Chapter 48

In fact, whether science fiction is a niche genre can be directly seen from the sales of science fiction novels. For other types of books, selling a million copies is just the threshold for being considered a bestseller, and selling five million copies is barely enough to make it onto the annual sales chart, but there is no motivation to compete for the top spot.

Science fiction novels have never participated in the annual book sales chart competition, which is a huge regret. The readers of science fiction are not enough to support such high sales. Many people buy books to share with each other or even borrow them from rental bookstores.

Buying books is not very cost-effective, especially when you have a lot of books to read. This is when libraries and rental bookstores come into play.

Niche books may go unnoticed in rental bookstores, or very few people may borrow them. Over time, the owners of rental bookstores will stop stocking them, leading to a vicious cycle. It would be like a pipe dream to want to read new science fiction novels.

At Hai Die Rental Bookstore, the owner was idly playing on the computer, occasionally looking up at the children in his store. Although he was a bit annoyed, he didn't say anything to drive them away.

Rental books are meant to be read, but these children couldn't afford to rent them, so they just stayed in the store, flipping through comic books for the whole afternoon.

"Boss, do you have 'I, Robot'? I want to rent it. How much would it cost?"

A high school student in a school uniform walked in, looking at the owner with anticipation, waiting for good news.

Another chubby student beside him asked, "The final exams are coming up, and you're still reading this kind of book? If your mom finds out, she'll definitely tear it up."

"I'll hide it secretly. She usually doesn't check my backpack. It's too good, I can't help it."

However, the owner of the rental bookstore pursed his lips. "Sorry, we don't have this book. Maybe you remembered the name wrong?"

The high school student shook his head excitedly and quickly took out a December issue of Science Fiction World from his backpack. "Look, it's right here. I didn't remember it wrong! Your store is the largest and most complete rental bookstore around, and you don't have it. Where can I find it? Can I go to the city library?"

The owner casually flipped through the table of contents, found the page for "I, Robot," and was immediately drawn in by the introduction of the first few lines. He carefully memorized the title.

"I just checked, and this book hasn't started selling yet. It will be officially released during the New Year's holiday. Come back then, and I'll keep a copy for you."

"Really? That's great! Please keep it for me, don't rent it to anyone else. I'll pay double the price!"

After watching the two high school students walk away, the owner quickly picked up his phone and called a familiar distributor. "Old Wu, when can you start stocking 'I, Robot'? I need five sets. It would be great if you could deliver them as soon as possible."

"I'll deliver them to you on New Year's morning, ensuring you get the latest copies as soon as you open. By the way, the demand for this book is quite high. Several of the newsstands I'm responsible for have requested to sell it. They rarely sell physical books, mostly newspapers or magazines."

"Alright, I'll come early. Make sure you have five sets for me, not a single one less."

Rental bookstores sometimes buy multiple copies of popular books to meet the demand, so he ordered five sets, thinking it would be enough to satisfy the customers.

Various Xinhua Bookstores, rental bookstores, and sales points provided their needs, and the marketing staff of the People's University Press were busy in the last week of 2016, ensuring that even the most remote cities could stock the book.

...

As the time approached, Lin Han was sitting in a café, chatting with a reporter from the Beijing Daily. The article would likely be published in a less prominent section, so the female reporter, after turning on the recorder, got straight to the point without much small talk.

"Mr. Lin, as we know, you were originally a film director. Why did you choose to switch to writing science fiction novels? The gap between these two professions seems quite large. This isn't just a curiosity of our editorial department; many netizens are also very interested."

Lin Han leaned back in his chair, shrugged, and said helplessly, "To be honest, I was reminded by netizens when I was a director. Later, I thought changing careers wasn't a bad idea, especially since I really love science fiction novels. Plus, I was short on money recently, so I decided to give it a try, and it worked out."

The female reporter never expected Lin Han to be short on money. As someone in the entertainment industry, he should have been well-off, even if he was a criticized director.

However, although she was there to promote Lin Han's new book, she still wanted to dig into some gossip for a news highlight. Lin Han's most famous incident wasn't writing novels but ruining a novel and causing the investment company to go bankrupt.

"We all know you directed 'Beyond the Solar System,' which was a box office and critical failure. However, your first novel, 'The Country Teacher,' received very positive feedback and has entered the final selection for the Galaxy Award. Moreover, the online pre-sales for your new book, 'I, Robot,' are performing exceptionally well. It seems strange to have such extreme situations in one person."

Lin Han looked at the snowflakes suddenly falling outside the window and explained, "Making a movie isn't a one-person job; it's a team effort. You have to do your job well, and others have to be willing to cooperate. Writing a novel is much simpler. I can make all the decisions myself, write however I want, and no one will interfere. I think that's the key."

The female reporter's eyes lit up when she heard Lin Han's words. She continued, "So, you mean that when making a movie, you can't fully express yourself and are constrained? Now, the entire cast and crew seem to be in low spirits. Do you think it's because they are cursed by the bankruptcy of Candy Entertainment?"

"Cursed? You really have an imagination. I'm a science fiction writer and don't believe in such things. The bankruptcy of Candy Entertainment has nothing to do with us; it's their own doing."

Chen Jiaxuan, who was listening, quickly stood up and interrupted, "Let's stop this topic. Let's talk about the new book."

Lin Han was not good at handling such topics. If Chen Jiaxuan hadn't intervened, he might have fallen into the trap the reporter set.

Seeing that she was about to get the most explosive news, the female reporter felt a bit disappointed but quickly changed the topic. "In fact, we can see that the total pre-sales of your new book, 'I, Robot,' on four online platforms have reached 31,000 copies, and it's expected to reach 50,000 before the official release. Did you ever expect this level of sales?"

"To be honest, I didn't. I thought the online pre-sales would be ignored, and I was prepared to buy the first copy myself to change the zero sales. But the science fiction readers gave me a huge surprise. 30,000 pre-sales is incredibly high!"

Lin Han couldn't stop talking about this topic. "My ideal scenario was to have 1,000 pre-sales on each website. Now, it's almost ten times that, which is fantastic."

"Do you think science fiction literature has been accepted by mainstream literature?"

"Actually, it's still in a niche stage. Currently, it's a mix of hot and cold. We need to write more high-quality novels to attract more readers."

"Then, I wish your novel sells well and continues to climb. I'll organize the article and hand it over to the editor. You should see the interview tomorrow."

Seeing that she couldn't dig up any new news, the female reporter quickly asked a few more questions and then left, knowing she had a good story to publish.

...

Time slipped by, and before they knew it, it was the most crucial day, the first day of 2017!