy, but caution. Could it be that he sent the manuscript to some scam organization? Is it possible that they finished reviewing his manuscript so quickly and now want him to pay some fee? He, who was about to be broke, couldn't afford to be deceived.

"It sounds great, but your speed of reviewing seems faster than expected."

"Usually, the quality of emailed submissions is relatively poor, so it's easy to filter out. The price we offer at the editorial department is 500 RMB per thousand words, which is the highest price for newcomers. If you have more good works to submit in the future, you can contact me directly, and we will increase the price to the highest 1,000 RMB per thousand words."

Lin Han silently calculated in his mind. He earned ten thousand RMB for the novel he wrote the whole night. Lin Han thought it wasn't bad. He needed money right now, and although ten thousand RMB wouldn't solve all his financial problems, it could at least handle the most pressing ones.

Wang Yifan noticed that the other party didn't seem too excited, which solidified his judgment that Lin Han was someone with literary achievements in other fields, not just a newcomer.

"Mr. Lin, please send me your bank account number, the name of your bank, and your ID card information. I will contact our finance department to make the payment. By the way, the tax on the royalty will be deducted directly by our magazine. So, after calculating, the ten thousand RMB royalty will be 8,880 RMB after tax."

The evil royalty tax. Tax would be deducted once the royalty exceeded 800 RMB. This threshold was much lower than the personal income tax.

"Will your side handle the tax on the royalty?"

"Yes, there's one more thing I need to remind you, Mr. Lin. From the day you formally submit your work, the copyright of your work will be deemed as represented by us. Whether it's publishing, film or television adaptation, or game adaptation, we will do our best to promote it, and we will take a 20% agency fee from the copyright fee. Of course, if you don't agree to sign the contract, we are not authorized to sell the copyright."

"Will there be a formal contract?" Lin Han already knew about this somewhat unfair rule before submitting his manuscript, but when under someone's roof, one must lower one's head. At present, he didn't have any resources to promote the copyright himself. If he could sell the copyright, 20% was still acceptable.

However, with future works, the agency fee wouldn't be this high. Lin Han was not a fool.

In his heart, Lin Han couldn't help but complain. He had to give 1,120 RMB to the government in taxes. What a sad thing.

However, this royalty tax was actually to protect high-income earners' interests. When a writer's income reached millions or tens of millions, paying this type of tax was more cost-effective than paying personal income tax, which was high.

Media once calculated this problem. When the income reached 200,000 RMB, the tax burden for royalty income was 11.2%, while personal income tax was 13.72%, so it was more advantageous for best-selling authors.

So every year, although many people called for an increase in the tax threshold of 800 RMB, no one mentioned modifying the tax percentage. That was the reason behind it.

What could 8,000 RMB do?

In Beijing, it could cover rent for two months. Lin Han paid three months' rent at once, so next month, he had to directly give 9,000 RMB to the landlord. He still needed a little bit more, so he had to continue earning money.

After confirming that Wang Yifan was indeed a staff member of "Science Fiction World," Lin Han gave his personal information to him and waited quietly for the payment to be made.

Lin Han had also written manuscripts for magazines on Earth, but without exception, they were all rejected. His dream of becoming a writer ended there. However, in this life, he had the support of the entire Earth's science fiction literature, so realizing his dream shouldn't be too difficult.