Chapter 31

Dave was shocked by Jin Hyun-tae's high productivity, but he also had to gather his thoughts and carefully read the fairy tale manuscript to see if it could be published and bring in some profit.

Jin Hyun-tae's "A Song of Ice and Fire" and the first volume of "The Lord of the Rings" he had just given him were both excellent, fitting for publication and likely to sell well. However, both novels were fantasy works, indicating that Jin Hyun-tae had a strong foundation in writing fantasy.

But now, he had crossed over and produced a fairy tale, which was simply crazy.

At least, that's how Dave saw it.

"Why don't you just stick to writing fantasy novels? Why write a fairy tale? It's a waste of your brain cells and time."

However, after flipping through the manuscript, Dave's initial complaints faded, and he became fully engrossed. Jin Hyun-tae, seeing Dave's expression, smiled knowingly, understanding that Dave was captivated by the stories.

In Dave's mind, scenes from his childhood and the stories his mother used to tell him kept flashing by. As a native of this world, Dave was familiar with the fairy tales of this world, and he had been deeply influenced by those bizarre stories during his childhood, leaving a significant shadow.

He clearly remembered how mischievous he was as a child. Whenever he misbehaved, his mother would scare him with the story of a wild boar that ate children, vividly describing how disobedient children were devoured by the boar. Even now, thinking about it made Dave shudder.

However, in all of Jin Hyun-tae's fairy tales, there was no such content, and there were no descriptions of blood and gore. Each story contained some metaphor and moral lesson, and they were easy to understand.

These fairy tales were not only suitable for children but also for adults.

Moreover, Dave noticed that each short story was accompanied by some hand-drawn illustrations that clearly corresponded to the story.

Not only did the text have illustrations, but Jin Hyun-tae, this young man, was truly a genius!

Dave was almost certain that if these fairy tales didn't sell well, he would cut off his own head.

"Very nice fairy tales. Did you come up with all of these yourself?"

Dave sat up straight, gently placing the manuscript on the coffee table in front of him and asked as a matter of course.

In reality, this was just a formality to confirm that Jin Hyun-tae had created them himself and to get a verbal assurance from him.

In fact, Dave's concern was unnecessary because the fairy tales Jin Hyun-tae had 'created' did not exist in this world, so there was no risk of any issues.

However, Dave was unaware of this, so he asked the question.

Though his face was a bit flushed, Jin Hyun-tae nodded and replied, "Yes, I created them all independently. There will be no copyright issues. Mr. Dave, what about these fairy tales..."

Jin Hyun-tae admitted that he had independently 'created' them, but he felt quite embarrassed because he knew these were pirated fairy tales, not his original works.

But as long as he didn't say anything, no one would know, especially since he had brought works from another world to this one, and he was the only one who could do that.

So, it was fine for him to claim that he had independently 'created' them.

"They can be published. I estimate the sales won't be too bad. Your fairy tales are suitable for both children and adults, making them a work that appeals to all ages."

Dave spoke frankly, without any reservations.

Hearing this, Jin Hyun-tae understood that the fairy tales were basically settled, and he didn't need to worry anymore.

Initially, Jin Hyun-tae had been concerned that the pirated fairy tales might not be well-received in this parallel world, but now it seemed his worries were unfounded.

Good things are good wherever they go.

"I'll hand over the fairy tales and the first volume of 'The Lord of the Rings' to the publishing house for publication and sales. I'm really troubling you by publishing two books at once."

Jin Hyun-tae was very polite.

Dave waved his hand, "Don't say such formalities. Publishing two books at once is no big deal. For our publishing house, it's not even a significant matter."

Indeed, for a large publisher like California Cultural Publishing, publishing two novels at once was no problem.

Even publishing dozens of novels at once was not impossible.

Since Jin Hyun-tae was willing to hand over "The Lord of the Rings" and "The William Fairy Tales" to the publishing house, and Dave was willing to publish them, the next steps were straightforward.

They drafted a contract, which Jin Hyun-tae reviewed and had no objections. Both parties then brought in lawyers and signed the formal publishing and profit-sharing agreement.

Once everything was settled, Jin Hyun-tae's task was to go home and wait or continue his pirating activities, and then collect the money when it was due.

How simple it was.

The publishing agreement was based on the contract for "A Song of Ice and Fire." California Publishing only took the English version, paper book publication, and U.S. sales rights for "The Lord of the Rings" and "The William Fairy Tales."

The remaining rights, such as film and television adaptations, comic adaptations, and foreign language publications, remained with Jin Hyun-tae. The agreement was very favorable.

Moreover, Jin Hyun-tae's profit share was increased to 20%, which was very satisfactory.

Compared to 99% of authors, Jin Hyun-tae's contract was much better, and the treatment was exceptionally special.

So, what more could he complain about?

"I'll have the manuscripts printed and on the shelves as soon as possible, all within a week, ensuring you receive your first royalty payment before Christmas Eve."

After signing the contract, Dave promised Jin Hyun-tae that he would expedite the publication and sales of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The William Fairy Tales" to ensure Jin Hyun-tae received his money as soon as possible.

Jin Hyun-tae trusted Dave's promise, knowing that the publishing house had its own printing facility, and a phone call from Dave would get the process started.

"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot to tell you. You've made it to the 2015 U.S. Bestselling Novelists list. Although your ranking is low, it shows that 'A Song of Ice and Fire' has a promising sales outlook."

The U.S. Bestselling Novelists list?

As Jin Hyun-tae was about to leave, Dave suddenly slapped his forehead and told him about something he had almost forgotten.

Honestly, if Dave hadn't told him, Jin Hyun-tae wouldn't have known he had made it to this list.

Although he wasn't sure what the list was for, Dave's tone suggested it was significant.

"Oh, really?"

Since he didn't understand the list, Jin Hyun-tae's reaction was rather indifferent.

"Hey, what's with that reaction?" Seeing Jin Hyun-tae's indifferent response, Dave looked at him with a mix of amusement and exasperation.

"Guess you don't know what this list is, right?" Dave asked finally.

Jin Hyun-tae nodded, admitting he didn't know.

In the end, Dave had to explain the list to Jin Hyun-tae, helping him understand its influence.

The U.S. Bestselling Novels list, as the name suggests, features novels that sold very well that year. However, it's not just about sales numbers; the novels must be carefully selected by reviewers with the most critical eyes, choosing those with the best stories and content.

This means that some novels, despite selling well, may not make the list if they have significant flaws in their stories or content.

However, this also means that every novel on the list, with this guarantee, will continue to sell very well.

In essence, the quality of a novel and its future sales potential can be clearly determined by whether it makes the sales list.

So, even though "A Song of Ice and Fire" was not ranked high, it was enough to make Dave very happy.

At least, it showed that "A Song of Ice and Fire" had good future sales potential and could continue to sell well.

Moreover, "A Song of Ice and Fire" only started selling in September and had been on the market for less than two months.

To be selected for the 2015 U.S. Bestselling Novels list in such a short time was a significant achievement.

If "A Song of Ice and Fire" continued to sell well, making it to a higher position on the list next year would not be difficult.

But regardless, in this world's America, every novelist aspired to have their work on this list.

Not only did it bring fame, but it also provided a reliable prediction of income.

Since no novel on the list had ever performed poorly in sales, many people considered it a litmus test.

After Dave's explanation, Jin Hyun-tae finally understood the significance of the U.S. Bestselling Novels list.