1990: Starting from Baojia Street
Chapter 507: First Printing 1
After Zhou Yan greeted the teachers from the Central Academy of Drama, Xu Feng asked Zhou Yan, "I heard from Zhang Youan that the matter of Shutter Island has been discussed with Bantam?"
Zhou Yan nodded, "Yes, it has been negotiated. The royalties are paid in a tiered manner. The basic royalty is 7%. For every million sales, the royalties will increase by one point, with the upper limit being 16%. "
“Is this a good condition?”
Xu Feng didn't know much about the publishing business and wasn't sure whether this tiered royalty system was good or not.
Zhou Yan smiled and said, "It's not particularly good. There is basically no risk with Bantam. If we want to get 16% of the royalties, the sales volume needs to exceed 9 million. This is a very difficult thing and it is hard to achieve."
Hearing Zhou Yan say this, Xu Feng was quite surprised, "Since the conditions are so unfavorable to you, why did you agree?"
Xu Feng knew Zhang Youan very well. Logically speaking, Zhang Youan would definitely not do business at a loss.
Could it be that Zhang Youan signed a contract that was unfavorable to them because he did not understand the market situation in the publishing industry?
But Xu Feng felt that the possibility was not high. Although Zhang Youan did not know much about the book industry, given Zhang Youan's personality, he would definitely consult professionals and would not make such a mistake.
In fact, the book business has nothing to do with Tang Chen. Now Zhang Youan is helping Zhou Yan.
Of course, since Zhang Youan has made great efforts, Zhou Yan will definitely not treat him unfairly.
Hearing Xu Feng's doubts, Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Because Bantam agreed to a condition that the first print run would be one million copies."
"One million copies in the first print run, is that a lot?"
Zhou Yan nodded. "This first print run is already very large. It's impossible for an ordinary novel to have this number of first print runs."
The North American book market is very realistic. For ordinary authors, a first print run of tens of thousands of copies is considered good. However, for some super-best-selling authors, the first print run of a new book may reach several million copies.
From this point, we can see the gap between the Chinese and American book markets. It is impossible for a novel in China to have a first print run of millions of copies, and most books don't even have 10,000 copies.
"So they are quite optimistic about the sales of this novel," said Xu Feng.
Bantam must be very optimistic about the sales of "Shutter Island" to agree to this condition. After all, the cost of the first print of one million copies is not small. If the sales are not good, they will suffer a huge loss.
In fact, Bantam's idea is very simple. They know that "Shutter Island" is going to be made into a movie. Although the movie will be released after the novel is released, they don't need to rush at all.
Even if the sales of the novel do not perform well in a short period of time after its release, the sales of the book will definitely be boosted after the movie "Shutter Island" is released. It's just a matter of waiting for some time.
And the bantam can wait for this period of time.
From Zhou Yan's perspective, he naturally hopes that Bantam can increase the number of first prints.
If you want a book to sell well, the first print run is very important.
The first print run of one million copies means that the supply can basically cover most cities in North America.
As long as the book has a wide coverage, the sales volume will not be too bad, because distribution itself is a means of publicity.
Many readers don’t pay much attention to book information on a regular basis. They basically learn about the arrival of new books from bookstores.
If they walk into a bookstore one day and see a new book on the new book shelf, they will most likely pick up the book out of curiosity and take a look.
Zhou Yan and his team had a reason for setting the first print run at one million. They had previously agreed with Warner that if the sales of the novel "Shutter Island" could exceed one million copies, Warner would give Zhou Yan a reward of 1.2 million US dollars.
Now that the first print run of "Shutter Island" has reached one million copies, this goal is basically halfway achieved.
Of course, at the beginning Zhang Youan hoped that Bantam could set the first print run at two million, but Dante Selfo refused outright.
Are you kidding me? What does a first print run of 2 million copies mean? Since the founding of the United States, there have been only a few authors whose first print runs of new books have exceeded 2 million copies. Even if they are optimistic about the sales of "Shutter Island", they cannot bet on this.
"It shouldn't be a problem for Shutter Island to sell more than one million copies. It just depends on whether this goal is achieved before or after the movie is released."
Xu Feng naturally knew the agreement they had made with Warner Bros. There would be a huge difference in whether the one million goal was achieved before or after the movie was released.
"When will the novel be released? If you can catch up, you can go to the United States to hold a few book signings to boost sales. If that doesn't work, you can sign both the music album and the novel, which will definitely attract a lot of people."
"It should be around March."
It is already the end of January, and it will take at least a month for the novel to be put on the shelves.
"That's pretty fast. How about the domestic version? When will it be available?"
“After it is available in North America.”
"Oh, what about your other book? Is it going to be serialized soon?" Xu Feng asked about Zhou Yan's new book again.
Zhou Yan nodded, "Well, we have to wait until the March issue."
"October, right?"
"Yes."
"I'll pay attention to it later, and I'll buy a copy of the magazine when it comes out."
"Sister Feng, if you want to read it, the sample issue will arrive soon. I'll give you one."
He lived relatively close to the October Publishing House, so postal delivery was convenient and there was no delay in the delivery of sample issues, so Zhou Yan was able to get the sample issues soon.
Xu Feng smiled and waved his hand, "No, no, I'll buy it myself. It's also my way of supporting you."
"If you want to buy it, you should pay attention in February. Although it is a March issue, you can buy it in February in many places."
Most magazines will choose to release the magazines in advance. With so many provinces and cities in the country, it will take some time to roll out the magazines everywhere.
Besides, each company wants to send out its magazine ahead of others so that they can seize the market.
Most readers are not well-off. They may not be able to buy October if they buy Harvest, or they may not be able to buy Zhongshan if they buy Contemporary. By distributing the products ahead of other magazines, you can earn money from these readers' pockets.
The situation has been relatively good in the past few years. There was a period when everyone was quite crazy, and magazines issued in March could often be bought in early February. In some extreme cases, magazines issued in March could be bought in January.
Later, everyone realized that there was no end to the rolling up and down, so they gradually relaxed their minds, but everyone still tacitly agreed to move the publication time forward for a while.
Of course, there are some magazines that often delay delivery, and these magazines are basically going to have problems.
Xu Feng smiled and said, "I'll ask the office to subscribe to a few copies of October when I get back. That way, they'll deliver the magazine to us as soon as it arrives. Anyway, your novel won't be finished in one issue, so we'll have to buy more later."
Zhou Yan laughed, "It's definitely not going to be finished in one issue, but this novel may not be finished in October."
"What do you mean?"
"If the response is good, we may discontinue the series and directly publish it as a single volume."
This is an old routine, and many novels are like this. They may only be serialized for one or two issues, and when they find that readers like it very much, they choose to directly publish it as a single volume, taking advantage of the popularity and making some money from the single volume.
"It doesn't matter. If they publish serials, I'll read them in magazines. If they don't publish serials, I'll buy the individual volumes. You have to sign them for me then."
"That's no problem..." While talking to Xu Feng, Zhou Yan saw Zhang Shouren walking towards them. He smiled and said, "Speak of the devil."
……
Today, Zhou Yan's studio held its annual meeting, and many friends came. Needless to say, colleagues from the Central Conservatory of Music, and 20 to 30 teachers from the composition and orchestration departments came. Liu Lin wanted to come, but he was not in good health and could not go out in such a cold weather, so he asked Vice Dean Wang Cizhao to lead the team.
Because Liu Lin has been ill at home for a long time, the school has been supported by Vice President Wang Cizhao in all matters big and small during this period. He is basically equivalent to the acting principal.
Many people also came from Yanjing Film Studio. Han Sanping led the team personally. They were all people who were familiar with Zhou Yan, such as Wang Junzheng, Yang Zhanjia, and Lu Xuechang. There were more than a dozen people in total.
In fact, Zhou Yan must have more than just these acquaintances in the Yanjing Factory, but it is impossible to invite all of them to today's event.
If we invite all the acquaintances, then these seats will not be enough.
Chen Kaige is here too.
When Zhou Yan called Chen Kaige before, Chen Kaige was hesitant and didn't give a definite answer. He suddenly showed up today, which surprised Zhou Yan.
As soon as Chen Kaige arrived, he saw Xu Feng and Zhou Yan standing together. His eyes flickered, then a smile appeared on his face and he walked towards them.
"Mr. Xu, Zhou Yan."
Who is Xu Feng? Although he had some unpleasantness with Chen Kaige this year, he still smiled and said to him, "When Director Han and the others came just now, I was wondering if you would come today, Kaige."
Chen Kaige kept smiling, "I will definitely come to Zhou Yan Studio's annual party to join in the fun. We haven't gotten together for a long time, and today is a rare opportunity."
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Chen Kaige has complicated feelings towards Xu Feng.
The success of "Farewell My Concubine" is inseparable from Xu Feng's support, and Chen Kaige also remembers her kindness in his heart.
But Chen Kaige would definitely not want to claim that all the credit belongs to her.
Later, when they were filming "Feng Yue", their differences became increasingly greater. Chen Kaige felt that he was constrained by Xu Feng, so he decided to find someone else to work with.
When coming here today, Chen Kaige felt a little vulnerable because Zhou Yan's two recent films performed very well, especially the new film "Time Traveler", which had a box office of more than 70 million.
And Zhou Yan's success seems to prove that Xu Feng's vision was correct.
Since Xu Feng’s vision was correct, then he was the one who was wrong, right?
So, Chen Kaige didn't want to come today.
But thinking of his friendship with Zhou Yan, he decided to come. After all, he and Xu Feng just had some disagreements and there was no hatred between them. It was just a little awkward when they met.
Not long after Chen Kaige arrived, Xu Feng's eyes suddenly lit up and he waved behind Zhou Yan, "Miao Miao, here!"
Zhou Yan turned around and saw that it was Dong Wenmiao who came.
Chen Kaige also greeted Dong Wenmiao, "Director Dong is here."
Dong Wenmiao smiled and nodded in response, "Director Chen."
After greeting Chen Kaige, she walked to Xu Feng. Among the three people, she was the only one who didn't greet Zhou Yan.
Xu Feng was very happy to see her and held her hand tightly, "Miao Miao, what have you been busy with recently? You usually can't answer my calls."
Dong Wenmiao was also very happy to see Xu Feng, but she never showed her emotions. She just said with a smile, "Qizi has received a lot of business recently, and the studio is very busy. I can give the small jobs to others, but I must personally supervise the big jobs."
Hearing her say this, Xu Feng turned his head and glanced at Zhou Yan, "It's all your fault. You gave Miao Miao such a tough job, and she's exhausted."
Zhou Yan couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. Dong Wenmiao didn't look haggard at all.
I have to say that time has really left no trace on Dong Wenmiao's face. After so many years, she still seems the same as she was in Qiao's Courtyard back then.
Speaking of which, Dong Wenmiao should be close to thirty years old this year, but she doesn't look like one at all.
Xu Feng has taken good care of herself and looks less than 40 years old, but when she stands next to Dong Wenmiao, one still feels like there is a generation difference between them.
Zhou Yan never knew why Xu Feng and Dong Wenmiao had such a good relationship.
When they were filming "Farewell My Concubine" that year, they must have known each other for a long time.
It shouldn't happen. Xu Feng and Dong Wenmiao are more than ten years apart in age. One is from Yanjing and the other is from Taiwan. How could they have had any connection before?
However, although he was confused, Zhou Yan never asked.
Dong Wenmiao looked around the factory and asked Zhou Yan, "Are you going on stage today?"
Zhou Yan nodded, "Yes, go on stage."
"Well, okay." Dong Wenmiao nodded and said nothing more.
Xu Feng had been standing with Zhou Yan. Now that Dong Wenmiao had arrived, she pulled Dong Wenmiao aside and said, "Miaomiao, let's talk among ourselves. Don't worry about them."
Dong Wenmiao nodded and followed Xu Feng.
After the two of them left, Chen Kaige took out a cigarette from his pocket and prepared to light one, but when he saw that no one was smoking in the factory, he just put the cigarette in his mouth without lighting it.
"Congratulations, Lao Zhou. The box office of Time Traveler is a big hit again. Please treat me to a meal later."
"It's not a big deal. When will your new movie start shooting?"
"Next year... Actually it's this year, and we'll probably start filming in June or July."
"Is it being filmed in Yanjing?"
Chen Kaige shook his head, "Not in Yanjing, but in Hengdian. The reason why we have to start shooting in June or July is because we are waiting for the Qin Palace to be completed."
In order to film "The Emperor and the Assassin", Hengdian is going to build a Qin Palace.
Today, Hengdian cannot be called the "Hollywood of the East".
Xie Jin was going to shoot the tribute film "The Opium War" and wanted to find a location to recreate the street scenes of Guangzhou at that time, but he couldn't find a good place after traveling to Guangzhou and Shanghai.
Later, through an introduction, Xie Jin came into contact with Xu Wenrong of Hengdian Group.
Xie Jin was actually not optimistic about the Hengdian area because it was too remote, but Xu Wenrong was very optimistic about the film and television industry, so he insisted on taking on the job.
Later, Xu Wenrong led more than 100 engineering teams and several thousand people to open up wasteland and blast mountains in Hengdian, and built a "Nineteenth Century Guangdong Guangzhou Street" covering more than 300 acres.
The Qin Palace used in "The Emperor and the Assassin" is the second filming location in Hengdian.
Zhou Yan knew a little about Hengdian, and said with a smile, "There are a lot of mosquitoes there in June and July."
Chen Kaige waved his hand nonchalantly, "It's not like I haven't been to the south before. Although the conditions in Hengdian are not as good, we are not living in the wilderness."
Zhou Yan nodded, "Just be mentally prepared, but since you guys are going to Hengdian to start filming, I won't be able to go and support you."
"If you really want to support me, why not come and be my music director?" Chen Kaige looked at Zhou Yan with some resentment.
This time he found Zhou Yan very early, but Zhou Yan still did not respond to him. Instead, he introduced the conversation to Zhao Jiping.
Chen Kaige was not dissatisfied with Zhao Jiping. After all, they had worked together very happily before. However, he just hoped to have a serious collaboration with Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan shrugged, "I really can't help you, and isn't my senior brother good?"
"Of course Mr. Zhao is good." Chen Kaige curled his lips and said nothing more. (End of this chapter)
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