Literary Master: Starting with Refusing to Be a Child Star

Chapter 42 Luo Jinnian's Presence in the Literary World in 2012

The large number of submissions requires a lot of layout work, which means that even if you put a lot of effort into getting your manuscript accepted, it can still take several months for it to be published.

Although these publications seem to offer generous payment of 100 yuan per thousand words, pure literature is not like online novels with a daily output of 4,000 words. In 2012, young people who hoped to make money from pure literature were better off dressing up and waiting to be sponsored by a wealthy woman who loves literature.

However, established writers are different, like Luo Jinnian, who has already made a name for himself.

Grandma is still dominating the internet, and his reputation as the patriarch of online movies has greatly increased his influence.

So when his new science fiction work was published in Science Fiction Vision, the editorial department made way for all other works to give "The Road to Dawn" a place.

While other amateur writers might wait a year or six months for their work to be published, Luo Jinnian, like Wei Sixiao, who was given special attention in Shandong Province starting in 2012 (this year), had his work published in two journals that reserved a page specifically for him.

They made sure that his submissions would be published immediately, and even changed the rule that he would only receive payment for published articles after half a month, because they knew Luo Jinnian's "obsession" with money.

Now, as long as Luo Jinnian submits an article, he can receive the payment on the same day. To be honest, enjoying this "privilege" is really great.

[The Great Tang Dynasty Tales] paid him 600 yuan per thousand words, while [Science Fiction Vision] paid him 300 yuan per thousand words; these were their respective top-tier fees.

"Grandma" (2 words), "Summer, Fireworks, My Corpse" (5 words), plus the 10 yuan prize he won for "Grandma" at the time, he earned 142000 yuan in royalties from "Da Tang".

The science fiction category only received 7320 yuan. This is because the maximum fee for science fiction articles is limited, and because his published works, "Take Her Eyes" and "The Road to Dawn," are both short stories.

In total, Luo Jinnian earned about 150,000 yuan in just one month since he transmigrated. Who would have thought that making money through literature could be so lucrative?

Unfortunately, neither of these publications are recognized by the provincial writers' association, so Luo Jinnian is still a member of the Shandong Provincial Writers' Association. He doesn't have much of an obsession with joining the association; it's just that joining the association provides a lot of motivation.

Once you join the association, you can submit your work to top-tier publications like "Harvest," "Contemporary," or "October." A single article published by a provincial association can earn you a subsidy of three to four thousand yuan.

"Sigh, looks like I'll have to join the association."

Luo Jinnian planned to write a serious literary work, not for any other reason than to crave that inspiration.

Actually, it's also difficult for the Shandong Provincial Association. They really want to recognize "Early Spring Tea" as an emerging writer in Shandong Province.

"Emerging writers" is a term of endearment used in the literary world to describe a select few outstanding writers among the younger generation; in other words, it reflects the hope that they can represent the future of the literary world.

But how to put it? You want this young writer to represent Shandong Province and bring honor to the Shandong Provincial Writers Association, but he's not even in the association.

"Should we just send him a membership invitation?"

"To join the association, one needs to have published a total of 15 to 20 words in provincial-level or higher literary journals, and he only has a few articles..."

Joining the Chinese Writers Association in 2012 was much harder than before. In the past, when the association had fewer rules, a big name could join with just one famous work. Now, even the most talented writers need to have accumulated around 10 words in provincial journals to join the provincial association.

"His article 'Grandma' won an award. Sometimes we don't need to be so rigid, or we'll become a laughing stock in other provinces. We should send out invitations when necessary."

"Vice President, what do you think? Should we lower the requirements and recruit people earlier?"

The vice president pondered for a moment, then shook his head, not refusing but giving a vague answer:

"He is indeed a very outstanding child. Joining the association will be a reward for him. His writing career will have a very long future."

What the hell are they talking about? The writers, young and old, from Shandong Province were collectively speechless.

To their surprise, just as they were saying that there were no awards for young writers, the Kyoto Ministry of Education made a major decision.

"Take Her Eyes" will be the first domestic science fiction work to be officially published in the newly revised textbook.

"Take Her Eyes With Me" has been included in textbooks, just like "Wish Time and Space"—Luo Jinnian already knew about this, because he, like Liu Cixin, suddenly received an email during the National Day holiday asking him to condense "Take Her Eyes With Me".

This will be a major step forward for domestic science fiction, and a stepping stone for Luo Jinnian's literary career. No matter how much other books sell or how much the authors appear in public, they are like ants in the face of the influence of textbooks.

Once it's in textbooks, the general public will know who Luo Jinnian is before they know who the president of their province's literary association is.

"In the end, it's still the textbook under the pen name."

There are pros and cons. The con is that Luo Jinnian can't pretend to be a big shot, but the pro is that he can hide himself well in front of middle-aged women.

The second major reason why the provincial association is considering whether to include "Early Spring Tea" is that they have been rejected every time they send out invitations to meetings and get together.

Although there is fighting and killing in the literary world, the most important thing in the literary world is still the social hierarchy. If you don't come over for tea and build relationships, how are we supposed to know what your attitude is?

Fortunately, no one in the Shandong Provincial Association had any grudges against him. They were just wondering why he wasn't coming; no one was trying to pull any dirty tricks behind his back.

Luo Jinnian had no way to express his suffering. He wanted to go, but how could he ask for leave from school? Could it be that the provincial association was hosting a fantastic dinner party that he absolutely had to attend?

Furthermore, he didn't want to reveal his identity.

In short, after several ups and downs with his works, Luo Jinnian has gained a small amount of influence in cultural circles.

He practiced diligently while acting on set, and picked up his pen again during breaks.

"Your new work, 'Going Out into the World at Eighteen'? No wonder people say that what you write should be distinguished from the author himself."

Gu Yanxi found it funny; the boy wasn't even ten years old, yet he was eighteen.

During this time, the two spent every day together. Because she liked Luo Jinnian's works, she read them many times and was already looking forward to the young man's new work.

"Going Out into the World at Eighteen" is Yu Hua's most famous short story, a work of high standing in Chinese avant-garde literature, and also Luo Jinnian's favorite Yu Hua short story.

In this work, the pioneers localized Kafkaesque absurdity for the first time; in layman's terms, they were among the first in China to learn this foreign technique.

After writing this piece, Yu Hua found his own narrative style—cold, absurd, and illogical. The temperament of his later works, such as "To Live" and "Chronicle of a Blood Merchant," all originated from this style.

The quality of this article was proven by the times after it went viral again on the Internet in 2024, which also proved that growth is a topic that will never go out of style.

Copying "Going Out into the World at Eighteen" was Luo Jinnian's first step in squeezing into the Writers Association's subsidy program. He planned to find a suitable publication among the journals "Harvest," "Contemporary," "October," and "Flower City."

In the past, he didn't submit to these pure literature journals, mainly because each one required a review process of one or two months, and after the manuscript was accepted, he had to wait for another six months at a time.

Now that he has some reputation, he should be able to get results faster than a complete newcomer, at least in terms of reviewing manuscripts.

"Probably," Luo Jinnian thought to herself, trying to deceive herself.

He knew that even if he made some effort to increase his influence, he would still have to wait patiently and respectfully in front of these top publications.

It's still because of my lack of status in the industry; I still need to work harder.