Among the various production costs of newspaper operations, manuscript fees account for a considerable proportion of newspaper companies. Therefore, each newspaper will be more strict in controlling the cost of manuscript fees.

In the early days of its establishment, it was true that it was asking for manuscripts from individual reporters or columnists at a high price, 10 yuan per 1,000 words. In the late 50s and early 60s, the Hong Kong press paid about $5 to $6 per 1,000 words. In the 70s, it has become a major newspaper in Hong Kong, but the manuscript fee of the supplement is not the highest in the industry, and the manuscript fee of many supplements has not been increased for many years. Many employees have greatly increased their popularity, such as Ni Kuang's science fiction novels under the pseudonym Wesley, and Ni Kuang's sister Ni Yishu's romance novels under the pseudonym Yishu、... Wait a minute. These columnists have also become the target of other Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong. Because of the high status of Chinese intellectuals in Hong Kong and even overseas, although the remuneration of columnists is not high, columnists are also proud to have a column.

In the 60s and 70s of the last century, Hong Kong not to mention that the reason why there were more than 400 martial arts novel writers in Taiwan was because the threshold for engaging in martial arts novels was very low, and they could get relatively rich material rewards. In other words, many writers choose to write martial arts novels, not because they have any lofty ideals, but just to be able to live a good life, just as Zhuge Qingyun's master said to himself: "Although there is no ** in this world", "Writing books is still 'rice sorghum'".

So, how much money do martial arts writers really make? It's a big topic. For example, Jin Yong, the reason why he can be on the "Billionaire Chinese Rich List" is partly because he relies on his martial arts novels, but more importantly, because of the market value of Ming Pao that he controls. Another example is Gu Long, the film and television adaptation fees he charges are no less than the income from novels.

I am more interested, and of course I care about the remuneration, because this is the foundation of the vast majority of martial arts authors, and it is also the critical moment for them to start. After all, there is only one Jin Yong, and there is only one Gu Long, and their success is difficult to replicate, and there are not many authors who are fortunate enough to see their works adapted into film and television dramas, let alone get an almost astronomical income by running a newspaper like Jin Yong.

According to the verification statistics, too far away to win the disease has no time to investigate, and it is not clear, relying on the attention of this time, he traced back to the investigation, knowing that around 1960 wrote a considerable number of martial arts novels, the basic manuscript fee is 500 yuan.

The year 1960 was also a flourishing period for the development of martial arts novels in Hong Kong and Taiwan. At that time, martial arts novels were mostly in the form of thin books, each volume was about seventy or eighty pages, 20,000 or 30,000 words, and a complete martial arts novel was often composed of dozens of thin books. What does the manuscript fee of 500 yuan per volume mean?

Usually, a newcomer who is just starting out can get paid more than 1,000 yuan for writing two episodes a month, which is about the same as the salary of a mid-level civil servant in the 1960s. It is not far from the early 70s and Hong Kong in the 60s. At that time, the average salary of Hong Kong people, whether white-collar or blue-collar, was about 2300 Hong Kong dollars per month, and the rent was about 20 or 30 Hong Kong dollars, which was enough to buy a floor as a landlord.

500 yuan is just the starting price, which should only be suitable for novices who have just debuted and some people who have written some martial arts novels, but are still unknown. Qin Hong is an example, he wrote for eight months, about 100,000 words, about half of it, he took it to the Damei Publishing House near his home, and the publishing house replied to him five days later, promising him about 20,000 words and 600 yuan for a volume, and after bargaining, it was changed to 800 yuan.

From that era to the present, the remuneration of martial arts writers is about 500 to 3000.

In Taiwan in the sixties and seventies, there were five martial arts novel writers who could be called 'first-class': 'Wo Longsheng, Sima Ling, Zhuge Qingyun, Gu Long, and Xiao Yi. The criterion for judging is that the remuneration for a book is about 20,000 words, and the manuscript fee is generally 800 yuan, and they can get more than NT$2,000, even if it is the highest remuneration, there are only 5 of them.

In the sixties and seventies, the manuscript fee was generally between 500 yuan and 800 yuan. According to our survey, novice and unknown authors hovered at the lowest figures, and after some results, the manuscript fee began to rise, but generally not more than 800 yuan. Of course, there is also a bargain between the author and the publisher, and the exact amount depends on the situation. Of course, there are even lower, such as Liu Yanyang's ** for the first and second volumes, which are only 400 yuan.

The above is the remuneration of a single book, and the newspaper serialization in parallel with the book Generally speaking, the remuneration of newspaper serials will be higher than that of a single book, and after 72 years, it is difficult to calculate the manuscript fee, because it can be sold in a number of manuscripts, which is also an important reference index for winning the disease, so the investigation is very detailed.

The manuscript fee for a single book of 30,000 words is less than 800 yuan, but it is 1,200 yuan for a magazine. In this way, the magazine serializes 400 yuan for 10,000 words and 40 yuan for 1,000 words.

At that time, the general remuneration standard for the creation of novels in the literary world ranged from 50 yuan to 100 yuan per 1,000 words, although the unit calculation was higher than that of martial arts books, but because it could not be produced in large quantities, it could not be compared with the attractiveness of martial arts creation.

After all, Ying Zhiji and Ying Xianfeng are not system people, and they only roughly estimate the starting price of novel creation in the literary world at this time at 50 yuan, so this figure should be in line with the remuneration of ordinary martial arts writers. The remuneration for serialization must also be closely related to the author's recognition of Cheng dù, and some super-first-class writers, at the peak of their creation, are still possible for a thousand words and 100 yuan.

Monthly income from engaging in martial arts creation. Based on an average of 3,000 words per day, it is 90,000 words a month, and if you can produce three thin books, you can get 2,400 yuan and 800 yuan per volume. If there are two newspapers and periodicals, it will cost another 7,200 yuan. The total is nearly 10,000 yuan, which is enough to reach the income of a well-off family. In fact, this algorithm is very conservative, in terms of writing speed, Wen Ruian can write 4,000 words in an hour. In terms of serialization in newspapers and periodicals, Xiao Yat has a record of 17 articles published at the same time.

In addition to remuneration, many authors receive royalties and, if they wish, sell their work to publishers. All kinds of income have created many famous writers to ride and get drunk. Take the four famous masters - Gu Long, Sima Ling, Wo Longsheng, and Zhuge Qingyun as examples, they all glorified their peers in terms of net worth, but in the end, all of them were scattered - this may be Wen Ruqi, and there are many chivalrous heroes in martial arts novels. But reality is reality, and after the chivalrous man wakes up from his dream, he still has to return to the world. Sima Ling's sword qi is a thousand illusions, and he finally bends his waist for five buckets of rice; Zhuge Qingyun is a literary talent**, and he is the dog of Xiangjiang in a hurry; Gu Long is proud of the world, and there are creditors behind him. The tide rises and falls, the flowers bloom and fade, and when Ying Sick looks back on the end of these people, he can't help but sigh: Heroes don't love money, it's better to keep some.

All in all, in short, according to the investigation of the winner, the conversion of Taiwan dollars and Hong Kong dollars, in Hong Kong in 1973, the current calculation, the minimum price is guaranteed to be 500 yuan, and the newspaper serialized martial arts novels are calculated in Hong Kong dollars, with a minimum of 50 yuan to 55 yuan per thousand words. The minimum standard for winning a novel is 60 yuan to 70 yuan, don't look at the price difference is only a few yuan, the more words you get, the bigger the difference in money.

Facing Hu Juren, he coughed.

Literati are ashamed to talk about money. In fact, after people come to this world, who can leave money. Of course, a gentleman loves money and takes it in a proper way. Literati, with arduous mental work, provide newspapers, periodicals, and publishing houses with poems, calligraphy, and paintings, and it is a matter of course that they pay their manuscripts according to their work, and there is nothing to be embarrassed about by literati, let alone literati. Therefore, if you win the disease, you can ask Editor-in-Chief Hu confidently: "Then, Editor-in-Chief Hu, you have read this book, and you have a bottom in your heart about the quality, and finally I want to ask you how much my manuscript fee is calculated."

When Hu Juren heard the sound, he immediately tightened his jawline. An editor, no matter how big or small, admires a writer for more than just because he or she is talented.

From the perspective of newspaper management, those who have a basic vision often value the commercial value of a reporter and a novelist. Can a novel that wins a sick self make money for the company? The answer is yes.

But in the same way, although he admires this novel very much, he has to think from the standpoint of Ming Pao, naturally he will not do unprofitable business, and it is beneficial to seek profit to show the true character of a businessman.

So after thinking about it habitually, Hu smiled, leaned closer, and said: "Well, Mr. Win, let me tell you, considering that you are still a newcomer and have just debuted, you should use a treaty of 50 words per thousand words, but I am still very optimistic about your book of Sou Shen Ji." So, I've decided to give you 55 thousand words, what do you think!? ”

At the end, he smiled crookedly and said, "You see, the average person outside only earns a few hundred yuan a month, and your thousand words are fifty-five, as long as you write more words, it is a lot, enough to buy a lot of things, buy some things for the family and buy some gifts or something, and save some flowers for your own use."

Look at what he said, yes, since the 50s to the early 70s, prices in Hong Kong have been very stable, because there is no such thing as inflation in the supply of a large number of affordable domestic products, and there is no such thing as a wage increase for workers.

Having said that, it is very good for ordinary people to have an average monthly income of 1,000 yuan, but they also know that of course, with the migration of time to the late 70s, the economy has taken off, prices have soared, and the pressure on life has become much heavier

And more importantly, I can compare myself to writing novels, I really think that I am a stunned young man who doesn't understand anything, and I think clearly that Hu Juren is a young man who doesn't understand anything.

Sou Shen Ji will definitely not sell it cheaply. He was a little unhappy in his heart, but he didn't come out with a happy expression, and said proudly: "Editor-in-chief Hu, let's not say a word about the real people, whether it's good to search for gods, you know me, you can send this money to Huazi, but don't lie to me!"

Hu Juren, who originally had a smile on his face, was choked by the illness in an instant, groaned slightly, and said in his heart: It seems that although he is still young, he is indeed very old-fashioned, and it seems that he has investigated this line clearly. Meng is not able to be blinded. However, I thought about how much to add to him, according to the practice of Ming Pao, but no matter how big a card you are, it is difficult to add money, it is not appropriate to add more, and he will not do it if he adds less, what can be done.

Hu Juren was thinking about how to measure this matter, and the dissatisfaction in his heart was slightly leaked on his face.

Win and Hu confronted, Li Ruotong watched, secretly stretched out his delicate little hand to cover his mouth and yawned, thinking that next time I won't be like this with Win Sick, hum, next time I have to let him take me out to have a good time.

Finally, after a short while, Hu Juren spoke, saying that the manuscript fee of 55 thousand words would be increased by 2 points, and then listed the dilemmas and difficulties of newcomers and ordinary authors who were just starting out, how good this figure was, and talked about the various advantages of publishing in the Ming Bao from the manuscript fee.

Ying Sick gritted his teeth and stared at him intently.

Hu Juren still talked about the benefits of staying in Mingbao, and accused other newspapers with praise and disparagement, and his mouth was very neat.

It's just that I can't listen to it at all.

The office was full of Hu Juren's gushing voices, and I really didn't expect that there would be a guy who was as slamming the door as Lao Jin.

After a while, I felt bored, and I suddenly said to Li Ruotong Gu Zuoyan: "How good the moon is today, alas, the chrysanthemums are leaking, let's enjoy the sun at night."

Li Ruotong and Hu Juren were speechless.

"It's too late, so let's do it, Tong'er, let's go. Mr. Hu said goodbye, there is still something to do, I will not accompany him, goodbye, no send. Ying Yiji got up from the chair, took the little hand of Li Ruotong, who was waiting for boredom, took the novel from Hu Juren's hand, and got up to leave.

Hu Juren was startled, and immediately looked anxious, how could he tolerate so much that he slipped an outstanding masterpiece from the palm of his hand.

This old Hu is also a wonderful person, Huo Ran stood up, crossed the desk and came to the two of them with a swollen face, and hurriedly used a more and more gentle tone to soothe: "Hey, stop, stop, Mr. Win stays, why don't you leave, the price is not close, we can talk slowly, negotiate slowly, don't be in a hurry."

Ying Zhiji and Li Ruotong were also a little surprised, a dignified editor would not lower his price so much for a novel. But I don't know that this Lao Hu is also a person who can take it and let it go, just talking about money issues, there are good things at the top, and there is consciousness at the bottom, and he can't interfere too much with the rules, even if he is the editor-in-chief.

Win the sick self is not so easy to fool, and snorted coldly: "If you don't steam steamed buns, I'll fight for breath, Tong'er, let's go."

Having said that, this is not just a matter of winning the disease, first, the price is too low, I'm sorry for the book Sou Shen Ji, and I'm sorry for the hard struggle with the cat and bear day and night these days. Second, he still has a lot of choices, and Ming Pao is just one of them because of his relatively large name.

Before this era, there were more than 40 registered daily newspapers in Hong Kong, but many of them mainly published the Ma Jing, which were not strictly considered real newspapers. There are 20 daily newspapers in the real sense of the word.

A city with a population of 7 million has about 20 newspapers, and in our imagination, the competition must be extremely hot, homogeneous competition is inevitable, and the collapse of some weak newspapers is inevitable. But what is surprising is that Hong Kong newspaper people all believe that there are very few cases of homogeneous competition among Hong Kong newspapers, and readers also have their own favorite newspapers, and the coexistence of multiple newspapers has lasted for a long time, and there were more newspaper closures in the early years, but not a single newspaper has closed down in the next two years, even if some newspapers are very difficult.

Why this is happening. Why can so many newspapers survive in such a fierce market?

We can classify these newspapers, which is an easy thing, and there are many types, different styles, different positions, different attitudes, and so on, which can be the basis for classification. The clearer and simpler way to classify them is as follows:

The first category is mass newspapers. For example, they are the largest paid newspaper in Hong Kong, their content caters to the taste of the public, and the weight of social news and entertainment news is relatively heavy, and the news methods are sensational and like to hype.

The second category is the Yan sù newspaper. The self-proclaimed elite newspaper, for example, is stricter than the popular newspaper, and has a stronger cultural flavor. Among them, elite newspapers can be further subdivided, focusing on catering to intellectuals.

The third category is newspapers run by Chinese-funded institutions or Chinese-funded backgrounds. As. Report Hong Kong news from the perspective of the mainland, and look at mainland news from the perspective of Hong Kong. Adhering to the stance of loving the country and Hong Kong is an important force of public opinion in Hong Kong.

The fourth category is English-language newspapers. English-language newspapers are more common in Hong Kong. There are Hong Kong editions, Asian editions, and Asian editions of the New York Times.

The fifth category is free newspapers. This is the new darling of Hong Kong's newspaper industry in the 21st century in recent years, and its circulation has exceeded that of paid newspapers. There are 6 copies: , English.

This classification is only a rough division, and if it is divided according to position, style, and attitude, the newspapers will be regrouped. The ease of classification tells us that every newspaper in Hong Kong is quite different from other newspapers, so their existence represents the prosperity, independence and freedom of Hong Kong's newspaper industry.

In fact, the more so-called elite newspapers are, the harder they are to survive; The more popular the newspaper, the greater the circulation and the greater the influence.

Judging from the readership composition of Hong Kong newspapers, they are basically middle- and lower-class citizens. Moreover, the needs of readers are diverse, and even the so-called elite people also have the same demand for information consumption in popular culture. For multiculturalism, acceptance is higher, which is a specific cultural state, and the more chaotic the newspaper, the more it can survive.

The 70s was the most prosperous period for Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Peninsula had nearly 70 newspapers at the same time. After market competition, there were 55 companies left in 1982 and 38 in 1997. The daily circulation at the end of 1989 was more than 1.8 million copies, an average of 3.2 per newspaper for a population of 5.8 million at the time. It is second only to Japan in Asia.

So here's the point, so many newspapers, such fierce media competition, how can you worry about not being able to sell a good novel if you have a good novel in your hand?

Since you don't give it a try, you can win the disease and don't bird him, just change a newspaper, there are not many others in Hong Kong, and there are a lot of newspapers! He has that confidence in Soshen Ji, gold will always shine! Xingdao, Chengbao, Dongfang, etc., the public taste, the high-end atmosphere and the grade are also grasped, and they are not much weaker than Ming Pao, but there are many stinky feet who love Lao Jin who write novels, and they only come to this trip after winning the disease.

Just when Win Sick had pulled Li Ruotong and turned around to leave.

Crunch –

Jin Yong, the editor-in-chief and president, wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, did not smile, and strolled in.