We are all the same in the pursuit of our dreams

Chapter 7 Perseverance has invisible wings (6)
At that time, I was thinking: Yes, how many decades are there in life?I'm only 30 years old now, why should I stay in my current company and wait to die?Why can't I seek another possibility for my future?
In this way, Ms. Li and I worked together, and by chance, after working together for a year, we became partners in starting a business together.

When we worked together, I knew that Ms. Li was very picky about the cover design. Many designers were almost frightened when they heard Ms. Li’s name. The only ones who could withstand his ravages were those with a strong inner world. .

Unexpectedly, after the establishment of White Horse Time, Ms. Li's requirements for the cover have reached a new level. Almost every time the designer designs a draft, he will find reasons to overthrow it.The publishing director urged the publishing progress every day to the point of imminent urgency, but the cover still couldn't meet Ms. Li's requirements, and I became a sandwich biscuit, which was even more frantic.

Sometimes both the editor and the author are very satisfied with the cover. I think that although the cover is not amazing, it is not bad. For the sake of progress, it is not impossible to accept it.As a result, Ms. Li was still dissatisfied and ordered to do it again.If you argue with him and say that everyone says it looks good, he will snort and say with a cold snort: "The truth will always be in the hands of a few." When he said this, he was really cold and cold.

At first, the editor was full of complaints about this, and felt that writing a book at White Horse Time was the most stressful of all the publishing companies he worked for, because in the time spent grinding one book cover at White Horse Time, he could produce two or three books at other companies.What puzzled the editor was: Mr. Li, you are just digging out the details of the great god's book, and it's nothing more than grinding the cover. Why do you have to spend so much time on the cover of every book?After all, the sales volume of books is not only determined by the cover. For some books, no matter how good the cover is, you can only sell so many books!
I have heard this idea before. When I was an editor, if I wanted to change the paper to better ones, or do an extra work on the cover, some kind colleagues would ask me: "How much sales can you increase by doing this?" ? Does it make sense to do something that does not have much impact on sales growth but increases costs?"

But Ms. Li's philosophy is completely different. He said: "The copywriting and title are the soul of a book, and the cover is a window to help readers touch the soul. We make the cover beautiful and polish it to the best, in order to be worthy of everyone. The hard work of the author. It may not increase sales much, but it will win the word of mouth of the author and readers, and word of mouth is priceless."

I quite agree with Ms. Li's idea, but at the same time I am also wondering, on the one hand, we must ensure the monthly publication schedule, and on the other hand, we must ensure that the cover of each book is sufficiently exquisite. There is a natural contradiction, how to solve this contradiction?

What's more, every time Ms. Li overturns a cover design proposal, it affects the self-confidence of editors and designers. The more overthrows, the editors and designers will fall into anxiety and fatigue, and they will talk about innovation and inspiration.

Therefore, for a while, doing the cover was like a nightmare for every member of the content center, and even dreamed that they were doing the cover in their dreams.At that time, I said with great emotion: I must have been tortured to death by the cover in my life.

The biggest disagreement and argument between Ms. Li and I were all about the cover.When the opinions were not unified, I just said: "The cover is for the beholder to see the benevolence, and the wise see the wisdom..."

He interrupted me: "This sentence is not bad if it is said from the mouth of a layman, but it is particularly inappropriate to say it from the mouth of a senior person in the publishing industry. Making the cover must be a professional thing done by a professional, enough Professionals can tell what a good cover is at a glance. It must be marketable and exquisite enough to make readers feel excited. A good cover may not satisfy 80.00% of readers, but at least [-]% of readers like it."

What he said left me speechless.

I also suffered from insomnia because of the cover.I have some doubts: the cover of each book has been polished for so long, almost offending outside designers, and cost me and the editor a lot of time and energy. Is it worth it?I've worked at two major publishing companies, founded a great book brand, and personally curated bestsellers that sold hundreds of thousands of copies.I have never had the experience of worrying about the cover of every book before. Didn’t I also win a good reputation and sales back then?Why do I have to make myself and the editor so tired now?

The cover of the company was dominated by Ms. Li, so for a while, the editor and I couldn't help trying to figure out his ideas when we were polishing the cover, using his preferences as the standard to measure whether he would like this design.When the content center held an internal meeting, an editor suggested: "Mr. He, can you decide on the cover in the future, so that Mr. Li should not be involved?"

An editor said: "Looking at the cover and commenting on the cover is Mr. Li's pleasure. It seems that we can't deprive him of his pleasure."

All the editors shouted: "You are telling the truth!"

Another editor said: "However, Mr. Li can't base his happiness on our pain!"

I comforted the editors: "Our pain is for the happiness of the authors and readers. Only when we polish the cover to the best can the authors and readers be satisfied and leave a good impression on White Horse Time."

"But Mr. Li can't decide what kind of cover is the best. The aesthetics of covers vary from person to person. Some people will like every cover and some will not."

At that time, I thought the editor was right.Because I am obviously not Ms. Li's opponent in terms of arguments, so I stayed up late one night and wrote him a long letter, stating the troubles caused by the cover design. I'm stuck, and he is welcome to solve the problem. Under normal circumstances, I have the final say on the cover design, and if it causes losses, I will bear it.

After reading my long letter, Ms. Li came to talk to me, and he said with an aggrieved face: "Because the cover is not coming out and the progress is affected, I will give you an opinion on the cover. I thought it was to help you share your worries. I didn't expect to give you It caused trouble. In fact, if you think about it carefully, those covers were not passed by me, but were passed by high requirements. Ask yourself, are you satisfied with those covers? Didn’t you find that sometimes your requirements for covers are higher than those of others? Am I still taller?"

After he said this, I gradually realized that many of the covers were actually not passed by him first, but before he passed, I had already quietly passed them in my heart.Because as my aesthetic continues to improve, my requirements for the cover are also getting higher and higher.The higher the requirements, the more picky the cover will naturally be.And the misunderstanding between us may be some problems with my working methods and management methods.

Later, Ms. Li cared less and less about the cover. It wasn't that my letter had an effect, nor was he busy with film and television so he didn't have much time for books, but because I changed my working method——I asked the editor not to Show him the first draft of the cover, and then show him the cover that we are all satisfied with. Gradually, he also believes in my aesthetics and vision.Ms. Li and I got along better and better, and our differences became less and less.

I also instilled the high-quality awareness of White Horse Time into the cooperating designers: "We only make high-quality books, from topic selection to packaging. We dig out details on the cover to make books stand longer in the market." Therefore, the design Teachers also gradually understood us. Although they still inevitably suffer torture, they are still willing to cooperate with us for a long time.

In just one year, White Horse Time has grown into one of the most influential publishing companies, which is absolutely inseparable from Ms. Li's philosophy of excellence.

Ms. Li pursues perfection in books and strives to improve the quality while trying her best to control the pricing of books. He said: "Even if I don't make money, I want to let more readers see high-quality books."

Ms. Li pays attention to friendship when doing business. He said: "99% of doing business depends on profit, but I often cooperate because of that 1% affection. I must see your 1% affection. Only in this way can I be willing to commit crimes all the way. start."

If he encounters some bullying partners, he will wave his hand, "We won't serve you anymore, it's okay!"

At that moment, I felt that Miss Li was so proud, what a man she was!Miss Li is definitely a pure man!
The two years I worked with Ms. Li were the two years in which I grew the fastest.

It is precisely because he has high demands and high standards on me that I can continue to improve.Although she was afraid of the high demands at first, Ms. Li told me: "When people go uphill, the resistance they encounter is the greatest."

It is normal to feel tired and uncomfortable now, because you are going uphill, and you will not be tired until you go downhill.However, if you get through it, the will will be bright. You have endured more than others, and you will gain more than others.

(End of this chapter)