As soon as Susan left the airport, she saw Bingbing, a colleague and friend from the branch.
"Sister Su."
Bingbing waved from afar.
After getting closer, the two hugged.
Then--
Bingbing helped Susan carry the bag, "What kind of job is this that makes our editor-in-chief rush over as soon as he puts down the phone?"
"Jiang Yang's new book, The Hobbit."
Susan tucked her loose hair behind her ears and said, "This time we won't give it directly to us. All publishing houses will have to compete together."
"ah?"
Bingbing wondered: "Apart from mystery and children's books, hasn't our publishing house always been Jiang Yang's first choice?"
Susan has had a great time working with Koi Studio since "84 Charing Cross Road".
"This manuscript is special."
They came to the car and Susan put the suitcase in the trunk. "The devil wants to see the strength of each publishing house."
They got in the car.
After Susan put on her seat belt, she thought that Jiang Yang and Li Yu were still in this city, so she felt that she couldn't neglect it. Finally, she cut the mess quickly and settled the matter, "Has the appointment been made with Mr. Zhang?"
"We have an appointment."
Bingbing started the car: "Tomorrow at 3:30 in the afternoon, I will be at Zhang's hometown. Although Mr. Zhang is retired, he still has some work on hand. I heard that he is writing a book on English translation. This is the earliest appointment we can make.
It’s time.”
"no."
Susan felt it was too late, "Can you reschedule to today?"
Bingbing shook her head helplessly.
"correct."
Bingbing suddenly remembered that a translator working with their publishing house was Mr. Zhang's student. When she made an appointment with Mr. Zhang, she asked him to help. The translator said that one of their classmates had recently returned to China.
We plan to visit Mr. Zhang today and then have dinner together in the evening.
Susan: "Please ask this friend, can you let Mr. Zhang and I meet tonight?"
She then added: "It won't take too long."
Bingbing: "Okay."
then--
After successfully driving on the road, Bingbing asked curiously: "What kind of novel requires Mr. Zhang to contribute?"
“A fantasy novel.“
Susan leaned back on the chair to take a rest, "Jiang Yang handed over the manuscript to me yesterday, and will also submit it to other publishing houses. This manuscript is special. They want someone who is familiar with European mythology.
People who are accomplished in language and literature will serve as editors and reviewers, so Koi Studio has said that the manuscript will be given to whoever invites an expert with sufficient expertise."
This Mr. Zhang, Professor Zhang, is the dean-level figure that Susan feels is the most suitable in the country.
and--
Mr. Zhang also translated foreign fantasy novels when he was young, so he must have done a lot of research on this topic.
"Such a big battle?!"
Bingbing couldn't help but ask: "Is this manuscript so awesome?"
Susan hadn't taken a closer look yet.
but--
Even at a glance, she could feel that this was a novel that was different from any fantasy work she had read before. When she opened the manuscript, a world different from the current world came to her face, as if she could really touch it.
the existence of the world.
"It feels very strange."
Susan thought for a while and said.
In this corner, due to the lack of the pioneering work of modern epic fantasy, the influence of fantasy has dropped to a lower level. As a result, fantasy is also a very unpopular and unpopular genre of novels in China, and there is no special classification on the Internet.
certainly.
Fantasy still has a certain market abroad.
After all, people's imagination cannot be restrained, and people also have needs for stories in this regard.
Even if there is no groundbreaking work, it cannot stop people from fantasizing about the second world, but the fantasy here is mostly based on excerpts and adaptations of fragments from Greek, Nordic mythology, knight literature, vampires, religion, witches and folklore.
so--
There are dwarves, elves, giants, and dragons, but in different fantasy works, they may have different characteristics. In this book, the dwarves are good at blacksmithing and reckless; in another book, the dwarves may be good at digging holes and escaping.
.
There has never been a true master in this world, which organically combines these elements to build an incomparably magnificent world with a life system and a complete historical outlook that is completely different from the real world.
In Jiangyang's hometown, even if people don't read "The Lord of the Rings" or play fantasy games or movies, when they hear about elves or see people with pointed ears, long life, handsome appearance, and noble behavior, they know that they are elves.
, it is natural to enter it, and I feel that there is another fantasy world, and the elves in it must be like this.
so--
Without the shoulders of such a giant, the fantasy world will naturally be thin and pale.
certainly.
This has both disadvantages and advantages. The advantage is that there is a lack of paradigm, and people's imaginations are very free. It allows Jiang Yang to see that the world structure is not as good as that of "A Song of Ice and Fire", but the narrative and exciting plot are not weak at all.
novel.
Susan doesn't read much fantasy, but as an editor, she has read some.
In her opinion, it's like there are two rivers in fantasy. They often wade in this river, but now, Jiang Yang has led the other river over. It's not necessarily high or low, but it is indeed a very unique experience.
.
even--
Susan had no idea that this novel would become a best-seller and bring much economic value to the publisher, but she still wanted to win the copyright of this book at all costs, as if by winning the copyright, she would win another.
A door to a world.
Bingbing: "When you say that, I want to read the manuscript."
Susan gave her a chance to see it again. The most important thing now was to make an appointment with Mr. Zhang.
Although it was difficult, the translator reluctantly agreed to let Susan and Mr. Zhang meet after Bingbing's persuasion. However, he did not quite understand that a children's fantasy novel was in Chinese. As for letting him
Will the teacher take action?
He didn't think the teacher would accept it.
Although his teacher had translated Nordic, Greek, Celtic mythology, and fantasy novels when he was young, after retiring, he had turned to academic work and might not be able to take on this job.
certainly.
It's the teacher's business to accept or not, and it's his business to introduce or not.
How should I put it, although he is in a dilemma, he is now working for Susan Publishing House, responsible for translating the copyrighted works they imported, and making a living with it. The cooperation is not bad, so just for work, he has to bite the bullet and help this
busy.
only--
His anxiety was obvious.
At this gathering, several of their classmates were students taught by the teacher at the same time. He was a little transparent among them. That is because he lived in the same city as the teacher and often went to help. The classmates made an appointment with the teacher to get together, so they did not forget about him.
Already.
Now.
He planned to bring Susan in and disturb everyone when everyone was in high spirits, and he was very embarrassed.
so--
Even if he told the teacher in advance and the teacher didn't care much, he was still embarrassed. It wasn't until the dinner was almost over that he came out and found Susan and Bingbing who had booked a table next to the box.
Susan couldn't wait any longer.
Under his leadership, Susan and Bingbing entered their box. Mr. Zhang was communicating with the classmate who had just returned to China. This classmate returned to China this time to serve as an executive of an intelligent translation software company, and was the highlight of the party.
correct.
He remembered that this executive classmate was still a fan of the Big Devil, and once said that he should marry Li Qingning when marrying his wife. Now that he brought Susan and others over and interrupted their conversation, the executive would not think that he was targeting him.
Bar?
At this time.
The classmates all stopped and looked at Susan and the others.
He was even more embarrassed.
Mr. Zhang also turned his head.
He lowered his head and said to Mr. Zhang: "Teacher, this is the editor-in-chief of the publishing house I mentioned to you."
Mr. Zhang nodded: "Hello."
Susan said hello and hurriedly handed the printed sample to Mr. Zhang.