Exclusive Agency Rights: Building a Brand

Zhou Yan had set a goal for himself: to become a billionaire by 2002.

But he could never achieve this goal by acting or writing alone, no matter how hard he tried.

So he had no choice but to take the shortcut – the South Korean World Cup.

The 2002 South Korea World Cup is widely considered the ugliest World Cup ever, not only because of the dark horse but also because of biased refereeing.

He lost everything in his previous life, but that's why he has such a deep impression of this World Cup.

This is his best chance to achieve a leap in wealth, and he absolutely cannot miss it.

"What is the third thing?" Zhou Yan asked Song Yuanfei.

"We want to sign an exclusive agency agreement with you," Song Yuanfei said, bringing up the third matter.

"We hope that in the next five or even ten years, your works will be exclusively represented and published by our Shanghai People's Publishing House."

Zhou Yan signed a performance-based agreement with the Shanghai People's Publishing House, where she would receive royalties based on sales volume.

Now, the Shanghai People's Publishing House wants to change the contract and wants to acquire Zhou Yan's exclusive agency.

If the previous deal involved buying out the works themselves, then now it's about buying out Zhou Yan as a person.

Once an exclusive contract is signed, Zhou Yan's works can only be published by Shanghai People's Publishing House.

"What benefits would I get?" Zhou Yan did not refuse.

Everything is driven by profit!

"If you sign an exclusive agreement, we can give you a 15% royalty rate, and that will include this year's sales figures. You should understand what that means."

The royalty rate offered by the Shanghai People's Publishing House is definitely not low, which shows their sincerity.

Because most royalty rates are between 6% and 10%.

He only received 12% after signing a performance-based agreement with the Shanghai People's Publishing House, and the conditions were quite harsh.

"If it's 15%, you'll make a profit?" Zhou Yan was also somewhat surprised.

It's important to understand that publishing houses need money for everything from editing and design to printing and distribution.

If you give yourself a 15% royalty rate, the other party can say they earn very little.

微。

Of course, we definitely won't lose money.

"The World's Number One and Water Moon Cave have already proven your strength. Although we earn less per book, we have a large volume of them."

"Compared to money, we value your future more; you can think of it as a bet," Song Yuanfei explained.

Song Yuanfei had many things he hadn't told Zhou Yan, such as reputation and political achievements, which were what they valued most.

If Zhou Yan writes a few more books of the caliber of "The World's Number One," their "Shanghai People's Publishing House" will definitely surpass other publishing houses and become the leader.

Compared to this, what are a few petty gains? Retaining talent is the most important thing.

Zhou Yan nodded slightly upon hearing Song Yuanfei's words.

What was the most important thing in the 20th century?

Talent!

I never expected that the Shanghai People's Publishing House would have such good judgment, discovering this gem among the vast sea of ​​people.

"Ten years is too long. I'll sign a five-year contract at most," Zhou Yan pondered for a moment. Five years is neither too long nor too short, just right.

"Five years?" Song Yuanfei felt it was a bit short. "Could it be longer?"

"Teacher Song, you've heard the story of Jiang Lang running out of ideas, right?" Zhou Yan didn't answer directly. "I'm afraid I won't be able to write good martial arts novels in the future. Five years is a guarantee for you."

"If the quality of the books I write over the next five years remains the same, we can renew the contract; if the quality declines significantly, we can cut our losses in time," Zhou Yan said, as if he were thinking of her best interests.

Upon hearing this, Song Yuanfei agreed that it was indeed true.

Besides, it's uncertain whether I'll still be here in five years.

"Alright, five years it is, but there's one thing we need to agree on," Song Yuanfei said after weighing the options, agreeing to Zhou Yan's five-year contract.

"You said it," Zhou Yan was very happy. With this contract signed, he could earn nearly a million more this year.

In the long run, he can earn hundreds of millions more.

The higher his book sales, the more he earns.

The more books he publishes, the more money he earns.

"Since we only signed a five-year contract, which is a short period, you need to provide the publisher with one book every year, which is five books in five years. Is that okay with you?" Song Yuanfei reminded him.

Since their publishing house offered concessions, Zhou Yan couldn't just do nothing.

This is the price to pay.

"Teacher Song, I'm all set," Zhou Yan said confidently. "Since we're going to sign an exclusive contract, I won't hide anything from you. I'm planning to write a series to create my own martial arts universe. 'Qin's Moon' is the first one, and I'm currently working on the second one." Zhou Yan revealed his recent plans.

Song Yuanfei immediately perked up. "A martial arts universe? Could you elaborate?"

Zhou Yan then recounted the story of the [Nanhua] martial arts universe.

"I set a framework of ten parts for myself, symbolizing perfection, covering seven dynasties: Qin, Han, Northern and Southern Dynasties, Tang, Southern Song, Yuan, and Ming. I grouped them into a series called—'The Stormy Martial World'!"

As Song Yuanfei listened to Zhou Yuan's description, his eyes grew brighter and brighter, and his breathing became rapid.

"Write it down, you must write it all down," Song Yuanfei hurriedly said after Zhou Yan finished speaking.

"Our publishing house will definitely give you our full support and the most publicity possible."

Song Yuanfei can only imagine the sensation that would be caused if Zhou Yuan's "Ten-Part Series of Wind and Rain in the Jianghu" were written out in its entirety.

At least in the entire martial arts world, no one has done it yet.

Mr. Jin Yong dedicated himself to this, wanting to connect all his martial arts works together.

But the difficulty is extraordinary.

Works such as "The Sword of the Yue Maiden", "The Mandarin Duck Blades", "The White Horse Gallops in the West Wind" and "Xia Ke Dao" are all independent works, and it is extremely difficult to integrate them into the "Condor Trilogy" and subsequent works.

Jin Yong revised the novel several times but never incorporated them; they remain independent entities.

Therefore, Mr. Jin Yong did not create a complete martial arts universe.

But he has already conveyed the concept of the martial arts universe.

If Zhou Yan achieves this, it will be truly sensational, making him a "milestone" figure.

The Shanghai People's Publishing House will also become one of the top publishing houses in the country, attracting more people to cooperate.

Song Yuanfei secretly decided that he must make Zhou Yan a "living signboard".

"Yes, I will definitely complete this task within five years," Zhou Yan promised.

Zhou Yan didn't actually want to be in such a hurry, but time waits for no one.

Since 2008, martial arts fiction has basically disappeared.

If I don't write these things down quickly, they'll become a burden!

The next era will be the era of online literature.

A hundred flowers bloom.

Writing for all.

Fantasy, fantasy, online games, urban life, sports, mythology—all sorts of genres are emerging one after another!

Who still reads martial arts novels?

Therefore, if you want to create a "golden body", you must do so within these few years!

"I'll have the contract prepared right now," Song Yuanfei said, making arrangements immediately in case Zhou Yan refused to sign.

"Okay," Zhou Yan nodded.

Song Yuanfei got up, went to his desk, made a phone call, and asked his subordinates to prepare the contract, while also explaining the requirements and precautions.

"Here you go," Song Yuanfei said, holding something in each hand as he came over.

In her left hand was a tote bag, and in her right hand was something that looked like a card.

"What?" Zhou Yan reached out and took it, then looked at it!