The literary era since 1979

"Don't say nice things to coax me."

Lu Yao was surprised at first, but soon became depressed and told Zhou Changyi the truth about his manuscript being rejected.

"I've heard Lao Mo say that every editor has his or her own preferences."

Fangyan said that Zhou Changyi is young, so when selecting manuscripts he naturally tends to prefer trendy works such as modernism and avant-garde literature. For works like "Ordinary World", if one's age, experience and vision do not reach a certain level, one will definitely not be able to appreciate the flavor.

"Really!"

Lu Yao was encouraged and his depressed spirits suddenly lifted.

Fang Yan said: "Although "Ordinary World" tastes bland, it is like a pot of old wine with a lingering aftertaste. The more you drink, the more intoxicated you become."

"Yanzi, do you think "Ordinary World" can become as popular as "Life" and "The Qin Empire"? "

Lu Yao was excited, but still had some doubts.

"Don't worry about this."

Fang Yan said: "How to write "Ordinary World" is your business, how to make "Ordinary World" popular is my business."

"With your words, I feel much more at ease."

Lu Yao took a reassurance pill, and then put forward the requirements that he and Shanbei had agreed on: "First, I hope it can be published on the front page of People's Literature in large font. Second, it should not be divided into several issues. It would be best if the whole article can be published in one issue."

"Ahem!" Zhu Wei pretended to cough a few times, "Teacher Lu, Teacher Fang and I cannot answer you about these conditions right away. We must go back and discuss them before we can make a decision."

"Then it's up to you."

Lu Yao's tone was full of gratitude and sincerity, "Yanzi, I'm sorry to trouble you so much now."

Fangyan waved his hand, secretly indicating that you don't even know how much energy your "Ordinary World" contains, so what's the point of putting in some effort? It's my honor to be able to witness the infinite value of "Ordinary World" being activated and recognized.

There were tears in Lu Yao's eyes. The grievance, resentment and depression caused by Zhou Changyi's rejection of the manuscript were vented out like a flood.

"Just rest and recuperate. I remember you said you would write three volumes of "Ordinary World"."

Fang Yan said: "This is only the first part. If I don't take good care of my body, how can I write the second and third parts?"

Lin Da, Mo Shen, Jia Pingwa and others also joined in, repeatedly reminding Lu Yao to take care of his health, otherwise there would be nothing.

"Okay, okay, I promise you, I will take care of my health."

Lu Yao nodded repeatedly, his eyes burning with passion. If his body did not allow it, he would have loved to start working on the second and third parts right away.

A man will die for his friend! For the sake of dialect and the literature I love, I am willing to sacrifice my heart!
………………

The visit ended and we returned to the guesthouse.

Zhu Wei couldn't wait to walk into Fangyan's bedroom and closed the door:

"Teacher Fang, there are some things I can't talk about in the hospital, but I want to talk to you now."

“Is it related to “Ordinary World”?”

Fangyan poured water into the ceramic cups and handed one of them over.

"Correct!"

Zhu Wei took the cup, thought it over again and again, and frankly said that although Zhou Changyi's practice of rejecting the manuscript was indeed wrong, there was nothing wrong with the decision itself. No matter how you look at it, "The Ordinary World" is just a novel without any originality, even worse than "Life".

"You're understandable for thinking so."

Fangyan did not refute it immediately. What was popular in the literary world these days was either root-seeking literature that was rooted in and explored the traditional Chinese national culture, or avant-garde and modernist literature that learned and imitated Western writing styles and techniques. Even realism was "new realism" that advocated illusion realism and magical realism. "The Ordinary World" still followed the old path of traditional realistic literature.

In fact, it does not conform to the appetite and trend of the current literary and publishing circles at all. The novels that Zhu Wei and Zhou Changyi appreciate are not only emotional, but also have new ideas, new concepts, new forms, and new techniques. Compared with "Ordinary World", both "Contemporary" and "People's Literature" have many good works waiting to be published.

For example, Yu Hua's "The Mistake by the River" and Feng Jicai's "Three-Inch Golden Lotus"...

"This article, "Ordinary World", is just as its title suggests, too ordinary."

Zhu Wei added, "Of course, I am not saying that novels cannot be published in People's Literature, but the conditions need to be changed."

Fang Yan couldn't help but ask, "Do you think the conditions for publication are too harsh?"

Zhu Wei said: "Yes, a little bit."

Fang Yan smiled and said, "This is actually the unspoken rule in the industry."

Zhu Wei was shocked: "Unspoken rules?"

Fangyan explained that some famous writers would make many harsh and even unacceptable requests to the editorial department when submitting their manuscripts.

These requirements do not mean that they are really confident or that the work can only be published if the conditions are met, but that they lack confidence in their work and leave themselves and the editor a way out in advance. If the work can be published, these conditions can be negotiated.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

But if the work is not worthy of publication, the editor can cite these harsh conditions as an excuse to express the intention to reject the manuscript in a tactful way. This is equivalent to giving both parties a way out and avoiding the humiliating act of Zhou Changyi directly rejecting the manuscript, which would be too disgraceful.

"So this is ah!"

Zhu Wei suddenly realized, "No wonder Teacher Qin criticized Zhou Changyi for not knowing the rules."

"There are three bowls of noodles that are the hardest to eat in a person's life: face, decency and appearance. People of culture are particularly fond of face."

Fang Yan said: "So we should give the right amount of respect, and try not to give less than a cent."

"Then do you think this will work?"

Zhu Wei felt that given Lu Yao's status and identity in the literary world, "The Ordinary World" deserved the headline position in the novel section of "People's Literature", but it would be better not to publish the entire text at once, but to publish it in three parts: upper, middle and lower. Then, we can wait and see the reader feedback on the upper part of "The Ordinary World" and decide whether to continue to publish the middle part on the headlines. Then, based on the evaluation and response of the middle part, we can decide the publication position of the lower part.

"That's a good idea."

Fang Yan said: "But it doesn't work for "Ordinary World". I think this novel can't be read continuously."

"Why is that?" Zhu Wei gave him a questioning look.

“I wonder if you have a feeling when you watch “Ordinary World”?”

The dialect says: "There is a kind of uplifting force in the ordinary life."

Zhu Wei nodded in agreement: "That's true, it's hard to explain."

“That’s because The Ordinary World has the potential to resonate with readers emotionally.”

Fang Yan said: "A popular classic novel must first be readable, allowing readers to continue reading and understand the content and theme of the novel. If readers cannot even finish reading it, no matter how classic and great the novel is, it will become unpopular."

Then he held up two fingers and said, "The second is that it must have emotional resonance, which can make readers feel the same and resonate with the characters. If a novel cannot touch the readers' emotions and make them put themselves into the characters, it still cannot be called a truly classic and good work."

"But although I can feel this kind of emotional resonance from The Ordinary World, this power is too weak to motivate me to read it all in one breath, so I considered dividing The Ordinary World into three parts."

Zhu Wei explained: “I think few people have the patience to read it from beginning to end.”

Fang Yan said: "If you want people to be patient and read "Ordinary World", you have to think of some good ways."

"Teacher Fang, do you have any good ideas?" Zhu Wei blinked.

Fangyan showed a meaningful smile and planned to hand the manuscript to China Central Radio and Television for broadcast before the novel was published. (End of this chapter)