The chief editors of the Six Major Publishers are among the most prominent figures in the global publishing world.
And matching this status is their understanding of the publishing industry.
These individuals all realize that relying solely on the few dozen best-selling authors at the top of the pyramid is insufficient to maintain the ecological balance of the publishing world.
Only with an influx of fresh blood can the publishing industry develop healthily and steadily.
So, why not imitate that idea?
Using the influence of the Six Major Publishers to develop a website.
They don’t believe a single best-selling author alone can surpass the influence of the Six Major Publishers.
But where there are people, there are inevitably conflicts of interest.
Due to different backgrounds and interests, the Six Major Publishers have varying attitudes toward this matter.
As the publishers at the top of the food chain, HarperCollins Publishers primarily publish various classics.
Their specialty is poaching well-known best-selling authors from other publishers using their powerful influence and breach-of-contract penalties once they’re well-established.
And their view on building a website is, you go ahead and do it, and once it’s successful, I’ll poach whoever I please.
Meanwhile, Simon & Schuster and Disney Publishers, backed by media giants Viacom and Disney, respectively,
are more concerned about which celebrities are about to die so they can secure autobiographical rights and adapt them into movies to show off in front of their corporate executives.
Those two publishers only sent deputy editors to participate in the meeting.
After some discussion, the remaining three publishers expressed, one after another, that the proposal was good.
But whose rights would the works on the website fall under, and how would royalties be distributed?
Would it affect their regular publishing business?
Would best-selling authors start demanding higher royalties upon seeing unknown authors receiving a 50% cut?
Surely they wouldn’t let potential future crises impact their current business, right?
With this backdrop, a three-hour meeting reached a consensus.
That was to temporarily lower the publishing barrier and attract some authors back because, after all, many authors still hold a sentimental attachment to physical books.
Then, to save on shipping and bookstore commission costs,
they could sell this portion of books through that site called Amazon instead of distributing them to bookstores.
What they call the "online exclusive" rights.
At this point, Bezos had no idea that a stroke of luck was about to fall from the sky.
There he was, puzzledly rubbing his bald head because Amazon’s business overlapped with eBay’s and was losing the competition.
Figuring out how to continue bamboozling his investors.
Someone in a similar boat was Wang Jian.
Of course, even if he knew, Wang Jian probably wouldn’t have spared it a second thought.
After all, the author had sealed his memory.
Today, Wang Jian decided to take a break and enjoy the pleasure of spending money.
First of all, buying a car for commuting seemed most convenient.
As he walked around New York’s car sales area, he thought to himself.
In the last few days, under the alternating tutelage of Tom and Dorsey, he had learned to drive and obtained a driving license.
Today, the 900,000 yuan licensing fee from EA had been deposited into his account.
Wang Jian, who had never been so wealthy, felt he needed to buy something to commemorate this moment.
Thus, he came here, ready to pick out the first car of his life.
Guided by the thought "where there are many people, that’s where to look," Wang Jian found himself at a Toyota car dealership.
But as soon as he stepped inside, he heard a sales manager scolding a young salesman.
"Why do we sell Japanese cars?"
"To dream that one day, we can drive Italian cars!"
Okay,
you win.
Scratching his head, Wang Jian left the store.
Next, he entered a Volkswagen dealership.
You have to say, Volkswagens did seem quite approachable.
Just as Wang Jian was about to inquire about various car models, a Caucasian man walked in.
"Your cars are leaking oil!"
Alright,
time to leave.
Finally, after three hours of browsing, Wang Jian settled on buying a General Motors car.
Nothing special, just at first glance.
After completing all the paperwork, he drove his new car to a place where he could purchase a mobile phone.
Then, adhering to the principle "the smaller, the better," he bought a new mobile phone.
The Motorola 8900.
Reportedly, it was the world’s first flip phone.
Whether that was true or not, the price of the phone was certainly the highest in the store.
It was so expensive that even the saleswoman couldn’t help but flirt with Wang Jian.
If it weren’t for a tall and imposing Caucasian man looking on, Wang Jian might have exchanged contact details with the curvaceous woman.
"By the way, who is that guy looking at us?" Wang Jian casually asked while processing his network application.
"Oh, he’s my boyfriend," replied the flirty saleswoman.
Uh?
Without another word, Wang Jian walked away, ignoring the woman’s invitation to dinner behind him.
He shared his new phone number with Tom, Dorsey, and others, and then drove to several comic book stores.
The comics of "Arcane Throne" were set to officially release tomorrow.
Wang Jian looked at the massive posters outside a few comic book stores: "Batman Forever," "X-Men," "Arcane Throne"—all roughly in the same spot.
But when he walked in for a closer look, his face darkened.
Next to "Arcane Throne" was a line of smaller text: Science Boy.
Damn Science Boy.
What a lame nickname.
Pulling out his phone, Wang Jian called Tom to inquire about the matter.
"Comics are always styled like this, with characters like Spiderman, Aquaman, Fantastic Four, etc. How about we change it to Science Hero?"
After a moment’s thought, Wang Jian resignedly said, "Let it be Science Boy."
After hanging up, he looked at all the different "mans" in the comic book store, unable to muster a comment.
However, he noticed that the store was filled with bespectacled, seemingly dim-witted people.
"Yep, they sure look like good students," Wang Jian muttered to himself.
Presumably, a low-price strategy might have some effect there.
But as for sales figures, it’s better not to be too ambitious.
After all, the main audience for "Arcane Throne" wasn’t there.
PS: Amazon’s success started with brand licensing.
Some exclusive online licensing products need quite complicated procedures to sort out.
But this could be considered the international version of "online specials."