"Thank you, Mr. Wu, for your praise." Shi Chuanfeng felt quite pleased when he heard Wu Gang's compliment.
"The Ming Dynasty: Those Things" helped him turn the tables, putting Yan Kangxiao under his feet.
Now, Yan Kangxiao dared not make a sound in the publishing house. Whenever he encountered Shi Chuanfeng, he always had a sullen face and did not dare to speak much. This time, Yan Kangxiao had truly hit rock bottom!
"This Li Chencan is really no simple person! You must win him over. We need to quickly confirm the copyright for the next few parts of 'The Ming Dynasty: Those Things' with him," Wu Gang said. "When necessary, we can offer him a better share."
Shi Chuanfeng was slightly surprised. From Wu Gang's tone, it was clear that he truly valued Li Chencan.
Indeed, for an author who had pioneered a new genre, sold so many books, and was so young, it would be unreasonable not to value him.
Shi Chuanfeng also knew that he needed to quickly put the meeting with Li Chencan on the agenda. He had to secure the copyright for "The Ming Dynasty: Those Things" as soon as possible.
"I understand." Shi Chuanfeng nodded at Wu Gang and then said, "Shall I get to work now?"
Wu Gang was about to nod but then thought of something and said, "Such a good book is hard to come by. Next, we will launch a new round of publicity for this book, hoping to boost its sales again! The current sales are good, but this book shouldn't stop here."
Shi Chuanfeng understood very well...
Li Chencan's "The Ming Dynasty: Those Things" had indeed pioneered a new genre. How could they easily give up on a book that had created a new genre? The Baihua Publishing House had always aimed to create a diverse and inclusive image. Now, with "The Ming Dynasty: Those Things" at their disposal, they could not only make Li Chencan famous but also establish the publishing house's status.
At this moment, external evaluations were pouring in.
The most famous forum for book lovers in the empire was called Douren.net. People liked to exchange their reading experiences and reviews on this website.
On Douren.net, the highest-rated book so far was "Dream of the Red Chamber," with a score of 9.6, evaluated by 570,000 people, and 13,000 long reviews.
Since 2010, the highest-rated book on Douren.net was "The Secrets of Dunhuang," with a score of 8.9, evaluated by 30,000 people, and over 400 long reviews. Baihua Publishing House had published a book called "The Sichuan and Yunnan Stories," a mix of romance and history, which had sold 2.1 million copies in total, with a score of 8.6, evaluated by 21,000 people, and over 380 long reviews.
Therefore, on the relatively authoritative book review website Douren.net, a book that could score over 7 was generally considered a good book. Over 8 was a very good book, over 8.5 was an excellent book, and over 9 could enter the hall of classics!
In just five days, "The Ming Dynasty: Those Things 1" had already received a score of 8.9, with 1,500 people participating in the evaluation and 21 long reviews! And this book had only been on sale for five days!
Below the book, there were waves of positive reviews—
"Never have I had such a reading experience. After reading a dozen lines, I would go back and read them again. I did this repeatedly to control the speed. I wanted to prolong the pleasure of reading... The author, with his extraordinary talent, wrote a very rigid history in a magical way."
"Originally, I never liked bestsellers, even if they were as popular as 'The Secrets of Dunhuang.' But when I picked up 'The Ming Dynasty: Those Things' and flipped through it, I stood there for a long time, resisting the urge to buy it. But after a few minutes, you would see a girl rushing into a bookstore, buying this book, and leaving! Now, this girl has already read 'The Ming Dynasty: Those Things' for the second time and is demanding that the author, Li Chencan, write the second part as soon as possible."
"Writing history in this way is truly refreshing, and there is not a hint of pandering. The author's writing is concise and mature, and everything he writes is to the point, with no forced humor! I think if our middle school history textbooks were like this, every Chinese person's historical knowledge would be much higher."
"Truly a book that once you start, you can't put down. After finishing it, I asked myself, why is history so engaging? The only thing I can't accept now is that the first part is finished, but where is the second part?"
... With such positive reviews, "The Ming Dynasty: Those Things" couldn't help but become popular!
This was why Wu Gang had the confidence to expand the publicity for this book!
He had a feeling that "The Ming Dynasty: Those Things" might even surpass "The Sichuan and Yunnan Stories" in sales, becoming the flagship work of the Baihua Publishing House in Chengdu.
The only downside was that some professional book reviewers had not yet published articles praising "The Ming Dynasty: Those Things." The first reason was that the book had only been on sale for five days, which was a short time. The second reason was that "The Ming Dynasty: Those Things" was very likely to spark controversy because its method of writing history was too novel. Novel things inevitably lead to controversy.
Some book reviewers did not want to be caught in the controversy, so they had not yet expressed their opinions.
But even without their reviews, "The Ming Dynasty: Those Things" continued to sell well nationwide.
"Chencan, the current sales of 'The Ming Dynasty: Those Things' are very hot. I will try to send you the data," Shi Chuanfeng called Li Chencan and said, "But, Chencan, about the second part of 'The Ming Dynasty: Those Things,' can you find some time to come and talk to us?"
Li Chencan hesitated for a moment and then said, "Sorry, Editor Shi, I'm quite busy these days, so let's postpone this. When I have some free time in a few days, we can talk, okay?"
"Huh?" Shi Chuanfeng was a bit anxious. Was this kid talking to other publishers? Why would he say that?
Shi Chuanfeng quickly said, "Chencan, are other publishers contacting you?"
Li Chencan laughed, "No, Editor Shi, don't worry. It's not like that. I'm really busy these days..."
Li Chencan was indeed very busy because his two songs had also started to chart!
PS: Thank you all for your support. I'm still asking for recommendations and member clicks.
Also, "Rebirth of the Great Heavenly King" will receive its first recommendation this afternoon, so I will post a chapter at midnight on Monday to boost the rankings. I hope everyone will come and support.