“Of course, we don’t just have Yun Chen’s trailer.”
In the school cafeteria, Wen Ying sat across from Xie Qian, her eyes sparkling as she discussed the promotional strategy she and Yuan Fenghui had devised.
This was Wen Ying’s forte, and she was far more confident and at ease talking about it than discussing studies.
With Wang Shuang done with the college entrance exam and Li Mengjiao busy with other matters, the small group that often ate together was down to just Wen Ying and Xie Qian.
Wen Ying and Xie Qian were now prominent figures at the provincial key school. After two years of transformation, Wen Ying was no longer the girl she was when she first enrolled. No one at school saw her as an ugly duckling anymore. Sitting with Xie Qian, she was a swan.
People could hardly recall what Wen Ying looked like when she first arrived. Her transformed image left a deeper impression, overshadowing the past.
Many at school thought Xie Qian and Wen Ying were dating. One was the top student and super scholar of the grade, the other a bestselling author and internet celebrity. Even if they were dating, not even the teachers intervened, let alone others who had no right to meddle!
At that moment, the cafeteria was filled with students sneaking glances at them.
Students whispered among themselves, mostly agreeing that the two were a perfect match: without Xie Qian’s looks and grades, one shouldn’t even try to pursue Writer Wen. Likewise, without Writer Wen’s talent and fame, one would feel inadequate beside Xie Qian!
The two, sitting face-to-face, were oblivious to the attention.
Wen Ying and Xie Qian weren’t publicly showing affection in the cafeteria; they were discussing serious matters, with no hint of youthful romance.
The first trailer aired on Eastern TV, featuring only Yun Chen’s highlight moments, clearly promoting him. This was meant to mislead Liang Dan and others, while also reassuring the four partner TV stations. If Tianjiao didn’t act soon, the stations wouldn’t wait any longer. They had paid real money for the rights to “The Galaxy and You”, not to play second fiddle to Hunan Satellite TV!
The rights were already sold to the stations, and while they could coordinate with Tianjiao’s moves out of trust, Tianjiao’s prolonged inaction was making the four stations restless.
This time, Yuan Fenghui showed some of her cards to the four stations.
There are no permanent friends in the industry, and the four stations had their own agendas. But for now, their goal aligned: to capture viewership in the July slot. With this carrot dangling, Yuan Fenghui could just about align the four stations’ pace with Tianjiao’s.
“First Yun Chen, then Zhang Yangning, the third trailer is Li Mengjiao, and finally… Hu Man?”
Xie Qian hadn’t been part of Wen Ying and Yuan Fenghui’s discussions but spoke as if he had heard them firsthand, outlining their plans clearly.
Wen Ying was used to Xie Qian’s exceptional intelligence and nodded, adding, “We initially prepared four trailers, one for each of the four stations. But with Hu Man and Yu Tianlin’s scandal breaking, it would be a shame not to capitalise on that heat. The last trailer was swapped for one featuring Hu Man. Now we hope Hu Man and Yu Tianlin can keep the scandal going for a few more days!”
Stirring a scandal required finesse. It wasn’t just about a momentary splash. Holding the reins like flying a kite, tightening and loosening at the right moments, was the way to dominate media headlines.
Xie Qian didn’t see Yu Tianlin’s new drama as a threat.
Unless “The Galaxy and You” was prevented from airing, a high-quality drama could still turn the tables with word-of-mouth, even if clowns like Yu Tianlin initially stole attention!
Hearing Wen Ying had a plan, Xie Qian shifted focus.
“How’s the feedback on your new book?”
The new book was set against the backdrop of the Nine Cauldrons of China. Wen Ying had researched extensively, compiling legends, official histories, and unofficial records. She found two main theories about the “Nine Cauldrons”:
One said that Yu the Great divided the world into nine regions, ordering them to contribute bronze to cast nine great cauldrons, symbolising the nine regions with engravings of their famous mountains, rivers, and exotic creatures. These regions were Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Liangzhou, Xuzhou, Yuzhou, Yongzhou, Qingzhou, Yanzhou, and Jizhou. The other theory held that there was only one cauldron, representing the nine regions, thus called the Nine Cauldrons, or simply Nine Cauldrons.
For her series, Wen Ying chose the first theory as it suited a novel series better. Her first book started with the Yongzhou Cauldron. To make the series easier to develop into a major IP world, she kept the title simple, naming it “Seeking Yong”.
In the latest issue of “Spark”, “Seeking Yong” had serialised over 20,000 words. As the first book in the series, Wen Ying used some space to set the background.
Xie Qian had read the serialised content and the reader comments on Wen Ying’s blog. Now he wanted to hear Wen Ying’s own thoughts.
To Xie Qian, Tianjiao’s business was important, but Wen Ying’s new book was even more so.
Without consistently producing high-quality work, what was the point of Wen Ying being a Tianjiao shareholder?
If it was just about money, there were faster ways than the chaotic entertainment industry!
“The feedback is mostly positive. Some readers aren’t used to my change in genre, and a few are taking a wait-and-see approach to the story’s development. It’s only the first serialised issue, so we need at least two or three more to get clearer data. I talked to Aunt Zou, and she thinks publishing after about 150,000 words of serialisation is ideal. We’re tentatively planning a first print run of 300,000 copies.”
The first print run for “Teen Idol” was 100,000 copies.
The novel for “The Galaxy and You” had a first print run of 300,000 copies, like “Seeking Yong”.
But both Zou Weijun and Wen Ying valued “Seeking Yong” more, and Xie Qian felt the same.
The royalty for the “The Galaxy and You” novel was 12%, split evenly between Wen Ying and Tianjiao. They couldn’t secure 15% because the publisher also needed to support the drama’s promotion, requiring some profit margin for them.
Xie Qian asked about the royalty for “Seeking Yong”.
Wen Ying didn’t hide anything. “Aunt Zou said, in business terms, ‘Seeking Yong’ is my attempt at a new genre, and it’s unclear if the market will embrace it. If I sign a publishing contract now, Aunt Zou can offer 13% royalty. Or we could wait, serialise a few issues, and see the market response. If it’s good, we could get up to 15%.”
A 15% royalty was top-tier in the industry.
The tiered royalty for “Teen Idol” no longer applied to “Seeking Yong”. Wen Ying was no longer a rookie author, and starting at a 6% royalty would be too dull—
Xie Qian thought for a moment. “My mum talks business, and so should you. Why wait for market response? Demand 15% royalty now. If Rongcheng Literature Press doesn’t agree, you have other options.”
Wen Ying was dumbfounded.
She knew negotiation tactics, of course.
With “Teen Idol” as a foundation, Wen Ying’s Nine Cauldrons series wouldn’t struggle to find a publisher. But Wen Ying and Zou Weijun had a great working relationship, and she never considered switching publishers!
Between emotions and profit, Wen Ying chose emotions, not because she was naive, but because she trusted Zou Weijun wouldn’t let her lose out.
Waiting a few months, if “Seeking Yong” got a good market response, Zou Weijun would give Wen Ying 15% royalty, and the publisher would be fully convinced.
But Xie Qian suggested choosing profit. If Rongcheng Literature Press couldn’t meet Wen Ying’s terms, she should find a new publisher that could, using the threat of “jumping ship” to pressure Zou Weijun… Honestly, Wen Ying couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Peng Guoqing, carrying a tray, approached and overheard Xie Qian’s words, instantly joining the dumbfounded ranks: He thought he was the only rebellious son, but Xie Qian wasn’t much better!!
