Chapter 207: Oprah's Talk Show (Middle)

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"Christopher Ritter, now CEO of Thornbird Publishing, a subsidiary of Amazon Inc.," Oprah said.

"Yes!"

"But how did I hear that you two met through Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?"

"To some extent, it's also fair to say that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a really good book. When I saw it, I really wanted to know its author, and as I expected, Bruce gave a lot of good advice on writing Harry Potter. ”

"We all know that Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them have a similar worldview and setting, and even many of the characters are intrinsically connected. So, a lot of people say that this is serious plagiarism. Rowling, what do you think?"

"Actually, I don't think it's plagiarism. Anyone who has seen Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them knows that these are two very different stories. It's more like a Harry Potter prequel. In addition, many Western magic has dragons, elves, gnomes, goblins, dwarves, magic, swordsmanship, and so on, but you can't say that every one of these factors is a copy of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings!" Rowling emphasized.

"So, you didn't charge Bruce royalties anymore?" Oprah laughed.

"Of course!"

After laughing a little, "Let's ask Mr. Guo again." … Mr. Guo, under what circumstances did you write Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?"

"Nothing special. It's just that because I'm obsessed with "Harry Potter", and I happen to like writing very much, so after reading the first four volumes of "Harry Potter" that have been published many times, I have the desire to write, and three months later, you will have "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Battle for New York" that you see. ”

"Three months?"

"Yes!"

"It was rumored that Mr. Guo was very fast in writing, and now it seems that this is indeed the case. After a pause, "So did you really finish writing nine books in one year, and you didn't have a ghostwriter?"

"How is that possible? That's just a rumor from the outside world. In fact, there are books that I wrote in advance, but I just didn't publish them. ”

"Can you elaborate on that?"

"Of course! I'm sure everyone is familiar with Fifty Shades of Grey. It sold well, but it also made me criticized in the literary world. There is nothing wrong with these criticisms, and I know that the book is not of great literary value. However, as the first book I wrote in middle school, I was able to write it in its entirety, and it was loved by many book lovers, and I was already very satisfied. ”

"Fifty Shades of Grey was your middle school work?" Oprah said, surprised.

Guo Shouyun nodded without blushing, "It's my work when I was in the eleventh grade. Later, he wrote "Fast and Furious", "Smart: Ghost Record", "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "National Treasure", and when he was in college, he wrote "Finding Nemo" and "The Hangover". At that time, I had a lot of time, so I wrote a lot. Later, when I started my own business, I put more time and energy into my career, and the number of works was not as much as before. ”

"I see. Oprah nodded knowingly, "Bruce, we all know that most writers have a field that they are good at, such as Ms. Rowling is good at magic, Dan Brown is good at reasoning, they are both writing in their field of expertise, and have achieved extraordinary achievements. And your writing doesn't seem to be limited to a certain field, but you also have very outstanding works in the fields of magic, emotion, and reasoning, can you tell you how you achieved this success?"

Rowling's eyes also fell on Guo Shouyun, and she also had a certain interest in this issue.

"This may have something to do with my personal interests. Also, I love to read, and at my peak I read close to 200 books a year. Even though I'm busy at work, I still take 1~2 hours out of time every day to read books. Also, I have a good memory. If it's an intensive reading, I can usually remember the content after reading it three times. ”

"Wow, that's an amazing talent. Oprah exclaimed, then continued with interest, "If Mr. Guo doesn't mind, can we do a little test on the amazing memory I just mentioned?"

"Of course!" Guo Shouyun nodded.

"Which gentleman or lady was carrying a book on him?"

The audience was enthusiastic, and soon six or seven books popped up. ”

"Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Da Vinci Code, it seems like you're all big fans of Bruce and Rowling. But these books don't work, I want a book that has nothing to do with the two of them!"

"I've got a copy of Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye here!"

A middle-aged man with black-rimmed glasses and a plaid shirt stood up.

"What's your name, please?"

"David, my name is David Grom. ”

"Yes, thank you very much, Mr. Grom. Now please give me the book!"

After taking the "Catcher in the Rye", Oprah returned to the stage, "Bruce, is this book okay?"

"Absolutely. Mr. Salinger is a writer I like very much, and his "Catcher in the Rye" is a classic that I have read it many times!"

Oprah's mind is very quick, "You mean you've memorized everything?"

"Hmm!"

"In that case, would you please memorize pages 12~17?"

Guo Shouyun nodded, and after thinking for a while, he memorized the contents of his memory. He crossed over to inherit Bruce Kwok and has an amazing talent for memory.

"It's really shocking, there are only two words missing from the whole paragraph!" Oprah said in disbelief after Guo Shouyun finished reciting it.

The people at the scene were also amazed by Guo Shouyun's memory. No one thinks there is any cheating in it, because if it weren't for the amazing talent, even if you memorize it in advance, you might forget it. On the other hand, Guo Shouyun is very fluent from beginning to end.

"Bruce, I never knew you had such an enviable talent!" Rowling was also a little surprised by her friend's performance.

"Rowling, if you talk too much about this kind of thing, it becomes a show-off. ”

At this time, Oprah, who returned the book to the audience, also walked back.

"I've heard a lot of people say that Mr. Guo is a genius, but now I finally have an accurate idea of genius!

"Thank you!"

"Bruce, what role does a good memory play in what you've achieved so far, and is it the foundation of your success?"

"A great memory sounds cool, but if you want to succeed in your career, a good memory only helps, and it's your determination and perseverance that make the difference. ”

"Can you give us an example?"

"Of course... Anyone who knows me knows that I have some business achievements in addition to writing books. For example, LinkedIn, which was the Internet company I founded in '99, when the Internet was the most popular industry in the entire Silicon Valley and even in the world, and AOL, Yahoo, and Amazon all created amazing market capitalization. Of course, LinkedIn can't compare to them. ”

"At the time of the NASDAQ crisis, it was a humble professional networking site that I started in my dorm room with my classmate Alexander Martin, and we had fewer than 50,000 registered users and less than 1,000 active users. No matter how you look at it, there is little future for such sites, especially during the NASDAQ crisis and the great ebb and flow of the Internet industry. ”

Guo Shouyun's words evoked the memories of last year's tragic crisis for everyone present, and the atmosphere in the studio was a little more depressing.

"In the midst of the market crisis and the wave of Internet bankruptcies, a good memory or mind does not help. What really makes a difference is your determination and perseverance. I strongly believed in the future of the Internet industry, so I mortgaged the farm and two fresh food stores left to me by my adoptive father to Wells Fargo, and used the money to survive the toughest times on LinkedIn. It was also to raise funds that I came up with the idea of publishing what I had written before. At that time, I didn't think about how much money I had to make. I feel that as long as we can earn some manuscript fees, alleviate LinkedIn's financial difficulties, and let us go further, we are very satisfied. ”

"I didn't expect you to be a huge success once you published it?" Oprah asked.

"Yes. Guo Shouyun nodded, "Here, I want to thank every customer who has bought me, thank you!"

"Whoa...!"

There was loud applause in the studio, and there was sincere admiration for anyone in their right thinking who bravely pursued success in the face of adversity.

After a pause in applause, Oprah continued: "Bruce, we all know that you made a special trip to England to publish you?"

"Yes!"

"Then why not stay in the United States? Of course, I don't mean that American publishers are better than those in England, but why would you go so far?"

"Because I'm a fan of Rowling's books, I have a lot of admiration for Mr. Christopher Ritter's ability to read pearls. It just so happened that I wrote something like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. In order to ensure a successful first time and raise funds to support the development of the cause as soon as possible, he decided to go to the United Kingdom. Later it turned out that I made the right decision!"

"But the British publishers don't publish any of your books. Can you explain why?"

"Of course, because they refused to publish Fifty Shades of Grey, but I had a deep affection for the first one I had done. So things are frozen here. Later, Christopher came to me and said that he was going to start a publishing house, and my books were the first works of the company. I agreed. ”