Chapter 91

Seeing Anjiu Jin Gangyi agree, Akiwara Yuto smiled, but just when he was about to take out the standard contract provided by the law firm, Anjiu Jin Gangyi said another sentence, which surprised him.

"Akiwara-san, although I agree to accept your conditions, I request to change the 5% of the share to 8%."

Akiwara Yuto frowned, "President Anjiu, I think the number 5% is already a reasonable range."

He didn't lie about this. The number 5% sounds small, but it is calculated based on total sales, not just net profit. And apart from this fee, Akiwara Yuto still needs to pay the fee for delayed payment.

Anjiu Jin Gangyi took a sip of tea and said unhurriedly: "Akiwara-san, for the extra 3%, it is actually for your own good."

He paused here and added: "May I ask if you have any understanding of the distribution system of the Nihon publishing industry?"

Akiwara Yuto didn't expect to hear this answer, and was a bit surprised for a while, but still answered politely: "Please tell me about it."

Before this, Akiwara Yuto's work was just to submit manuscripts to the "New Novel" editorial department every week. As for the subsequent distribution, he had not been in contact with it, so he was really blind in this regard.

Anjiu Jin Gangyi put down the teacup in his hand and began to talk. In his explanation, Akiwara Yuto learned about the book distribution mode of Anjiu Bookstore.

Generally speaking, the book distribution mode mainly has two types, namely direct sales and consignment sales: the former is that the publisher directly provides the book list to the bookstore, the bookstore places an order, and the publisher is responsible for delivery; the latter is to provide books to distributors (book agency companies), and the distributors buy them first, and then sell them to bookstores in various places in batches.

But no matter which mode, as long as the sales of books in bookstores cannot satisfy people, bookstores can initiate returns and ask the publisher to return the corresponding book purchase money.

Akiwara Yuto soon reacted that this extra 3% might be related to distribution, so he asked: "President Anjiu, please tell me your plan?"

Anjiu Jin Gangyi coughed lightly and said: "Akiwara-san, have you ever thought that if there is no extra publicity, even if this batch of books is printed, it may only..."

"Only?"

"Only be ordered in small quantities by bookstores and distributors, and after ordering, be inserted on the bookshelves of bookstores. By then, it is likely to be ignored by readers, and end up being returned."

Hearing this sentence, Akiwara Yuto was stunned. He originally thought that as long as he could write a masterpiece of his past life, he could sell hot like his past life. He didn't expect that there were so many detours inside.

But he thought for a while and found that what this President Anjiu said was not unreasonable.

In his past life, when Keigo Higashino wrote "The Devotion of Suspect X," he had already published many works such as "Journey Under the Midnight Sun" and "After School," and had won the Edogawa Rampo Award and the Mystery Writers of Japan Award.

In other words, the other party already had quite a bit of fame in the literary world and had a group of very loyal fans.

On these foundations, the big publisher who cooperated further promoted it, which caused this work to sell more than a million copies and gain a good reputation.

Akiwara Yuto thought for a while and soon made up his mind, asking: "President Anjiu, I understand what you mean. This extra 3% is an extra item for publicity, right? But I want to ask you, what is your plan?"

Although this question was asked a bit amateurishly, he had to ask clearly to avoid being cheated.

Anjiu Jin Gangyi smiled and talked about the plan: In addition to the 8.5 million yen for the early production and distribution of books, Anjiu Bookstore will take out another 7 million yen, of which 2 million yen will be used to open up direct sales channels for bookstores, including poster printing and trial reading booklet production; 4 million yen will be increased as a guarantee deposit for distributors, allowing the other party to order more goods.

Akiwara Yuto was still a little puzzled: "What about the remaining 1 million yen?"

"It will be used to invite a professional design company to re-produce the book cover," Anjiu Jin Gangyi said seriously.

Akiwara Yuto said: "President Anjiu, isn't it okay to use the most basic gray-black background color tone as the book cover?"

He had seen the Chinese and Japanese versions of "The Devotion of Suspect X" in bookstores in his past life and found that the Japanese version cover was white characters on a black background, and the Chinese version cover was white characters on a gray background.

This proves that even the simplest monochromatic cover will not affect the sales of the book.

Anjiu Jin Gangyi shook his head and asked a question: "Akiwara-san, do you know what the main role of a monochromatic cover is?"

"I'd like to hear the details."

Anjiu Jin Gangyi answered: "It is to highlight the names of the work and the author. So, if you are a popular writer, Akiwara-san, I would naturally be willing to adopt this proposal, but..."

Hearing this, Akiwara Yuto revealed an awkward smile on his face. Doesn't this sentence mean that he has no fame?

He had the intention to explain that he was called a "genius writer" by some book critics, but felt that this was suspicious of self-praise.

Akiwara Yuto struggled for a while, but still agreed to the 1 million yen cover production requirement. Mainly he also had his own considerations, feeling that the Japanese version of "Suspect X" he had seen in his past life was a bit ugly.

So, changing the cover might sell better, right?

After the two sides reached a consensus, they left Anjiu Bookstore and went to the Kitaoka Law Firm to sign the contract. In the contract, in addition to the 8% sales share, it also stipulated the extra publicity expenses and cover production expenses that Anjiu Bookstore must pay.

Walking out of the gate of the law firm, Anjiu Jin Gangyi looked at the contract in his hand, his mood was a bit complicated. After all, for him, this was no less than a gamble. If his judgment was wrong, Anjiu Bookstore would lose at least 10 million yen.

So I hope his decision this time is correct!

On the other side, Akiwara Yuto looked at the traffic on the road outside and thought about other aspects: Speaking of which, if it is about publicity, should he find some book critics to help promote it? But how can he touch these book critics?

After all, he is no longer publishing works on "New Novel," and he also lacks the big tree of Mantanshe behind him. This means that he lacks a channel to directly connect to newspapers and other channels.

Just then, Anjiu Jin Gangyi stepped forward, patted Akiwara Yuto on the shoulder, and asked: "Akiwara-san, I will call you Master Akiwara from now on. May I ask if you have time the day after tomorrow morning?"

Akiwara Yuto didn't care about the title, but asked back: "I have time, may I ask what's the matter?"

"Master Akiwara, in order to design a better cover, please go to the design studio with me."

Akiwara Yuto nodded. Even if the other party didn't mention this, he would say it himself. After all, as an author, he still hopes that the designed cover meets his wishes.

Speaking of which, can this version of "Suspect X" still sell hot with different era backgrounds, reader groups, and promotion methods than his past life?

He looked at the sunset in the distance and couldn't help but think about this question...