Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 34: A-Zu wants to stop
In a short period of time after being published in "Yanjing Literature and Art", "The Shepherd" won the love of many readers and at the same time attracted the attention of some people in the literary world.

At the beginning of the year, "People's Literature" published "Class Teacher", and in the middle of the year, "Wenhui Daily" published "Scars". Coincidentally, as the year is coming to an end, "Yenching Literature" has published "The Shepherd".

Many senior figures and literature enthusiasts in the literary world have keenly noticed that a whirlwind seems to be blowing in the Chinese literary world.

Since the publication of "Scars", the name "Scar Literature" has spread like wildfire, and it well interprets the core and theme of this literary genre.

The emergence of "The Shepherd" is consistent with the spirit of "Class Teacher" and "Scars" in criticizing Buzz Buzz Buzz, but at the same time it refines and sublimates the reflective spirit and the positive nature of human nature. It not only echoes the negative emotions of the general public towards Buzz Buzz Buzz, but also invisibly elevates the social significance explored by scar literature.

With the hot sales of the eleventh issue of "Yanjing Literature and Art" in 1978, more and more readers saw the novel "The Shepherd", and the influence of the novel was further increased.

One night in the second week after the publication of "The Shepherd", after dinner, Lin Chaoyang discovered that Tao Yushu was reading the novel, and he was shocked.

"what happened?"

Lin Chaoyang accidentally touched the leg of the bed. He hugged his foot and grimaced. Tao Yushu asked with concern.

"fine."

He rubbed his feet, moved closer to Tao Yushu, and asked casually, "What kind of doggerel is in this issue of Yanjing Literature and Art?"

"Doggerel is old news now. This issue of Yenching Literature has a big satellite."

Tao Yushu looked a little excited and showed the magazine to Lin Chaoyang, "Look at this article "The Horse Herder", it completely inherits the style of "Scars", and it is even better than the original."

She said excitedly, “I plan to write another review about this novel.”

"Write more this time, and use the royalties to treat me to dinner at Lao Mo." Lin Chaoyang forced a smile.

"You'll be so happy!" Tao Yushu said angrily, "It's not even certain whether it can be published."

Although he said this, Tao Yushu still had some confidence in himself.

A few days later, Zhang Dening found the library.

"How did you get here?"

"The editorial department would like to invite you to write a creative talk, and also want to ask if you have any new manuscripts recently."

"I'm too busy at work and don't have time to write."

This was of course just Lin Chaoyang's excuse. Having received the 85 yuan royalties for "The Horse Shepherd" some time ago, he did not have such a strong motivation to create for the time being.

Moreover, he had submitted a manuscript to Shanghai Literature and Art before, but there has been no movement yet.

The most important thing at the moment is that the popularity of "The Horse Shepherd" caught him off guard. Every day in the library, he could hear students discussing this novel, and there were more and more review articles in newspapers and magazines.

It’s easy to earn royalties, but you have to be alive to spend them!
A-Zu wants to stop!

Zhang Dening was puzzled by his behavior. No one forced you to write a novel before, right? Before the novel was published, people kept urging you to write it. Now that the novel is popular, you don't have time to write?

After all, Zhang Dening had been an editor for several years, so he knew that there were only a few reasons why authors refused to contribute: either they had been approached by a bigger magazine and manuscripts were limited so they were given priority, or they thought the pay was too low.

"Which publication approached you?"

"No!"

"Are you dissatisfied with the low payment?"

"Well……"

Lin Chaoyang hesitated for a moment, and Zhang Dening thought that it was indeed the case.

"I'll raise your salary by another dollar." The standard remuneration for "The Horse Herdsman" is five dollars per thousand words. If he raises it by one dollar, it will be six dollars per thousand words. Lin Chaoyang hesitated. It was not worth it to take such a big risk for this dollar!
Zhang Dening understood his hesitation and said, "That's all the power I have. Don't make things difficult for me. If it doesn't work, I'll go back and discuss it with the person in charge."

"How can I say that I'm making it difficult for you? The main thing is that I really don't have time."

After hearing this, Zhang Dening said helplessly, "Yes, yes, I understand. You are busy with work, and writing articles is just a break from your busy schedule. So, how about you write me a creative talk first, and I will go back and get you a salary of 7 yuan per thousand words, how about that?"

"Well..." Lin Chaoyang wavered, "Well, I'll write you a creative talk first."

"Can you hand it in within a week?"

"So fast?"

"Hurry up and publish the next issue. The Horse Wrangler is going strong right now. Oh, I forgot to tell you that this issue has sold 500,000 copies."

Lin Chaoyang had no idea about the sales of Yanjing Literature and Art. "Is that considered high?"

Zhang Dening looked at him speechlessly and said, "It has doubled."

hiss~
That's hot enough!
Lin Chaoyang said: "Come and pick up the manuscript next Tuesday."

After getting his definite answer, Zhang Dening breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that today's trip was not in vain.

The two chatted for a few more words, and then Zhang Dening said goodbye and left.

Turning around, the curator Xie Daoyuan was standing not far behind Lin Chaoyang. It was unknown whether he had heard the conversation between him and Zhang Dening.

"Director!" Lin Chaoyang greeted him guiltily.

Xie Daoyuan's attention was not on Lin Chaoyang, but on the icicles on the facade of the library.

"Chaoyang, that string of icicles is a little close to the door. Go to the museum and ask someone to go upstairs and get some tools to knock it down."

Lin Chaoyang looked in the direction he pointed. A few days ago, the first snow of winter fell in Yanjing. During the day, the snow on the roof melted and dripped down the eaves. In the evening, when the temperature dropped, icicles gradually formed.

"Okay, Director!" Lin Chaoyang happily went back to the museum to call people.

Zhang Dening returned to the editorial department of Yenching Literature and Art and first found Zhou Yanru and raised Lin Chaoyang's request.

"This Lin Chaoyang, his novel just became popular, and he's already asking for too much!"

"If the novel isn't popular, we can't agree to his price increase!"

Zhou Yanru shook her head helplessly. That was true.

The editorial department is not a charity, and the determination of the remuneration standard is directly related to the author's fame, strength and quality of the work.

Given the success of "The Shepherd", it would not be a problem to increase Lin Chaoyang's royalties.

It's just that people are ashamed to talk about profits these days, and the fact that the author took the initiative to ask for a raise in royalties, especially since the author is young, is emotionally difficult for Zhou Yanru, an old editor, to accept.

"At such a young age, you take money very seriously."

Although she said this, Zhou Yanru still went to find Li Qingquan, the person in charge, to discuss the issue of royalties.

Finally, Li Qingquan gave his opinion that the creative talk should be paid at the standard of 7 yuan per thousand words. If he had a novel, it would also be 7 yuan per thousand words.

Li Qingquan, who had just been the head of Yenching Literature and Art for less than a month, showed Zhou Yanru a different spirit from the previous heads.

The development of "Yenching Literature and Art" is probably going to enter the fast lane!

(End of this chapter)