Chapter 195 Publishing and Contracts (13)

Cafe.

"Teacher Zhang~~here."

As soon as Zhang Tan entered the door, a man immediately stood up and waved.

"Hello, Editor Qiao." Zhang Tan sat down opposite this man.

This person's name is Qiao Rong, and he is the editor of Pujiang International Publishing House. This is the publishing house where "Woman Thirty" was published. Qiao Rong is responsible for connecting with Zhang Tan.

"That's great. The situation is so good now. If we strike while the iron is hot, we will definitely be able to sell well." Qiao Rong was greatly relieved after hearing Zhang Tan's introduction.

Zhang Tan just told him that "Woman Thirty" has obtained the consent of the studio and can be officially published.

"Hopefully it will be a big hit."

Zhang Tan is also looking forward to it. Now that the TV series is so popular, the ratings are rising steadily, social topics are constantly being discussed, and the three women are constantly on the hot searches. Publishing a book at this time is definitely expected to be a hot seller.

Qiao Rong immediately took out the standard contract, and Zhang Tan read it carefully, confirmed that it was the same as what he had read before, and signed his name with confidence.

"I wish Mr. Zhang will soon be listed among the rich writers."

Qiao Rong collected the contract in duplicate, and each of them took one copy.

Zhang Tan also smiled and said: "It's a sweet dream, but it's daytime now."

"Hahaha~~" Qiao Rong laughed: "This is Teacher Zhang's first time publishing a book, and the tax rate we have given has already reached 10%. This is very sincere. I hope there will be opportunities to cooperate in the future."

The general tax rate that authors in the industry can get starts at 7%. Calculated based on this ratio, the royalties an author can get from a book is "printing volume or sales volume * 7% * unit price of the book."

Although Zhang Tan was publishing a book for the first time and was not well-known, "Woman Thirty" was well-known, which was his biggest support. For this reason, he obtained a starting tax rate of 10%.

If the sales volume is less than 100,000 copies, the tax rate is 10%.

If the sales volume is greater than 100,000 and less than 1 million copies, then the royalties for the sales volume greater than 100,000 but less than 1 million will be calculated according to the tax rate of 12%.

If the sales volume exceeds 1 million copies, the royalties for the excess sales will be calculated at a tax rate of 13%.

This kind of condition belongs to the treatment of first-line writers. Zhang Tan and Qiao Rong spent a week before convincing each other to agree.

"I took a gamble when Teacher Zhang published a book this time. I hope none of us will be disappointed," Qiao Rong said.

A new person, a new book, he can convince the publisher to give such conditions, which also suppresses his own future.

Zhang Tan said, "You won't be disappointed."

After speaking, he took out a printed manuscript paper from his bag, put it on the table, pushed it in front of Qiao Rong, and said, "Editor Qiao, take a look."

"What?" Qiao Rong put the glasses he had just taken off back on, picked up the manuscript paper, glanced at it, and said in surprise: "New book?"

Zhang Tan nodded: "New book."

Qiao Rong raised his head in surprise, looked at Zhang Tan and asked, "A new book is coming out so soon? Has it been written before?"

Zhang Tan: "I just finished writing it. Take a look and see if you are interested."

"Okay, let me take a look."

The time was limited, so Qiao Rong could not read it intensively. He browsed quickly, turned the page in a few seconds, and spent more than ten minutes reading it. His heart was turbulent and he said, "It's a good story, and the angle is very novel."

The book Zhang Tan showed him was "Bad Boy".

"How is it?" Zhang Tan asked.

Qiao Rong: "It's interesting, but I can't give you an answer now. I want to take it back and read it carefully. The fastest is tomorrow, if not the day after tomorrow."

Zhang Tan: "No problem, you support me in "Women Thirty", so I am willing to wait for you."

Qiao Rong returned to the publishing house. He first explained the matter of "Woman Thirty" and quickly printed and published it to seize the opportunity.

According to the contract, 100,000 copies will be printed in the early stage. Whether to print more later will depend on the sales situation.

Back in the office, he closed the door, took out Zhang Tan's "Bad Boy" and started reading it. He originally planned to use some time between work to read a little bit, but once he started reading, he couldn't stop, and his appetite was whetted. As soon as the suspense ended, the next suspense came again, which made people want to stop.

I originally said that I would be able to finish reading Reply to Zhang Tan as soon as tomorrow, but at night, at midnight, I stayed up all night to finish reading it.

Qiao Rong couldn't calm down. There is no doubt that this is a gripping suspense story, and like "Woman Thirty", the angle chosen is very novel and attractive.

He felt like a cat was tickling him all the time, and there was a kind of pain and happiness that he couldn't let go of.

He really wanted to call Zhang Tan now and talk about "Bad Boy", but it was already early in the morning, and he and Zhang Tan were not that good yet.

So, he drank the cold tea in the cup, got up and left the study, came to the bedroom, walked softly to the bed, pushed his wife, woke her up, and said to her confused face: "The meaning of life It’s not about sleeping, literature can make time last forever. You are a university teacher, come on, let’s talk about the similarities and differences between traditional literature and best-selling literature.”

The next day, it was still the same coffee shop, and Zhang Tan and Qiao Rong met again.

"Editor Qiao, what's wrong with your glasses?" Zhang Tan's eyes were first attracted to Qiao Rong's gold-rimmed glasses.

Qiao Rong was a little embarrassed: "I accidentally dropped it on the floor when I was cleaning the table in the morning. The lens is a bit worn. I will replace it later. What a good book."

He brought Zhang Tan's attention back to the book.

Qiao Rong valued "Bad Boy" very much and agreed to publish it. The problem now is the royalties.

Zhang Tan asked for the same royalties as those for "Woman Thirty," but Qiao Rong disagreed and asked for a reduction.

"We are confident about "Woman 30" because of the popularity of the TV series. "Bad Boy" is good, but its popularity is too low, so we can't give such royalties." Qiao Rong said.

Zhang sighed: "With "Woman 30" leading the way, "Bad Boy" won't be that bad. More importantly, "Bad Boy" will also be made into a TV series."

Qiao Rong's eyes lit up: "Are you sure?"

Zhang sighed: "You can wait and see, but I can't guarantee that I will give it to you when the time comes."

Qiao Rong smiled bitterly, Teacher Zhang was a bit black.

Publishing a book first, and then selling the film and television rights of the book to the production studio, if this is really done, it would be very unkind.

However, there are two types of contract systems for screenwriters in the production studio.

One is the project bonus system, that is, relying on the project to get bonuses, which is what Zhang Tan is doing now.

The other is the employment cooperation system, where screenwriters in the studio are treated the same as those outside.

In other words, if a production studio takes a fancy to a script, such as "The Unreachable Love", and wants to remake it, it can only buy out the film and television rights. If the screenwriters in the studio sign a contract for employment cooperation, the operation process is the same. The only difference is that the studio has the right of first refusal for the contracted screenwriters, and accordingly, it will pay the screenwriters a salary every month as a benefit.

If Zhang Tan has this kind of contract for employment cooperation, then he can publish a book first and then hand it over to the studio. If he is willing, then he can buy the rights for film and television remakes.

Zhang Tan has applied to change the contract from a project system to a contract system.

There is a fierce debate within the studio about this.

The employment cooperation system does exist, and there are many such screenwriters, but any screenwriter who can get this kind of contract is already famous, has his own network resources, and has made contributions to the studio.

Zhang Tan's qualifications are too shallow, which is the main reason for the endless debate.

Those who agree, such as He Miao, the script supervisor of the film and television department, said: "The scriptwriting industry cannot be judged by seniority. Young people have richer ideas and can do better. Although Zhang Tan has been in the factory for a short time, the projects he has produced in such a short time are obvious to all. Which one is not well-known. "Little Drama Bones" has created a big IP for the factory, which can be derived into a whole series. The same is true for "Unlucky Bear", not to mention "Women 30". Who dared to think of such achievements before?"

The people on the opposing side said: "That being said, the factory has not treated him unfairly. If the project is well done, the bonus is also generous. Young people should not be too ambitious and clamor for a higher salary after making some achievements. Now it can be increased, but if he makes achievements in the future, how can he satisfy his appetite?"

He Miao looked at Du Wei, the script supervisor of the animation department, who was sitting opposite. Du Wei glanced at him and didn't say anything. It was unclear what he was thinking.

But Feng Dong, who was sitting below Du Wei, took the initiative to say, "Leaders, can I give my opinion?"

He is the leader of the third group of screenwriters in the animation department, and was once Zhang Tan's immediate superior. He is the lowest level in today's meeting.

The deputy director Tang Hao, who presided over the meeting, nodded and said, "You speak."

Today's meeting is not a special meeting to discuss Zhang Tan's contract, but a weekly meeting of the screenwriter department. It's just that the last topic happened to be Zhang Tan's contract, so the discussion was so intense.

Feng Dong said, "To be honest, our factory has always attached great importance to screenwriters. This is well-known in the industry. As a screenwriter, I am very proud of this. However, fewer and fewer young people are willing to be on-duty screenwriters now. They like to take risks. If you ask them to get a fixed salary every month, they are unwilling."

Someone interrupted, "Isn't there a project bonus? Our project bonus is the highest in the industry."

Feng Dong said, "Yes, our project bonus is very good, but if he can get more through sharing? Then why should he choose a lower project bonus? Project bonuses can train new people, but the employment-employment cooperation system can retain talented people. We definitely don’t want to become a training base for screenwriters in the industry. If the young talents we have trained are poached by other companies, the loss will be too great. ”

“For example, if Zhang Tan changes jobs, I believe many entertainment companies will be happy to accept him, and the salary offered will definitely not be low.”

“We can give this treatment to screenwriters outside, so why can’t we give it to screenwriters we have trained? Isn’t it the other way around?”

…

The meeting lasted until six o’clock in the afternoon. In the end, Tang Hao made the final decision and said, “Zhang Tan wants to change the contract, which is understandable and the factory can understand. Let’s do this. After "Women at Thirty", if he can come up with another script of a level not lower than this, then we will change it for him.”