Chapter 25: Betting Agreement

Wang Jian hung up the phone and sat on the couch, pondering what to do next.

Selling advertising rights was definitely going to bring in money.

But it also meant signing a contract.

And for contract signing, it was best to have lawyers or other professionals involved.

However, he had no idea how good these lawyers were or how expensive their fees would be.

Furthermore, with so many lawyers in the United States, how would one know which were skilled in copyright matters?

Wang Jian looked up at the clock.

It was already half-past one in the afternoon.

There was no time today, he would go to a law firm tomorrow and inquire about the advertisement authorization issues for his novel.

As he thought this, he got dressed and prepared to go to community service.

The community service went as usual today, except that someone else had replaced the check-in officer because Lily had to accompany Gene and her parents.

Everyone was still lackadaisical, idling away the time until the work ended.

When Wang Jian got home, it was already seven in the evening.

He ate something casually and then started to sort out the "Arcane Throne" in his mind.

This novel was much longer than "I'm a Great Mage."

The "Great Mage" had a total of just over 400,000 words, while "Arcane" had over 300,000 words in just the first volume.

As Wang Jian organized the material, he suddenly realized something was off.

This story...

Ugh...

It sure was slow to get going!

He picked up the "I'm a Great Mage" beside him and, after comparing it with the manuscript of "Arcane Throne," he felt even surer of this point.

"Great Mage" was immediately thrilling and invincible as soon as it began.

Though it was a bit crude, it was friendly to new readers with themes like showing off, defeating opponents unexpectedly, and pretending to be weak to win.

Whereas "Arcane Throne" began with an introduction to the worldview of the entire book using various classical music pieces and very little magic theory.

It did have classical music as a tool for showing off, penetrating upper-class society.

But...

The audience for classical music

was really too small.

Switching to pop music might be better.

But if it were changed to pop music...

Wang Jian imagined a gentlemanly, concealed Magician singing "Beat it" on stage.

Then, touching the hearts of the audience below, including many from the nobility and the Church of Medieval Europe...

Anyway, it gave him a toothache.

But if it wasn't changed, would this attract readers to keep on reading?

The majority of the readers who knew him because of "I'm a Great Mage" didn't have that much patience.

They pursued exhilaration and novelty.

Splendid magic, wondrous abilities, and highly satisfying face-slapping scenarios.

Wang Jian scratched his head hard, feeling a headache coming on.

So, what about completely deleting the first part?

After careful consideration, he shook his head again.

The original author had designed the structure very ingeniously.

If it were deleted entirely, the plot afterward would be unworkable.

After almost two hours of struggle, Wang Jian still hadn't found a suitable way to modify it.

He lay in bed, trying to think, but eventually fell into a deep sleep.

He slept straight through to the morning.

When the morning sun shone into the room, it was already past eight o'clock.

Wang Jian got up, ate something casually, and hesitated for a moment over whether to continue adapting "Arcane Throne."

Then he decided to find a law firm to consult on the advertisement authorization issue.

Since he had little experience with this area, he had asked a few convicts during community service yesterday.

They had unanimously recommended a small law firm in Brooklyn.

A law firm favored by various criminals?

Wang Jian thought cheekily as he stepped into the firm located in a low-rise office building.

After inquiring about the fee schedule, he opted for a younger lawyer with comparatively lower fees.

It wasn't that he was stingy with legal fees.

Mainly, it was because the more experienced lawyers at the firm were better at getting criminals off the hook.

And the one who was really familiar with copyright was this newcomer who also worked part-time as a literary agent.

After paying a consultation fee of 20 US Dollars per hour, Wang Jian walked into a narrow office.

A young white man with black hair sat there, looking at Wang Jian with a grave expression.

"Hello, I'm Tom Sol, a lawyer and part-time literary agent. Do you need consultation on copyright issues?"

"Uh, yes," Wang Jian pondered, "I've written a novel called 'I'm a Great Mage'. Currently, Omnicom Advertising wants the advertising rights for this novel, and I don't know how much to ask for or how to sign the contract."

"'I'm a Great Mage' is yours? You're Wang?" Tom asked with a look of surprise.

Could it be,

I've come across a fan of the book?

Wang Jian nodded slightly with delight, feeling that a fan might feel a certain kindness towards the author.

Tom bit his cheek, eyeing the Asian boy in front of him.

This was the person who had cost him his job at the publishing house.

But then, he remembered his current role.

He took a few deep breaths and, under Wang Jian's curious gaze, pulled out the latest New York bestseller list.

He pointed to 'I'm a Great Mage' on the list.

"'I'm a Great Mage' is currently ranked 15th."

Wang Jian glanced at the newspaper and nodded, then listened as the young man across from him, Tom, continued, "The book ranked seventh has been in that spot for ten straight weeks."

"Its television rights have been sold to CBS for 700,000 US Dollars, limited to ten years. Whether or not CBS produces the show within those ten years, the television rights will revert to the original author."

"And since 'I'm a Great Mage' is ranked fifteenth, and considering the industry's unwritten rules,"

"Every drop in bestseller ranking decreases the price for the rights by 20,000. And the advertising price is half of the television rights price. So, calculating for ten years, the advertising rights for 'I'm a Great Mage' would be 270,000 US Dollars."

"But as hot titles' advertising rights decrease in price with the waning of their popularity,"

"Conversely, the hotter the title, the higher the rights fee for that year."

"So, according to the industry's formula, your first year's rights should be," Tom worked a calculator for a moment, then said, "90,000 US Dollars."

"How much?" Wang Jian asked in surprise.

"90,000 US Dollars," Tom repeated.

After pondering for a moment, Wang Jian took out a 20 Dollar bill and handed it to Tom, "May I make a phone call here?"

Tom took the bill and gestured for Wang Jian to go ahead.

Wang Jian dialed the number of a person named Lynn.

"Hello, this is Wang Jian, the author of 'I'm a Great Mage'. May I speak with Lynn?"

"Yes, it's me," the voice on the other end responded with surprise, "Are you ready to come in for negotiations?"

"I just want to know how long you want the rights for and how much you're offering," Wang Jian asked bluntly.

"Uh, our current offer is 60,000 US Dollars, for one year of rights."

"Oh, I'll give it some thought," Wang Jian replied.

Then he hung up the phone.

Tom looked at Wang Jian with confusion.

Wang Jian also looked up at Tom and asked, "If you were to represent a rights grant, how much would your commission be?"

"Uh," Tom thought for a moment, "It depends. For example, with your 'I'm a Great Mage'."

"If I negotiate rights fees of 90,000, then I only take a 1% commission. For every additional 10,000 over 90,000, I add 5% for my commission."

Wang Jian looked at him, silently calculating.

Then he said to Tom, "So, what if I authorize you to negotiate? How much will it cost me?"

Tom's eyes widened, "You don't need to spend any money; we literary agents only earn commission."

Wang Jian tapped on Tom's desk and said, "I was referring to legal fees."

Tom then came back to his senses and said, "Five per thousand commission for business contracts."

"Then let's make a bet," Wang Jian said, "I'll authorize you to negotiate."

"If it's over 90,000 US Dollars, I'll pay you both the legal fee and the literary agent commission."

"If it's 90,000 or less, you get nothing, including the legal fee. Do you agree?" Wang Jian said.

"Uh..." Tom hesitated for a moment before finally slapping the desk, "Deal. It's settled."