Chapter 110

Takei Kohei turned the paper on the table to a different orientation so that Kihara Daigo could see it more clearly, then said, "Department Chief, I think we should change our way of thinking."

"Change our way of thinking?" Kihara Daigo was somewhat puzzled.

Takei Kohei nodded and replied, "I understand what you are worried about, which is that after Akiwara Yuto's work becomes a big hit, it might make the vice president and the board of directors dissatisfied with you, thinking that you were the one who drove away this genius."

He paused and continued, "So, why not take the first step and let them develop a negative impression of Akiwara Yuto first?"

Kihara Daigo frowned, was silent for a few seconds, and then said, "Takei, tell me your opinion."

"Yes," Takei Kohei nodded slightly and explained, "We can fabricate some rumors, saying that before this, Akiwara Yuto already had the intention to leave, and you, despite trying to persuade him in every possible way, were still rejected by the other party."

"In this way, it can be explained that you awarded the Gold Prize to Menxie Youzhen for the sake of Mantanshe Society's interests. After all, a writer who is about to leave can hardly be considered one of Mantanshe Society's own, can he?"

Hearing this explanation, Kihara Daigo suddenly realized.

If they operated this way, all responsibility would be pushed onto Akiwara Yuto, and not only would he have no losses, but he would also be seen by those above as acting in the interest of Mantanshe Society.

Thinking of this, he laughed, "Takei, this isn't a rumor, is it?"

"You are right, this is the truth." Takei Kohei also revealed a "politician-style" smile, "But if we do this, we still need to do some things so that the people above can see your determination."

"Hmm?"

"Send word to all the media that cooperate with Mantanshe Society, telling these media not to publish book reviews or other opinions on Akiwara Yuto's work!"

Kihara Daigo frowned and said, "Wouldn't that be a bit too much?"

Doing this was actually already a form of disguised blacklisting; once done, there would be no room for reconciliation between Mantanshe Society and Akiwara Yuto.

Takei Kohei shook his head, "Department Chief, if every writer were like Akiwara Yuto, who just walks away after becoming famous, then how would the outside world view Mantanshe Society, and how would those above view you?"

His tone became heavier, "Therefore, we need to kill the chicken to warn the monkeys, and punish one to warn a hundred! Moreover, Akiwara Yuto has no notable awards to date; at best, he can only be considered a newcomer, so it won't cost much."

Takei Kohei actually had his own agenda; in his view, he had spent so much effort to invite Akiwara Yuto, only for the other party to walk away. This made him somewhat annoyed and embarrassed!

Kihara Daigo hesitated for less than two seconds before deciding to accept this proposal.

"Takei, I'll leave this matter to you."

7:00 PM, Chiyoda Ward, Akiwara Yuto's home.

Akiwara Yuto did not know that Mantanshe Society was preparing to make some arrangements against him; he had just finished dinner and was sitting at his desk thinking about the next step of his promotion plan.

Watching the flow of people coming and going in the night outside the window, he took out the paper and pen from his drawer and began to doodle and write on the paper.

As of now, the most important goal was still to further promote "The Devotion of Suspect X," but because of the lack of promotional channels, he could only rely on word-of-mouth from readers and posters in cooperative bookstores, so the promotion was relatively slow.

As for the traffic from the internet, it was unlikely to bring in a large number of readers without several weeks of accumulation.

After all, according to his understanding, the detective fiction forum where he posted only had about 50,000 netizens. And this post of his had already sunk quite a bit when he checked it earlier.

But after serializing for a few more weeks, the situation would be much better. After all, the longer the story, the more it could attract readers.

Akiwara Yuto put down his pen, then stood up and walked a few steps, continuing to ponder.

That said, it would be great if some book reviewers could publish a couple of reviews.

Back then, "New Novel" was able to sell from less than 30,000 copies to over 200,000, which was inseparable from the help of numerous book reviewers behind the scenes.

But the current situation was different from before; Anjiu Bookstore was just a small publisher, and the weekly sales of "Suspect X" were only 4,000 copies.

Under these conditions, wanting to get the attention of book reviewers would take forever.

Since that was the case, should he take the initiative to contact them, or mail two books over?

But if he did that, would it not be in line with the rules of the Japanese literary circle?

After all, book reviewers had another name, called literary critics, and they already had a different standpoint from the author themselves.

Akiwara Yuto thought for a long time, and finally decided to entrust President Anjiu to see if there were any channels in this regard.

That experience at Mantanshe Society made him know that he absolutely could not sit and wait for death; at the very least, he had to try.

Moreover, judging from the experience of his past life, the book "The Devotion of Suspect X" was highly favored by readers and book reviewers, and it had even won numerous awards.

So if he could let the book reviewers successfully see this book, presumably he should be able to win them over!

Akiwara Yuto clenched his palm and made up his mind; when he found a suitable opportunity, he would talk to President Anjiu about this matter.

After thinking for a long time, he felt a bit thirsty, so he went downstairs to get a glass of water in the kitchen.

As he passed the entrance, the phone rang.

Hearing the ring, Akiwara Yuto walked quickly and picked up the receiver: "Hello, this is Akiwara Yuto, may I ask who this is?"

"Akiwara-sensei, it's me, Satake Maki." A crisp female voice came from the other side of the receiver.

Akiwara Yuto was a bit puzzled, but still asked: "Editor Satake, is there something?"

Satake Maki was a bit shy when she heard Akiwara Yuto's words, but she continued anyway: "Akiwara-sensei, are you free in the next two weeks? We want to plan a tour book signing event."

"Tour book signing?" Akiwara Yuto was a bit surprised, but soon became interested, "Please tell me in detail."

Satake Maki began to explain to the receiver.

Akiwara Yuto also learned a lot of information based on what she said.

In order to further increase sales, Anjiu Bookstore decided to cooperate with several bookstores that sold well to hold several small book signings, thereby promoting the sales of "Suspect X."

Although it remained to be seen how many sales could be increased specifically, there was still a certain promotional effect.

Akiwara Yuto hesitated for a while and asked another question: "Didn't we make a lot of signed bookmarks before?"

"Akiwara-sensei, it's like this. Because President Anjiu communicated with the bookstores later, he thought that if there were too many signed bookmarks, it might cause the signatures to depreciate, so we kept them in reserve for now."

Because she was worried that Akiwara Yuto would feel that he had done useless work, Satake Maki added another sentence.

"We will use this batch of bookmarks when we release the hardcover edition later."

Akiwara Yuto nodded and asked again: "Then how should the promotion for the book signing be handled?"

This wasn't his past life, and promotional channels were still limited. If it wasn't done well, there might not be many readers on the day of the book signing.

In that case, he would be a bit embarrassed.

Satake Maki replied: "As for promotion, we are currently arranging to post promotional posters inside each cooperative bookstore and have found people to distribute flyers on the street. However, regarding newspaper space, there might not be much budget, so please forgive us, Akiwara-sensei."

"It's fine, I can understand." Akiwara Yuto still knew the specific situation of Anjiu Bookstore, and he asked another question: "When is the first book signing?"

"We will notify you specifically after we finish the arrangements here. Currently, it looks like it will be next week."

"Got it, thank you for your hard work."

Akiwara Yuto and Satake Maki chatted briefly for a few more sentences, then took the initiative to end the call.

He put down the receiver and pondered another question: his handwriting looked like a dog's scratch, should he practice it well?

Otherwise, it would be a bit embarrassing at the book signing.

Never mind, he would practice well this week.

While Akiwara Yuto was practicing his calligraphy, Anjiu Bookstore began to constantly improve the promotional plan and related work to plan the tour book signing, and was well-prepared for the docking with the bookstores.

At this stage, "Suspect X" ushered in a new week of sales, and "Death of a Detective Novelist" also began its third installment of serialization...