Chapter 282: There is a main work

Chapter 282: There is a main work

Chapter 282: There is a main work
"Another uneventful week." President Jian rubbed his eyes.

"There are no good works either," said Editor-in-Chief Liang.

"It is normal to have no good works, and it is worth being happy when there are good works," said President Jian.

The first month sales of Flatland were impressive! And the subsequent sales curves of Gu Lu's several books were quite good.

Bingka might even be filmed into a TV series. If it can be filmed, it will boost sales, so he is in a good mood.

"That's the truth," said Editor-in-Chief Liang. "The sales of 'Literary Youth' have been falling for several months since 2013. The pressure is huge."

President Jian's joy was slightly restrained. It was not because he felt the same way, but the Literary Youth was a magazine under the Children's Literature Publishing House.

Compared with other publishing houses and their magazines, the relationship is not that strong, and the editorial department has a lot of autonomy. It’s just that the state’s supervision of children’s books is a little stricter.

That's right, the places where supervision should be done are not doing enough, right, the DJC incident.

"I've read the sales report for the first half of this year, and I asked the business editor to do an analysis." President Jian took out a document from the drawer.

"Lao Liang, don't be anxious, let me take a look." President Jian opened the analysis table.

The Children's Literature Publishing House is a domestic publishing giant, so the analysis conducted is still meaningful.

After reading it, President Jian fell into a state of deep thought.

"Is it very difficult to handle?" Editor-in-Chief Liang asked nervously.

"You should read it yourself. What I say is always a bit one-sided." President Jian handed it to the person in front of him.

[In the second half of 2012, netizens' interest in fairy tale themes surged on major domestic search engines, with searches for #good fairy tale novels# and #magazines suitable for children# increasing by 37% compared to the first half of the year.

There has also been a significant increase in reports on fairy tales on consulting platforms such as Sina Portal, NetEase Portal, and Renren.

[…]
According to the analysis report, in the second half of 2012, it was not only the "Youth Literature and Art" magazine that saw an increase in sales, but also "Little Readers", "Curiosity", "Youth Pictorial" and other related newspapers and magazines saw an increase in subscriptions.

Editor Liang murmured, "So the accurate description is not a decline, but a drop in sales."

Why is it like this in the second half of 2012?

You have to know that the physical publishing industry as a whole is declining.

Fortunately, after a bunch of data was thrown at me, the answer was given.

Otherwise, Editor-in-Chief Liang will curse in public!

The spread of "The Little Prince" has made many parents who originally did not pay attention to juvenile books realize that a good juvenile book can have a very positive impact on the growth of their children.

There are three pieces of evidence to support this view.

1. In first-tier cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, bookstores will put "The Little Prince" very close to "Curiosity" and "Youth Literature". According to bookstore staff, this will significantly increase the number of reservations. Even later, bookstores have a display fee for the "Prince position". To promote children's magazines, you need to pay several hundred yuan to put them in the "Prince position".

2. Websites that answer questions such as Penguin Questions and Baidu Knows. In the second half of 2012, there were forty or fifty questions like "What other fairy tales has the author of The Little Prince written?" and "In which magazine is Gu Lu serialized?"

[…]
"This report..." Editor Liang commented, "isn't it a bit exaggerated?"

Why exaggerate? Editor Liang often visits Baidu Knows. If someone has asked a similar question, you can find the answer by searching. Only when the answer you find is not satisfactory will netizens continue to post on Baidu Knows.

Forty or fifty in the second half of the year. Although this number is not large, Editor-in-Chief Liang can feel that it is extremely exaggerated.

Besides, it was outrageous that a book could make a topic more popular! If this analysis sheet had not been given to him by the president in front of him, Chief Editor Liang would have directly rejected it.

"Whether it's true or not, we can go and have a look and find out," said President Jian. "We can go to Dashilan to have a bite to eat together."

"No problem." Editor-in-Chief Liang agreed immediately.

There is a big Xinhua Bookstore in Dashilan. Go to the bookstore to see whether the "Prince's Seat" is real or fake.

The distance was neither far nor near, but the key point was that it was not convenient to drive to the store, so the two of them rode an electric scooter to get there.

Long before the sharing of bicycles and even the sharing economy, some cities had already introduced rentable electric bicycles, but the renting process was very complicated.

Ten minutes later, Editor-in-Chief Liang and President Jian had already sat down in Donglaishun.

After more than forty minutes of eating, Jian Liang and his companion slowly came to the Xinhua Bookstore.

As the saying goes, take a walk after a meal and you will live to be ninety-nine.

Enter Xinhua Bookstore.

"Flatland" is placed in the most conspicuous position.

The two walked around and found "The Little Prince" in the children's area.

Large bookstores do sell newspapers and magazines, but they are placed in another area. Next to "The Little Prince" are two children's magazines, "Youth Pictorial" and "One Hundred Thousand Whys".

No need to ask, with this unique arrangement, regardless of whether you charge money or not, the possibility of it being the "Prince's seat" is very high.

President Jian and Editor Liang looked at each other. They wandered around the bookstore for half an hour and heard a conversation between a father and his son. The father had a big head and big hands, while the son had a small head and even smaller hands.

"You're already that old, but Dad still wants to read children's books."

"My father was once a child, and this Little Prince is a fairy tale for adults."

"Then I want to see it too. I want to see it too. This one, too."

"My family ordered it for you... That's fine, buy it and take it home to read."

A child of about eight years old saw his father buying a fairy tale book and clamored for it, pointing to the book "100,000 Whys" next to it.

Children have this kind of thinking. For example, when the elders go to places like stationery stores, bookstores, and supermarkets, they want to buy things regardless of whether they need them or not. They will have a feeling that they will suffer a loss if they don’t buy them.

Big Head Dad and Small Head Son are just examples, but they show them the reason why the magical "Prince position" appears.

It could also be other situations, but at any rate, it attracted more attention when it was placed next to "The Little Prince".

In the middle of the process, Editor-in-Chief Liang also searched the data in the analysis table using his mobile phone.

No exaggeration!

"The release of Gu Lu's The Little Prince has brought a surge in popularity for fairy tales. Something that sounds so fantastic is actually true!"

This is not scientific! Editor Liang muttered to himself, with this expression written all over his face.

"The sales of The Little Prince aren't that high! They're even worse than Pippi Longstocking and the Rubik's Cube Building." Editor-in-Chief Liang said, "The sales of the Rubik's Cube Building seem to have only sold over two million copies in a year and a half."

Editor Liang said, "It also failed to promote the entire topic."

"It has expanded the target audience." After a moment of contemplation, President Jian responded, "The buyers of Magic Building are still children. And the ones who know Mr. Zheng Yuanjie are children."

The president is worthy of being the president, and his thinking logic is still much clearer. "But we have done a vague survey on the readers of The Little Prince, and people over the age of sixteen account for the vast majority. He has expanded the population that fairy tales could not reach before."

"It just so happens that some of this group of people are parents, who can decide whether to subscribe to children's magazines for their children." Editor-in-Chief Liang added that he understood.

Gu Lujie is such a weird person!
Editor-in-Chief Liang said: "As the fire that The Little Prince brought to the fairy tale field has calmed down, the sales of our magazine have fallen. So can we..."

"He just published 'Flatland' last month and wrote 'Young China' not long ago. Even if he is an illegal worker in a landlord's house, he cannot be forced like this." President Jian waved his hands quickly.

Seeing the disappointed look in Chief Editor Liang's eyes, President Jian said, "I'll go ask if there are any short stories that can be published in Youth Literature and Art."

“Youth Literature and Art still needs to cultivate its own regenerative power and cannot just rely on one person,” President Jian reminded.

Editor Liang was silent after hearing this. He also wanted to do it. But all the famous writers of children's literature have published their own books. It would be difficult to invite them to write articles!
Gu Lu, who was far away in the foggy city, had no idea that he would be asked to submit his manuscript.

He is currently in the final stage of copying.

What is this step? It is to find the source of most of the Spanish historical knowledge that appears in "The Immortal Fugitive".

It’s not difficult. You just need to read "Yesterday’s Empire", "History of Spanish Colonization" and "Spain: The Destruction of America" ​​thoroughly.

The notes are also well taken.

It took Gu Lu about a week.

The rise of the Internet has greatly accelerated the dissemination of knowledge.

Zweig spent a lot of effort to write When the Stars Shine. But it is more convenient to collect knowledge, and no biographical novel with the potential of being a masterpiece has appeared in the world literary world.

"Maybe it's because it's too convenient. We can look it up with just the movement of our fingers, which makes it harder for classic biographies to appear." Gu Lu muttered softly.

"What's inconvenient? It's quite convenient. Just tell me if you want to go out." The voice was so soft that Qi Caiwei only heard a few key words.

"Okay." Gu Lu looked at Qi Caiwei and didn't notice the excitement in his words.

Qi Caiwei feels that her deskmate seems to have to get her permission every time he goes in and out. Isn't this enough to make people happy?

"CC, have you finished your application to join the company?" Gu Lu asked.

"Of course I have finished writing it." Qi Caiwei said, "But there are still some places that need polishing, so I will revise it. It's in the dormitory and I'll give it to you this afternoon."

If there are any problems that need to be revised, I will get back to you in xx time. This sentence order is very familiar.

"Gulu, if I was saying if, I would definitely not abuse public resources for personal gain." Qi Caiwei said, "You will definitely believe me, right?!"

"…If you can't even give a clear reason, why should I believe you?" Gu Lu stared at his deskmate's bright eyes.

"You have to answer that you believe it. If you ask me this, I will definitely believe it unconditionally," said Qi Caiwei.

"Let's talk about something first." Gu Lu said, "Unconditional trust is emotional trust, and trust after careful consideration is rational trust."

"If I become a review editor for a publication, but submit my own manuscript," Qi Caiwei said, "will there be any problems if my manuscript is accepted?"

"You passed the manuscript based on your own ability, what's the problem?" Gu Lu asked back.

That's right, Qi Caiwei nodded, "I have had dozens of manuscripts rejected, so I'm definitely not afraid of what others say!"

To be honest, I had dozens of rejection experiences in high school, which really puts me ahead of most high school students.

Gu Lu gave a positive affirmation.

After school in the morning, Gu Lu met Wei Jiao, and the two just passed each other.

"Panda - has anyone ever told you that you have gained weight?" said Gu Lu.

This made Panda Dian furious, "So what if I got fat? Did I eat your rice?!"

"You used my meal card." Gu Lu replied.

Wei Jiao, who was furious, calmed down instantly. She coughed twice and said, "Doesn't this also prove that your meal card is very effective?"

That’s great, young people really love to eat, including himself.

Gu Lu did what he said and sent the manuscript to the team leader's email the next day.

Unfortunately, Director Hu met Gu Lu again that night.

This time Gu Lu came to his senses. How could this be a coincidence? Director Hu's office was in the opposite direction of this place.

It must have been a deliberate coincidence.

Director Hu may have felt that direct urging for submission was not a good idea, so he used this roundabout way.

"The manuscript has been completed." Gu Lu said, "Director Hu and the principal don't have to worry anymore."

"No worries. The principal and I have complete trust in Xiao Gu. Why would we worry?" Director Hu responded immediately. "Xiao Gu is just too busy with things. I'm just worried that you forgot the deadline."

Okay, Gu Lu believed it.

Sijiu City, thousands of miles away.

Professor Chen was so busy that he only had less than twenty minutes left for lunch.

As an authority on Chinese Spanish and a professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University, in addition to his ordinary teaching duties, he also frequently visits Spanish universities for exchanges.

Currently, I am the leader of the literary exchange group celebrating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the West, which makes me even busier.

I asked an old friend for help - Dong Yansheng.

Dong and Chen are two giants of Spanish language and culture in China. The only difference is that Professor Chen is in the field of language history, while Professor Dong is in the field of language and literature.

"The poems Shuangchi handed in were somewhat perfunctory." Dong Yansheng helped look at the submissions that came into the mailbox.

"I am very familiar with him, and this is in line with his style." Professor Chen.

Shuangchi is a famous Chinese poet. He is known as "the last poet of the 21st century" and "a modern man with half the talent of Li Bai". His poetry collections have been translated into more than 30 languages ​​and are well-known in Europe. I also often travel around small towns in the countryside of Europe, so it is normal for him to be in the cultural exchange group.

It was just a similar event that Shuangchi had participated in more than once, and since he was a casual person, he didn't take it seriously.

"Let me see what he wrote. 'To Federico'..." Professor Chen's first reaction was, "Federico I of the Kingdom of Aragon?"

It can be said that the Kingdom of Aragon has a direct relationship with the Kingdom of Spain. The specific historical issues are a long story, but all you need to know is that the historical entanglements of European countries are unclear.

"It should be Federico Lorca," Dong Yansheng said, "Butterflies kiss me/No need for the caress of hands. This line is obviously a tribute to Lorca's classic Love Poem."

"The Son of Andalusia created a new poetic theme. It turned out to be him." Professor Chen also reacted.

He was also familiar with Federico Lorca, the greatest Spanish poet of the 20th century. His first reaction was Federico I, but it was just a fixed mindset.

“Aren’t Shuangchi’s poems a bit imitative of Spanish folk songs?” Professor Chen asked.

"Spanish folk song?" Dong Yansheng looked carefully and translated the text directly into Spanish. It was somewhat similar to the Spanish folk song "The Dove".

As we all know, the new poetic themes created by Federico Lorca were the integration of Spanish folk songs.

"If it was anyone else, we might be overthinking it, but if it was Shuangchi..." Dong Yansheng responded, "It's really possible."

In this case, Shuangchi’s “To Federico” is a tribute of a higher level.

"I thought he was just writing casually, but I didn't expect him to use all his strength." Professor Chen said with a smile, "Sure enough, as long as it is something to win glory for the country, every Chinese person will have a genetic awakening and start to increase their strength."

"With this poem, we have made an explanation in terms of literature," said Dong Yansheng.

Professor Chen nodded and said that with "To Federico" taking the lead, the other three writers could play a supporting role.

What is the most important thing when playing support? People who play games frequently know that it is to hold on to the thighs tightly and not give up.

Therefore, you must still read the remaining three articles, at least to maintain the same level and not fall behind.

Professor Dong Yansheng must have followed the chronological order in which the manuscripts were received, and the next writer was Chen Zhongshi.

This is a very famous writer in China. He can leave his name in the history of Chinese literature just by writing "White Deer Plain". His work "Banana"

A short story about the dying art of Muñoz, or puppetry, in Andalusia, Spain. The puppeteer Bradana uses a banana to perform…

Even Dong Yansheng and Professor Chen know very little about this kind of local niche art.

"It is a typical style of Chen Zhongshi. He likes to create characters that uphold traditional culture. It seems that his works "Mr. Blue Robe" and "Li Shisan Pushing the Mill" are both like this." Dong Yansheng summarized the story of this novel with his old friend in just a few words.

He also added a comment, "However, the rough writing style does not match the Spanish style. Why must bananas be used for the performance, but not grapes? Is it because the name Bradana is the transliteration of banana in Spanish?"

The reviews were not very good. At least Dong Yansheng was a little confused after watching it twice.

"Teacher Chen Zhongshi is probably not in good health. I am surprised that he can participate in this event," said Professor Chen.

He had no desire to read "Banana". It was about a kind of puppet show that was about to die out and was unknown to the Spanish. Regardless of whether it was well written or not, it was very qualified in terms of the theme.

The next article is a travelogue. There is nothing much to say about the travelogue, which is obviously a waste of time. Dong Yansheng can only say that this writer has good writing skills.

Except for Gu Lu, the invited writers are all well-known writers in the country.

"This is the last one. It was sent this morning. I just finished writing it." Dong Yansheng saw the author's name and asked, "Is this the genius writer Gu Lu who was trained by the country?"

"Yes." Professor Chen said, "I have also heard of Flatland. Gu Lu is indeed worthy of training. How are his articles?"

"Let me see." Dong Yansheng said.

(End of this chapter)