Chapter 22 Publishing
Happy days always pass quickly. In the blink of an eye, it is time to go to school again.

Liu Zhou is a bit of a homesick person, but thinking of his dream of becoming a director, he still boarded the flight to Beijing.

After returning to school, Liu Zhou received a letter from himself.

Seeing that it was sent from Shanghai, Liu Zhou knew that it must be the news about the "Mengya" magazine being sent there.

The content of the letter is very simple, and it can be summarized as a telephone communication.

Liu Zhou did not hesitate and immediately went outside the school to call the "Mengya" magazine.

"Wei, is this Editor Qu He? I'm Liu Zhou."

"Happy New Year, Liu Zhou. Are you back to school so soon?"

"Our Central Academy of Drama will start two days earlier."

"I'm talking to you this time because I have good news to tell you. Your novel is very popular. Congratulations, Liu Zhou, your first work has been a success."

Liu Zhou's novel has been serialized for eight issues and has more than 40,000 words so far, and the story content has begun to get better.

He was confident that this novel would be a hit in this era, but before the actual results came out, Liu Zhou was still a little nervous.

Now hearing the good news from editor Qu He, Liu Zhou couldn't help but smile.

In order to make Qu He feel more accomplished, Liu Zhou pretended to be surprised and said:

"Really? That's great! I'd also like more help from your editor, otherwise it's still a question whether my novel can be published."

"Haha, gold will always shine. Your novel is well written and will not be buried."

"Editor Qu, you didn't call me just to tell me this news, did you?"

"Of course not. There are two more things. One is that we have received a lot of letters from readers, most of which are addressed to you. I will send the letters to you tomorrow. You'd better pick out some and write back to the readers."

"No problem. It's my honor to have readers read my book. It's what I should do."

"One more thing. The magazine has decided to publish a book for you. Have you finished writing this novel?"

"I've finished it. I'll sort out the rest of the manuscript and send it to you."

During this period, if there was nothing else urgent, Liu Zhou would insist on writing at night, even when he went home for the New Year.

Liu Zhou just finished writing this novel before returning to school.

"That's good. My plan is to serialize it in the magazine for another two months. We will also proofread your novel during these two months and promote the news of publishing the book as a standalone."

"Really?" Liu Zhou was really surprised this time.

"Of course it's true. I personally applied to the editor-in-chief for this."

"Editor, thank you so much."

Only those who have actually published a book can be considered a writer. Just serializing a novel in a magazine does not make you a real writer.

In addition, being able to publish a single volume also means more income.

The real money comes from royalties. How much is the serialized manuscript fee?

Liu Zhou's novel has a total of 180,000 words, and even if it is fully serialized, it will only cost 9,000 yuan.

Well, at this point in time, nine thousand dollars is not a small amount, but it is still a lot less than the royalties.

"So what's the price of my book, and how many copies will be printed in the first print run?"

“This needs to be determined based on subsequent feedback and survey analysis, but in my opinion, the first print run should not be less than 30,000 copies.”

Although 30,000 volumes were not a lot, Liu Zhou was already very satisfied.

Liu Zhou is just a newcomer, but he is ahead of many people by being able to publish his first novel. There are also many people who publish their novels at their own expense in pursuit of their dream of becoming a writer.

And if the sales are good in the future, the magazine will definitely print more copies.

After chatting with Qu He for a few more words, Liu Zhou hung up the phone.

When Liu Zhou returned to the dormitory, he saw Liu Ye just arriving at school.

But when he saw Liu Ye, Liu Zhou couldn't believe his eyes.

It’s been less than a month since the winter vacation, but Liu Ye has gained weight and even has a little belly.

Liu Ye noticed Liu Zhou's look and felt a little embarrassed:
"Well, the food at home is so good."

"Whose family has bad New Year's meals? You'll be punished by Teacher Changli if you behave like this."

"I'm also worried about this. I didn't expect that I would gain weight easily. I just indulged myself during the winter break and suddenly gained weight."

"Then you're on your own. I can't help you with this."

"Forget it. At most I'll get scolded by Teacher Chang. I'll start losing weight tomorrow. By the way, I brought you some local specialties. I'll give them to you."

"Leave it alone for now, come on, I'll treat you to dinner."

"Take me out for dinner? Are you rich?"

"I'm in a good mood!"

"Won the lottery? Or are you in love?"

"Are you going or not? Why are you talking so much nonsense?"

"Go, of course! I'll change my clothes first."

This time, the two men's goal was very clear, they went straight to Donglaishun.

Liu Ye ate hot pot and drank wine, and said with emotion:
"It has to be a time-honored brand. This hot pot tastes really good."

"No wonder you've become so fat, I feel like you can eat more." "Isn't this your treat? I have to eat more. By the way, why did you suddenly treat me to hot pot?"

Liu Zhou said as he was scalding the mutton:
"I'm not lying to you. I'm just in a good mood."

"Whatever the situation, let me be happy too."

"I wrote a novel last semester and have been serializing it. I received a call from the editor today and it should be published in April."

"Oh my god, Lao Liu is amazing. He actually released a satellite without making any noise. What novel did he write and where is it serialized?"

"In Bud, it's called Twinkle Twinkle Star. You can pick up any magazine and see it."

"I didn't expect that my friend is actually a writer. I have to drink with you."

In the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, the status of intellectuals was still very high.

Liu Zhou did not refuse and clinked glasses with Liu Ye.

"Don't tell anyone about this. Just keep it to yourself."

"Why? This is a good thing. Shouldn't more people know about it?"

"Keep a low profile, understand? Besides, I feel good getting along with everyone like this now. I don't want to be treated differently."

"Okay, I promise to keep this to myself. When your book is published, I will contribute ten copies to your sales."

"Ten books are too few. As my friend, you would be embarrassed if you didn't buy a hundred or eighty."

"Not now, but when I become a big star and make a lot of money, I won't even blink an eye if I sell 1,800 copies, not to mention 100."

"Then not in my lifetime?"

"go away!"

"Ha ha!"

Just as the two were happily eating hot pot, three young men came and sat down at the table next to Liu Zhou.

Liu Zhou felt familiar with one of them, but he couldn't remember who it was, so he didn't pay much attention to it.

However, the content of their conversation made Liu Zhou very interested.

"Old Yu, is there still no news from Hong Kong?"

The person who spoke was a man of about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, with droopy eyebrows and eyes, and a particularly miserable appearance. He was also someone Liu Zhou felt a little familiar with.

"Not yet." Another young man said in Mandarin with a Hong Kong accent, "Your school's Youth Film Studio won't invest either?"

"Youth Studio has already rejected it. They think there are problems with our script unless we make some changes. But I can't possibly make any changes. If I do, it would be better not to shoot it."

"Lao Jia, how about we hand in the revised script and then shoot it according to our own ideas?" said another one of the three.

"This won't work. Although our short film won an award in Hong Kong and the school seems to value us, if Youth Factory invests, they will definitely send people here. If they find out and withdraw their investment, we will be in a mess."

Hearing this, the three of them fell silent, leaving only the sizzling sound of the hot pot.

"Why is it so difficult to make a movie nowadays!" said the young man named Lao Jia with emotion.

"I'll go to Hong Kong in a couple of days to see if there's anyone who wants to invest. You can look around here as well."

Just when the three of them were feeling a little depressed, a voice suddenly came to their ears.

"Are you talking about film investment?"

The three of them looked up and saw a young man of about eighteen or nineteen years old.

"you are?"

"My name is Liu Zhou, and I'm a freshman at the Central Academy of Drama. I saw you guys were talking about movies, so I couldn't help but come over and interrupt you."

Liu Zhou already knew that one of the three of them looked familiar, and after listening to their conversation he instantly understood who that person was. Wasn't it Jia Zhangke, whom he wanted to meet last year but was not able to?

Seeing them talking about investment, Liu Zhou knew that Jia Zhangke was raising funds for his famous work "Xiao Wu".

The capital city is not big, but not small either. Liu Zhou didn't expect to meet him at Donglaishun by chance.

"You know us?"

"I know you. You must be Senior Jia from Beijing Film Academy. I've also seen your award-winning short film "Xiao Shan Goes Home."

"So do you want to participate in a movie performance? If I remember correctly, you can't make movies in the first two years of the Central Academy of Drama." Jia Zhangke is very clear about some of the rules of the Central Academy of Drama.
"No, I'm not from the acting department."

Liu Zhou knew that the other party thought he was from the acting department, not to mention that he was not. Even if he was Liu Zhou, he would not be able to participate in Jia Zhangke's movie.

In addition to school regulations, it also has something to do with Jia Zhangke's style.

In later generations, the reason why Jia Zhangke's films stand out in the mainland film industry is his unique realism style.

Therefore, in order to highlight this documentary style, Jia Zhangke rarely looks for academic actors.

Many of the actors in his films were amateurs, and the only person he frequently collaborated with was his future wife.

"You're not from the acting department, so why are you here?"

"I see you seem to be short of funds. Actually, I can invest some money in you."

"Brother, stop it. We are in a state of annoyance. Don't make fun of us."

“You may think I’m joking, but I’m not. Maybe now you don’t believe that a freshman like me can come up with money to invest.

But if you still can’t find the funds in the future, you can come to the Central Academy of Drama to find me. My name is Liu Zhou.”

After saying that, Liu Zhou stopped bothering them. After paying the bill, he and Liu Ye returned to school.

(End of this chapter)