The literary era since 1979

Chapter 274 Fame and fortune
Sunset, sunset dusk.

After the lecture, Nie Hualing and his wife, Xiao Qian and his wife, followed Fang Yan and others and walked towards the apartment.

Along the way, they talked and laughed, sharing the joy of the Chinese team's successful start.

As they walked, Nie Hualing introduced the publishing houses of American universities: "Generally, the editorial board of a university publishing house consists of six to twelve people, and the members are basically professors of the school."

"For example, the editorial board of the University of Iowa is composed of professors from 10 different departments. Professor Sean and Professor Jeffrey are both members of the committee. The editorial board accepts manuscripts from outside and sometimes takes the initiative to invite outside scholars to write articles."

"........."

After listening for a while, Fangyan asked about the differences between university presses and publishing companies, such as royalties and manuscript fees.

“University presses in the United States are all nonprofit organizations.”

Nie Hualing said: "If the article is short and has few words, I will give you $500. If it is long and has many words, it will be $1000."

Then he changed the subject, "Although the royalties are certainly not as high as your book Saving Private Ryan, first of all, the university publisher will spend a lot of money on the binding of the book, usually printed on first-class paper and bound in cloth, which is very particular."

Fangyan listened patiently. Although the university press's manuscript fee was very low and the advance payment was small, the royalties were high, 15%.

What’s more, it’s a fixed royalty!

Unlike "Saving Private Ryan", the royalty rate is 5000% for the first 8 copies, 5000% for those over 11.5 copies, and then increases to 10000% after exceeding 15 copies.

The most critical issue is the tax rate!
Publications issued by non-profit organizations enjoy tax reductions or even tax exemptions at the federal and state levels.

"I can say with full responsibility that most books published by the University of Iowa are tax-free," Paul Angell responded with a smile.

duty free?!
Fang Yan smiled in his heart, but said calmly on the surface: "So how many copies are usually printed in the first printing? 500 copies? 1000 copies?"

"No, no, with the quality of Guns, Viruses, and Steel, the first edition is usually between 1500 and 2500 copies."

Paul Angle said that although the first print run was a little small, if the University of Iowa included this book as an elective reading or even offered a special elective course, the nature of the book would be completely different.

Textbooks are very expensive in American universities!
Like "Saving Private Ryan", a copy costs $15.

American textbooks in the 80s generally cost between US$40 and US$70, with good ones even costing hundreds of dollars.

Moreover, the University of Iowa is a member of the Association of American Universities, the Big Ten Conference, and the Public Ivy League.

If "Guns, Viruses, and Steel" can become a best-seller in the United States, it can be recommended to other universities. Such academic achievement is no less than publishing multiple papers in top international journals.

"So that's it."

Fangyan didn't ask any more questions and chose to have the University of Iowa publish the book without hesitation.

Compared to fame and the benefits that fame brings, royalties and writing fees are just pittances.

"Xiao Fang, write well! Write boldly!"

Xiao Qian repeatedly reminded them to seize this rare opportunity to bring glory to themselves and the country!
"Mr. Xiao, don't worry."

Fang Yan said: "I will try my best."

Xiao Qian half-jokingly said that perhaps thanks to the book "Guns, Viruses, and Steel", Fang Xiaojiang could also be hired as a visiting professor at the University of Iowa.

"It's not impossible."

Nie Hualing also joked along.

"Stop making fun of me."

Fangyan waved his hand.

I'm not being modest. How could a high school graduate like me become a visiting professor at an Ivy League University?

"what?!"

Not only Paul Engel and his wife, but also Hong Kong and Taiwan writers such as Pan Yaoming and Liu Wuxiong were shocked.

Nie Hualing couldn't help but said in surprise: "This is really unexpected. I thought you and Ruoxue were from the same university."

"Ahem, I'm just like Brother Yaoming. We're both eager to find a job to reduce the burden on our family, so we didn't take the college entrance exam."

Fang Yan and Xiao Qian looked at each other and immediately made an excuse. "Are you still willing to go to college?"

Paul Angell said that given his current situation, he could come to the University of Iowa to study in the Language Department or History Department with free tuition, and also receive a full scholarship and student allowance.

Hearing this, Pan Yaoming, a self-funded student, was so envious that drool flowed from his eyes and he stared at Fangyan.

"Let me think about this."

Fang Yu said in a tactful tone: "We in China have policies regarding studying abroad."

Xiao Qian smiled and said, "Yes, as for studying abroad, let's wait until Xiao Fang finishes writing and publishing this book."

…………

The next day, Xiao Qian and his wife officially set off, left the campus, and went to other universities to give lectures.

Fang Yan, Bai Ruoxue and others came to see them off and stood at the school gate.

Before leaving, Xiao Qian took out five letters of recommendation from his bag and handed them to Fang Yan.

"Keep these letters, they may come in handy."

"Thank you, Mr. Xiao."

Fang Yan couldn't help but be moved, and then watched Xiao Qian and his wife leave.

"Teacher Fang, Teacher Fang!"

On the way back to campus, I ran into a group of Chinese people, all holding a newspaper in their hands.

Fangyan took it and took a look. The name of the newspaper was "Newsletter of the Chinese Alumni Association of the University of Iowa" and almost all the pages on it were related to Fangyan.

It was either about the speech content in dialect or about the promotion of "Saving Private Ryan".

At this moment, this tabloid was spreading in the Chinese circle in the university town, and slowly spreading to the entire Iowa university town.

Many international students also feel that publicity only at the university is not enough, so they send these issues of the "University of Iowa Chinese Alumni Association Newsletter" that report on the dialect to Chinese newspapers such as the "Chinese Express", "North American Daily", and "Chinese Students Weekly".

In a short time, the news that the dialect was shining at the University of Iowa spread among Chinese circles across the United States.

The book-buying craze that had originally subsided began to pick up again, and the sales of "Saving Private Ryan" slowly increased.

At Random House, Kate Quinning knocked on the door of the editor-in-chief's office and said with a smile:
"The distributor in Iowa called and said they were out of stock of Saving Private Ryan and needed to print 2000 more copies."

"Iowa? Isn't that the headquarters of the International Writing Program?" Jason Epstein took the list and immediately grasped the key point.

"Yes."

Kate Quinning glanced at the New York Times on his desk. "It seems that the effect of the novel's appearance on the bestseller list is beginning to take effect."

The New York Times Bestseller List is one of the most representative bestseller lists in the United States.

The rankings on the list are based on weekly sales reports provided by a national sample of large and small bookstores and wholesalers.

It is published every week in the New York Times Book Review magazine that accompanies the Sunday edition of The New York Times.

In other words, anyone who subscribes to the New York Times will be a potential buyer of books on the bestseller list, and the New York Times has millions of subscribers across the United States.

"This is one reason. I think it may also be attributed to our Chinese writer who is dedicated and good at creating momentum."

Jason Epstein poked at the list. Most of the bookstores that ordered books were around the University of Iowa.

Kate Quinning said: "I'm afraid he has done some more propaganda that we are not aware of."

Jason Epstein pondered for a while, "When you're done with this busy period, book me a flight to Iowa City."

"You're going to Iowa?" Kate Quinning couldn't help but guess, "You're going to meet this Chinese writer, right?"

"I want to hand over this invitation to the American Library Association's annual meeting to him in person."

Jason Epstein smiled and said, "By the way, let's see if he's worth our efforts for the National Book Award?"

(End of this chapter)