Chapter 75: Anthology Publication (Requesting Monthly Passes!)

With all the manuscripts required for the anthology now in place, and with Mikhail having poured another substantial wave of funding into the venture, the publication of the anthology has officially entered its countdown.

It is worth mentioning that at the very beginning, the profit-sharing ratio Mikhail discussed with Nekrasov was fifteen percent for Mikhail, but now, since Mikhail has contributed greatly to this venture, especially in the financial aspect.

This led Nekrasov to once propose a sixty-forty split with Mikhail, sixty for Mikhail and forty for himself; to this, Mikhail naturally thought in his heart, "Good brother!" but insisted, "It must be fifty-fifty! Let's not say another word!"

After all, as mentioned before, Nekrasov is almost irreplaceable in this venture, and the capital he contributed was only slightly less than Mikhail's; in such a case, Nekrasov might excitedly propose a sixty-forty split, but Mikhail could not truly accept that division.

We are brothers!

If Old Nek gets rich later, Mikhail will absolutely go visit his home.

And before the anthology's release, before Mikhail could even propose any promotional suggestions, Nekrasov ran over first to Mikhail to share his own idea:

"Mikhail, I plan to publish the news of the upcoming release of the 'Petersburg Anthology' in all newspapers and periodicals in Saint Petersburg, and perhaps Moscow as well. In short, I intend to launch a massive advertising campaign, but Panaev thinks the cost is simply too high, and many within our circle believe such an act is highly indecent and insults the dignity of literature.

But I still insist on this idea; however, before doing so, I would like to ask for your opinion first."

From these words, one can actually see why Nekrasov was able to become a first-class publisher; his instinct and ability in this regard are far superior to those of the noble friends around him who have never experienced hard times.

As for Belinsky, he simply lacks much business acumen and indeed has never really struggled in the lower depths.

However, though he proposed it, when Nekrasov spoke to Mikhail about this matter, his heart was actually somewhat uneasy; after all, when surrounded by voices of dissent, how many people can maintain confidence?

Moreover, this is truly a huge expense, the kind that could cause both their debts to surge even further.

In that case, even if Nekrasov has truly decided to do this, how could he dare to be full of confidence?

So Nekrasov found Mikhail to discuss this matter, and Mikhail replied as follows: "There is no more genius idea than this, Nikolai; I agree with it more than I could possibly agree. As an old saying goes, even fragrant wine fears the deep alley; without promotion, how will others know how good our anthology is, or where it is sold?"

As always, Mikhail's calm smile and firm tone shone like holy light into the deepest part of Nekrasov's heart, instantly boosting Nekrasov's confidence tenfold.

It is just that this old saying cited by Mikhail is slightly strange; in our Russia, is there any legal tavern that has no business?

Even the illegal ones remain booming.

In any case, Mikhail not only strengthened Nekrasov's confidence but also gave Nekrasov many promotional suggestions, helping him refine his idea.

And these suggestions of his left Nekrasov completely stunned; only after a long while did he come to his senses, then repeatedly exclaimed, "God, Mikhail, you are absolutely a genius in advertising too! Although some of the methods you mentioned seem like tactics only a devil would use, one still has to say, genius..."

Mikhail: "..."

Why the mix of praise and insult? I was just repeating what some people have already done.

Thus, after listening to Mikhail's opinions and suggestions, Nekrasov eagerly went off to do exactly as Mikhail had instructed.

It must be said that although Mikhail is full of theories, when it comes to putting things into concrete action, it still has to be left to Nekrasov.

And as Nekrasov turned certain feasible ideas into reality step by step, more and more people in Saint Petersburg and even further away in Moscow began to notice the news of this anthology:

"Igor, look quickly! It seems the 'Petersburg Anthology' is about to be published!"

"Hmm? What's so strange about that? New books appear in Petersburg every day, so many they are almost uncountable; I previously looked at two specifically, and both were written terribly."

"Mikhail's new novels and new poems will all appear in this anthology!"

"What?! Then when will it be on sale? I haven't seen him in the recent 'Fatherland Notes' at all; instead, I've seen several extremely boring articles. Alas! After reading his articles, I feel many authors write terribly, even some already famous writers!"

"It will be in these few days; I think we should go early. Who knows if it will be swept away like 'Fatherland Notes'?"

"Yes, I think so; since we can see it, our classmates will surely see it too."

"God, I really don't want to get up so early; dear Yaroslav, may I ask you a favor?"

"Impossible, Igor; rather than that, I would rather freeze to death with you in the morning of Saint Petersburg!"

"Oh, Mikhail, I know him; his novels are somewhat interesting, but truly educated Mr. and Mrs. will absolutely not go to look at them voluntarily. However, his poems are quite good; although he perhaps regards his lover too heavily, when read aloud to those ladies and Young Ladies, the effect is indeed excellent.

For his poems, I am willing to buy a copy."

"My opinion is much the same as yours; the themes of his novels often make people feel uncomfortable; if he could direct his gaze toward suitable people and things, then I believe he would definitely have a boundless future."

"Not only that Mikhail, but also the great translator Kronenberg, and the renowned Count Sollogub and Prince Odoevsky, plus many names we are all familiar with. Although the price seems a bit high, its content truly seems to justify the price."

"There are works by so many famous figures? It does look good, but how can they advertise in things like newspapers? It's just like those merchants who shout and scream to sell their own goods; it is truly indecent."

"I think so too, but let's buy a copy and see anyway."

Scenes similar to the above, as time passed, happened again and again in various places throughout Saint Petersburg.

On the streets, at universities, in cafes, in bookstores, in luxurious studies and living rooms, in apartments.

Such widespread occurrence, on one hand, is attributable to the sky-covering advertising campaign launched by Nekrasov; on the other hand, it is simply the celebrity effect; besides Mikhail, the recent rising star mentioned by many, the names of numerous respected writers and artists once again gilded this anthology, making more readers more convinced.

Meanwhile, Belinsky, seeing the finished product of this anthology, was also extremely excited; besides writing a preface and reviews, Belinsky was also enthusiastically promoting this anthology to people in his circle and many friends, thus adding fuel to the heat and discussion surrounding this anthology.

Of course, while some people are curious and expectant about this anthology, others certainly feel disdain and dissatisfaction, or even harbor hostility toward this anthology for certain reasons.

Kraevsky, the publisher of 'Fatherland Notes', is roughly one such person.

Strictly speaking, this matter actually has little to do with Kraevsky; it might even benefit him; for instance, he has been studying the promotional methods of this anthology lately; every time he thought he had figured it out, he would always discover something new.

While this opened his eyes, he has also begun to ponder how to apply these promotional tactics to his own magazine.

However, even so, as the momentum of this anthology grew stronger and stronger, Kraevsky's heart slowly began to feel uncomfortable and dissatisfied.

Simply because if this anthology did not exist, then all the works appearing here should logically have been published in 'Fatherland Notes'!

Besides the works of the famous Count Sollogub and Prince Odoevsky and other great writers, that Mikhail could not be an exception!

You must know that since Mikhail has recently devoted almost all his energy to this anthology, he has no longer submitted any manuscripts to 'Fatherland Notes'.

This led a considerable number of subscribers to write letters complaining about this, causing the subscription numbers for the last two issues of 'Fatherland Notes' to fluctuate quite a bit.

Although Kraevsky still refuses to admit how much influence a single writer can have on his magazine, the best situation would certainly be for him to continue submitting; the magazine side would not treat him poorly; if he writes a few more issues, it is very possible his fees will be raised further!

You must know that for a newcomer like him, this is already an excellent treatment.

After all, there are too many young authors in Saint Petersburg who want to submit their works to 'Fatherland Notes'; to get them published, they are even willing to accept not a single kopeck.

Under such circumstances, how can one not say that the treatment he received is not the best?

And among the young people willing to accept not a single kopeck, there is one at the gathering Kraevsky is currently attending.

Generally speaking, the literary circles in Saint Petersburg each have their own groups; it is hard to say who dominates alone; for instance, outside Belinsky's circle, many writers even regard him as a leper; if they meet him on the street, they are unwilling to greet him and simply do not want to stay with him.

However, this might in some sense be considered a good thing, because a considerable portion of writers are not good people; since there are progressive writers like Belinsky and his group who oppose serfdom, naturally there are also writers who lick the feet of the Tsarist government, hoping to live a life of glory and wealth.

For instance, Bulgarin, a quite famous writer in Saint Petersburg at this time; the name 'Natural School' was originally a derogatory term he used for a group of young authors who emulated Gogol; it was only later, through Belinsky's repeated elaborations, that this name became an alias for the early Russian realist school.

More abstractly, this fellow, besides opposing progressive writers, had truly become an agent of the secret police organ "Third Department"; any extremely radical remarks in the literary circle could indeed be reported by him to serve as evidence.

One can only say that some people genuinely rush to be dogs, and the "Third Department" genuinely hopes someone will be a dog.

However, perhaps in the minds of people like Bulgarin, they truly felt they were safeguarding Russia's fine traditions and social order.

Of course, if they could secure a few small personal benefits in the process of safeguarding the motherland, they would certainly be very willing.

Returning to the gathering Krayevsky is currently attending, it is almost his comfort zone; although he appears quite friendly toward Belinsky and his group on the surface, he is actually unwilling to interact with them too much.

The Mr. s before him, however, suit Krayevsky's temperament better.

Their views on "The Petersburg Collection" are also very consistent; all believe that advertising a perfectly fine collection in so many newspapers is a very undignified matter, to the extent that they say:

"Those two young lads are like clerks at the Apraksin Market, shamelessly dragging every passerby into the shop and boasting about their wares; where is their self-respect as writers? The atmosphere of the St. Petersburg literary circle is being ruined by actions like theirs!"

Although Krayevsky intends to use certain promotional tactics for his own magazine, this does not prevent him from sharing similar views with these Mr. s.

While they were discussing these matters, a young man who had gone to great lengths to squeeze into their gathering also hurriedly seized the opportunity to read his own works aloud.

St. Petersburg has plenty of such young people, harboring literary dreams, constantly trying various methods to seek connections, solely to present their own works before influential figures in the Cultural Circle.

Krayevsky had seen many such young people; after listening, he raised his eyes to look. The young man, who seemed somewhat agitated, upon seeing Krayevsky's stern and deep face, though perhaps unwilling in his heart, instinctively showed a smile with a hint of ingratiating intent.

Well written, asking for no reward, maintaining the due respect toward authoritative figures.

This is the kind of young author Krayevsky often sees and greatly likes.

As for that Mikhail, his understanding of the importance of platforms and recognition from authoritative figures seems insufficient, and he possesses little spirit of dedication.

The image of that young man facing him with an unchanged expression flashed through his mind again. Although Krayevsky felt only slightly displeased, he sincerely hoped the collection by those two young lads would fail; only after hitting a wall would they likely realize how precious the manuscript fees they can currently obtain truly are.

As Krayevsky thought this, the young man Andrei, who had listened to the conversations of many present, with his face burning hot, also could not help but sigh deeply in his heart for a long time.

God, must any young writer wishing to have their own works published in a magazine go through such things? Did that Mikhail also experience such things?

Furthermore, although he heard many people in this gathering belittle and disdain "The Petersburg Collection," as for Andrei himself, he will certainly buy a copy of the collection to read.

And to be honest, he always feels that many of the Mr. s present will also buy a copy.

So what exactly is this new novel?

Let us hope it is not another novel like "The Chameleon."

After reading "The Chameleon" last time, he first laughed heartily, but once he came to his senses, he refused to read it a second time.

(End of this chapter)