1980 My Literary Era.

Chapter 527: Sea Memory Confidant

Early the next morning, as soon as the colleagues got to work, they surrounded Tong Zhonggui's desk and talked about it.

After finally waiting for Lin Weimin to come to work, everyone quickly pulled him over.

"Lin Weimin, what's going on here?" Everyone asked Lin Weimin, pointing to the comparative data that Tong Zhonggui managed to sort out.

Lin Weimin was not surprised by the results of the data comparison, and said calmly: "Didn't you all see it? That's it!"

Seeing that he seemed to have expected it, colleagues were not surprised. Yesterday, Lin Weimin asked everyone to compare the data. Everyone was surprised by Lin Weimin's reaction.

"Aren't you in a hurry?" Liu Yin asked.

"What's the use of rushing?"

Lin Weimin sat down, "Everyone sit down."

Seeing that Lin Weimin seemed to have something to say, everyone returned to their seats.

Lin Weimin picked up the statistics on Tong Zhonggui's desk, and on a few sheets of paper, he counted the sales of six domestic mainstream literary magazines in the past three years, including "Contemporary", "People's Literature", "Zhongshan", and "October".

A little observation, you can see a phenomenon.

In the past two years, the sales volume of various publications was very stable, and some publications were still rising steadily.

However, since this year, the sales of various publications have declined to varying degrees, and the decline is not too large, generally between 3% and 5%.

If you just look at the decline, it doesn't seem to be a big deal.

Statistical data will not lie, and the decline in sales is not terrible. The most terrifying thing is that it is not the sales of a certain novel that are falling, but the sales of all publications are falling.

What this phenomenon shows, everyone knows very well.

But everyone still looked at Lin Weimin unwillingly, hoping to say some exciting words from his mouth.

"Everyone has seen the statistic made by Xiao Tong, and I don't even mention the data here, so everyone can understand it.

That's right!The sales of domestic literary journals are declining. The data of one publication may not mean anything, but the data of so many publications put together represents a trend. Our literary journal market is shrinking! "

Lin Weimin said something contrary to everyone's expectations. Everyone's lips were tightly closed and their eyes were complicated.

"According to my observation, not only our periodical market, but also the entire publishing industry may enter a downward phase in the next few years, and sales will continue to shrink."

"Isn't it?" He Qizhi was a little skeptical.

Lin Weimin said unhurriedly: "Think back, it doesn't take long, just three years ago, among those people around you who bought magazines and books all day long, how many people still stick to this habit now?"

He Qizhi frowned, and the others also remembered.

Everyone thought about it carefully, they hadn't noticed it before, but Lin Weimin reminded them today that the number of people reading books seems to have decreased in the past two years.

The domestic economy is constantly developing and changing with each passing day. During the planned economy period, the leisurely and comfortable pace of the common people was constantly broken. More and more people began to succumb to economic changes, and gradually transitioned from the stage of focusing on spiritual life in the early stage of reform to focusing on material life. stage.

The spiritual satisfaction that literature brings to Chinese people is constantly weakening, and people are beginning to turn to reality, not only ordinary people, but also people in the literary circle.

Han Shaogong led a group of people from the literary circle to enter Hainan in the past two years, which is a proof of this trend. However, these people have not yet experienced the various negative effects brought about by the rapid economic development and rapid social transition, and they still maintain their hearts. A bit ideal and romantic.

In a few years, this group of people will obediently bow their heads in front of reality.

"In addition to the fact that economic development has made the public pay more and more attention to material comforts and neglect spiritual life, another important factor is piracy. I think everyone knows that piracy has become more and more rampant in recent years.

It is better for us to do publications. Book publishing has suffered from piracy in recent years, and sales are shrinking.

The confluence of various factors is indicating that our publishing market is likely to start to go downhill in the 90s. "

Lin Weimin spoke in a calm tone about his pessimistic predictions for the future, and everyone listened with heavy expressions and sympathy.

"Wei Min, are you sure this will really happen in the future?" He Qizhi asked.

Lin Weimin smiled, "How can I guarantee this? It's just my personal prediction, but the general trend will not change. You can wait until next year to see."

What Lin Weimin meant was very clear. Market shrinkage is a major trend, and this shrinkage will only become more obvious as time goes by. You only need to observe for a while, and everything will be clear at a glance.

We just went to work early in the morning, and everyone was in a good mood, but after hearing Lin Weimin's pessimistic prediction, they couldn't get up to work at all, and their hearts were full of sadness.

"Weimin, I don't think you are worried at all?" Yao Shuzhi couldn't help asking.

"What is there to worry about? The sales are not good, and it's not our family's business. If we want to fall, everyone will fall together. This is the reason of the general environment, not a crime of war.

Besides, this kind of change cannot be completed within a year or so. For a long time to come, we will have to fight against this situation.

I'm not in a hurry, but it doesn't mean I don't think of ways to deal with this change. "

When Lin Weimin said this, Tong Zhonggui suddenly said: "Mr. Lin, you are so anxious to let "Dust Settled" be released, so..."

"Almost. Now that the sales volume of publications has been declining, we must take some countermeasures.

The simplest and most direct way is to find a way in terms of the quality of the publication itself.

In my vision, in the next few years, we should at least ensure that our publications should publish one or two works with certain influence every quarter, and one or two works with wide influence every year. "

He Qizhi said: "Weimin, your idea is too idealistic. The quality of a work is not positively correlated with the influence it can generate after publication."

Lin Weimin nodded and responded: "You are right about this point. But it is not irrelevant, right? Everyone should have seen the advertisements broadcast by CCTV every day, right?
The effect of the eyeball economy will become more and more important in the 90s. Whether it is influence or popularity, it means fame and presence in the eyes of the public. The popularity of "Contemporary" is certainly enough, but we must strengthen our sense of existence.

Only when we constantly emphasize our existence, old readers will not forget us, and new readers will know us. "

Yao Shuzhi frowned tightly, and said, "The more you talk, the more complicated it becomes. Why do I feel that you have arranged all the work we will do in a few years?"

There were some smiles on the corners of everyone's mouths, and the atmosphere in the office was rarely relaxed.

"Don't say I'm like a conspirator! It's true that I have some thoughts in my heart, but it's also to cope with changes in the market.

The reason why I tell you so much today is to give you a vaccination.

The past ten years have been the golden decade of domestic literature and also the golden decade of the development of our periodical industry.

Let alone those of us, even if it is a cat or a dog who runs a magazine, there is no need to worry about not being able to continue, but there will be no such good times in the future. "

When Lin Weimin said this, his tone was a bit sighed, and then his eyes became firm, "Only when the tide recedes, can everyone see who is swimming naked!"

Although Lin Weimin was pessimistic, everyone still felt a kind of confidence and determination to move forward from his words, which made everyone feel confident.

No matter when, as long as Lin Weimin is the backbone, everyone can feel at ease.

Moreover, from Lin Weimin's words just now, it is not difficult for everyone to find that Lin Weimin has a full understanding of the pessimism about the future in his heart, and he must have certain coping methods.

"Okay, don't scare us less, I think you just want us to work more!" Liu Yin said relaxedly.

The dignified atmosphere dissipated, and everyone showed heart-warming smiles.

"Okay, okay, everyone can work with peace of mind. If the sky falls, there will be a tall man to support it. Everyone should eat, drink, sing songs and dance!" Lin Weimin said jokingly.

The gossip was over, and everyone returned to work.

Another day, Lin Weimin received a call from Roger Strauss from the United States, and he had already contacted Richard Yates.

"Lin, you don't even know how much I spent trying to find him!"

Of course, Roger Strauss' words were meritorious, but it was indeed not easy for him to contact Richard Yates.

The old man has been writing all his life, but now he is over sixty years old and doesn't even have a house.A few years ago, he was still teaching at the university, writing while working, but later, due to various reasons such as alcoholism, lung disease, and financial constraints, he had mental breakdowns several times and was sent to the hospital.

Now the cat lives in a run-down little house in Boston. He still hasn't quit drinking, but he doesn't drink during the day because he has to write during the day, and every night he is always drunk.

Perhaps only in this way, he will temporarily escape from the pain that life brings him.

When Roger Strauss first started talking to Richard Yates about someone trying to get his book into China, he lacked interest.

Years of loneliness and miserable life made him a bit withdrawn, until Roger Strauss handed over the letter Lin Weimin wrote to him.

Before Roger Strauss went to Richard Yates’ home that day, he found out the newspaper that Lin Weimin was interviewed by during his stay in the United States. In the report, Lin Weimin mentioned several times that Richard Yates was long-term Great writers ignored by readers have been unfairly treated for a long time.

"Lin, he cried, do you know? He cried like a child! He agreed to publish without even discussing the remuneration. He even wrote you a letter, asking me to forward it to you."

On the phone, Roger Strauss was also a little emotional.

He was a bookseller, but of course he wouldn't be in the business if it wasn't for his love of literature.

He fully understood Richard Yates' relief and emotion after reading Lin Weimin's letter.

As the most underestimated and neglected writer in the history of American literature, Richard Yates has long been ignored by American readers. Things are outdated, backward, and not in line with the trend of the times.

It was in this environment that had been neglected for a long time that a young and well-known foreign writer suddenly appeared, saying that he appreciated his works and took pains to introduce his works to the other side of the ocean.

If Richard Yates knew Chinese, he would definitely use the word "confidant" to describe Lin Weimin.

"The manuscript fee must be paid. Although the manuscript fee published in our country is not much, it is what Mr. Yates deserves. Mr. Strauss, thank you very much this time. In a few days, our publishing house will send someone Go to Mr. Yates and discuss the publication."

After communicating with Roger Strauss, Lin Weimin immediately went to find Cheng Zaochun. After the discussion, Cheng Zaochun planned to entrust a colleague of his brother company in the United States to discuss publishing with Richard Yates.

Lin Weimin mentioned the current situation of Richard Yates, and Cheng Zaochun said: "Our domestic manuscript fee standard is definitely not comparable to that of the United States, but I can give the highest standard within our authority."

The reason why Cheng Zaochun was so happy was because he recognized Richard Yates' buried strength.

After talking with Cheng Zaochun, Lin Weimin had fulfilled a wish.

(End of this chapter)