Chapter 1028: Chapter 1028 Inquiry_1 Chapter 1028: Chapter 1028 Inquiry_1 The next day, Tong Sanlang and Qiao Xiaomai took a carriage to the town.
The town had only one bookstore, which mainly sold books for the Imperial Exam, along with a small collection of travel writings, unofficial histories, romantic tales, and the like. Upon entering, Tong Sanlang casually browsed and picked up a stack of paper ant for the privy before inquiring of the shopkeeper, “I’ve written sothing and I’d like to have it printed into a book. How would you price this?”
There wasn’t a person in Bailu Town who didn’t recognize Tong Sanlang. Hearing this, the shopkeeper asked with a smile, “Master Tong, what kind of work is it?”
“Just an ordinary romantic tale.”
“Ah, romantic tales, there are two ways we handle these. One is you sell the story to our bookstore outright. We pay a lump sum, and whether we turn a profit or loss on the sales, it’s all on us, and you have no further involvent.”
“The other way is a royalty arrangent—if the book is priced at five taels silver, for example, you’d get one tael. The more copies we sell, the more taels silver you would receive.”
After the shopkeeper finished explaining, Tong Sanlang turned to look at Qiao Xiaomai.
Qiao Xiaomai spoke up, “With the second option, does that an we wouldn’t receive a penny until after you’ve sold copies and then we get the silver?”
“That’s right,” the shopkeeper nodded.
“Why can’t you give us so silver up front? It was quite a laborious task for Sanlang to write his tales.”
At that comnt, the shopkeeper’s face showed a hint of helplessness, “Miss Qiao, the tales written by Master Tong have to be carved first, which requires a substantial amount of manpower and resources. Essentially, we would be fronting the capital.”
“Imagine, just imagine if the books don’t sell. Then we would not only lose the carving cost but also the paper expenses. Printing a book is very costly indeed.”
There was no doubt that paper was expensive.
Carving involved selecting a wooden board and having craftsn carefully etch each character into the wood. Unlike writing with a pencil on paper, where mistakes can be erased, a single error in carving ans the whole board is wasted.
Even the most skilled craftsn can’t guarantee their work to be free of mistakes.
The number of characters dictates the number of boards to be carved.
Once the wood is carved, ink is spread on it, and paper is pressed on top to print a page.
This entire process is a complicated and delicate endeavor, requiring considerable ti and labor upfront.
If the books don’t sell, all those carefully carved boards beco useless.
Of course, the shopkeeper couldn’t share these specific operational details with Qiao Xiaomai and Tong Sanlang, but after contemplating, he added, “Master Tong, may I have a look at the tale you’ve written?”
If the story was well-written and obviously a potential bestseller, then taking into account the status of Tong Sanlang and Qiao Xiaomai, the bookstore might consider advancing so silver.
Tong Sanlang remained silent, but Qiao Xiaomai smiled and responded, “He hasn’t finished writing it yet. We just ca to ask around to see if it’s truly feasible to make so silver. Since it’s this troubleso, we’ll head back for now.”
“How much for these papers?” Qiao Xiaomai said, pointing to the papers Tong Sanlang was holding.
On hearing her, the shopkeeper replied with a touch of regret, “When Master Tong finishes writing and if you still want to publish, please co to us. The total cost for the paper is two taels silver.”
Qiao Xiaomai agreed cheerfully, paid the silver, and then pulled Tong Sanlang out to leave.
Sitting in the carriage, Qiao Xiaomai clicked her tongue and couldn’t stop expressing her amazent, “It really is quite a racket.”
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