In the 1980s, the word writer could only represent a side job.
Because no matter how glorious a writer's name is, their main source of livelihood must rely on public office, and royalties alone are not enough to support themselves.
For example, in 1988, the novel "The Ordinary World" written by the famous writer Lu Yao caused a sensation in the literary world at that time.
But the royalties he received were only around 20,000 yuan.
It lasted six years, but was only equivalent to more than three months' income of a Beijing taxi driver at that time.
For another example, the same goes for Zheng Yuanjie, who was transferred from an instrument factory to a children's literature publishing house in 1983.
Even his works "Heihei on Honesty Island" and "Pipilu and Lu Xixi" were very popular and were published in sixteen newspapers at the same time.
The royalties he received were no more than 2,000 yuan, and he still relied on dead wages.
This made him feel extremely unfair, so he went to negotiate with the newspapers and periodicals that serialized his works.
He proposed that his articles caused the increase in the circulation of their newspapers and periodicals, and hoped that the remuneration could be adjusted according to the circulation.
But every time, the other party almost always responded with rude questions.
"There are so many articles in the newspaper, how can you be sure that your article has worked?"
In this way, an untimely idea was born in the heart of Zheng Yuanjie, who had been squeezed out many times.
From then on, his biggest wish was to start a magazine.
A magazine that does not publish other people's works, but only his own works.
This must be the case in order to reveal his true value.
Only then could he help his toddler son move out of the tube building where steaming pressure cookers were everywhere in the corridor.
It should be said that in this era, Zheng Yuanjie is definitely a capable and courageous cultural entrepreneurial pioneer.
It's a pity that most people can't see others being innovative, even if it doesn't interfere with their own business.
The "movement" has long made the public habitually oppose everything and everyone that is different from their own understanding, and it has become instinct to attack those who are different.
So the more Zheng Yuanjie is obsessed with this matter, the more people will laugh at her.
No matter which publication's editorial team he went to, the reply he heard most often was, "Zheng Yuanjie, have you written too many fairy tales? What you said is simply impossible. Unless the sun comes out from the west."
In this way, Zheng Yuanjie's "overestimation of his capabilities" and "whimsical" made him the laughing stock of many literati.
This incident, coupled with his lack of elementary school education, has become a huge joke.
For this reason, more than one person publicly criticized Zheng Yuanjie, saying that she was just someone who got into the cultural ranks.
It wasn't until the Spring Festival of 1985 that Zheng Yuanjie returned to his hometown of Taiyuan and met his friend Zhao Yanping, who worked in the Shanxi Youth League system, that things began to turn around.
At that time, he thought that the league system could run children's newspapers, so he blurted it out to this friend.
"Do you want to get rich? If you want to get rich, let's start a publication together."
To be honest, Zhao Yanping was extremely surprised when he heard Zheng Yuanjie's thoughts.
Because he had never heard of this method and form, and it was even more difficult to imagine.
Is it feasible for one person to support a publication?
How strong is the vitality of a publication that can only be supported by one person?
What if the subscription fee has been charged and the manuscript cannot be published?
Readers who want to refund their money across the country cannot do this.
Who can afford it then? The risk is too great!
But even though this idea sounds so unrealistic.
But Zhao Yanping was eventually infected by his good friend's persistence, confidence and enthusiasm.
"The sales of magazines that have published and serialized my works have increased. Although they don't say it, I know that my works have brought them profits..."
"Don't worry, I will never give up my choice. Even if I can't write it, I can find someone else to compile it for you and ensure that it can be published on time..."
Since Zheng Yuanjie patted her chest and made such a promise, Yanping still tried his best to apply with the supervisor.
Unexpectedly, my superiors are really smart about people. After several discussions, this matter finally came true.
On the eve of Children's Day in 1985, a magazine named "Fairy Tale King" was launched in Shanxi Province with a start-up capital of 5,000 yuan.
Zhao Yanping became the president of the magazine, and there were only five people in the entire editorial team including him.
Zheng Yuanjie got her wish and became the "sole writer" of this purely literary bimonthly.
Finally, his dream of getting more for more work and getting paid according to his work was realized.
This year, he was thirty years old.
To be honest, what he really felt at this time was not ecstasy, but actually uncertainty.
But he felt that as long as he could successfully publish this issue, he would be worthy of himself.
It doesn’t matter whether it can be released in the future or what the circulation is.
Unexpectedly, the market response was beyond everyone's expectations.
Even if there was no money at all for publicity, Zhao Yanping could only find ways to ask "Xinhua Bookstore" to help distribute it.
This publication became an instant hit.
Not only were all 70,000 copies of the first issue sold, but we also received hundreds of letters from readers across the country.
Some of them are asking about how to subscribe, and there are also many letters from fans of the Pipilu brother and sister.
In this way, the editorial team of "The Fairy Tale King" immediately decided to expand the second issue to 200,000 copies.
They have even considered that if they can guarantee 80% of sales for the next issue, they can issue it through the post office system.
In addition, it was precisely at this juncture that Zhao Yanping told Zheng Yuanjie another piece of good news that was completely unexpected.
A man from Beijing who said there was a "Polar Bear Food Factory" came to the magazine.
They not only wanted to advertise on "The King of Fairy Tales", but also wanted to talk to Zheng Yuanjie about the development and licensing of his fairy tale character products.
This time, Zheng Yuanjie really felt that she had succeeded.
Now even the famous food manufacturers in Beijing have come to Shanxi. What does this mean?
It shows that good wine is not afraid of deep alleys, it shows that his works are fully recognized by others, and it shows that the value of his works is far higher than he imagined.
This meeting was at the most famous hotel in Taiyuan, "Yi Yi Li".
When it came to spending public funds, Zhao Yanping was unprecedentedly generous under Zheng Yuanjie's encouragement.
We ordered a large table of beef and mutton steamed dumplings and stir-fried vegetables, and ordered two famous dishes: "roast oxtail" and "vinegar-soaked mutton".
The wine is of course Fenjiu, which costs at least seventy or eighty yuan for this table.
The reason for this is also because Zheng Yuanjie has used his brain and can't be picky and shrinking to appear that he has never seen the money before he makes an offer.
As soon as the other party arrived, Zheng Yuanjie saw this "Deputy Chief of the Polar Bear Administration Section" named Hong Yanwu.
Because he felt that he was too young, he deliberately tested it out before actually getting into the topic of discussion.
"Like my fairy tales? I've been reading Kuskaya's book recently, have you read it?"
The results are also extremely gratifying.
Hong Yanwu was stunned for a moment, then shook his head.
"I haven't read it. Which country is this person from? What kind of book did he write?"
Zheng Yuanjie shook her head and changed the topic, but smiled in her heart.
Because Hong Yanwu passed this small test, it was enough to prove that he did not have the usual habit of people in the capital talking about running things, and his words were credible.
They are not as hypocritical as those people in the Writers Association, and they all live a very fake life.
Even the name of the writer he made up, everyone nodded, saying they knew and had read it.
As the discussion progresses, the discussion becomes more harmonious.
Because Hong Yanwu is young, but he has a lot of real things in his belly.
Whether it is advertising or product development, his ideas sound reliable, reasonable, and full of whimsical ideas.
This surprised both Zhao Yanping and Zheng Yuanjie.
Take advertising for example. In addition to traditional paid advertisements that take up space, Hong Yanwu also proposed the concept of "soft advertising".
That is, he counted the name of a specific product "Polar Bear", as well as the buying and selling of clothing in "Xidan Quanyechang", "Donghuamen Night Market" and "Xiushui Street" as paid content, based on the frequency of its appearance in the article
Pay.
Reach a base price, say one hundred yuan.
Then if it appears once in the article, you will be paid once, and the payment will be based on the frequency of the content.
If you describe it in more detail, you can double the price.
This is certainly in line with Zheng Yuanjie’s mentality and in the interests of the publication. It couldn’t be better.
Speaking of which, it comes to the product development rights of fairy tale characters.
Hong Yanwu's purpose is actually to buy out the exclusive commercial development rights of Pipilu and Lu Xixi.
Specifically speaking, he will not touch the profits from cultural creations such as stories, plays, movies, and animations.
But the production and business activities of commodities such as stationery, clothing, and food all belong to him.
At the same time, he also hoped that Zheng Yuanjie could write some fairy tales with the big white bear from the "Polar Bear" factory as the protagonist.
Needless to say, these suggestions were also thought-provoking, allowing Zheng Yuanjie and Zhao Yanping to see a different realm of business operations.
In fact, after the two of them listened to Hong Yanwu chatting like this for an hour, no one touched the food and wine on the table.
Even though no one had eaten or felt hungry, they all listened with rapt attention.
But at this moment, the final key issue has to be touched upon.
The matter of quotation is on the table.
To be honest, Zheng Yuanjie has a good impression of Hong Yanwu.
Despite their short acquaintance, he was completely convinced that the other party was a standard doer.
He likes this kid's intelligence, his humor, his talent, and even more, his sincerity.
But for this money...how much does he need?
Are there no such examples across the country?
Zheng Yuanjie and Zhao Yanping looked at each other and originally wanted to ask their friends for advice.
But I found that the other party was also at a loss, and in the end I had to rely on myself.
It should be said that Zheng Yuanjie is a scholar after all and really lacks business experience.
In this case, he should have said that he would go back and think about it before giving an answer.
He doesn't know how to use excuses to make such detours, and his temperament is also straightforward.
So someone who didn't think twice about it immediately said, "One million!"