Chapter 180: Preparation for the Audiobook

As soon as a rumor was released in the publishing industry that Lady He Ben intended to lend her voice to an audiobook, there was no need for the little assistant Henry to investigate which publishers were capable; they came to her door on their own.

Even the agency that had always cooperated with Lady He Ben arrived with numerous options for her to choose from. The agencies had already organized all the pros and cons and other factors, so Henry did not need to help collect the data.

As for the reason for such enthusiasm, it was simple: among the many categories of audiobooks, children's books were the bestsellers. Add to that Lady He Ben, a golden brand, and it was clear to any discerning eye that this was a project guaranteed to make a profit with no risk of loss.

However, the old partners who had cooperated well with Lady He Ben were either retired or had moved to the second line. The data being handled was the responsibility of newcomers; the veterans were merely a stepping stone and did not handle specific affairs.

So, although the data placed before her was detailed enough, it lacked the emphasis on key points that matched the lady's habits, which made it difficult for Lady He Ben to choose.

Taking off her reading glasses, Lady He Ben finally put down the publishing company data. The young man from the agency sitting before her immediately asked, "Lady He Ben, I wonder if you have a particular publishing company in mind?"

"I'm sorry, I haven't decided yet." Lady He Ben smiled apologetically, then called out to the man beside her who was busy with other things. "Henry, come take a look and give me some advice."

The young man previously introduced as the assistant walked over. Although the young man from the agency felt a spark of competitive spirit, he did not show himself off too conspicuously in front of the client.

After all, there was no conflict of interest between the two; they simply did not believe the other had the qualification to dictate their preparation work.

Henry's original intention was that since someone had done the preparation work, they should be given a chance to show it. But since the boss had summoned him, he naturally had no reason not to step in and help.

Picking up the stack of publishing company data, Henry restrained his reading speed and skimmed through it once, though to others it looked like he had merely glanced over it hastily to finish the task.

Having formed an idea in his mind, Henry said, "Boss, actually, these few audiobook publishers are all quite powerful; whether in terms of capital, structure, or market performance, they are not much different. So I suggest we look at it from another angle."

Curious, Lady He Ben asked, "What kind of angle?"

"It is about what stories the boss wants to tell, what kind of stories, and then how much help these publishing companies can provide."

Seeing the puzzled expressions of everyone, Henry continued to explain, "Because I am not familiar with how the publishing industry operates, I will just speak my own thoughts; please take them as a reference only."

"Audiobooks are ultimately not like general literary works; we are just reciting existing stories. If we simply select some children's stories to recite, then are there any copyright issues with these stories?"

"You must know that the original versions of Grimm's Fairy Tales or Andersen's Fairy Tales are actually not so suitable as children's literature. So the fairy tales now are adapted and polished; will the copyright issues regarding this part cause trouble?"

"Then, after the boss selects a publishing company, how much of their copyright library is useful? Are we limited to choosing from what the publishing company has, or if we like a certain story, can the publishing company solve the copyright issues?"

"Of course, it is best if the publishing company's own copyright library is rich enough. Then, besides classic children's stories, should we consider some works of an era?"

"However, these might be handled by the editors of any publishing company once we reach the production stage, so let's just say I spoke nonsense. I am not familiar with the publishing business processes."

Does the knowledge inside a library contain everything in the world?

What a joke! It is not that thorough, okay.

Many things are impossible for those outside the circle to know. Even within the same circle, different companies may have their own corporate cultures and ways of doing things.

Unless an elder from the circle guides you, who would deliberately write a book to announce it to the world? Those who need the books have already bought them, and one cannot necessarily afford the printing costs unless a single book sells for an astronomical price.

So regarding such matters, even if Henry had torn the library apart, he would still be blind as a bat. He could only speak nonsense based on his own thoughts.

But Henry did not wait for others to express their opinions and continued, "Moreover, Boss, do not forget that your greatest advantage is not your voice. You are an actress, an Oscar-winning leading lady."

Hearing this, Lady He Ben felt a bit at a loss. This made him laugh in frustration, saying, "So what if I am an actress? Does that mean I should perform it as a radio drama..."

Upon saying this, Lady He Ben herself felt it too. He thought for a moment and asked, "Can we do that?"

Henry smiled and said, "Just because no one has done it doesn't mean we can't. However, I do not suggest that the boss handle everything yourself. It is like making a movie; what you are good at is being an actress."

"So we also need directors, cinematographers, composers, and other creative personnel, and we need a good script. Then the question arises: is there any publishing company willing to propose a plan like this?"

"Perhaps some will be interested, and some will not be interested and withdraw. For the publishing companies willing to cooperate, we just need to look at their production plans, just like looking at scripts in the past. Then who to choose to cooperate with, Boss, you should know better than anyone."

"Can we do this?" This time, Lady He Ben asked the young man who had come from the agency.

Sensing the gaze and the question, the young man hurriedly said, "If this is your request, Lady He Ben, I will convey it to the publishing companies on your behalf and screen for those willing to cooperate."

Although Lady He Ben's box office appeal was far less than that of her in her prime, her status was enough to qualify her to make demands of the producers.

So the agent could only represent her to negotiate with those publishers, rather than the other way around, standing on the side of the producers and demanding that the artists under them cooperate just to complete a task, so that the agent could get a commission.

Lady He Ben no longer hesitated and said, "Mm, then please discuss this direction with the publishing companies."

Lady He Ben was also familiar with this kind of tug-of-war negotiation and naturally did not want to reach a result in one go. So this matter was left to the agency people to negotiate, after all, they could get a commission precisely because they were responsible for handling such things.

And the response came faster than imagined. The next afternoon, the agency people brought two individuals to meet Lady He Ben in the coffee shop attached to the hotel where she was staying.

The other side also seemed to have prepared quite a lot of data; they were not coming to talk about ideals with empty words.

(End of this chapter)