Chapter 39 Sales are booming, and status is rising
Time flies, and 1997 will be over in the blink of an eye.

On New Year's Day, Liu Zhou's second novel "Want to See You" was officially published.

This time, Mengya magazine was much bolder and the first print run was 300,000 copies.

Compared to the first print run of 30,000 copies of Twinkle, Twinkle Star, this is ten times the amount.

The magazine did not make such a bold decision on a whim, but rather after detailed investigation and careful consideration.

The novel "Want to See You" was very popular when it was serialized, and its popularity was no less than that of "Twinkle, Twinkle Star".

In addition, Liu Zhou’s first novel officially announced sales of over one million copies in mid-December.

This also makes Liu Zhou the youngest writer to have his works sold over a million times, and he did so with just one work.

Although this type of youth novel has a relatively low "literariness" in the entire literary world, just like martial arts novels, it is not highly regarded by traditional writers.

But when the sales of youth novels exploded, even traditional writers had to face up to Liu Zhou.

Just like in later generations, traditional novels declined and online literature rose.

In the beginning, traditional literature also looked down upon online literature, but when online literature became popular, the literary world had to pay enough attention to it.

Look at the top online writers in later generations. They are generally members of a provincial writers’ association or even members of the China Writers Association. Some of the more powerful ones even serve as vice-chairmen of the Writers Association.

So when the sales of Liu Zhou's first novel exceeded one million, his name began to become famous in the Chinese literary world.

A very simple example is that not long ago, the Guangdong Province Writers Association called him personally and invited him to join the association. He only needed to fill out an application form and he didn't have to worry about anything else.

On the last day of 1997, Liu Zhou was notified that his application was approved and he officially became a member of the Guangdong Writers Association.

In the past few days, many media wanted to interview Liu Zhou, but he turned them all down because he didn't want to deal with the media so soon.

As for Liu Zhou's popularity at this time, "Mengya" magazine is undoubtedly the most knowledgeable.

Because it is difficult for ordinary people to contact Liu Zhou, he can only be contacted through "Mengya" magazine.

It was precisely because of Liu Zhou's high popularity at the time that the magazine dared to print 300,000 copies of "Want to See You" when it was published.

Not only that, the magazine also asked the printing house to be prepared to print more copies at any time.

This time the magazine has really taken drastic measures and has distributed the novel nationwide as soon as it was first released, in a race against time to fight against pirated copies.

Liu Zhou's novel did not disappoint the expectations of Mengya magazine. Three hundred thousand copies were sold out in less than five days after it was released.

Seeing that the sales were so hot, the magazine asked the printing factory to print more copies on the second day of its release.

The magazine's strategy of racing against time with pirated copies was obviously effective, and it got a big piece of the pie right from the start.

In fact, pirates had long been eyeing Liu Zhou's second novel, and pirated copies had already appeared on the market on the third day after it was released.

The magazine is not in a hurry about this, and the extra 300,000 copies can be sold slowly.

As for the sales of this novel, no one at Mengya magazine thought that it would fall below one million copies.

The novel's sales were booming, and the person who was most happy was Liu Zhou.

His royalties for this novel are 25%, and the selling price is yuan, which means that Liu Zhou can get yuan for every copy sold.

The first print run and reprints totaled 600,000 copies, and Liu Zhou could get 1.5 million.

With the subsequent reprinting, Liu Zhou’s dry wallet will be filled up again.

Liu Zhou, feeling confident again, was in the front yard living room of the courtyard, resting his head on Zeng Li's legs, talking on the phone with editor Qu He with a comfortable look on his face.

"Brother Qu He, of course I know that I have to strike while the iron is hot, but a new book can't be written just like that. Without good inspiration, I can't write any good works. I don't want to ruin my reputation."

"Is it really impossible to submit the manuscript before the New Year?"

"I can't help it. You know the end of the semester is coming soon and I have a lot of things to do at school. I have to wait until after the Chinese New Year to get the new book."

"Okay, I won't rush you. You can't delay it any longer after the New Year."

"Don't worry, I've never broken my promise. I said I'd release a new book after the Chinese New Year and I'll definitely do it."

In fact, Qu He is not particularly anxious now, because the popularity of Liu Zhou's two novels has led many people to follow suit and write youth novels. Although the quality is not as good as Liu Zhou's, some of them are still acceptable and can be serialized in magazines.

Of course it would be better if there was a new book by Liu Zhou, but if he wants to write a new book after the New Year we can’t keep urging him. After all, Liu Zhou is no longer the same person.

Now, under the leadership of Liu Zhou, youth literature is becoming more and more popular, and the magazine is receiving more and more manuscripts. I believe that in the near future, more best-selling writers will emerge.

This is the scene that Qu He hopes to see!

"After talking about the new book, I have one more thing I need to discuss with you, which is the book signing event next year."

“Will next year’s book signing be any different?”

“It’s no different, it’s just going to be bigger and involve more cities.”

“How many cities are you planning to visit?”

"At least seven. There will also be follow-up interviews from the media, and it will also be your first public appearance."

Liu Zhou was silent for a while and then said:

“Is it okay to cancel the interview?”

“Liu Zhou, I understand your concerns, and if you insist, I can help you push it.

But now you are very popular, and the outside world is very eager to know some information about you, and you can't refuse this, and you will have to face the media sooner or later.

Since you have to face it sooner or later, you might as well maximize your profits and let those media help you promote it and boost the sales of your novel."

"Okay, I'll listen to you, brother." Liu Zhou sighed slightly.

He also knew that what Qu He said was right, but if he became a public figure, he would have to be very careful about his words and actions.

Liu Zhou would feel very uncomfortable being suddenly put in invisible shackles.

Although Liu Zhou knew that he would have to face it sooner or later, he still hoped that day would be as late as possible.

"Brother, you can do an interview, but don't arrange too many media outlets. Even if you do, they should be large ones or those with a good reputation."

"Don't worry about this. I will check it myself and discuss it with you in advance."

"Then there's no problem on my end."

After hanging up the phone, Liu Zhou also breathed a sigh of relief.

"What's wrong? I just saw that you and the editor were communicating well, didn't you?" Zeng Li asked.

"It's pretty good."

"Then why are you still sighing?"

"I made some money again, but I don't know how to spend it, so I sigh."

"Screw you!"

"Ha ha!"

"Hurry up and get up. My legs are numb from using the pillow."

Liu Zhou immediately stood up and said to Zeng Li:

"Lizi, it's getting late now. Why don't you sleep here tonight? There are rooms here anyway. I can guarantee with my character that I will be polite!"

"You're just dreaming. Men's words are always deceiving. I don't believe what you say."

"Really, I swear."

"no!"

Seeing that Zeng Li insisted, Liu Zhou had no choice but to send her back to school.

It seems that I still have a long way to go before I can end my virginity in this life!

(End of this chapter)