Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Overture from Xiling Publishing House

After chatting with Third Uncle, Zhou Xuan asked him to come to the county on the fifth day of the lunar new year, February 4th, so they could discuss the work ahead in detail. Zhou Xuan gave his phone number to Third Uncle, telling him to call when he arrived in the county.

When Third Uncle found out Zhou Xuan had bought a mobile phone, he was filled with envy, turning it over in his hands for a long time before reluctantly returning it. Zhou Xuan chuckled, “Once you start working, I’ll get one for you.”

“Really?” Third Uncle looked shocked and incredulous.

“Of course,” Zhou Xuan replied. For someone leading the effort to promote in other regions, a phone was essential; otherwise, how could Zhou Xuan stay updated on sales or give timely instructions?

With that, Zhou Xuan had settled the matter of Third Uncle coming to work for him. As for other relatives with similar ideas, Zhou Xuan simply informed his parents and put them off for now, planning to see how things developed this year. If funds were sufficient later, opening branches or lending them money to invest would be possible.

After spending another day at home, Zhou Xuan returned to the county with his parents. Once there, he went online for a bit, only to find that there was really nothing worth seeing; resources were extremely scarce, and the few available websites were terribly unattractive. The frustratingly slow internet speed left Zhou Xuan feeling helpless—it seemed the maturation of the online environment wouldn’t truly arrive until 1999.

Zhou Xuan realized it was already the fourth day of the lunar new year and wondered how “Stories of the Ming Dynasty” was selling. The sales had been good in the days before the holiday, but during the Spring Festival, they probably weren’t as impressive. After some thought, Zhou Xuan decided to call Wei Xiyue to check on the situation, since this affected his startup funds.

“Hello! Zhou Xuan, you finally called me. I thought you weren’t the least bit concerned about Ming Dynasty’s sales!” Chief Editor Wei teased on the other end.

Zhou Xuan noticed that Wei Xiyue always joked with him on the phone, which made him feel Wei was easy to get along with, drawing them closer.

“Chief Editor Wei, it’s really been busy these few days. You know how it is in the countryside—lots of relatives. One family has a reunion today, the next tomorrow. There’s hardly any free time. Honestly, I don’t much like this, but since they’re family, I can’t refuse,” Zhou Xuan explained.

“Haha, Zhou Xuan, I just made a comment, and you gave me such a long explanation. Are you calling today to ask about Ming Dynasty’s sales?”

Hearing Wei finally get to the point, Zhou Xuan quickly said, “Yes, I just wanted to check on how it’s doing.”

Wei Xiyue sighed, “Speaking of Ming Dynasty, I must say I admire your confidence. Back then, I thought it would sell thirty thousand at most. But the actual sales far exceeded that. On the release day, over twelve thousand copies sold; the second day, twenty-five thousand. On New Year’s Eve, despite many bookstores only opening half a day or closing entirely, over twenty-one thousand copies were sold.”

“And then, on New Year’s Day, thirty-seven thousand copies.”

“As more people read Ming Dynasty and its reputation grew, sales on the second day of the new year broke new records, reaching fifty-eight thousand. Yesterday, sixty-one thousand. Though the increase seems small, with the growing word of mouth, I believe when the holiday ends, Ming Dynasty will see another sales peak.”

Zhou Xuan calculated: since the twenty-fifth, today being February 3rd, Ming Dynasty had been on sale for seven days—a week exactly. In that time, it had sold two hundred fourteen thousand copies. Only seven days!

Book sales periods are usually long, with annual sales figures used as reference. At this time, any book selling over a million copies per year was considered a bestseller.

According to Ming Dynasty’s situation ten years later, its cumulative sales across several years exceeded ten million copies—but that was for all seven volumes, averaging about two million each, and over several years.

Zhou Xuan had originally estimated it would take at least half a year to reach a million in sales, but the enthusiasm for buying books in this era surprised him greatly.

Perhaps later, as the internet developed, people shifted to reading online, diverting much of the traffic. With the internet still in its infancy, most people still preferred physical books.

Not knowing the exact reason, Zhou Xuan could only speculate.

Calming himself, Zhou Xuan smiled and said to Wei Xiyue, “It looks pretty good.”

“What! ‘Pretty good’? You’re so calm! In all my years in publishing, I’ve never seen a book start with such insane sales. Based on my estimation, this book will reach a million sales in two or three months, then slow down, and could exceed two million in a year,” Wei Xiyue predicted, drawing on his extensive experience in publishing.

It had to be said, seeing Ming Dynasty’s prospects, Wei’s prediction was quite accurate.

“Hehe, since Chief Editor Wei has such confidence, let’s settle royalties at the highest rate, so we don’t have to recalculate multiple times later,” Zhou Xuan said.

Wei Xiyue was momentarily at a loss for words. “Since we have a contract, we’ll stick to it. But, for future cooperation…”

Zhou Xuan’s pen name, “Zhouzi Xuan,” hadn’t been well known, but with the success of “Stories of the Ming Dynasty,” it attracted the publisher’s attention. A brief investigation left Wei Xiyue astonished. He’d heard Zhou Xuan mention publishing articles in other magazines, but being busy, hadn’t paid much attention.

Now he discovered Zhou Xuan had, since last October, published numerous works in several national magazines—short stories, long stories, various genres, from science fiction to romance and youth novels.

This raised Wei Xiyue’s regard for Zhou Xuan, and after discussing with the publisher’s president, they decided to spare no effort in drawing Zhou Xuan in, binding him to Xiling Publishing House.

So, hearing Zhou Xuan’s words, though they couldn’t settle at the highest twenty percent royalty, Wei replied, “I’ve discussed it with the president. If you need funds, we can pay you at a fifteen percent royalty rate based on a million in sales for the first month. How does that sound?”

Zhou Xuan was stunned by Xiling Publishing’s offer. The contract stipulated royalties were to be settled every three months, based on actual sales.

This way, Zhou Xuan could receive a substantial advance two or three months early, allowing him to start investing in the internet industry sooner, whether opening a clothing store or an internet café.

It was a generous gift, in exchange for the priority publishing rights to his future works—a minor concession. Zhou Xuan, being averse to hassle, felt that Xiling’s sincerity was too good to refuse.

After considering, he agreed, “Since your company is so sincere, I won’t stand on ceremony. I do need funds, and if you can advance me royalties, nothing could be better.”

“No problem, I’ll apply right away.”