Chapter 167: Being dragged down by fame
Chapter 167: Being dragged down by fame
"Okay, I'll be there right away." Gu Lu responded loudly, and a few seconds later, he appeared in front of the computer camera.
Why is the other side motionless? It's Kaka's fault, but Gu Lu feels that it's definitely not his problem.
"Hey, can you hear me?"
"Is it really stuck?"
When Gu Lu spoke for the second time, the other party responded.
"No problem, no problem. Although I've heard from President Shima Mei that Mr. Gu Lu is very young and a student writer, I was still very surprised to see him in person. He is young and promising."
Mo Lei, the book editor of Xinxing Publishing House, was a name that Gu Lu did not recognize at first, so he annotated it. In addition, he did not know what his parents thought, but the key point was that this uncommon character did not have a good meaning!
"Hearing and seeing bring different shocks," Mo Lei continued.
It's quite reasonable, just like when Gu Lu was a reader, he thought it was normal for a writer to write 20,000 words a day. After becoming a writer, he realized that 4,000 words a day is the limit of the human body.
"Teacher Gu, this is the artist our publishing house is looking for - Hairless Chicken." Mo Lei introduced, "Teacher Hairless is a very famous artist on the Internet."
What a unique stage name. Gu Lu also understands the dilemma of graphic editor Mo Lei. He can’t simply call him “Mei Wu Ji Teacher” or “Ji Teacher”, right?
"In fact, just call me by my name, Wang Gu, don't keep calling me by my nickname." Teacher Meimao started talking. "I've heard of it for a long time, I've heard of it for a long time. I bought a magazine and read the whole book of Mr. Holmes. The emotions flowed smoothly. The martyr was in his twilight years, and his ambitions were gone! It was written very brilliantly."
The hairless chicken, also known as Wang Gu, is a 29-year-old painter who graduated from Luyi Academy of Fine Arts. He often takes orders on the Internet and is indeed famous. He has collaborated many times with magazines such as The Best Reasoning, Years of Reasoning, and The World of Reasoning.
Although he spoke respectfully, what Teacher Meimao was thinking in his heart was: It is getting harder and harder to get by. Now I have to cooperate with a fool and a child.
The fool refers to Mo Lei, who has introduced his name many times but still deliberately calls people by their nickname.
As for the child, it must be Gu Lu. Of course, no matter if it is a fool or a child, as long as you give money, he is the sponsor. Wang Gu thought to himself.
"Let's not talk too much. Do you have a draft of the painting?" Gu Lu's initial impression of the painter was not good.
Because "Years of Reasoning" has not been serialized at all, where can I read the whole book? It's too exaggerated.
"Of course there is. This is a picture I drew of Sherlock Holmes thinking about a problem and then falling asleep due to exhaustion." Wang Gu pulled out the picture from the computer.
Eh - this picture is quite consistent with the effect that Gu Lu wanted. It is not the altar of high spirits, but the aging Charlotte, and there is no iconic three-piece suit.
"Mostly good." said Gu Lu.
"Teacher Gu, please tell me if there is anything you are not satisfied with, and I will revise it tonight!"
Wang Gu immediately responded. As long as the other party asked him to change the drawing, it would be one thing whether it was difficult or not, but wouldn’t the business be taken over?
"Even when Holmes is old, his appearance is not close to that of an Asian. He is British through and through." Gu Lu said, "In your painting, the Caucasian features are not obvious enough."
"No problem, I've already figured out how to modify it, and I can do it tonight." Wang Gu was very proactive.
"Teacher Gu Lu, are there any other problems?" Mo Lei asked. It would be good to be able to confirm it all at once.
"Probably..." Gu Lu's words were interrupted by the ringing of the phone.
"I'll take a call." Gu Lu saw that the caller was the editor-in-charge Han Zang. Generally speaking, if it wasn't an urgent matter, Han Zang would contact the person via QQ.
So Gu Lu also answered the call directly. "Teacher Gu, your works are very popular in Neon, and Fu Wenzhi is asking you to write again!"
Han Zang on the other side was so excited that his voice was so loud that it seemed as if he was shouting beside him. Gu Lu held the phone a little further away from his ear.
"Another commission? But I haven't written any wise stories recently." Gu Lu responded.
"This is a good opportunity, Teacher Gu. How about this? Teacher Gu, take a look at Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio and write two random stories." Han Zang said, "With Teacher Gu's talent, it will be no problem for him to do this!"
Do you really have more confidence in me than I do in myself? Gu Lu said, "I am currently writing other novels. Besides, it is easy to change, but it is still difficult to change back."
That's right, Han Zang nodded, but he suddenly had an idea, "Teacher Gu, I have an immature idea."
"Editor Han, please speak," Gu Lu listened carefully.
"Editor Gao said that Neon really likes the description of the ugliness of human nature in the article. It doesn't have to be a mystery novel, right?" Han Zang said on the phone. "I remember that after reading "Liao Zhai", Teacher Gu also wrote a few articles and sent them to the story club, right?" Han Zang said. "Just move these stories over."
Hey, you are really a genius!
Gu Lu asked, "Is it okay?"
"Of course, just tell the story club's editorial department," said Han Zang.
Because Story Club has purchased the copyright to publish short stories in global magazines, regardless of whether they will be distributed overseas or not, this spot must be occupied first.
This is also the reason why there is no need to inform the editorial department of Story Club when publishing a collection of short stories.
"In addition, Teacher Gu's royalties for his overseas serials have been transferred to you, so please check." Han Zang said.
Gu Lu's serialization in "Fuwenzhi" was paid 8000 yen per sheet of manuscript paper. After deducting the translation fee, he received 5000 yen per sheet of manuscript paper, which was 12 yuan according to the exchange rate at the end of 403. I forgot to mention that one sheet of manuscript paper contained words.
That is 1008 yuan per thousand words. This price is extremely high in China, but it is the lowest in foreign countries.
It is not clear how the translator Kazukuma Yasuda got paid, but the salary paid by Fubunshi was very low.
"Since it's an invitation to contribute, will the fee be increased?" Gu Lu asked. It's not that I'm too ambitious. According to common sense, you must show sincerity when you invite contributions.
"Uh - they didn't mention the royalties," Han Zang said. "When we become more famous, they will definitely increase the royalties. Now we just need to develop ourselves. Besides, these are all well-written stories. We can earn both royalties and fame by publishing them abroad."
"Editor Han, what you said makes a lot of sense." Gu Lu nodded.
It is true that one should not care about temporary gains and losses. The royalties from The Little Prince will be received soon, and Gu Lu is not panicking at all.
However, for writers with some fame in Japan, the price of a piece of manuscript paper is about 7,000 to 8,000 yen.
As for Jun'ichi Watanabe, who was mentioned earlier when Editor-in-Chief Gao was chatting with Han Zang, a piece of manuscript paper costs 5 yen, which is converted into domestic custom as yen for words, or yen per word.
People say Japanese writers make a lot of money, and they do make a lot of money.
Gu Lu is currently being dragged down by his fame...
(End of this chapter)