Chapter 316: Defeating Oneself

Time gradually passed, and thanks to the efforts of everyone at Tsutaya Bookstore, the markets in various regions achieved impressive results.

By the end of January, second-hand bookstore chains had been established one after another across the country, perfecting the publisher’s nationwide warehousing and distribution network.

At the same time, thanks to the continuous efforts of the marketing department staff led by Kuda Kenichi, more and more bookstores sent in orders.

These bookstores ranged in size from large to small.

Some were chain bookstore brands, some were large central bookstores, and others were independently operated personal bookstores, totaling nearly 5,000 locations.

Without exception, upon hearing that they could order books without an advance payment, they all increased their order volumes.

Faced with a massive influx of orders, the printing plant under Tsutaya Bookstore had to work overtime through the night to rush the print runs.

The freshly printed books were sent to trucks for shipment to storage points across the country as soon as they came off the assembly line, and after being counted and bulk-packaged at these points, they were distributed to all the bookstores.

During the final tally, everyone at Tsutaya Bookstore was surprised to discover something.

Sales of some older books that had been published over a year ago and were already on the decline had actually risen significantly once again.

For example, works like "Death of a Mystery Writer," "Manslaughter," and "ZOO" each received orders of over 50,000 to 100,000 copies.

This left Akiwara Yuto feeling somewhat puzzled, even suspecting whether the distributors had deliberately played tricks in the channels before.

However, after asking a few of them, he discovered that it really wasn't the distributors' fault.

First, Kuda Kenichi and the others were too enthusiastic; they kept cozying up to various bookstores and offered a certain discount for cumulative orders exceeding 5,000 copies.

So, many bookstores were tempted and increased their order volumes.

Second, as the Uemura Prize approached, more and more newspapers began publishing related news. As the candidate currently with the best hope of winning, he naturally appeared in the newspapers as well.

Therefore, many readers who had not previously purchased related mystery works also began asking bookstore clerks about his works.

This resulted in the total book output of Tsutaya Bookstore reaching 700,000 copies in January, which should have been a slow season, nearly double that of the same period last year.

After hearing this good news, Akiwara Yuto felt completely relieved.

However, he soon fell into a "happy dilemma."

Everything has its pros and cons; the mystery market in Japan only sells about ten million copies a year at most. Even if you squeeze out the excess, you can only sell another two or three million copies.

Therefore, if one were to evaluate this year's market based on current sales, Keihan Publishing was already not worth mentioning.

But what to do next? Should he release new books in the mystery market again?

But even if he released new books, his biggest competitors would likely be his own previous works.

He couldn't just keep playing the game of defeating himself, could he?

Come to think of it, he had to leave a way for other mystery writers to make a living!

Soon, he fell into deep thought, and time quickly reached February 14th, the day before the Uemura Prize award ceremony.

As a candidate, Akiwara Yuto had received an invitation early on and arrived at a high-end restaurant in Kyoto that day to attend an industry gathering organized by the judging committee.

As an industry gathering, the committee invited a group of veteran writers.

But to be honest, they were all the same "familiar faces," just like the Mystery Writers Association holding a meeting in a different place.

After he arrived, many writers at the venue cast different looks at him; some were appreciative, some envious, but a very small number were jealous.

After all, Akiwara Yuto had only debuted for two and a half years and had already achieved such great fame.

And the Uemura Prize, the highest award in the mystery literature world, was already practically set to be his.

Besides writers, there were also some officials from the Ministry of Education and figures from the cultural circle at the venue. Upon seeing Akiwara Yuto, they also enthusiastically gathered around him.

Because of Akiwara Yuto's legendary aura, they had always wanted to have an in-depth exchange with him.

Unfortunately, Akiwara Yuto usually entrusted everything to Asano Aiko and didn't even go to clubs. Except for people from Tsutaya Bookstore, others never had a chance to meet him.

Now that there was an opportunity, they naturally wanted to curry favor with him.

Get familiar first; in case they needed to ask for a favor in the future.

Regarding these people, Akiwara Yuto never turned anyone away; he smiled slightly and exchanged business cards with them, giving them plenty of face.

By the time the dinner was almost over, he had collected a huge stack of business cards, so many that his pockets couldn't hold them anymore.

"Akiwara, have something to eat."

Seto Tamae, who was also attending the gathering, walked over. She was wearing a traditional kimono and held up a plate of eel sushi, handing it to Akiwara Yuto. Akiwara Yuto thanked her, then picked it up and swallowed it in one bite.

Because he had been dealing with people the whole time, he really hadn't eaten much, and his stomach was growling with hunger.

"Akiwara, how are you feeling right now?" Seto Tamae asked him with a gentle smile.

Akiwara Yuto smiled calmly: "I'm definitely a bit excited. But to be honest, my mindset is very calm now."

Back in November, he knew the feasibility of winning the award was very high. Compared to his "The Train," the other candidate works were not worth mentioning in terms of reputation or sales.

As long as the judging committee wasn't crazy and still had to consider the credibility and future of the Uemura Prize, they had to consider the opinions of the broad readership in the market.

Seto Tamae nodded slightly: "Time really flies."

Listening to these words, Akiwara Yuto couldn't help but think of past events.

Since his debut, he had experienced the Mantansha Literature Prize, the Mystery Writers Association Newcomer Prize, and the Uemura Prize for the first and second halves of 1993.

And these four awards all had very dramatic events.

During the Mantansha Literature Prize, the gold award that should have been his was snatched away, and afterward, Seto Tamae publicly supported him.

After that, he and Mantansha officially headed toward a split.

During the Mystery Writers Association Newcomer Prize, he had just casually adapted a piece and submitted it, but unexpectedly won the grand prize.

Taking the opportunity of the acceptance speech, he gave Mantansha a good scolding to vent his anger, which also left an opportunity to resolve the situation of being blacklisted.

And for last year's first-half Uemura Prize, he was shortlisted but didn't win because of the obstruction of the orthodox school.

But it was precisely after this that he won over the New Orthodox school, causing a split within the orthodox school.

And today, before this Uemura Prize, he had developed a conflict of interest with Keihan Publishing.

One can only say, the world is unpredictable!

Just as Akiwara Yuto was feeling sentimental, Seto Tamae looked at him and tentatively asked: "Akiwara, Mantansha is preparing to sell 'New,' are you interested?"