Huaying Comics Editorial Department, office lobby.
Shi Erya sat down at her seat and opened her personal mailbox on her computer to see if there were any electronic submissions that might catch her eye. As soon as she logged in, she could hear the faint whispers of her colleagues not far away.
“Which one is this?”
"The third one, didn't Han Menghuai leave yesterday?"
"What do you think Baiyun Culture is thinking? Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the sales of our comics are basically supported by the Sherlock Holmes series and the Conquest. The other comics are just extras. Even if we dig them up, they may not be able to be serialized in Baiyun Comics. Is that interesting?"
"You don't understand this, right? Even if it's a bonus, you still have to have the talent. Besides, people go to higher places and water flows to lower places. If Baiyun Comics wants to recruit you, will you go?..."
Shirya frowned.
She picked up a book from the desk and slammed it heavily on the table with a "bang".
As if some signal was heard from the heavy tone, the buzzing sound disappeared instantly. The editor who was speaking knew that he was in the wrong, moved the corners of his lips, and closed his mouth silently. The huge office was dead silent.
At this moment, a clear male voice suddenly rang out.
"Excuse me, is this where I submit my work for the "Huaying Comics"?"
When Shierya heard these words at first, she didn't take them to heart.
There is no other reason. In recent times, let alone submitting works, many authors who originally serialized comics in "Huaying Comics" have begun to cut corners, and it is obvious that they intend to use this opportunity to "get cut off" and then turn around and run into the arms of Baiyun Culture - although they may not be able to be serialized in "Baiyun Comics", you have to know that Baiyun Culture has more than just "Baiyun Comics" as its comic magazines.
If I can’t be published in Baiyun Comics, can I be published in its subsidiary publications
Under such circumstances, the comics authors who were eager to try their hand at Huaying Comics because of the great sales of the first four issues also chose to change their jobs and look for other ways out. There are still some who still submit their works to Huaying, but the quality is mostly not good, and it is obvious that they are trying to take advantage of the situation.
Shi Erya sighed deeply in her heart.
Although she was helpless, her responsibility as an editor made her stand up immediately and responded with energy: "Hello, I am Shi Erya, the editor of Huaying Comics. If you have any submissions, just give them to me..."
As she was talking, the comics author who threatened to submit his work also walked over from the door. When his eyes fell on the familiar face, Shi Erya was stunned: "Zhuo... Teacher Zhuo?!"
Shi Erya rubbed her eyes, wondering if she had seen it wrong.
Contribute? Who
Zhuo Liming? Give me a comic
Shirya was a little dazed.
As a comics editor, Shi Erya was certainly aware of the announcement of the end of "Returning Home on a Snowy Night" and the termination of Zhuo Liming's contract with Baiyun Culture. However, compared to other colleagues who were ready to make a move, the Huaying editors didn't even raise an eyelid - if it was the previous Huaying comics, they might have tried to fight for it.
Now
It can be said that Huaying Comics can't even retain its own comic book authors now, so where does it get the confidence to poach a big shot of Zhuo Liming's level
Although "Returning Home on a Snowy Night" has been completed, it is still unknown whether Zhuo Liming's next comic will be popular. But even a lean camel is bigger than a horse, not to mention Zhuo Liming, a comic author who has proven himself. Even the most popular comic magazines will not refuse him, not to mention the now precarious Huaying.
Even though most of the authors of "Huaying Comics" left after "Taking Las Vegas" was banned, as some editors said, the sales of "Huaying Comics" are basically supported by the top two comics in terms of popularity. The other comics are only so-so, and there is still a long way to go before they can drive weekly sales.
To put it bluntly, even if all these comic book authors die, if they can get a Zhuo Liming in return, it would be a huge profit!
And now, this famous cartoonist actually ignored the olive branches extended by all other comic magazines and took the initiative to come to the Huaying Comics editorial department with his new works
Shi Erya felt like her brain was about to freeze.
"Hello," Zhuo Liming seemed to not think that there was anything strange about his presence here. He smiled at her in a friendly manner and raised the file bag in his hand: "Forget about the pleasantries. I think our most urgent task is to look at this. What do you think?"
Yes, work is important!
She suppressed the urge to scream and nodded heavily: "Teacher Zhuo, please take a seat. I will go and call our editor-in-chief!" To hell with Baiyun Culture! Dig as much as you want, dig as much as you want. With Teacher Zhuo here, who cares how many small authors have left
Anyway, it’s not Huaying who is losing money!
Ten minutes later.
It was still the same office, and the same four people. After Shi Erya brought a few cups of tea, she tactfully left. So the familiar Mahjong quartet was left in the entire office.
Qiu Fengmao lowered his head and meticulously flipped through the comics that Zhuo Liming brought over, while Mu Suxing sat behind his desk printing out the contract that Du Yutang sent over. Shen Xing sat on the sofa, happily chatting with his idol.
As a talented cartoonist who has proven himself in the market, Zhuo Liming's level is beyond doubt. After Qiu Fengmao finished reading the manuscript, his first words were -
"If the editors of Baiyun Culture saw this manuscript, they would probably regret it."
Zhuo Liming smiled, but his tone was calm: "They won't regret it."
It was a very plain sentence, without any sensationalism, accusation or criticism, and it didn't even reveal any useful information, but everyone present understood it.
Qiu Fengmao didn't say anything.
The former editor-in-chief of Baiyun Comics patted him on the shoulder silently. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something comforting, but in the end he couldn't say it. Only a sigh so light that it seemed non-existent was left.
Fortunately, Mu Suxing came over with the printed contract, and the originally dull atmosphere changed. Zhuo Liming took the contract and looked at it for a while, but a strange expression appeared on his face.
Baiyun Culture's harsh contracts have long been an open secret in the industry. It's not that no one has tried to poach comic book authors who are dissatisfied with Baiyun Culture's practices, but only a few have been persuaded - Baiyun Culture's own strong foundation is one reason, but more importantly, Baiyun Culture is not the only one that has such slave clauses.
If other comic magazines are in a similar situation, then what difference does it make whether they leave Baiyun Culture or not
Zhuo Liming had heard about the superior author contracts of Huaying Comics a long time ago. For example, Huaying would not force authors to serialize indefinitely, nor would it hastily cut off a work simply because of a reader vote. It would give authors a considerable degree of patience in their creations, etc. However, when he actually saw the contract in his hand, he was still surprised.
Zhuo Liming couldn't help but say: "If Huaying discloses some details of the contract to the public..."
Muxuxing understood what he meant.
He sat down on another single sofa, his expression was exactly the same calm as the other person a few minutes ago: "It's useless."
Zhuo Liming was stunned at first.
In a sense, the two people's situations were too similar, so Zhuo Liming was stunned for a moment, and then he quickly understood what Mu Suxing meant. He leaned back on the sofa with a bitter smile on his face: "You are right."
Why is Baiyun Culture so fearless? Even after he proposed to terminate the contract, the editor-in-chief Jing Huahao only regained his composure after a brief moment of surprise and anger
Because Baiyun Culture has the capital.
Over the years, is it true that no comic book authors have been dissatisfied with this and switched to other comic magazines
have.
However, after so many years, no matter how famous the cartoonists who left were at the time, their popularity has declined significantly after joining the new magazine. Some of them could not bear the gap and quietly returned to Baiyun Culture less than two years after leaving.
Over the past few years, Baiyun Culture's comic magazine has produced too many classic comics. For readers, regularly purchasing Baiyun Comics has become a habit - not to mention that the quality of Baiyun Comics itself is always ahead of its peers.
"If you sign us, your popularity will go down."
This is the truth.
The reader bases of "Baiyun Comics" and "Huaying Comics" are different. Zhuo Liming's arrival can indeed boost the sales of "Huaying Comics", but correspondingly, under the same quality, the popularity of its comics will be lower than during the Baiyun Culture period.
But is now the time to tell such a big truth
People are about to sign, so what the hell is this if not a real way to discourage them
Qiu Fengmao was extremely angry. He raised his head and was about to see which idiot was talking without thinking. Then he glanced around and saw Mu Suxing sitting opposite him with a serious look on his face.
Qiu Fengmao: …
Okay, as long as you are happy.
He sighed, he was helpless about his boss's excessive honesty in certain aspects - some of the words seemed corny and disgusting when said by adults, but wasn't this exactly why he chose "Huaying Comics"
Zhuo Liming was also somewhat helpless.
What kind of boss would say such dissuading words to someone who has just received a big gift from the sky
"Then why did you set up the contract so well? Aren't you afraid that the cartoonist you have trained with great difficulty will be ungrateful and leave at any time?" Zhuo Liming asked back.
"Is this good enough?" Mu Suxing asked curiously, "This is what you deserve. Since other comic weekly magazines don't have it, but Huaying has it, is this good enough?"
Zhuo Liming was really stunned this time.
Mu Xuxing was amused by the dull expression on his face: "Okay, I won't tease you anymore." He said frankly: "Actually there is no special reason. If I really have to say, it's probably... because I'm happy?"
Qiu Fengmao pressed his hand to his ears, unable to bear listening to his boss' shocking remarks.
During this period of time, although outside public opinion said that "Huaying Comics" seemed to be on the verge of collapse, and the editorial department was in panic because of the departure of authors and editors, Mu Suxing was very calm.
Really calm.
Baiyun Culture's series of measures did hit Huaying Comics, but that was all - in fact, as long as Muxuxing wanted, he could still use money to create a channel. Even if "Taking Over Las Vegas" was removed from the shelves, he could still find a better idea to replace it.
But he was not happy.
That's why he ignored those channel dealers who took advantage of the situation and even threatened to open up a new channel by borrowing the original disc channel of Huaying Animator; that's why he didn't take down "Taking Over Las Vegas" and moved to the territory outside Xingning Province, raising the problem that could have been solved with money to the level of hellish difficulty.
If he has the capital to be uncompromising, then why should he accept the so-called industry unwritten rules and constraints like everyone else
"However, you are wrong about one thing," Muxuxing thought for a moment and added, "Huaying Comics is not as kind as you think. Our contract does not require comic authors to only provide works to us, but this does not mean that Huaying Comics does not have exclusive contracts."
Zhuo Liming raised his eyebrows: "...Are you sure there are authors willing to sign this kind of contract?"
Then he saw Shen Xing, who had not joined the conversation, raised his hand silently.
Zhuo Liming: …
Qiu Fengmao felt that he couldn't continue to say this to his boss. What if the big boss who was right next to him was scared away? He thought about it and explained before Mu Suxing: "Huaying Comics' contracts are divided into exclusive and non-exclusive. The latter is the one you are seeing now, Mr. Zhuo."
"As for exclusive contracts, Huaying Comics will have other support policies for its contracted comic authors. For example, it will help comic authors who are not good at script writing to contact excellent scriptwriters. In addition, Huaying also has rich connections and promotion experience in peripherals, animation, and film and television copyrights."
In short, comic authors do not have to serialize their works only in "Huaying Comics", but Huaying will also give special preferential treatment to authors who are willing to be associated with "Huaying Comics".
At this point, in order to enhance his persuasiveness, Qiu Fengmao also gave an example: "For example, the comic script of "Taking Las Vegas" was provided by our magazine."
Zhuo Liming breathed a sigh of relief.
For some reason, after seeing Huaying's contract and considering the previous poaching of Huaying's comic book authors, Zhuo Liming couldn't help but worry about Huaying Comics: Such a contract is good, but on the other hand, it will do more harm than good to the comics weekly itself. Can such a comics magazine really survive
At this moment, Qiu Fengmao said that Huaying actually also had an exclusive contract. Zhuo Liming not only did not feel cheated, but felt relieved instead.
After all, the two contracts in front of us, whether exclusive or non-exclusive, are much better than those of other magazines.
Thinking of this, Zhuo Liming raised his head and looked deeply at Mu Suxing. The latter did not urge him or persuade him to choose one at this moment. He was concentrating on discussing the official business related to "Huaying Comics" with Qiu Fengmao in a low voice, without even looking at him.
Zhuo Liming suddenly laughed.
All right.
Even if what he said just now was just a means for Mu Xuxing to win people's hearts, he accepted it.
"Give me an exclusive contract," Zhuo Liming said, and unexpectedly found that he was in a good mood at the moment, so he followed his heart and smiled a smile that he didn't even notice, which was inexplicably reassuring: "Happy cooperation?"
Muxuxing also laughed.
"It's a pleasure to work with you," he said, clasping his hands in the air.
—
At the same time, Yanling Comics Editorial Department.
"Haven't you contacted Zhuo Liming yet? What's the response from Baiyun Culture?"
"No, there was no reaction from Baiyun Culture either. It was like..." the editor said, looking puzzled: "It was like nothing happened."
Chang Tianlu posted a microblog: "Of course Baiyun Culture won't have any reaction. The more times like this, the more they want to act as if nothing has happened and act like it's no big deal. This is their confidence and also to prevent other comic authors from following suit. But then again, Returning Home on a Snowy Night is at its peak of popularity right now. Zhuo Liming just finished it and quit. Jing Huahao must be pissed to death."
The two chatted for a while, and the other editor came running over breathlessly: "There's news!"
Noticing the unhappy look on the visitor's face, Chang Tianlu's heart sank: "Has Zhuo Liming signed? Which company did he sign with? Qianyue? Or Yinchuan?"
"Neither," said the editor, with a very strange look on his face: "He signed the picture."
silence.
After a short silence, someone sneered, and then said in disbelief: "Is Zhuo Liming crazy? With Huaying's current situation, it's probably a problem that his sales volume won't even reach one million. His own single volume has sold more than one million copies. What benefits did Huaying promise him to make him jump into the fire pit voluntarily?"
Why is it a painting shadow
Why draw shadows
Chang Tianlu remained silent.
Seeing that his editor-in-chief remained silent, the editor who brought the message hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively: "Editor-in-chief, should we continue to contact Teacher Zhuo?"
Another editor said without hesitation: "Go ahead, why not? I think, with the current situation of Huaying Comics, it is questionable whether it can last for half a year. In my opinion, Zhuo Liming may regret it in less than half a month."
Didn't he say that all the comic book authors who left Baiyun Culture in the past eventually returned on their own? Even if they didn't return, they went to comic book weekly magazines of the same level. For cartoonists of this level, such a small magazine, whose sales volume was not even comparable to that of their personal collections, would not last long.
"No need." Chang Tianlu said suddenly.
The editor frowned and was about to persuade him again: "Editor-in-Chief..."
Chang Tianlu said calmly: "Zhuo Liming is not a fool. You can see the problem, so how can you think he can't see it? Knowing that the future of Huaying Comics is bleak, he still chose Huaying Comics. Why do you think that is?"
The answer is obvious.
Thinking of this, Chang Tianlu also shook his head.
Baiyun Culture is too arrogant.
Over the years, they have become accustomed to putting profits first and taking revenue as the only criterion for measuring the value of a cartoonist, but they forget that cartoonists are also human beings.
Ordinary comic book authors may succumb to reality and choose to survive between money and creation, but the fact is that the more talented the author is, the more capital they have to be willful and the more unwilling they are to be restricted by those cold rules and regulations.
"I heard that during this period, Baiyun Culture has poached many authors from Huaying Comics to its subsidiary publications?" Chang Tianlu curled his lips and smiled playfully: "A top cartoonist with fans and talent was traded for a few unknown authors with average abilities and no loyalty. Baiyun Culture has done a good deal."
"Then we..."
"No need to contact Zhuo Liming anymore." Chang Tianlu said.
If possible, Chang Tianlu would certainly like to recruit cartoonists of this level. But the problem is, even though he is now happily watching Baiyun Culture's jokes, to be honest, the Yanling Comics where he works is not much better, so what can he use to attract Zhuo Liming
The other two editors apparently thought of this as well, and the office immediately fell quiet.
After a long silence, Chang Tianlu suddenly stood up from his seat and said, "If Huaying Comics really succeeds this time, I will propose to my superiors at the next company meeting to revise the contracts of all the contracted authors under Yanling Culture."
The two looked at him in astonishment: "Editor-in-chief?"
"Although I, as the editor-in-chief, don't have much say, I can still make a small suggestion." Chang Tianlu said, noticing the surprised look of his colleagues, he smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Don't look at me like that, I am also thinking about the future of Yanling Comics."
Just as he said, for most authors who are worried about their livelihoods, "Huaying Manga" may not be very attractive, but for those great authors who have long been angry about a series of actions taken by the weekly comics magazine, the appeal of the Huaying Manga contract is unquestionable.
Not everyone has the courage to risk everything like Zhuo Liming.
If he guessed correctly, there were probably more than a few people who were secretly following the authors of "Huaying Comics", especially those whose serialized comics were nearing completion.
Chang Tianlu thought about it, but ultimately did not express his hypothesis out loud.
How easy is it to achieve something like Baiyun Comics, which took decades to achieve locally, in another region with a completely different culture
If Huaying Comics never recovered from this, and its sales dropped by one million, it would be fine. But if they could really fight their way out of the encirclement of Baiyun Culture,
By then, I'm afraid the entire industry will be forced to make changes by this clean company...
—
Oblivious to the turmoil in the outside world, Mu Suxing, after resolving Zhuo Liming's contract problem, devoted himself to drawing the Sherlock Holmes series of comics.
The research on the bloody word has been completed. As for the next case, Mu Suxing finally chose "The Sign of Four" after a brief thought.
The reason is simple: if readers' understanding of Sherlock Holmes began with "A Study in Scarlet", then it was "The Sign of Four" that made Sherlock Holmes truly step onto the world stage.