Chapter 160 Editorial Department Story Part 2
Chapter 160 Editorial Department Story Part
After saying this, Chen Qingluo realized that she had made a mistake and changed her words:
"There are quite a few well-known writers in my small circle, and they all gave positive comments on this manuscript."
Editor Hao said: "Teacher Chen, you should also know that the perspective of a writer and the perspective of an editor are different."
"No matter how different it is, we still have to abide by the Basic Law..."
Editor Hao said: "Teacher Chen, please listen to me, please listen to me. When we review manuscripts, we should not only look at whether the work is wonderful, but also its originality, its extension of literature, and its social impact.
"This work is even more special. We also have to consider that it is so long. If we really decide to serialize it, how much space will it take up? Is its value worthy of the space it occupies? Will various problems arise when it is serialized to the end?..."
Chen Qingluo sneered: "To put it bluntly, Shi Tonghe had previously promised, but now he doesn't want to guarantee it, so you hesitated."
Chen Qingluo always spoke sharply and directly, and Hao Bian couldn't stand it. After a pause, he said in a pale voice: "If you think so, we can't do anything."
Chen Qingluo said, "Okay, since you want to reject the manuscript, can you submit it to other publications now? It won't affect the industry rules, right?"
Hao Bian said stiffly: "Please do as you please."
"Please return the manuscript to the author as soon as possible."
"We will send it cash on delivery according to the process."
Chen Qingluo pressed the hang-up button with her thumb and turned to look at Wang Zixu: "They are blind and unworthy. Let's submit to other magazines."
Although the ending was very tragic, Wang Zixu not only did not feel any regret, but instead felt secretly happy.
Especially when Chen Qingluo said "they don't deserve it", Wang Zixu felt that it was really enjoyable.
He never expected it to resonate with millions of people. It was enough that Chen Qingluo liked it among millions of people. All his efforts had been rewarded.
Chen Qingluo stared at him and asked, "So, how do you feel now?"
"What mood?"
"It was rejected," Chen Qingluo said nonchalantly, "They said your manuscript wasn't worth serializing, 'it didn't conquer everyone'... You weren't upset, were you?"
Chen Qingluo smiled and said, "Although I have never had my manuscripts rejected, don't be discouraged! I heard that many well-known writers had their manuscripts rejected countless times before they became famous. It's nothing to have your manuscripts rejected!~"
Chen Qingluo's comforting skills were appallingly poor, but Wang Zixu didn't think anything of it from the beginning and smiled, "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."
"Are you really fine? It's not nice to have your work denied. I understand that you have something wrong. Don't be so stubborn. It will feel better if you speak out. Come on, tell me so I can laugh at you."
Wang Zixu shook his head: "I'm sorry to disappoint you. I don't have any emotions at all. On the contrary, I feel very happy."
Chen Qingluo narrowed her eyes: "Are you a pervert?"
"I'm glad someone pointed out my problem. I was too confident about my novel before. I originally planned to revise it 26 times. I thought it was invincible when I revised it 20 times. Now it seems that it is not so invincible. I will go back and continue to revise it."
Ning Chunyan cried out, "Still changing it?"
Chen Qingluo said: "Is it possible that you were just targeted, and it's not a problem with your manuscript itself?"
"Then I will revise the manuscript so that it cannot be targeted."
Chen Qingluo raised her eyebrows: "You are still the same as before, only able to crack with brute force."
Wang Zixu said: "I'm sorry, path dependence has already formed. I'm not as talented as you. I only know that all problems can be solved by brute force. If they can't be solved, it means that it's not violent enough."
He remembered what Yan Zishan wrote in his notebook - as long as you believe in yourself, you will clear all obstacles in front of you.
"You are indeed a pervert."
"If you think so, then just be a pervert."
Chen Qingluo pursed her lips, trying to restrain the corners of her mouth from rising: "But, I like...uh, I mean, I quite like this kind of personality."
Wang Zixu said, "I know."
As soon as their eyes met, Ning Chunyan interrupted with a dark face:
"I'm sorry to interrupt you two, but let me say a few words to her."
After saying that, she pulled Chen Qingluo aside and whispered something in her ear.
After saying that, Chen Qingluo's face changed: "It's not that disgusting, right?"
Ning Chunyan looked at her: "What do you think?"
Chen Qingluo panicked visibly and bit her fingers: "I think we should give it a try first. Many magazines are not in the same department as them and may not care."
Wang Zixu asked: "What happened?"
Ning Chunyan and Chen Qingluo looked at each other, both of them had very serious expressions.
"What's wrong? Tell me." Wang Zixu couldn't help but become anxious.
Chen Qingluo asked, "Do you have an editor you are familiar with? One to whom you have submitted manuscripts?"
Wang Zixu said that there was only one editor of "Yangtze River", whose surname was Yang.
Chen Qingluo said, "Then send it to him. There is no time to lose. The sooner the better."
Wang Zixu asked, "I won't change it?"
Ning Chunyan said: "First, try to get the manuscript approved. Believe me, this is very important."
Wang Zixu actually had a specific direction in mind for revising the text, which meant that the work had the potential to become an even better one. If he submitted it without revising it, that would be quite a pity for him.
But Chen Qingluo and Ning Chunyan were very serious and urged him to review the manuscript first without telling him the reason. He was helpless.
……
Hao Chengliang hung up the phone, turned his wrist to check his watch, took the last few puffs, threw the cigarette butt into the metal trash can, and returned to the office through the evacuation passage.
He immediately put on a stern face, returned to his seat, and began to sort out the manuscript. After putting it neatly on the table, he looked up and hesitated again.
After preparing himself mentally, he stood up and walked towards the editor-in-chief's office.
Recently, there have been some problems within the "Gucheng" magazine. Three presidents have been replaced within a year, two of which were due to financial problems.
The editor-in-chief caused a minor storm on the Internet because of his private life. Although the public opinion soon subsided, the old editor-in-chief was thin-skinned and resigned. However, the new editor-in-chief was a master of power struggle. He formed a small group within the company, marginalized the president, and promoted his confidante to deputy editorial board member.
This beauty has no business ability and her skills are all focused on office politics. Anything that requires communicating with her becomes quite a headache.
All in all, the stories in the company over the past six months have been quite exciting. If they were written into scripts, they would be enough to make 30 episodes and would definitely get a lot of ratings. Unfortunately, he was caught in the vortex and lived a miserable life every day. It is fun to eat other people's melons, but living in a melon field is not a happy thing.
When he walked into the editor-in-chief's office, Huang was on the phone. When he saw him coming, he quickly hung up and threw the phone on the table. "Editor-in-chief, we finally couldn't hold back the manuscript that Chairman Shi Tonghe mentioned last time, so we decided to reject it."
Huang Guiping frowned: "Didn't you say to wait for two days and see?"
At first, Shi Tonghe contacted Huang Guiping directly and asked him to recommend a manuscript. Huang Guiping agreed immediately and even wanted it. Shi Tonghe's connections and qualifications are worth maintaining. Moreover, the quality of the articles that Shi Tonghe can recommend must not be too bad.
He thought that the manuscript was at most a short or medium-length story of tens of thousands of words, but when he got it, he found it was a huge novel of 600,000 words. He suddenly regretted that he had agreed too early.
It’s not that Gucheng cannot publish a long story, it’s just that it hasn’t published such a long story for a long time. He is a new editor-in-chief, and he hasn’t secured his position. The president seems to be letting things go, but in fact he is holding back. He is not without weaknesses. At this critical juncture, it is not appropriate to make any big moves.
Serializing such a long story is a big move.
Just imagine, if someone caught him in private contact with Shi Tonghe and made a fuss about it, saying that he broke the rules and serialized such a long article in the magazine in order to maintain a personal relationship, which was damaging the public interest and lowering the magazine's status, it would inevitably affect his status.
Fortunately, Shi Tonghe called again afterwards and changed his previous attitude, saying that he would conduct a strict review, which confused him for a while, but was exactly what he wanted.
So he immediately convened a manuscript selection meeting and asked the editors to discuss the manuscript. In the end, he decided that the manuscript did not meet the standards for long-form publication, but it had highlights and should not be hastily rejected. Because the manuscript was too long, he gave Hao Chengliang three months to review it carefully and hold another meeting to discuss it after three months.
Huang Guiping gave Hao Chengliang three months to review the manuscript, but he actually did not review it. He knew that Shi Tonghe was the key figure, and he also figured out the editor-in-chief's intention: he wanted to find out Shi Tonghe's attitude before dealing with the manuscript. So he simply left the manuscript there for later use.
Huang Guiping thought more deeply than Hao Chengliang: after this period of time is over and he has secured the position of editor-in-chief, this article may be used as a trump card.
So Hao Chengliang suddenly told Huang Guiping that he wanted to reject the manuscript, which disrupted Huang's plans and made him very angry.
Hao Chengliang said: "Chen Qingluo just called me to ask about the manuscript."
"Chen Qingluo?" Huang Guiping sat up straight. "You have to maintain your relationship with Chen Qingluo! What does she want from you to force you to reject the manuscript?"
Hao Chengliang smiled bitterly: "No, according to her, she came here to help Wang Zixu to bring charges."
Huang Guiping glared: "What does she want to do?"
"She meant that this manuscript was to be submitted for the Feishi Literature Award, and she wanted us to publish it as soon as possible. If we can't publish it, she asked us to make it clear as soon as possible. If we delay, we won't be able to participate."
"Oh!"
Huang Guiping suddenly realized, sat back in his chair, closed his eyes and began to think.
Hao Chengliang said: "The other party's attitude was quite tough. When the conversation got tense, she asked for clarification on the spot. I thought the manuscript could not be published, so I told her that I wanted to reject it. Wasn't that too hasty? If you disagree, I will go back and apologize."
Huang Guiping thought for a long time, finally opened his eyes and shook his head: "No, this is perfect, this is perfect."
He sat up, tapped the table and said, "You said this manuscript is going to be entered into the Feishi Literature Prize, and I immediately understood. Did you know that Shi Tonghe's son Shi Shuqiu is also going to participate in the Feishi Literature Prize?"
Hao Chengliang raised his eyebrows. He felt Huang Guiping push open a door in front of him, and suddenly it became clear: "So that's it!"
"This author must have some connections to get Chen Qingluo to be his lobbyist. Maybe he is a relative of Shi Tonghe. He must have asked Shi Tonghe for help. Shi Tonghe didn't want to help, but he couldn't save face, so he made two different excuses. He wanted to help, but didn't want the manuscript to be published, so as not to compete with his son."
Hao Chengliang gave a thumbs up: "The editor-in-chief is really as good as a god."
Huang Guiping waved his hand and said, "It's too early to say that now. Look, I'll give Shi Tonghe a call and ask for his opinion. If he behaves normally, then it means my guess is right."
He dialed the number immediately and the call was connected quickly.
"Hello, Chairman Shi, excuse me for interrupting you. Are you busy now? Yes, I want to tell you something about the article you recommended some time ago..."
Shi Tonghe's voice on the other end of the phone became louder: "What's wrong?"
Huang Guiping said, "It is like this. We followed your instructions and carefully reviewed the manuscript. After discussion and analysis by our editorial department, we all felt that the manuscript was very interesting. Unfortunately, it was too long and the style was not suitable for our journal. If we want to publish it, I am afraid it is not suitable."
But I heard a sigh of relief from the other end of the phone: "Is that so? Okay, I get it. That's a pity, but there's nothing we can do. If it can't be published, it means the manuscript is not mature enough and the quality is not good enough. If it's not good enough, you have to revise it. Don't force it to be published just for my sake. It's not good for you and him."
Huang Guiping and Hao Chengliang smiled at each other.
Shi Tonghe continued, “When you reject a manuscript, please clearly state the reason for the rejection. It is best to analyze the manuscript with the author and find out what is wrong with the manuscript. If you need to criticize, don’t show mercy. This is the only way to grow.”
Huang Guiping hung up the phone while nodding repeatedly.
Hao Chengliang gave a thumbs up again: "Editor-in-Chief Huang is really a master of foresight!"
Huang Guiping waved his hand and said, "Okay, go ahead and do it. Remember in the future, don't be impulsive when communicating with the author, think more, and report more, so as not to get embarrassed. By the way, you can maintain your relationship with Chen Qingluo. It would be best if you can get an appointment for the manuscript. You can let Xiao Zhao go."
Hao Chengliang nodded and left the editor-in-chief's office. As he was leaving, he was holding the thick pile of manuscripts and suddenly realized that he had to return the manuscripts, but neither he nor the editor-in-chief had read them yet.
He wondered if he should ask the editor-in-chief if he wanted to take a look at the manuscript.
Then he shook his head again, thinking, what are you thinking about? How can I read a manuscript of 600,000 words?
He returned to his seat, and his colleague asked, "What's wrong? Is there any new development on this article?"
This pile of manuscripts has been on his desk for some time. Due to their length, they are well-known in the editorial department. Several editors usually come to take a look and pay close attention to their situation.
Hao Chengliang said: "The manuscript is going to be rejected. Write a rejection letter."
My colleague was shocked: "Reject the manuscript? Didn't they say they would keep it for a few days?"
“Things have changed again.”
My colleague shook his head and sighed, "Isn't it because the article is too long? Alas, it's such a good article. To be honest, it's really good. It's a pity that it can't be published in our magazine."
Hao Chengliang sneered: "Oh, you didn't say it at the review meeting, and now you say it's a pity. You have been an editor for so many years, and you have rejected too many manuscripts that were a pity?"
My colleague said loudly: "I have always supported this manuscript, right? I said it at the review meeting, it is quite strong."
Hao Chengliang tilted his head. It had been a few days since the review meeting, and he had reviewed so many manuscripts that he had no memory of them.
"Do you support it? I remember that many people at the meeting criticized this draft."
Another colleague who was sitting in the front heard their conversation, turned around and said, "Most people were praising it at the time, right? It would be a shame if this manuscript was rejected."
Hao Chengliang frowned: "Why do I remember hearing a lot of criticism at that time? Did I remember it wrong?"
A colleague lowered his voice and said, "What kind of criticism is that? It's just to follow the editor-in-chief's wishes."
After that, he stopped talking. As the saying goes, it is better to offend a gentleman than a villain. If you talk too much, you will easily be hated by others.
Hearing him say this, Hao Chengliang suddenly understood why he remembered that this article was very controversial.
Small groups have emerged within the editorial department, and inevitably some feudal names have been used. There are some people who follow the wind and do not express their own opinions in meetings, but only try to guess the editor-in-chief's intentions. They say whatever the editor-in-chief points to.
Thinking of this, Hao Chengliang held the manuscript in his hand and once again wondered whether he should read it.
After hesitating for a moment, he shook his head and stuffed the manuscript into the envelope with difficulty.
It's too long. I don't have time to read it.
(End of this chapter)