After the end of the new book, the editor of Optical Wheel Publishing House naturally contacted Sun Ya as soon as possible.

But this time, they didn't dare to worry about Lao Bai because he was involved in a new theme, but they didn't even read the draft, and directly offered the same conditions as "No One Survives". Sun Ya discussed with Sun Peng in advance, and did not set up any obstacles, or put forward any higher conditions, and simply agreed.

Merely......

"The first printing of the book, there must not be too many!"

When finally negotiating specific terms such as the first printing, Sun Ya was unusual, and did not ask the publisher to increase the number of first printing as much as possible, but said seriously: "In China, I think two million is a more reasonable number...... In fact, Mr. Lao Bai is more inclined to one million copies. ”

"Huh? Why? ”

After listening to Sun Ya's words, the deputy editor-in-chief in charge of the new book suddenly became anxious.

"It's simple, because he's a hard sci-fi!"

There are some regrets, but Sun Ya still shrugged her shoulders and said: "Although Mr. Lao Bai tried his best to write it as simple and interesting as possible, it can't change such a fact. And no matter what time it is, hard science fiction is a niche genre, so he doesn't want you to print out millions of copies and then put it all in the warehouse......"

There were a few words later, but Sun Ya didn't say them.

If there are too many first printings, all of them are backlogged in the warehouse, or in the dealer's warehouse, it seems that there is no loss to Sun Peng, but it has a great impact on Lao Bai's reputation - new books can't be sold, and the backlog in the warehouse is serious, which makes reporters casually polish and polish, maybe it is the evidence of Lao Bai Jianglang's talent!

“……”

The corners of his mouth twitched, and the deputy editor-in-chief was speechless.

Well, although there are not no writers who consider publishing houses, I have never heard of Lao Bai directly cutting the number of premieres of his new books by more than half - according to the idea of the publishing house, as long as the name Lao Bai is hung, how can the first printing start at 5 million, right?

But now talking to the agent, the deputy editor-in-chief faintly noticed a hint of something wrong: even Lao Bai himself felt that the sales of this book would not be too good, and if he insisted on the first printing of up to 2 million, the publishing house might not make much money this time. After all, Lao Bai's royalties alone have taken more than half of the profits, plus a huge publicity budget and various distribution expenses, if the sales are not very high......

"So this time, don't make too much publicity."

Just when the deputy editor-in-chief was apprehensive, Sun Ya continued: "Our idea is that we just follow the specifications of ordinary books, without too much fanfare, let alone exaggerate like little magicians and little wizards. ”

"But ...... in that case"

"Don't worry, Mr. Chen."

Without waiting for the other party to finish speaking, Sun Ya said with a smile: "I know what you're worried about, but please be patient this time." Although the market for hard science fiction is not large, with the name Lao Bai, it will definitely not make your publishing house lose money. And don't forget, wait another year at most, and this "The Martian" will be put on the big screen by Lao Bai himself......"

……

Although "The Martian" is said to be completed, as the author, Sun Peng still has to carefully check it several times and correct the typos and grammatical errors in it.

He puts more effort into this book than in the Little Witcher series.

So although he still refers to the original version and the movie, in fact, he has carried out a more comprehensive and detailed transformation of the book - of course, this can only be completed with the assistance of experts from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and he will definitely not be able to do it alone.

But in any case, Sun Peng's feelings for this book must be deeper.

The deadline for delivery was mid-March.

And this time, Sun Peng will not only give the Chinese version of the manuscript, but also hand over the English version along with the English version, and the English version will be translated by several experts from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration - compared to the full-time translators of Light Wheel or Seal Press, Sun Peng believes in these aerospace experts who are proficient in technical terms and know how to interpret them, and finally let the professional translator polish it......

……

"There's only one manuscript out there besides mine!"

On February 29, after walking the red carpet of the Magnolia Awards, Sun Peng found Hu Tian, who had already entered the venue, and then handed him the big envelope in his bag: "So you are the first person to read this book...... Brother Hu, do you know what to do? ”

"Don't worry, it will be kept secret!"

After taking Sun Peng's manuscript, Hu Tian almost patted his chest and swore an oath.

Lao Bai's new book!

Just a few simple words, let Hu Tian know the weight of this big envelope!

Although I don't know how many copies the publishing house has, Hu Tian knows that not long ago, the fourth part of Little Magician and Little Wizard was released on the shelves - the global sales are counted in tens of millions, so Sun Peng's royalties are naturally calculated in hundreds of millions, and they are still in dollars!

Once leaked, it reduces readers' expectations......

So after taking the envelope, Hu Tian immediately handed it to the agent behind him, and the agent immediately put it in his leather bag and hugged it tightly in his arms.

Seeing that the two of them were so nervous, Sun Peng smiled and was about to say something, when he suddenly saw a familiar face not far away, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he beckoned and shouted, "Old Yang!" Old Yang! This ......"

"Old Yang?"

Hearing Sun Peng call out this name, Hu Tian was stunned, turned his head and asked curiously; "Yang Ming? Do you two know each other? ”

"That's right, Ma Boyuan introduced it."

After a simple reply to Hu Tian, Sun Peng smiled at Yang Ming, who hurriedly walked over: "Old Yang, I just planned to contact you...... Is your slot vacant? ”

After saying hello to Hu Tian and the others first, Yang Ming nodded with a smile and said, "Haha, of course it's vacant, from the beginning of April to the end of July, a full four months, it should be enough, right?" ”

"Enough, enough."

Nodding, Sun Peng said with a smile: "If everything goes well, in fact, two months is enough." ”

After listening to their conversation, Hu Tian suddenly became a little curious: "Hey, what did you two say...... Is it the sci-fi movie called "Frequency of Life and Death"? Oh my God, can you really shoot it in two months? ”

Even if he knew that this was a low-cost sci-fi, Hu Tian still had a hard time believing it.

Science fiction movies, is it that easy?

"Haha, Mr. Bai said yes, it must be okay!"

Yang Ming, who had already read the entire script, nodded, and said with a smile: "You will know when the time comes, this "Frequency of Life and Death" is different from your space blockbuster, the plot is very interesting, but it shouldn't be too difficult to shoot......"