Chapter 22: Different Brain Circuits

……

Leaving the hotel where Guo Shouyun was staying and returning to the car, after a little thought, Christopher Ritter took out his other mobile phone, looked it up in the phone book, found a familiar number and dialed it.

"Barry, do you have time?"

"Christopher, my time is always reserved for you. ”

A somewhat hoarse voice came from it.

Christopher Ritter smiled, since Harry Potter became a worldwide hit, he has become the most desired celebrity among major publishers around the world.

"Alright, I'll go to your office now! And I'm going to drink that 90-year-old bottle of Romanée Conti that you treasured!"

"Oh, Christopher, you greedy 'Sherlock', that's what I bought from Christie's auction house for £80,000!" After a pause, the tone of the other man's tone changed, "However, if you are going to sell me the rights to Rowling's Harry Potter Part 5, I would be willing to give you the proudest wine collection to taste!"

"In the fifth part of "Harry Potter", Rowling is still working on it. But you won't be disappointed this time!" says Christopher Ritter confidently.

"Oh, looks like you've got something new!"

"Barry, I'm heading to you right now, and I'll be there in about twenty minutes. Christopher didn't answer directly.

"Christopher, I'm going to wake up the wine!

"See you later!"

"See you later!"

……

"Romanée Conti's red wines will always be so fascinating!"

After drinking the fuchsia liquor from the goblet, Christopher Ritter exclaimed, and looked at Barry Cunningham who was indifferent and still focused on the three novels.

"Barry, it's been three hours. While that's not enough time to read three good books, it's enough time to give you a relatively fair assessment of them given your expertise as an editor at Bloomsbury. As he spoke, Christopher put down his glass and his eyes sharpened, "Now, shouldn't we talk?"

Hearing this, Barry Cunningham sighed and nodded. Although everyone is a close friend, they have to do business for their own interests.

"Christopher, Pirates of the Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts are there, we at Bloomsbury are willing to buy the rights, and we're willing to pay £50,000 in royalties and give an 8% share of the sale. But this "Fifty Shades of Grey"... Not in the style of our publishing house!"

Looking at the manuscripts of the three "Fifty Shades of Grey" pushed out by Barry Cunningham, Christopher Ritter couldn't help but frown.

"Barry, we've known each other for five years. Don't use those words against outsiders to prevaricate me... Bloomsbury's main business is paperback, bestsellers, and children's books. I don't think Fifty Shades of Grey doesn't fit there!"

Looking at his old friend's serious expression, Barry Cunningham sighed.

"Christopher, IMHO. The level of this set of "Fifty Shades of Grey" is like a third-rate erotic ~ erotic novel written by a third-rate writer on the Notting Mountain stall, which is specially sold to the homeless and eccentric. I really don't think there's any market for it! Besides, how can you sign a novel like this to your name?"

Looking at Barry's expression of disbelief, Christopher also had a bitter word. He can't help it, who told him to put on such a weird author?

Thinking of the two exchanges with Guo Shouyun, the fancy for "Fifty Shades of Grey" revealed between his conversations, Christopher Ritter said again: "Barry, is this set of "Fifty Shades of Grey" really not published?"

"Christopher, you know. I'm not alone in Bloomsbury. Even if I sign it for your sake today, Rosa, who is in charge of the marketing department, will not pass it. You know, she's a big admirer of the 'Iron Fist'. Barry Cunningham spread his hands helplessly.

Rosa Mond, Christopher is no stranger. The manager of the marketing department of Bloomsbury Publishing House is a loyal admirer of the former British Prime Minister 'Iron Lady' Margaret Thatcher, who believes in strict and formatted management and has a tough personality. If this set of "Fifty Shades of Grey" was put in front of her, Christopher had no doubt that the cold middle-aged woman would mercilessly mock herself before throwing the manuscript at her feet.

Christopher, who couldn't think of a good way for a while, was silent for a moment, "Barry, these three sets of books are placed here for the time being." After you read it, if you change your mind, call me again!"

"Alright!" Barry Cunningham nodded, "but you'd better not get up your hopes for Fifty Shades of Grey!"

"I know" nodded before Christopher stood up, "I'll go first!"

"I'll send you!"

……

The next day, after reading Christopher Ritter's revised draft and processing it, he took the revised draft to the Ritter Publishing Economics Company again.

Christopher Ritter's attention is clearly not on these drafts, though.

"Bruce, can Fifty Shades of Grey be published separately from Pirates of the Caribbean and Where Do Fantastic Beasts Go?"

"Why?"

Guo Shouyun frowned.

"From yesterday until now, I've contacted six of the UK's biggest publishers, including Bloomsbury and Random House. They are all willing to give superior terms for Pirates of the Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. But what they say about Fifty Shades of Grey...!"

Christopher Ritter shook his head with a wry smile.

Although he didn't finish speaking, the meaning of the words was already clear. However, Guo Shouyun is not surprised by this. In later generations, "Fifty Shades of Grey" first became popular on the Internet, and then it was bought by Random House, and then became popular all over the world, even so, it still attracted criticism from the literary world.

Now without this program, in the eyes of the old-fashioned editors of the publishing house who have deep literary literacy, "Fifty Shades of Grey" is indeed just a heavy-tasting S~M erotic novel, and it cannot be put on the table.

Looking at Guo Shouyun who was in thought, Christopher hesitated.

"Bruce, I think it will be relatively easy to publish Fifty Shades of Grey when "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" are published, and you become a well-known author!"

"Christopher, how many sales do you think 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' will be if they are published?" asked Guo Shouyun undeniably.

Combining his years of expertise and thinking about it, Christopher said cautiously: "Pirates of the Caribbean can sell at least 2 million copies worldwide in a year, and Fantastic Beasts There will be at least 8 million copies!"

Apparently, Christopher is more confident in the market for Fantastic Beasts out there, which is associated with Harry Potter.

Guo Shouyun nodded.

"Pirates of the Caribbean is priced at $45 for three volumes, and 2 million copies are $90 million. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is priced at $20, and 8 million copies are $1.6. As an author, I can get up to 15% of the royalties, which is 250 million ×15%, which is almost $37.5 million. After deducting your 5% commission and deducting 35% of my personal income tax, I get $22.5 million... Chris, am I right?"

Although Christopher Ritter does not know what Guo Shouyun's purpose is. But he still frowned slightly, staring at Guo Shouyun with a calm expression and nodded.

"If you approve of it, then you should not object to me now if I lend you £10 million from the sales of these two sets of books for the next year?... Rest assured, I will follow the rules and pay you an extra 4.5% interest. ”

Looking at Guo Shouyun, who swore by him, and what he just said, Christopher Ritter was stunned by his extraordinary brain circuit.

"Bruce, you can't be serious, do you?"

"Do you think I'm joking?"

Seeing Guo Shouyun's serious expression, Christopher couldn't help but smile wryly and shake his head after being sure that he was indeed not joking.

"Bruce, I wonder if I'm sitting in front of me a budding writer or a scheming philistine?"

"I'm a writer and a businessman!"

Christopher Ritter nodded, and after a moment's silence, shook his head.

"Bruce, I know the future of Pirates of the Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and you're not asking too much. But I'm just a publisher with some reputation, not the capital predators of Wall Street in New York and the City of London, and £10 million is a bit too much for me!"

Guo Shouyun is not surprised by this, of course, the negotiation must raise the price higher at the beginning to bargain.

"That's £8 million... Christopher, as the agent of the world's best-selling Harry Potter book, you can't even get that money, right?"

Christopher rolled his eyes at Guo Shouyun's words.

"Bruce, Harry Potter was a bestseller, but as a publishing agent, I only got 5% of Rowling's royalties. And who's going to keep a lot of cash in a bank account?"

"And how much can I borrow?"

"Three million pounds!" Christopher said after a moment's thought.

"6 million! Christopher, you're my agent, we're grasshoppers tied to a rope. I'm in trouble, you should help me in time. ”

Looking at Guo Shouyun, who did not let go, Christopher Ritter gritted his teeth and said, "5 million, I can lend you 5 million pounds." But tell me first, what the hell do you want to do with this money?"

Seeing him succumb, Guo Shouyun smiled.

"It's simple. Since no publisher wants to publish Fifty Shades of Grey, I'll buy a publishing house myself to publish it!"

If it weren't for the $80 million he borrowed from Citibank, he would have been all on the football lottery. Why should he borrow money from Christopher!