After sitting down, Geng Shancheng asked tentatively: "Ms. Huang, do you only represent one of Mr. Lao Cha or Mr. Da Xiong, or do you?"

Huang Jinshu chuckled: "The two of them, as my representative, negotiate related matters with major publishing companies, of course, after the results, the two of them need to sign the contract in person, and I am only responsible for negotiation." ”

"In that case, I understand. Geng Shancheng nodded and said, "Ms. Huang, I'll just say it directly." As one of the largest publishing companies in China, Crown Publishing House can provide the most superior treatment in the industry for Lao Cha and Da Xiong!"

Huang Jinshu raised his right hand: "Please speak." ”

Geng Shancheng straightened up and said slowly: "We can provide two ways of cooperation, the first is to buy out the remuneration, our publishing house can buy out and pay for it at a price of 1,000 words." The second is to pay royalties, which is to pay 8% of the selling price as royalties for each copy sold.

In addition, we need to obtain exclusive publishing rights for both of them, for a period of six years. ”

According to Geng Shancheng's meaning, if you buy out a 1 million word novel for 10,000 yuan for 1,000 words, it is equivalent to a one-time payment of 10 million yuan.

If royalties are paid, a million-word novel can be printed in four 32-page single copies, and if it is sold at a price of 20 yuan each, a set of 80 yuan of fiction will be 6 yuan 4, and if 1 million copies are sold, the royalty will be 6.4 million yuan.

In Geng Shancheng's view, this treatment is already available to the top writers in China. As a leader in the martial arts literature circle, Zhong Luolei has received the highest remuneration for many years since his debut, which is to publish one of his martial arts novels at a royalty ratio of 12%.

That novel is not Zhong Luolei's best work, but it is the one that has made him the most money in physical publishing.

And although Da Xiong and Lao Cha conquered everyone with unprecedented skills in the martial arts literature circle as soon as they debuted, they are newcomers in the eyes of the publishing industry after all, so Geng Shancheng feels that the conditions he gave are already very good.

What's more, the price actually given by Crown Publishing House is a buyout price of 8,000 yuan per thousand words, or a royalty ratio of 7%. But after Geng Shancheng saw Huang Jinshu, he knew that if the conditions were not enough, he might not even be able to see Da Xiong or Lao Cha himself, so he temporarily raised the conditions again.

"Ms. Huang, I wonder what you think?" Geng Shancheng asked.

Huang Jinshu shook his head: "I feel that you are not sincere enough. ”

"How can you see it?" Geng Shancheng was not afraid of the other party's counteroffer, but he was afraid that the other party would not want to talk.

Huang Jinshu said slowly: "First of all, Lao Cha and Da Xiong will not sign a contract with the same publishing house, so each publishing company can only get the publishing rights of one of the "Dragon Babu" and "Peerless Shuangjiao". Second, neither of them will accept the cooperation method of buyout payment, and will only consider the form of royalty sharing. In addition, the maximum period of exclusive publishing rights for these two books is only three years. ”

In other words, companies that are able to obtain the exclusive right to publish these two books can, in principle, publish them in unlimited quantities for three years. But after three years, if you want to publish it again, you have to renegotiate and sign a contract.

"Ms. Huang, the three-year period is too short. Geng Shancheng immediately retorted: "The publication of physical books is actually a long process, and if the sales of books are not good, the books we print may not be sold out in five years." If, after three years, our backlog of inventory is not sold, and Mr. Lao Cha or Mr. Da Xiong does not renew the contract with us, then our losses will be great. ”

Geng's concern is not unreasonable: if their inventory is not sold out after the contract expires, and another company publishes it after obtaining the authorization of Lao Cha or Da Xiong, then there will be the same novel released by different publishers in the market, and both publishers will suffer losses if the market share is fixed.

Huang Jinshu sneered: "Mr. Geng, you are also an old man in the industry, you have seen a lot of martial arts novels in an endless stream, and your appreciation ability must be very high." Then do you think that the two books "Dragon Babu" and "Peerless Double Pride" will have the problem of poor sales?"

Geng Shancheng was immediately asked, "The Peerless Double Pride" has been serialized on the blog for more than 600,000 words, and "Dragon Babu" is about the same. With his years of reading experience, according to the plot, "The Peerless Twins" will not enter the ending until a fraction of the time, while "Dragon Babu" is a little longer, after all, "Dragon Babu" has more characters and protagonists than "The Peerless Twins".

Although these two novels have not yet been completed, the craze they have caused is getting stronger and stronger, and young people who can surf the Internet are not to mention, and they stay in front of the computer almost every day and midnight waiting for updates. Even those who are elderly ask the younger generations in the family to help print or even copy the novels for them to read.

There was a tabloid that published the text of "Tianlong Babu" in a serialized manner without authorization, and the sales suddenly increased several times, and Lao Cha exposed it on his blog after discovering it, and in less than a week, the Copyright Bureau punished him heavily.

Because this kind of literary work, which has attracted widespread attention, if the copyright office does not respond quickly and decisively, it is easy to be labeled as inaction.

Therefore, Geng Shancheng judged that as long as the official single book is launched on the market, there will definitely be no unsalable situation, and the only thing to worry about is that the inventory is not enough.

The reason why he just said that he was just complaining that the term of the exclusive publishing right was too short.

I saw Huang Jinshu raise three fingers: "Three years, this is the bottom line of the two of them, if Mr. Geng, you don't agree, then our negotiations will end here." ”

Looking at the smile on Huang Jinshu's face, the wrinkles on Geng Shancheng's face deepened, and he said helplessly: "Three years is three years." In terms of royalty ratio......"

"Twenty-five percent. ”

"Impossible!" Geng Shancheng couldn't keep calm now, and said angrily: "In the domestic publishing industry, the highest percentage given is only 15 percent, which is a masterpiece that has won an international literary award!"

The smile on Huang Jinshu's face remained unchanged: "Mr. Geng, you have to understand a truth, small profits but quick turnover." In the case of a single book, if the price is 20 yuan, the printing cost accounts for 15 percent, the retailer's profit accounts for 30 percent, and the distribution fee is about 10 percent, as far as I know, your crown has its own distribution channel, so this 10 percent also belongs to you.

If the author's royalty is 15 percent, your crown will get 40 percent of the profits. And if the author's royalties account for 25 percent, you still have 30 percent of the profits.

Mr. Geng, with the popularity of "Dragon Babu" or "The Peerless Twins", it is already a very conservative prediction that the sales of a single book will be five million copies. Thirty percent of the profit, according to the price of twenty yuan per book, just a single book, your crown can have 30 million income. ”

"Ms. Huang, that's not how the accounts are calculated. ”

Geng Shancheng had a headache, the woman in front of him had basically figured out the profit ratio of publishing companies and retailers.

Today's general public still thinks that retailers and authors are the biggest beneficiaries of physical book publishing, and their publishers are just making hard-earned money. As everyone knows, many times their publishing house is the one that makes the most money.

Because after the book is printed, they can also find a familiar underwriter to sell the book, and the larger the publishing company, the more sales channels, and there is rarely a loss.

Even when e-books are popularized in the future, the publishing industry is still a profiteering industry, not to mention that today's e-books are still in the ascendant, and physical books still occupy the vast majority of the publishing market.

Geng Shancheng kept shaking his head: "Ms. Huang, maybe you don't understand, the royalty ratio of 25% is absolutely impossible, even if we agree, the entire industry will not agree, this is a bad behavior!"

Besides, if we really give 25% royalties, the price of a single book must be at least 30 yuan, so that we can have enough profits. ”

"Mr. Geng, I used to work in the United States, and the style of doing things there is very direct, so don't blame me for speaking straight. Huang Jinshu said: "According to me, you publishing companies are really greedy, Mr. Geng, just now you kept saying that giving the author 25% of the royalties is a violation of the rules, but in my opinion, there is not enough profit is the real reason why you resist so much."

Don't tell me that the rules are not the rules of the industry, the so-called rules of the industry are not agreed upon by the companies at the top of the interest chain? You are really more capitalist than capitalism. ”

Geng Shancheng's face stiffened, and he forced a smile: "Ms. Huang, what are you talking about...... What a ...... you say."

"Sorry, that was just a digression. Huang Jinshu smiled again: "Mr. Geng, the ratio of 25% is actually the bottom line for the two of them, and I don't have the strategy of repaying the money with a sky-high price, so you don't have to waste your scheming to work with me." To put it mildly, Mr. Geng, if we look for those relatively small publishing companies, not to say 25 percent, even if it is 30 percent, they will agree, believe it or not?"

Hearing Huang Jinshu's words, Geng Shancheng's face had become a little ugly. Of course, he believes that in order for those small companies to develop, 30% of the royalties will definitely be agreed.

Because of the prospects of "The Peerless Double Pride" and "Dragon Babu", Geng Shancheng and others in the company have always been optimistic, and I believe that other publishing companies are the same.

This kind of work that does not worry about sales at all, and even has a great chance of creating a sales miracle, if it is won, even if it does not make money, it can earn reputation for the company to the greatest extent.

If that kind of small company gets the exclusive publishing rights, with these two novels, I am afraid that it can suddenly pull its fame to the same level as several top publishing companies such as Crown.

There are a lot of people who do things that lose money and sell and shout, not to mention this kind of business that can clearly make a lot of profits?

At this time, Huang Jinshu said: "Mr. Geng, why don't we come up with a VAM agreement? If we can reach the sales volume of 8 million copies of a single book within half a year, the royalty ratio will be increased to 28 percent, and if the sales volume of a single book will be less than 5 million copies within half a year, then the royalty ratio will be set at 15 percent." What do you think?"