Tokyo Mystery Writers

Manji Gonda and Kyosuke Maijo sat in the back seat, and Gonda began to explain the market landscape of Japanese mystery publishers to Kyosuke Maijo.

"Mr. Maishiro, there are about thirty publishing houses of all sizes in Japan that deal with mystery novels, but the three most famous ones are Kobunsha, Bungei Shunju, and Kodansha, where you and Ms. Eru work."

"Slightly inferior to these three major publishing houses are Social Thought Publishing, Sogensha, Shinchosha, Takarajima Publishing, Kawade Shobo Shinsha, Kadokawa Shoten, Tokuma Shoten, and Hayakawa Shobo, where Ms. Eru once worked."

"Almost all of these publishers are competitors."

"Even Kodansha and Kobunsha, which belong to the same Otowa Group, have their own underhanded rivalries and competition for market share."

"After all, Kodansha's president, Genjiro Noma, and Kobunsha's president, Hideo Hanaka, are sworn enemies. Their ancestors, the Noma and Hanaka families, often sabotage each other over market division issues, resulting in mutual destruction."

"It wasn't until forty years ago, when Mr. Yoshiaki Otowa acquired the battered and bruised Kobunsha and Kodansha, establishing the Otowa Group, that the two publishing houses temporarily ceased their conflict!"

"However, Kodansha, which has always been the lowest-ranking of the three major mystery publishers, has never been able to create a decent short mystery magazine. On the contrary, Takarajima, which is at the bottom, has successfully created the excellent Novel Mystery, which has put Kodansha in a difficult situation."

"Because if left unchecked, Kodansha's reputation will decline significantly. Before long, Takarajimasha will use its 'Fiction Mystery' magazine to expand its reputation, snowball its advantages, and eventually dethrone Kodansha, becoming one of the new three major publishing houses."

Gonda Manji patted Maishiro Kyosuke on the shoulder, then pointed to Jiang Liu Meili driving the car ahead and said with a smile:

"But unfortunately, it's time for Takarajimasha's dream to end, because Kodansha has welcomed two geniuses and an experienced deputy editor-in-chief—no, in a while, they should be called editor-in-chief."

Gonda Manji smiled and continued speaking to Maishiro Kyosuke:

"Because Mr. Yushan, as a talent scout, discovered you, Mr. Maicheng, a genius who is one in a century, and published 'The Astrological Murder Magic'."

"Add to that the genius founder, Ms. Jiang Liu, who created the magazine 'Top Hat,' and the three of you, in just two days, successfully drove Takarajima Publishing's 'Fiction Mystery' to the brink of collapse!"

"Therefore, I believe that fat guy Noma Genjiro will definitely tie the three of you together and promote you as his strongest trump card."

Maijo Kyosuke looked puzzled upon hearing Gonda Manji's words.

"Mr. Gonda, what do you mean by telling me all this?"

Seeing the puzzled look on Maishiro Kyosuke's face, Gonda Manji smiled and explained:

"Mr. Mai, what I mean is, this is an opportunity, an opportunity for you to climb to a certain level in the shortest amount of time."

"Don't feel ashamed that you're being used as an ace by that fat guy Genjiro Noma."

"You need to understand that a writer who can be utilized is a rare find. Only when you and Kodansha complement each other can Noma Genjiro promote you and increase your value exponentially!"

"I've known Genjiro Noma for many years, ever since he was sent to the sales department by his father, Eiji Noma."

"I can't say I admire this fat guy's appreciation for mystery novels, because it's obvious he's a fan of unconventional stories; however, his business acumen is absolutely phenomenal!"

"So my advice to you, Mr. Dance City, is this:"

"Don't bring up the topic of royalties with Noma Genjiro, because you've put in all your effort, even with the help of Mr. Uyama and Ms. Eru."

"Based on my understanding of that fat guy, the most he can do is negotiate the royalty rate down from the original 12% to 14%, or even 15% to 17%."

"The extra 3% in royalties could be very important for other authors, because if a book's 'new book review' reaches 200,000 copies sold, they can earn an extra 12 million yen in royalties."

"But Mr. Mai, you're different from others. You're a fast writer, so earning an extra twelve million yen isn't difficult for you. Because, as far as I know, Genjiro Noma has already started designing a 'Collector's Edition' for 'The Tokyo Zodiac Murders'!"

"This shows that although your first work, 'The Tokyo Zodiac Murder Case,' hasn't reached 400,000 copies sold yet, both Genjiro Noma and the sales manager, Yasunori Mikoshiba, predicted that it would definitely reach 400,000 copies sold, making it a 'phenomenal' work!"

Just as Maishiro Kyosuke was about to continue asking Gonda Manji for advice, Eri, who had been driving silently, also joined the conversation:

"Ms. Maishiro, Mr. Gonda is right, that's exactly what I wanted to say to you."

"President Noma may look chubby and harmless, but he's actually incredibly dangerous. He's the kind of ruthless character who, once he gets the chance, will turn the publishing industry upside down!"

"If you, Mr. Mai, talk to him about increasing royalties, he will only think that you are only concerned with immediate interests and have no foresight."

"Once your moment in the spotlight fades, President Noma will immediately discard you as a useless card or put you on the bench, since your strategy hasn't kept up with his thinking."

In his previous life, Maijo Kyosuke was just a mystery novelist, and he wasn't very knowledgeable about the contract signing process for Japanese mystery writers.

Fortunately, Jiang Liu Meili was someone he could rely on, and Mai Cheng Jingjie trusted that she wouldn't lie to him, so he asked:

"So... how exactly should I talk to President Noma? How should I approach the conversation to maximize my leverage?"

Gonda Manji smiled, snapped his fingers in the air, and said with a laugh:

"It's very simple, just keep the team."

"Mr. Mai, you must remember that although you are a genius mystery writer, even geniuses need a team to work together. If you are all alone, like a lone wolf, you will starve to death sooner or later. There is no difference between a starving wolf and a dog; they are just a lump of rotten flesh."

"Therefore, if you want better development, you must ask Genjiro Noma to retain the team. That is, under no circumstances will you cooperate with Mr. Uyama and Ms. Eri. If any member of the team is replaced, you can unilaterally terminate the contract!"

"As long as Noma Genjiro agrees to your request, in the days to come, you only need to create one work after another, hand over the long mystery novels to Mr. Uyama, the editor-in-chief of the publishing department, and the short mystery novels to Ms. Eru, the editor-in-chief of the magazine department."

"In this situation, the three of you are firmly locked together, forming a solid triangular alliance, so Noma Genjiro's 'claws' cannot reach into your team and interfere with your development."

"But Noma Genjiro wants to use you as a weapon to attack other publishers. In that case, he's essentially creating a god-like image for you, Maishiro-sensei, because only when your fame increases can he more effectively attack other publishers!"

Gonda Manji stroked his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face:

"This is a method that Teacher Chen Shunchen taught me, what's it called again?"

"A calculated scheme?"

"Never mind... whatever the name is, the general idea is to let Noma Genjiro know clearly that Maishiro-sensei is very dangerous, and that if you are not careful, you will become a double-edged sword that hurts Noma Genjiro."

"But in order to restore Kodansha's glory, Genjiro Noma has no choice but to wield this dangerous double-edged sword and launch a fierce attack on other publishing houses!"

When Maishiro Kyosuke saw that Eri was sitting in front and giving an OK sign, clearly agreeing with Gonda Manji's statement, he secretly made a mental note of it...