funbook-pk Chapter 188 How Mystery Critics Make Money
Chapter 188 How Mystery Critics Make Money
Chapter 188 How Mystery Critics Make Money
January 20, 1980, 9:2 AM.
There are four days left until the "hard-boiled" mystery competition with "King of Hard-Boiled Mystery" Toshiyuki Nishimura.
Kyosuke Maijo sat in the study of the No. 8 VIP suite at the "Longevity Bath".
He wrote his last words on the paper: "I won't keep having this dream forever, will I? In that cramped and filthy den of Kabukicho, there's a real world where I can sleep in without having to dream! It's waiting to welcome me back."
"I dialed the number that was etched into my mind, and immediately heard a familiar voice."
"Hello!"
"What's wrong?"
"I'm going back to Kabukicho now. There aren't any bastards who want to kill me anymore, right?"
"There are no problems now."
"If there's any problem, it's you."
After writing the last paragraph, Kyosuke Maijo smiled with satisfaction.
After five days of intense writing, the book "The City That Never Sleeps" is now completely finished!
Kyosuke Maijo could not contain his elation.
I raised my arms and stretched my aching back.
I walked to the leftmost room in suite number eight and knocked on the door.
"Mr. Yushan! Mr. Yushan! Get up!"
"I've finished my manuscript!"
Inside the room, Hideomi Uyama heard the sounds of Kyosuke Maijo; even the footsteps carried a hint of excitement.
The door opened in less than five seconds.
As for why Hideomi Uyama is here?
Naturally, this was because he had received orders from Genjiro Noma, the president of Kodansha.
In fact, Hideomi Uyama hadn't been home for six whole days.
Starting from February 15th, all of Hideomi Uyama's work has been handed over to Naoki Akimoto, the head of the publishing department at Kodansha.
Of course, this does not mean that Noma Genjiro had any dissatisfaction with Uyama Hideomi.
On the contrary, this is because Noma Genjiro highly valued Uyama Hideomi.
Given the current situation, Kodansha has poured both its publicity and resources into Maishiro Kyosuke, this "strange genius" who has suddenly risen to fame.
Therefore, it's a sales comparison between the "hard-boiled mystery" novels by Kyosuke Maijo and Hisayuki Nishimura.
This is the most important matter that everyone at Kodansha cares about!
Although this "hard-boiled mystery" competition, on the surface, seems to be a personal contest between Kyosuke Maishiro and Toshiyuki Nishimura.
But in reality, this is a battle between the two major publishing houses, Kodansha and Takarajimasha!
Regardless of who loses, it will be a fatal blow to the publishing house in their respective camp!
However, Noma Genjiro's attitude towards Maijo Kyosuke was that he could only fawn over him and would never dare to put pressure on him.
Therefore, the only option was to send Hideomi Uyama to be by Kyosuke Maishiro's side.
Let him urge Kyosuke of the Dance City —
The guest room door opened.
Uyama Hideomi appeared before Maishiro Kyosuke with a weary expression.
His hair was messy, and he had dark circles under his eyes like a panda, and bloodshot eyes.
At this moment, Hideomi Uyama is like Tom Hanks in the movie "Cast Away," who has just returned to the real world from a deserted island.
Seeing Hideomi Uyama in such a disheveled state, Kyosuke Maishiro couldn't help but tease him, "Mr. Uyama, no offense intended."
"How come you, the editor who's supposed to be pushing me, are in more of a mess than I, the author, am struggling to meet my deadline?"
Upon hearing Maishiro Kyosuke's words, Uyama Hideomi let out a heavy yawn.
He then pulled Maijo Kyosuke into the room.
Maishiro Kyosuke was curious about what Uyama Hideomi was going to do.
Then I saw Hideomi Uyama lift the blanket.
Inside the blanket was a landline telephone with an extended telephone line.
Uyama Hideomi pointed at the phone, his voice breaking with emotion as he said, "Mr. Maishiro, do you know?"
"For the past six days, in order to save time, I've not only been here, but also proofreading and typesetting your 'The City That Never Sleeps'."
"I also have to answer a lot of inquiries."
"Minister Mikoshiba, Ms. Eru, Mr. Gonda, Mr. Kasai, and oh, Mr. Takao Tsuchiya."
"Each of these five people has called me at least twenty times to inquire about my recent situation, Mr. Wu Cheng, and the detailed progress of the book 'The City That Never Sleeps'."
Upon hearing Uyama Hideomi's words, Maijo Kyosuke tilted his head in confusion: "Really? No less than twenty times per person? That means at least a hundred times."
"But why didn't I know about this?"
Yu Shan Richen rubbed his temples, looking troubled: "Because everyone is worried that the ringing of the phone will disturb your rest, delay the writing progress of 'Never Sleeping City,' or interrupt your inspiration."
"So they only call me between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m.!"
"And me! Because I'm also worried that the phone ringing will disturb you."
So I could only keep the phone under the covers, waiting for it to ring at any moment!
"Sigh—an editor's life is also a life."
"I'm really tired of living like this."
"Honestly, Ms. Mai, I think I'm starting to have PTSD from phone ringing now."
Seeing Uyama Hideomi's resentful expression, as if he wanted to cry but couldn't, Maishiro Kyosuke couldn't help but laugh.
But in order to prevent Uyama Hideomi from looking at him with that resentful gaze again.
Maishiro Kyosuke patted Uyama Hideomi on the shoulder and led him toward the liquor cabinet in the VIP suite.
Opening the bottom cabinet door of the liquor cabinet, Maishiro Kyosuke took out a black liquor bottle with the words "Longquan" on it and waved it at Uyama Hideomi standing behind him: "Alright, Mr. Uyama, I know you've had a hard time these past few days."
"How about it? Can this bottle of wine, hailed as the 'ultimate supreme white wine,' at 7,000 kan (a unit of weight)? Can it soothe your weary heart these past few days?"
Hideomi Uyama and Hisayuki Nishimura are similar types of people.
Nishimura Toshiyuki was captivated by the sight of whisky, while Uyama Hideomi's eyes lit up at the sight of sake.
Upon seeing the "Great Supreme White" in Maishiro Kyosuke's hand, Uyama Hideomi's bloodshot eyes shone with an unusual light: "As expected of Maishiro-sensei, you understand me best."
As he spoke, Uyama Hideomi reached out to take the sake from Maijo Kyosuke's hand.
Unfortunately, Maijo Kyosuke didn't grant his wish: "Mr. Uyama, this sake will be yours sooner or later."
"But shouldn't we get down to business first?"
Upon hearing Maishiro Kyosuke's words, Uyama Hideomi looked somewhat embarrassed: "Yes! Yes! Yes! But business is more important."
"I'll go print the manuscript of 'The City That Never Sleeps' right away, and then notify the members of the New Orthodox Mystery Club to gather."
"Hmm—the specific location? Where exactly?"
Upon hearing Hideomi Uyama's words, Kyosuke Maijo pondered for a moment, then looked towards the living room of the VIP suite and said with a smile, "Mr. Uyama, let's hold the fourth meeting of the 'New Orthodox Mystery Club' here."
"Let 'Longevity Soup' take care of the food; we'll pay for it."
Upon hearing Maishiro Kyosuke's words, Uyama Hideomi's face showed a somewhat troubled expression: "Here? Maishiro-sensei? What about Yokomizo Seishi-sensei-sensei?"
"Given Professor Yokomizo Seishi's current condition, it seems unlikely he could have made it from Shinjuku Ward in Tokyo, right?"
Upon hearing Hideomi Uyama's words, Kyosuke Maijo shook his head: "Mr. Uyama, I don't plan to invite Professor Seishi Yokomizo this time."
"Because this time, 'The City That Never Sleeps' is a full-length mystery novel, not a short mystery novel."
"Even at the fastest reading speed, it would take five to six hours or more to read the whole thing."
"Given Professor Yokomizo Seishi's health, even if he agreed, I couldn't agree to make him read for six consecutive hours."
"Therefore, Mr. Uyama, please inform Professor Yokomizo Seishi and tell him why he was not invited."
"Anyway, Mr. Yushan, you've already done most of the proofreading and layout."
"Once 'The City That Never Sleeps' is printed the day after tomorrow, I will personally visit Professor Seishi Yokomizo to deliver a copy to express my apologies."
When Hideomi Uyama heard what Kyosuke Maishiro said, he agreed that Kyosuke Maishiro made sense, so he immediately took out his phone and began to contact the members of the "New Orthodox Mystery Club".
Maijo Kyosuke wrote for six days straight, pushing his energy and physical strength to their limits.
After giving detailed instructions to Uyama Hideomi, he...
Jingsuke Maijo, whose nerves had been on edge, finally relaxed and lay down on the living room sofa, falling into a deep sleep.
I don't know how much time passed.
Maijo Kyosuke slowly opened his eyes.
Jiang Liu's beautiful face came into his blurry vision.
"Jiang Liu—Miss Jiang Liu!"
"When did you arrive?"
Maijo Kyosuke rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up.
Jiang Liumei raised her hand and glanced at her watch: "About half an hour ago, right?"
"Mr. Yushan told me that he needed to convene an emergency meeting of the New Orthodox Mystery Club," so he called me first to ask me to help contact the members.
"I'm worried that you've been working on your manuscript for six days in a row and that you're overworking yourself."
"So I specially made chicken soup for you, Teacher Wucheng."
Jiang Liumei reached out and picked up a small thermos, pouring the chicken soup into a bowl.
"Quick, drink it while it's hot."
"I specifically sought out a top Chinese chef and spent a week learning this recipe."
Looking at the chicken soup presented to him, Maishiro Kyosuke could not refuse the kind offer and could only take a small sip.
I thought Jiang Liumei's explanation would result in a culinary disaster.
Surprisingly, the chicken soup tasted unexpectedly good!
Having been quite tired these past few days, Maijo Kyosuke drank two large bowls of water before stopping.
Yu Shan Hideaki walked in from outside, and upon smelling the chicken soup, he swallowed hard. "Miss Jiang Liu, you're so biased!"
"That explains why you were all so secretive, hugging that thermos as soon as you came in."
"So it was chicken soup I secretly brought for Teacher Mai!"
"I also spent six days working alongside Teacher Wucheng!"
"In the morning, I help Teacher Wu Cheng with proofreading and layout, and in the evening, I have to answer your inquiries about Teacher Wu Cheng."
"I may not have done anything special, but I certainly put in the effort. Why am I not even given a share of the inspirational stories?"
"Oh, I get it, this isn't just ordinary inspirational quotes, this is love—"
Jiang Liu Meili blushed instantly upon hearing Yu Shan Hideomi's words.
Uyama Hideomi has extremely high emotional intelligence. Seeing that Jiang Liu Meili blushed with embarrassment, he stopped saying anything more.
Turning to look at Kyosuke Maishiro beside her, she changed the subject: "Mr. Maishiro, I've already made plans with the members of the 'New Orthodox Mystery Club,' and the time is set for 2 PM this afternoon."
"Aside from Professor Seishi Yokomizo, Professor Takao Tsuchiya, and Mr. Otto Penzel who are unable to attend, all nine members, including Ms. Eru and myself, are able to be present."
"Starting from 2 o'clock, you can finish watching the whole story of 'The City That Never Sleeps' by around 8 o'clock."
"That way, we can start dinner around eight o'clock."
After finishing speaking, Uyama Hideomi looked at Maishiro Kyosuke and then at Eri Ryumi. Realizing he was being somewhat superfluous, he waved his hand and pointed to the guest room inside: "Mashiro-sensei, I've been so tired these past few days. I'm going to the guest room to catch up on some sleep."
"Please call me when everyone has arrived."
After speaking, Uyama Hideomi turned and left Maishiro Kyosuke's bedroom.
Only Maijo Kyosuke and Eri Ryumi remained in the bedroom, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.
Eager to break the awkward silence, Maijo Kyosuke picked up the newspaper from the bedside table, hoping to find a topic of conversation.
As a result, when I opened the newspaper, I saw that Kiyoshi Kasai was discussing the connection between "Object X from Space" and "And Then There Were None".
The other sections of the newspaper were filled with interpretations and evaluations of their past works by anonymous mystery critics.
Seeing so many mystery critics interpreting and evaluating my past works is quite an experience.
This piqued Jingjie's curiosity, so he pointed to the newspaper and asked Jiangli Meili beside him, "Ms. Jiangli, there's a question I've never quite understood."
"As a master critic, Mr. Gonda Manji can publish his own works to make a profit."
"But how do those unknown mystery critics make a living?"
Although Maijo Kyosuke has a fairly good understanding of the Japanese mystery genre.
However, most of the mystery critics that Maishiro Kagami knows are renowned figures in the history of mystery fiction.
As for those nameless mystery critics, Kyosuke Maijo doesn't know how they make a living.
Jiang Liumei was also thinking about what to talk about to break the awkward silence.
Upon hearing Maishiro Kyosuke's question, he followed up with an answer: "Mashiro-sensei, you've come to the right person with this question."
"Because when I was in charge of the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine at Hayakawa Shobo, I had contact with many mystery critics."
"As for the issue of profitability—it's actually not complicated."
"In Japan, or rather, in the world, mystery critics have four main ways to get paid, besides working out of passion."
Jiang Liumei raised a finger and said, "The first way is to follow the example of the great writer Edogawa Ranpo and compile books like 'The Mystery of Detective Novels' and 'The Phantom Lord' to earn royalties."
"It is like the Detective Novel Dictionary and the Reasoning Handbook compiled by Nakajima and Taira.
"On Japanese Detective Writers" compiled by Mr. Gonda Manji.
"These are all top-selling works, and each has won the Edogawa Sukei Prize and the Japan Mystery Writers Association Award."
"Because these kinds of works are all considered original works in the publishing industry, you can earn a lot of royalties by publishing one of them."
"But there are very few mystery critics who can publish works as mystery critics and win the Ice Prize."
"Not counting Sakai Fuki, Edogawa Sakubu, Hyoshita Utari, Koga Sanra, these are all deceased ice critics."
"Among the currently living mystery critics, apart from the critically ill Yokogawa Seishi, Matsumoto Seichō, whose main job is writing, and the former editor-in-chief of Shin Seinen who mentored Mushita Mushita and Mushita Takagi, there is no one else who surpasses Mizutani Jun in the mystery criticism world."
"Currently, only Nakajima and Taira, Gonda Manji, Marutani Saiichi, and Yamamura Masao remain."
"And the famous three mystery critics and journalists, Ishikawa Kyoji, Aoki Amehiko, and Uekusa Jinichi."
"Simply put, in the current Japanese mystery commentary scene, there are only seven people who can write and publish collections of mystery commentaries and also win the Ice Prize, thus qualifying as true mystery commentary masters!"
Jiang Liumei paused for a moment, held up two fingers, and continued, "Those who are slightly inferior to these seven ice masters of reasoning and commentary can only choose the second path."
"That means publishing anthologies, compiling short stories by famous writers in the history of detective fiction into a book, adding their own comments, and then republishing it."
"But anthologies are also a channel for gaining fame among mystery critics."
"For example."
"If Yokoyama Seishi and Matsumoto Seichō, these two masters of the ice genre, were to compile any collection of their works, it would definitely be a bestseller, with sales starting at over a million copies."
"But if it were a collection of essays compiled by a mystery critic of Mr. Kiyoshi Kasai's caliber, Qiu might actually lose money."
"Because the short stories in the anthology are all works that have been published by individual authors, unless they are specially invited writers like you, Mr. Maicheng, who have already made a deal with the publisher, they will all be classified as reprints by the publisher."
"Just as I told you before, the royalties for reprints will be reduced from a maximum of 14% and a minimum of 12% to a maximum of 12% and a minimum of 10%."
"For works that have already been published or featured, it is necessary to communicate with the original author, obtain authorization, and pay royalties and a fixed share of the profits before they can be selected."
"And this royalty fee is still the conventional royalty fee in Japan, calculated based on the original manuscript paper. For example, a shorter one like 'A Bellflower' would be 300,000 yen, and a longer one like 'The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate' would be 750,000 yen."
Upon hearing Eri Miko's words, Maishiro Kyosuke looked puzzled: "Ms. Eri, if we calculate it this way..."
"If a relatively unknown mystery critic were to publish a collection of their works, wouldn't they probably lose money?"
Upon hearing Maishiro Kyosuke's words, Jiang Liumei swore to herself, "That's right, that's exactly it. Publishing a collection of essays is a high-stakes gamble that risks your reputation!"
"If a collection of ten short stories is to be published, the author will need to be paid at least three to six million in royalties."
"After deducting taxes and various expenses, a collection of essays needs to sell at least 50,000 to 100,000 copies to break even."
"Ms. Mai, you know, unless it's a talented writer like you."
"The remaining 95% of Japanese authors, even if they write books their whole lives, only sell about 10,000 to 50,000 copies of each of their works."
"Therefore, unless they are truly discerning anthologists who select only classic works and write exceptionally insightful reviews, they may not even be able to recoup the royalties they pay due to a lack of fame."
After Jiang Liumei finished speaking, she raised three fingers and continued, "And the third way for mystery critics to earn money is by becoming translators!"
"This is the most profitable and least risky way to make money, according to the opinion of the commentator."
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