readx;? Bloomsbury Press was willing to publish "Little Snow's Big Adventure" because Lin Zixuan was not a new writer, but a well-known writer with a certain international influence. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Moreover, the sales performance of this fairy tale novel in China is too good for them to try.

Without the above two points as a foundation, even if the novel is really good, they will not have any plans to publish it, and they may not even know that the novel exists.

The publishing house signed a publishing contract with Lin Zixuan.

They did not explicitly say that they would only publish the first volume of "Little Snow's Great Adventure", but added a restrictive clause to the contract.

If the first volume of "Little Snow's Adventure" sells less than 100,000 copies in the UK, the publisher has the right to terminate the publication of subsequent books, and the publisher does not assume any legal liability arising therefrom.

100,000 copies is a watershed moment in whether a novel sells well or not.

The novel has sold more than 100,000 copies, indicating that the novel has a certain readership, which is worthy of more promotion by the publishing house, and perhaps a book brand.

Selling less than 100,000 copies does not mean that the novel has no future, but that the publisher has to consider the issue of investment risk.

Promoting books through various channels is expensive, and the investment is not proportional to the income.

If it is less than 10,000 copies, the publisher may simply give up, and even the cost may not be recovered.

Publishing houses are not charities, they value the revenue generated by books, and the value of books is determined by the market.

They published this children's book just to test the waters, and the conditions given were not very high, only 10% royalty, which was still because Lin Zixuan won the Italian Literature Award.

Lin Zixuan did not bargain, this contract was only about the publication of the first volume of "Xiaoxue's Great Adventure".

If the novel's sales in the UK were booming, he would naturally continue to negotiate terms with the publisher.

It can be seen that in the process of book publishing, the importance of the contract is not only to prevent the pitfalls in the contract, but also to protect one's own rights and interests as much as possible.

The writer is not a lawyer, so he can't figure out the terms in it, and there are many people who are deceived.

Lin Zixuan has experience in this area, and invited a lawyer to come over to check the contract and exclude various overlord clauses of the publishing house.

"Mr. Lin, you should look for an agent in Europe who will be responsible for promoting your work, and we can introduce you to professionals in this area. The person from the publishing house reminded.

At present, Lin Zixuan's novels are popular in Europe, but they have not yet made it to English-speaking countries.

That is to say, there is no English version, although the UK belongs to Europe, but the UK is not very closely connected with the rest of Europe, and they feel that they belong to the English-speaking countries.

In the West, writers mostly have their own agents, and the role of agents is very large.

They represent writers' works, select suitable publishers for writers, assist writers and publishers in negotiating remuneration and copyright, fight for the interests of writers, and evaluate and explore the commercial potential of writers.

This includes international copyright auctions and translations of existing works by authors, as well as the promotion of works to various fields such as television, film, theater, audio-visual and other fields, so as to expand the commercial value of the works.

They will constantly communicate with writers to understand their writing potential and help them maintain the sustainability of their creations.

Of course, agents don't work for nothing, but get a commission from the writer's earnings.

A single agent often represents the work of many writers.

They have connections in the publishing industry, are familiar with literary critics, know how to package a third-rate novel into a bestseller, and can turn a new writer into a bestseller.

The relationship between a writer and an agent is more complicated.

On the one hand, agents help writers with publishing chores so that writers can write with peace of mind, and on the other hand, they study the trends in the book market and give creative advice to writers.

Generally speaking, it is not the publisher who asks the writer to revise the work, but the agent who does it.

Brokers will keep an eye on the market, study the readers, and give the writer such and such suggestions on how to write to meet the market demand.

In a sense, this is an interference with the creative freedom of writers.

Writers rely on their agents, and at the same time they want to ensure creative freedom, which is the same as the relationship between actors and agents in the entertainment industry, the actors don't want to act in this play, but the agent thinks that acting in this play will be popular.

Many writers and agents are good friends, but there are also contradictions.

For Lin Zixuan, the agent to find should be called the overseas copyright agent of the work.

That's how his books worked.

For example, if an Italian sinologist takes a fancy to "Alive", he will write an introduction to "Alive" and give it to the editor of a domestic Italian publishing house to read.

If the editor is willing to publish, he will contact Lin Zixuan to negotiate a publishing contract.

Only when the publishing contract is negotiated will the sinologist translate the novel, and when the novel is published in Italy, the sinologist will write articles, give interviews to journalists, and promote "Alive".

In fact, the Italian translator acted as an agent.

This is only for Italy, with "Xu Sanguan Selling Blood" and "Xiaoxue's Great Adventure" successively published in various countries, Lin Zixuan needs to find a copyright agent who is familiar with the publishing industry in European and American countries.

In China, there is no concept of a writer's agent, and writers are in direct contact with publishers.

Writers choose publishers not on royalty income or the promotion of their works, but on personal friendships with publisher editors.

Writers tend to be more homely, not good at business negotiations, or a bit of a high-minded person who disdains bargaining.

In this way, the rights and interests of writers may not be protected.

They may not get high royalties, their works may not be well promoted, their sales will not rise, they will not be able to adapt them into film and television dramas, and they may not be able to reflect the value of their works.

In this regard, Lin Zixuan's choice is very cautious, he will choose a publishing house with strength and integrity, and knows how to operate and promote.

It is not difficult to inquire about the details of the publishing house in China, but in the world, it is very passive.

Lin Zixuan can only wait for foreign publishers to contact him, he has no time and energy to understand and judge which publishing house is more suitable, so many countries in the world, it is impossible to have an in-depth understanding.

This has a certain randomness, and if you are not careful, you will be pitted.

Therefore, it is particularly important for domestic writers to find an agent if they want to go international.

In Europe, there is a book called the Almanac of Writers and Artists, which is a reference book for writers.

It not only contains the detailed information and contact information of major publishing houses, but also the directory of literary agents, which records the latest contact information of literary agents and the works of the writers they represent.

If a new writer doesn't want to submit his manuscript directly to a publishing house, he or she can submit it to a literary agent.

With Lin Zixuan's current fame, it is not difficult to find a literary agent in Europe. (To be continued.) )