Chapter 105: Demand an Apology!

Akiwara Yuto picked up the contract and read it carefully for several glances, finding that compared to the previous contract, the sincerity of *New Novel* this time could be said to be much more, obviously having spent a lot of money.

The manuscript fee for serialization was increased from the previous standard of 7,000 yen per page to 19,000 yen per page, almost doubling.

The royalties for the standalone volume also reached the standard that only veteran writers have, which is 18% of the selling price, and it stipulated that the quantity of the first edition should not be less than 80,000 copies.

Looking at it from any angle, one would feel that this is not a small number!

Akiwara Yuto sighed and put down the contract in his hand.

He admitted that he was "moved" a little bit just now.

Cooperating with President Anjiu Bookstore, although he could obtain a higher share, at the same time, he had to participate in the work of channel distribution and promotion, which required a lot of energy.

Conversely, although the royalties Mantanshe gave him were only 18%, through Mantanshe's channels, his works could be recognized by readers faster and be noticed by book reviewers.

Looking at it this way, selling hundreds of thousands of copies a year is not a problem!

So in his past life, famous writers like Keigo Higashino, Haruki Murakami, etc., although they could self-publish, most of them still chose large publishers.

After all, promotion and channels are two aspects that cannot be ignored.

But even if he went to a large publisher, he wouldn't consider Mantanshe... is it possible that he would be made difficult again?

Akiwara Yuto put down the document, sat cross-legged on the tatami, and then put the contract document back on the table.

He smiled and said: "Editor-in-chief Songdao, sorry, I still hope to continue to cooperate with President Anjiu Bookstore. After all, my new book has just been released."

"Teacher Akiwara, you should know that if you continue to cooperate with President Anjiu Bookstore, your work might not sell 100,000 copies a year," Songdao Kazuhiro persuaded: "If you can return to *New Novel*, Mantanshe can act as an agent in full and increase efforts in channels and promotion."

He paused, then added: "In that case, 200,000 copies a year, no, 300,000 copies is also possible!"

Actually, there was another place he could persuade the other party, which was to use the standalone volume publishing rights of the *ZOO* series within 3 years as a threat.

However, he believed that since Akiwara Yuto made the choice to cooperate with a small publisher like President Anjiu Bookstore, he could naturally understand this point.

Akiwara Yuto picked up the teacup and took a sip, was silent for a while, and then said: "Editor-in-chief Songdao, what is your opinion on the Mantanshe Literary Award?"

Songdao Kazuhiro struggled, but could only say: "Teacher Akiwara, I understand your mood. But please understand that the result of the award ceremony is very difficult to change. After all, this involves the image and face of Mantanshe."

Akiwara Yuto showed a smile.

Mantanshe's face is important, but does he have to compromise for this?

He thought for a while and responded: "Editor-in-chief Songdao, I can return to *New Novel* to continue serializing, but I hope you can agree to two conditions."

Songdao Kazuhiro was surprised. He didn't expect Akiwara Yuto to say this. For a moment, he couldn't care about worrying about other things and directly opened his mouth: "Teacher Akiwara, please speak."

"The first condition is that I hope Department Head Kihara can publicly apologize to me. The second condition is that Takei Kohei must be transferred."

Akiwara Yuto was too lazy to play any more games of sincere pleading with the other party. He directly put forward this requirement that could not be agreed to.

In fact, once these two conditions were put forward, there was no room for cooperation between him and Mantanshe.

Kihara Daigo, as the department head and also the person in charge of all literary journals, would certainly not tolerate himself bowing and apologizing to a newcomer writer.

Once that happened, the other party would undoubtedly lose face within Mantanshe.

However, Akiwara Yuto didn't care. Even if he wasn't at Mantanshe, he could go to other large publishers, or continue to cooperate with President Anjiu Bookstore.

Believing that relying on those works in his memory, he could still climb to the top of the literary world step by step.

By that time, he would make these two people feel the unfair treatment he encountered properly!

And Asano Aiko, he would also use another way to give back to her.

Sure enough, after hearing this requirement from Akiwara Yuto, Songdao Kazuhiro was silent for a long time before slowly opening his mouth: "Teacher Akiwara, is there really no room for maneuver?"

Akiwara Yuto stood up, picked up the contract on the table, handed it to Songdao Kazuhiro, and said in an unhurried tone: "Editor-in-chief Songdao, ever since Department Head Kihara awarded the prize to Kadowaki Yuzhen for personal reasons, I had already made this decision..."

Songdao Kazuhiro saw his attitude was firm, sighed in his heart, stuffed the document into his briefcase, bowed, and said goodbye.

Akiwara Yuto didn't see him off, just nodded.

Songdao Kazuhiro stepped on the stairs and left Akiwara Yuto's house.

When he was walking on the street, looking at the streetlights that had already lit up on both sides, he sighed in his heart.

Teacher Akiwara, many things, it's not that you think you can leave, and it will have nothing to do with you...

7:30 PM, President Anjiu Bookstore.

Nishida Youhei returned to the bookstore, stepped on the stairs to the second floor, pushed the door open, and found that the only two female employees of the publisher—Satake Maki and Bando Haruka—were still working.

"Yo, still not off work so late." Xidao Youhui waved his hand, walked into the office, and sat at his workstation.

"Preparing to leave." Bando Haruka stopped the action of applying lipstick, then stuffed the makeup mirror in her hand into her bag, "Nishida, the work recently has been very hard."

"Nothing of the sort." Xidao Youhui rubbed the back of his head with his hand and said with a smile: "After all, the better *Suspect X* sells, the more the publisher can continue to operate."

Satake Maki, who was checking documents, also turned around, nodded, and said seriously: "Xidao-kun, it must be tiring to be responsible for dealing with bookstores, you've really worked hard recently."

"Hehe, it's okay." Xidao Youhui's usually steady face also showed a hint of a smile. After all, being praised by the girl he liked made him feel very happy in his heart.

Just then, Bando Haruka looked up and said: "But to be honest, is selling well really a good thing?"

Hearing this, Xidao Youhui was stunned, while Satake Maki replied with dissatisfaction: "Senior Ban Cang, why do you say that?"

Bando Haruka shrugged and explained: "Teacher Akiwara is a writer who has already debuted after all. If he sells better and better, I guess more large publishers will extend an olive branch to him."

She smoothed her hair and said in an indifferent tone: "In that case, he only needs to pay a penalty, and he can choose to terminate the contract. However, if there is a penalty, our publisher didn't lose anything."

After finishing this sentence, the scene suddenly fell silent.

Bando Haruka didn't care either. She stood up, said "Bye-bye" to the other two, and left stepping on high heels.

She was going to have a date with her new boyfriend tonight and didn't have much heart for work. With this time, it's better to catch a rich husband early.

Satake Maki looked at Bando Haruka's background and fell into silence.

She knew that what the other party said made sense. After all, President Anjiu Bookstore and Akiwara Yuto only signed a cooperative relationship contract. Even if it ended one day, it wouldn't be strange.

But teacher Akiwara, will you really choose to leave? ===== CHAPTER 106 =====