Dad Academy

Chapter 195 Publishing and Contract (13)

Cafe.

"Teacher Zhang~~here."

As soon as Zhang Tan entered the door, a man immediately stood up and waved.

"Hello, Editor Qiao." Zhang Tan sat down opposite this man.

This person's name is Qiao Rong, and he is the editor of Pujiang International Publishing House. This is the publishing house where "Woman Thirty" was published. Qiao Rong is responsible for connecting with Zhang Tan.

"That's great. The situation is so good now. If we strike while the iron is hot, we will definitely be able to sell well." Qiao Rong was greatly relieved after hearing Zhang Tan's introduction.

Zhang Tan just told him that "Woman Thirty" has obtained the consent of the studio and can be officially published.

"Hopefully it will sell well."

Zhang Tan is also looking forward to it. The TV series is so popular now, the ratings are rising day by day, social topics are constantly being discussed, and the three women are constantly on the hot searches. Publishing a book at this time is definitely expected to be a hot seller.

Qiao Rong immediately took out the standard contract, and Zhang Tan read it carefully, confirmed that it was the same as what he had read before, and signed his name with confidence.

"I wish Mr. Zhang will soon be listed among the rich writers."

Qiao Rong collected the contract in duplicate, and each of them took one copy.

Zhang Tan also smiled and said, "It's a sweet dream, but it's daytime now."

"Hahaha~~" Qiao Rong laughed: "This is Teacher Zhang's first time publishing a book, and the tax rate we have given has already reached 10%. This is very sincere. I hope there will be opportunities to cooperate in the future."

The general tax rate that authors in the industry can get starts at 7%. Calculated based on this ratio, the royalties an author can get from a book is "printing volume or sales volume * 7% * unit price of the book."

Although Zhang Tan was publishing a book for the first time and was not well-known, "Woman Thirty" was well-known, which was his biggest support. For this reason, he secured a starting tax rate of 10%.

If the sales volume is less than 100,000 copies, the tax rate is 10%.

If the sales volume is greater than 100,000 and less than 1 million copies, then the royalties for the sales volume greater than 100,000 but less than 1 million will be calculated according to the tax rate of 12%.

If the sales volume exceeds 1 million copies, the royalties for the excess sales will be calculated at a tax rate of 13%.

This kind of condition belongs to the treatment of first-line writers. Zhang Tan and Qiao Rong spent a week before convincing each other to agree.

"I took a gamble when Teacher Zhang published a book this time. I hope none of us will be disappointed," Qiao Rong said.

A new person, a new book, he can convince the publisher to give such conditions, which also suppresses his own future.

Zhang Tan said, "You won't be disappointed."

After speaking, he took out a printed manuscript paper from his bag, put it on the table, pushed it in front of Qiao Rong, and said, "Editor Qiao, take a look."

"What?" Qiao Rong put the glasses he had just taken off back on, picked up the manuscript paper, glanced at it, and said in surprise: "New book?"

Zhang Tan nodded: "New book."

Qiao Rong raised his head in surprise, looked at Zhang Tan and asked, "A new book is coming out so soon? Has it been written before?"

Zhang Tan: "I just finished writing it. Take a look and see if you are interested."

"Okay, let me take a look."

Of course Qiao Rong couldn't read it intensively due to limited time. He browsed it quickly, turned the page in a few seconds, and spent more than ten minutes reading it. He felt turbulent and said, "It's a good story, and the angle is very novel."

The book Zhang Tan showed him was "Bad Boy".

"How is it?" Zhang Tan asked.

Qiao Rong: "It's interesting, but I can't give you an answer now. I want to take it back and read it carefully. The fastest is tomorrow, if not the day after tomorrow."

Zhang Tan: "No problem, you support me in "Women Thirty", so I am willing to wait for you."

Qiao Rong returned to the publishing house. He first explained the matter of "Woman Thirty" and quickly printed and published it to seize the opportunity.

According to the contract, 100,000 copies will be printed in the early stage. Whether to print more later will depend on the sales situation.

Back in the office, he closed the door, took out Zhang Tan's "Bad Boy" and started reading it. He originally planned to use some time between work to read a little bit, but once he started reading, he couldn't stop, and his appetite was whetted. As soon as the suspense ended, the next suspense came again, which made people want to stop.

I originally said that I would be able to finish reading Reply to Zhang Tan as soon as tomorrow, but at night, at midnight, I stayed up all night to finish reading it.

Qiao Rong couldn't calm down. There is no doubt that this is a gripping suspense story, and like "Woman Thirty", the angle chosen is very novel and attractive.

He felt as if a cat had been scratching him in his heart, itching, and there was a kind of pain and happiness that he couldn't let go of.

He really wanted to call Zhang Tan now and talk about "Bad Boy", but it was already early in the morning, and he and Zhang Tan were not that good yet.

So, he drank the cold tea in the cup, got up and left the study, went to the bedroom, walked softly to the bed, pushed his wife, woke her up, and said to her confused face: "The meaning of life It’s not about sleeping, literature can make time last forever. You are a university teacher, come on, let’s talk about the similarities and differences between traditional literature and best-selling literature.”

The next day, it was still the same coffee shop, and Zhang Tan and Qiao Rong met again.

"Editor Qiao, what's wrong with your glasses?" Zhang Tan's eyes were first attracted to Qiao Rong's gold-rimmed glasses.

Qiao Rong was a little embarrassed: "I accidentally dropped it on the floor when I was cleaning the table in the morning. The lens is a bit worn. I will replace it later. What a good book."

He brought Zhang Tan's attention back to the book.

Qiao Rong valued "Bad Boy" very much and agreed to publish it. The problem now is the royalties.

Zhang Tan asked for the same royalties as "Woman Thirty", but Qiao Rong disagreed and asked for a reduction.

"We have confidence in "Female 30" because of the popularity of the TV series. "Bad Boy" is good, but its popularity is too low to provide such royalties," Qiao Rong said.

Zhang Tan: "With "Women 30" as a front-runner, "Bad Boys" will not be any worse. More importantly, "Bad Boys" will also be made into a TV series."

Qiao Rong's eyes lit up: "Are you sure?"

Zhang Tan: "You can wait and see, but I can't guarantee that it will be given to you by then."

Qiao Rong smiled bitterly, Teacher Zhang was a bit arrogant.

It would be very unethical to publish a book first and then sell the film and television rights of the book to a studio.

However, studio writers have two contracts.

One is the project bonus system, which means you get bonuses based on projects. This is what Zhang Tan has now.

The other is the employment cooperation system, where screenwriters within the factory are treated the same as screenwriters outside.

In other words, if the studio takes a fancy to a certain script, such as "Unreachable", and wants to remake it, it can only buy out the film and television rights. If the screenwriters within the studio sign a cooperative production contract, the operating process is the same. The only difference is that the studio has the right of first refusal for contracted screenwriters, and accordingly, they will also pay the screenwriters monthly salary as a benefit.

If Zhang Tan got this kind of employment-to-hire cooperation contract, then he could publish the book first and then hand it over to the manufacturer. If he was willing, he could buy the film and television remake rights.

Zhang Tan has applied to change the contract from a project system to a contract system.

There was fierce debate within the studio about this.

The employment-for-hire cooperative system does exist, and there are many such screenwriters, but any screenwriter who can get such a contract has already become famous, has his own network resources, and has made contributions to the studio.

Zhang Tan's qualifications are too junior, which is the main reason for the endless debate.

Those who are in favor, such as He Miao, the director of screenwriting of the film and television department, said: "The screenwriting profession cannot be judged by seniority. Young people have more ideas and can do outstanding work. Although Zhang Tan has only been in the factory for a short time, but in such a In a short period of time, the projects he has made are obvious to all, and there is no one that is not famous. "Little Actor" has created a big IP for the factory, which can be derived from a whole series. The same is true for "Unlucky Bear", "Women Three" Let alone ten, who would have dared to think of this achievement now?"

The person on the opposing side said: "Having said that, the factory did not treat him badly. If the project is done well, the bonus will be equally generous. Young people cannot aim too high. They clamor for an increase in salary just after they have made some achievements. Now they can increase it. If he does it in the future, How will he satisfy his appetite if he makes more achievements?"

He Miao looked at Du Wei, the scriptwriter supervisor of the animation department, who was sitting opposite. Du Wei glanced at him and said nothing, not sure what he was thinking.

But Feng Dong, who was sitting under Du Wei, took the initiative and said, "Dear leaders, can I give my opinion?"

He is the leader of the third screenwriting team of the animation department. He was Zhang Tan's immediate boss and is the lowest-ranking person in today's meeting.

Tang Hao, the deputy director who presided over the meeting, nodded and said, "You tell."

Today's meeting is not a special meeting to discuss Zhang Tan's contract, but a regular weekly meeting of the screenwriting department. It's just that the last topic happens to be Zhang Tan's contract, so the discussion is so intense.

Feng Dong said: "To be honest, our factory has always attached great importance to screenwriters. This is well-known in the industry. As screenwriters, we are very proud of this. However, nowadays, fewer and fewer young people are willing to work as screenwriters. They like Take the risk and you ask them to get a fixed salary every month, but they are not willing to do it.”

Someone interjected: "Aren't there project bonuses? Our project bonuses are among the highest in the industry."

Feng Dong said: "Yes, our project bonuses are very good, but what if he can get more through sharing? Then why would he choose a lower project bonus? Project bonuses can train new people, but the employment-to-recruitment cooperation system Only in this way can we retain talented people. We definitely don’t want to become a training base for screenwriters in the industry. If the young talents we cultivate are poached by other companies, the loss will be too great.”

"Just like Zhang Tan, if he changes jobs, I believe many entertainment companies will be happy to accept him, and the remuneration offered will definitely not be low."

"We can give this treatment to outside screenwriters, so why can't we give it to screenwriters we have trained ourselves? Is it the other way around?"

…

The meeting lasted until six o'clock in the afternoon. In the end, it was Tang Hao who made the final decision, saying: "Zhang Tan wants to change the contract. It's excusable and the factory can understand. Let's do this. After "Woman Thirty", if he can get another If you come up with a script that’s not lower than this, then change it for him.”