Chapter 120: Preparation for Audiobooks

Once word got out in the publishing industry that Audrey Hepburn was interested in lending her voice to audiobooks, she didn't even need Henry, the little assistant, to check which publishing houses could do it; people took the initiative to come to her.

Even the agency that had always worked with Ms. Audrey Hepburn brought many choices for the lady to pick from. The pros and cons and other factors didn't even need Henry to help collect information; the agency had already organized them well.

As for the reason for being so enthusiastic, it was simple: among the many categories of audiobooks, children's books are the best-selling. Plus, Audrey Hepburn's golden signboard. It was clear to anyone with eyes that this was a project that would definitely make money.

However, the old partners who worked well with Audrey Hepburn were basically either retired or had retreated to the second line. The information being handled was all the responsibility of newcomers. The old folks were just a stepping stone and were not responsible for specific matters.

So the information placed in front of her was detailed enough, but it didn't emphasize the key points according to the lady's habits, which made Audrey Hepburn dazzled.

Taking off her reading glasses, Audrey Hepburn put down the publishing company information in her hand, and the young person from the agency sitting in front of her asked anxiously, "Ms. Hepburn, I wonder if you have a preference for any publishing company?"

"Sorry, I haven't decided yet." Audrey Hepburn smiled apologetically, then called the man who was tinkering with other things nearby. "Henry, come help me take a look and give some advice."

The young man who had been introduced as an assistant walked over. Although it aroused a competitive spirit in the young person from the agency, he wouldn't be too obvious in front of the client.

After all, there was no conflict of interest between the two; he just didn't think the other party had any qualifications to point fingers at his preparation work.

Henry's original intention was that since someone had done the preparation work, he should give them a chance to perform. But since the boss summoned him, he naturally had no reason not to help.

Picking up the stack of publishing company information, Henry restrained his reading speed and browsed through it, although in the eyes of others, it looked like he just glanced over it and was done.

After having an idea in his mind, Henry said, "Boss, actually these audiobook publishing houses are quite capable; whether it's capital, structure, or market performance, they are all about the same. So I suggest, why not look at it from another angle."

Audrey asked curiously, "What kind of angle?"

"That is, what stories you want to tell, what kind of stories. And what kind of help these publishing companies can provide."

Looking at everyone's puzzled expressions, Henry continued to explain, "Because I am not familiar with how the publishing industry operates, I will just say my thoughts, and take them as a reference."

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

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

"Then after you choose a publishing house, how much of their copyright library is useful? Can we only choose from what the publishing company has, or can the publishing company solve the copyright issues after we take a fancy to a certain story?

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

"However, these might be handled by the editors of any publishing company when it reaches the production stage, so just take it as me talking nonsense. I'm not familiar with the business process of publishing."

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

Are you kidding! It's not that thorough at all, okay.

Many things, if you are not a person in the circle, you can't know at all. Even in the same circle, different companies may have their own corporate culture and ways of doing things.

Unless there are old people in the circle to lead, who would deliberately write a book to announce it to the world? The buyers who can use it have all bought it, and it may not be able to afford the cost of printing the book, unless a single book is sold at a sky-high price.

So this kind of thing, even if Henry tore up the library, he was still blind. He could only talk nonsense based on his own ideas.

But Henry didn't wait for others to express their opinions and continued, "And Boss, don't forget, your biggest advantage is not your voice. You are an actress, an Oscar winner."

Audrey Hepburn felt a bit clueless when she heard this. This made her laugh angrily, and she said, "So what if I'm an actress? Are you suggesting I perform it like a radio play..."

Once this was said, Ms. Hepburn herself felt it too. She thought for a while and asked, "Can it be done like this?"

Henry smiled and said, "Just because no one has done it doesn't mean it can't be done. But I don't suggest you handle everything yourself, Boss. This is like making a movie; what you are good at is being an actress.

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

"Maybe some will be interested, and some will not be interested and withdraw. For the publishing company willing to cooperate, we just need to look at their production plan, isn't it the same as looking at a script in the past? So who to choose to cooperate with, you should be more familiar with it than anyone else, Boss."

"Can it be done like this?" This time, Audrey Hepburn asked the young man from the agency.

Noticing the gaze and the question, the young man said hurriedly, "If this is your request, Ms. Hepburn, I will convey it to the publishing company and screen the objects willing to cooperate."

Although Audrey Hepburn's box office appeal is far less than it was in her prime, with her status, she is qualified to make demands to the production side.

So the agent could only represent her and negotiate with those publishers, rather than the other way around, standing in the position of the publisher to require the artist to cooperate, just to complete a job, so the agent could get a commission.

Ms. Hepburn no longer hesitated and said, "Hmm, please trouble you to discuss with the publishing company in this direction."

Audrey Hepburn was also familiar with this kind of tug-of-war negotiation, and naturally, she didn't want to get results in one go. So this matter was left to the agency people to negotiate; after all, they could get a commission, so they were responsible for handling such things.

And the response came faster than imagined. The next afternoon, the agency people brought two people to meet with Audrey Hepburn in the hotel's attached coffee shop.

The other party also seemed to have prepared a lot of information, not just talking about ideals with empty words.