dkrc Chapter 18 Famous
Chapter 18 Famous
Even after visiting the Literature and Art Publishing House in person, Lao Wang was still unable to meet Yu Zhen.
The ultimate reason is quite simple: the publishing house doesn't give the writer, Yu, too many opportunities to immerse himself in his creative work.
For creative people, the biggest fear when inspiration strikes is that their train of thought will be interrupted by mundane external matters.
When this happens, it can sometimes be a devastating blow to a writer.
Therefore, a few days ago, Yu Zhen solemnly announced that he would be going into seclusion to create.
He even revealed that, if possible, he would expand "The Truman Show" into a long-running series, starting with a million words.
Goodness, such news has come out.
What other reaction could the three chief editors, including the leaders of the publishing house, have? They had to support him wholeheartedly, providing him with all the necessary conveniences. They even reassigned Yu Zhen's dormitory to a quieter, more private courtyard where he could be undisturbed.
In other words, Yu Zhen no longer lives in the compound at No. 74 Shaoxing Road.
Those who were waiting here were simply wasting their time.
Old Wang arrived full of excitement, but left feeling utterly disappointed.
Fortunately, before leaving, the publishing house gave him a sample copy of the latest issue of "Harvest," which included the first part of "The Truman Show." This served as a small consolation to the writer's fellow villager's disappointment.
Yu Zhenxin's new edition of "The Truman Show" has been specially split into two parts by the editorial department, and is planned to be published in two issues.
As for why it was arranged this way...
Further considerations still involve Yu Zhen's "unknown identity" and this newly adapted story, which is both a science fiction fiction of the future and has a vague and unclear social background, failing to provide a clear social and political imprint of the future...
These are undoubtedly points that are easily attacked and criticized by those who are jealous.
There are further considerations regarding protecting aftershocks.
Therefore, it was decided to split the story into two parts and print them in two issues, depending on the public's reaction and whether critics would nitpick, before deciding whether to print the second part of the story.
There's no way around it; science fiction stories are inherently out of place in the modern era, and they're too easily labeled with all sorts of unfounded accusations.
When the company made these decisions, it never expected that the Shanghai tech circle would be the first to generate such a strong enthusiastic response to the new version of "The Truman Show".
They were even less inclined to believe it.
The novels by Yu Zhen describe various futuristic technological concepts.
Feedback from numerous science and technology institutions in Shanghai has surprisingly provided significant inspiration and assistance for real-world scientific research and innovation.
Time flies, and the first month of the lunar calendar is over.
The latest issue of Harvest magazine went on sale and sold out throughout the city in just half a day.
Xinhua Bookstore and newsstands in all districts were frantically calling publishers to restock their stock.
Readers went crazy, snapping up this issue of Harvest.
This is simply because the science fiction story "The Truman Show" has already reached the ears of the public through various informal channels.
Furthermore, the tech industry also played a significant role in fueling this trend.
People are all curious about what kind of novel and interesting life the mysterious live-streaming island depicted in this science fiction story will envision for humanity in the future, with its high-tech features.
In just one day, more than 15 copies of "Harvest" were sold in Shanghai alone.
Even so, the phone calls to the publisher urging delivery continued to ring incessantly.
The following day, the journal sold out again.
Moreover, the sales on the second day were an astonishing 250,000 copies, a full 100,000 more than the first day. This was even after the publisher had insufficient stock and temporarily diverted inventory that had been sent to remote provinces.
Meanwhile, several neighboring provinces and cities in Shanghai also reported the astonishing news that their current issues of the magazine had sold out.
From that day on, calls from all over the country urging delivery of goods rang incessantly.
The publishing house leaders were both relieved and delighted upon receiving the news. The market response was so intense that the current issue of "Harvest" had to be reprinted in excess, with paper supplies from other publications being temporarily diverted for additional printing.
No one could have predicted that, simply because of Yu Zhen's science fiction work "The Truman Show," Harvest magazine would experience a series of shocking sell-outs across the country.
A week later, the preliminary sales statistics came out.
This issue of "Harvest" sold a staggering 89 copies nationwide, instantly becoming the top-selling magazine and overwhelmingly surpassing its sibling publications of the same caliber, such as "People's Literature" and "Contemporary."
Moreover, this was under the circumstances that the publisher had been unable to supply enough paper and had to reluctantly give up a considerable number of requests for additional delivery.
Otherwise, it would be better to open up the supply to meet market demand.
This issue of the magazine will easily surpass one million copies sold.
The matter is far from over.
On the contrary, the nearly one million copies sold in a single issue, and the ensuing nationwide discussion among readers about the science fiction story of "The Truman Show," are only just beginning to unfold.
Shaanxi Province, Tang'an City West Aircraft Factory.
After returning from his business trip, Lao Wang enthusiastically promoted his Shaanxi writer friend Yu Zhen to his WeChat Moments, giving people a long and detailed explanation of Yu Zhen's science fiction novel, "The Truman Show," and what kind of fantastical future story it tells.
Furthermore, he wrote a report on some of his thoughts related to fighter jet design and submitted it to his superiors, earnestly requesting the factory office leaders to seize the opportunity to invite Yu Zhen, a talented writer from Shaanxi Province, back to the provincial capital for some bold exploration and verification.
Old Wang is a man of his word.
On my business trip to Shanghai, I witnessed firsthand the stubbornness and brainlessness of those two Shaanxi Provincial Writers Association officials, as well as their prejudiced attitude towards Yu Zhenwei's "Story Collection" works. Now, Yu Zhenwei has to travel all the way to Shanghai to have a chance to publish his science fiction masterpiece, "The Truman Show."
In Lao Wang's opinion, this fully demonstrates just how unreliable the literary circles in Shaanxi Province, especially the cadres of the Writers Association, are.
Such people should make way for those with the courage and ability to take action.
So, Old Wang directly revealed the inside story of why writer Yu had ended up in Shanghai.
Just as he revealed the inside story, the new issue of "Harvest" sold out nationwide, with nearly a million copies sold, and the name of the up-and-coming science fiction writer Yu Zhen began to resound throughout the country.
I learned that such a genius writer came from the educated youth in Shaanxi Province.
Ironically, this genius writer couldn't find a place to publish his work in Shaanxi Province. In fact, because he wrote stories worthy of a "storytelling magazine" magazine, he was belittled and looked down upon by officials of the provincial literary association. To make matters worse, he made a huge fool of himself at the Shanghai Railway Station...
The entire Shaanxi Provincial Association of Literary and Art Circles was completely bewildered.