Tokyo Literary Godfather

After "Hansawa Naoki" became popular, Nobu Kawaguchi immediately realized that this was another excellent publishing opportunity. The plot of the TV series "Hansawa Naoki" was smooth and in line with the narrative rhythm of the novel.

There are even hints of mystery novels, so I contacted Kei Fujiwara and asked him if he was willing to adapt the play into a novel. He didn't even have to write it himself. The publisher could just find a writer directly. At that time, Kei Fujiwara's signature would be In the past, even the royalties remained unchanged, and the publishing house paid the writers separately.

Kei Fujiwara doesn't even need to sign that person's name if he wants. In a society like Japan, where the illiteracy rate is extremely low, there are a lot of people who can write.

Kei Fujiwara said that he could write it. Anyway, the play itself was adapted from the novel and he had a ready-made story in his mind.

More than a month has passed since then. Kazuhiko Itagaki has been dealing with Kei Fujiwara for so long, and he knows a little about him. He knows that he writes extremely fast, so he directly asked about the progress of the book.

Fujiwara Kei took out a stack of manuscripts from his schoolbag and handed it to Itagaki Kazuhiko, "Please take it and correct it."

"So fast……"

Itagaki Kazuhiko mumbled and took the manuscript, but he was used to it, so he wasn't too surprised.

The prototype novels of "Naoki Hansawa" are "We Are the Bubble Group" and "We Are the Bubble Group". The drama version of "Naoki Hansawa" selected the novels in which Naoki Hansawa has the highest participation and is the most suitable to be adapted. There are two stories on the screen, so the time jump in the TV plot is quite obvious.

For example, at the beginning, it tells the story of Hansawa Naoki's interview experience at the Industrial Central Bank, but the scene changes to a few years later, when the Industrial Central Bank and Tokyo Daiichi Bank merged, omitting many stories in the original work.

In fact, even if Kawaguchi didn't mention it, Kei Fujiwara also had the idea of ​​writing a novel about this drama. Although this novel may not be able to win sales and awards if it is published alone, with the endorsement of such a popular drama, the sales volume will increase. It's much more secure.

It's a pity not to make this money. If God doesn't accept it, there will be disaster, right?

Itagaki Kazuhiko casually flipped through a few pages of the manuscript. At this time, the pork chop and fried noodles they ordered were ready and brought to the table steaming hot. The boss also gave them a plate of fried tempura, which was composed of eggplant and lotus root slices.

"The food ordered by the guest has been prepared, please take your time," the boss said.

Itagaki Kazuhiko is still reading the manuscript with his head down, but Fujiwara Kei has already picked up the chopsticks. The pork chop is a very thick piece of tender pork, fried slightly brown, forming a thin layer of crispy shell, covered with yellow. The semi-melted cheddar cheese has an attractive white aroma.

The oily shine on the fried noodles also looked very attractive. Fujiwara Kei couldn't wait to stir the noodles with chopsticks, while Itagaki Kazuhiko was still reading the manuscript.

The boss suddenly became displeased. He knocked on the iron plate in front of him with the shovel in his hand and made a sound, "Guest, it won't taste good when it gets cold."

"Oh, okay..." Itagaki Kazuhiko put the manuscript back into his bag, zipped it up, and put it on his lap, protecting it with his arms on both sides - there was an editor in the agency just because he took the manuscript written by the writer. When I went to a wine shop, I drank too much and the briefcase containing my manuscript was stolen. If the writer hadn't still had a copy, the editor would have been at risk of being reassigned.

"The novel version of "Hansawa Naoki" seems to have a lot more plots." Itagaki Kazuhiko also rubbed his chopsticks and said, "It's very good. It has become more in line with the rhythm of the novel."

"Well, when do you plan to officially publish this book? Will it be arranged as soon as possible? Or should we wait a little longer."

The publication time of "The Devotion of Suspect

But "Naoki Hansawa" has just finished. Due to the sensational impact of the TV series, now is the time when the popularity is the highest. Once it is put on the market, it will definitely be a big hit. There is almost no doubt that it will be a big hit. But if it is put into the market again in a few months, As for the book market, the market response will be much colder.

But it seems inappropriate to release "Naoki Hansawa" first and then "The Devotion of Suspect X". "The Devotion of Suspect X" is the most promising work of the publisher. Although the TV series "Naoki Hansawa" is popular, from the perspective of literary works, "The Devotion of Suspect X" is a rare masterpiece in recent years. , the publisher also has higher expectations for this work.

Therefore, Nobu Kawaguchi also felt a little entangled during this period as to the order of publication of these two books.

"What's your opinion, Mr. Fujiwara?" Itagaki Kazuhiko picked up the chopsticks, took a bite of the pork chop, and the fragrant and mellow meat juice filled his mouth, accompanied by a strong cheese aroma.

Itagaki Kazuhiko's eyes lit up, it was indeed delicious.

Seeing Itagaki Kazuhiko's reaction, the boss smiled with satisfaction, nodded, and then went to entertain other guests. Keiya Fujiwara said with a smile: "This boss's store was originally opened in Hokkaido, but he moved to Tokyo during this period. I only discovered this store recently. I plan to shoot the second season of "The Lonely Gourmet" here. "

"Well, it's really delicious."

The conversation changed and Kei Fujiwara said again: "Mr. Itagaki, can't you publish two books together?"

"Together? They will influence each other." Itagaki Kazuhiko said.

When a book sells particularly well, the sales of other books of the same type in the bookstore during the same period will inevitably be affected. This is also in line with the general rules of the commodity market. Coupled with the high price of Japanese books, this phenomenon is particularly obvious.

Let me say a few more words about book prices, are Japanese books expensive? It is indeed expensive because copyright protection in Japan is strict, publications are subject to a fixed-price sales system, Japan's light industry is underdeveloped, book materials are generally high-end, and Japan's per capita income is relatively high.

But books are a kind of light luxury product in developed countries. Books in the United States, Europe, and Japan are not cheap. It’s not that foreign books are expensive, but that Chinese books are cheap. But now the era when a novel was priced at more than ten yuan is gone forever, and the hardcover editions in bookstores can easily cost forty or fifty yuan.

"It will indeed have an impact in the short term, but books are different from TV series and movies after all, and their impact on timeliness is not crucial. The rerun ratings of a TV series are unlikely to exceed the ratings of its premiere, and one for a movie Few people read it a month later. But there are many examples of a novel that has sold more than its first printing after a year."

Kei Fujiwara said while biting a pork chop, "However, the sales of the first printing should be affected a lot, but we can just reduce the number of first printings of "The Devotion of Suspect X" to the original 250,000 copies. How about reducing it to 150,000 copies?"

What Kei Fujiwara said made sense, Kazuhiko Itagaki began to think about it seriously.

"Of course, this is just my suggestion. The specific publishing schedule is still based on your sales strategy." Apart from disagreeing with the publisher's decision to increase prices, Kei Fujiwara did not show a strong voice on other matters.

However, the specific sales strategy must be carefully considered by Itagaki Kazuhiko. As Fujiwara Kei becomes more and more famous, whether it is a novel or a TV series, the commercial performance cannot be underestimated. Itagaki Kazuhiko is under increasing pressure, for fear that As an editor myself, some unreasonable arrangements dragged Kei Fujiwara back.

"Mr. Itagaki, have you found any good seedlings recently?" Kei Fujiwara started chatting casually after finishing the business.

"Yes, but not much." Kazuhiko Itagaki took a sip of rice wine juice and said, "Miss Togata's novel has been officially released recently. I have to say that, as a newcomer, it's pretty good. I plan to let her participate in next year's Ranpo. reward."

"Nanako..." The fair-skinned girl who was a little shy when speaking appeared in Fujiwara Kei's mind again. Unexpectedly, she also became a writer. It seems that I haven't seen her for a long time since the filming of "Suddenly Looking Back".