Chapter 41

After the group arrived at the Chinese restaurant outside Renmin University, they couldn't wait to open their phones and start reading the first two chapters and the preface that Lin Han had sent over. They were so engrossed that they forgot to order food.

Only Li Wenyuan and Lin Han exchanged smiles. They began to order some light dishes, asked the waiter to recommend a few specialties, and then quietly waited on the side.

Tong Yonglie was the first to finish reading the several thousand words. He put down his phone and said with a sigh, "Little Lin, this book is definitely a masterpiece of hard science fiction. Are you planning to write a history of the development of robots? Each short story is thought-provoking."

"Professor Tong, that's my intention. I'm writing the stories based on the development of robots. There are still five more short stories to be written," Lin Han said, his face lighting up with joy at the professional recognition.

The other three also finished reading one by one. They looked at Lin Han with complex expressions. The quality of the novel was undeniable, and it didn't seem like the work of a newcomer.

Ye Guangliang and Gu Ming, who were accustomed to teaching, were genuinely surprised to see a young man around the age of their students write such a shocking science fiction novel.

As for Zhao Han, the vice president of Renmin University Press, he began to ponder how to handle the book for the best outcome. Now was the time to see who could remain calm.

Although he was a science fiction enthusiast, he was also a businessman, and a businessman must maximize profits.

Li Wenyuan, who was not very familiar with the others, couldn't say much. He just sighed, "Isn't that right? When you read the Three Laws of Robotics at the beginning, weren't you surprised? The most essential part is right there, grabbing the reader's attention from the start."

"Actually, when I saw the Three Laws, I instinctively started looking for loopholes. Could they have any flaws? But as I read on, I found that these flaws are the essence of the story. It's a brilliant idea, a rare good book." Tong Yonglie glanced at Zhao Han, "Old Zhao, does the quality of this book meet your standards?"

At this point, Zhao Han started to play it safe. He knew it was a rare science fiction masterpiece, but the overall market for science fiction was not good, and often books were printed but not sold.

Science fiction readers were a niche group, although they were gradually growing in recent years, they still lagged behind other genres.

"We haven't published any science fiction novels in the past year, so we need to be cautious. Liu Jun, you're the expert, what's your opinion?" Zhao Han threw the topic to Liu Jun, the editor, and began to think seriously.

They were old friends, and Liu Jun understood the implications. He started to think about how to negotiate a lower price, "To be honest, this is indeed a very good science fiction novel, and I personally like it a lot. If I saw this beginning in a bookstore, I would definitely buy it. However, there are some minor flaws. First, the character settings. You wrote about fictional Americans, American families, and the future of American robots, but we are in China."

He praised first and then pointed out the issues, a strategy he used skillfully.

"I haven't lived in America, so I don't know their speaking habits. But writing about the history of American robots in Chinese makes it feel like a translation. However, the writing style is very localized, and it's uncertain whether readers will buy it. Also, you're a newcomer, so our expected sales and print run won't be high."

Li Wenyuan felt uneasy. These old hands were really ruthless. If he had known they would discuss publishing today, he should have explained the ins and outs to Lin Han in advance to avoid being taken advantage of.

Now that they were at the table, if he openly raised these issues, it would cause significant trouble, so he started to worry.

At this moment, Tong Yonglie frowned in dissatisfaction, "Old Liu and Old Zhao, you two are not being fair. This 'I, Robot' is clearly going to be a science fiction classic with long-term sales potential. Your official talk is not very decent."

Zhao Han and Liu Jun were not embarrassed. Business is like war, and they had to ensure the interests of the publishing house. This was not a place for sentiment.

Lin Han didn't expect them to be so perceptive, immediately seeing the background setting of 'I, Robot.' As a Chinese person, he had written about the history of American robots with American protagonists, which might test the readers' acceptance.

But he still spoke up, "Actually, the background doesn't matter much. Although our country's robot industry is developing rapidly, the protagonists' ethnicity doesn't affect the representativeness. This explores the relationship between humans and robots. Moreover, most of the science fiction books read by domestic readers are from abroad, so they have a strong acceptance of these backgrounds."

In fact, Lin Han had such concerns about not changing the characters to Chinese, but overall, it wasn't a big issue. Science fiction readers were probably the most accepting of foreign backgrounds, and many even read English original novels.

Zhao Han nodded, agreeing with Lin Han's point. He smiled and said, "You are recommended by Old Tong, and the quality of this book is indeed good. So we won't give you the standard new author buyout price. How about 5% royalties? As for the initial print run, we need to study it further."

Royalties are not taxes but a way for authors and publishers to settle payments. Generally, an author's income equals the print quantity multiplied by the book's price and the royalty rate.

For many publishers, new authors are like free resources to be exploited. They come in waves, and the publishers buy the entire book for a few hundred yuan per thousand words, then promote it to the market. If the market response is good, the publisher makes money; if not, the publisher doesn't lose money.

The current rules of the domestic publishing industry are very simple and hierarchical.

For famous best-selling authors like Tong Yonglie, who are both famous and sell well, publishers will agree to all their demands, with royalties exceeding 12% and print runs reaching hundreds of thousands.

For relatively well-known authors like Li Wenyuan, publishers will estimate a number based on the sales of their previous books, with royalties generally not exceeding 10% and a more conservative print run.

For unknown authors like Lin Han, publishers will pretend to be reluctant, saying the book won't sell well, and try to lower the royalty rate and print run, leaving the author with little say.

The lowest tier is self-funded publication, where authors with writer dreams support the publishing house. The publishing house loves such authors who are willing to spend their own money. They have to pay for the book number, printing costs, and even handle sales themselves, with most books unsold, only given to friends and family.

To be honest, 5% royalties for a new author is not too harsh. On one hand, Zhao Han wanted to form a good relationship with Lin Han, seeing his potential; on the other hand, there were factors like Tong Yonglie. This was indeed a good book, and selling over ten thousand copies should not be a problem.

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