Notes of Destiny: A Musical Odyssey by Neil Grant
Chapter 12

Chapter 12 No One Would Bury Talent!

The person before him seemed to be in his twenties.

But he could write such a complete outline and complicated character relationship chart.

Mr. Chadworth had been in the industry for over twenty years and had to read countless manuscripts daily.

He could tell with one glance whether a writer was smart and if their writing was meticulous.

Just like right now. He glanced at the outline and could almost conclude that this was a gifted author!

Mr. Chadworth’s tone was noticeably gentler than before.

“Neil, is it? Do you have writing experience?”

Neil said honestly, “I’ve written a few songs, but this is my first time writing a novel.”

“Oh, your first time writing a novel.” Mr. Chadworth muttered as he repeated it.

He had read the beginning.

The introduction of the beginning, the plot’s ups and downs, and the characters‘ novelty.

These surprised him!

When he finished reading the beginning of the ‘Harold Patter‘ novel, he put down the draft reluctantly.

His voice was more eager.

“Neil, how many words will you write for this book?”

“Around one million,” Neil answered honestly.

Rowing’s original work was around one million words.

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Neil could almost remember the entire plot. As he imitated Rowing’s style, reaching the original word count wasn’t hard.

If he expanded on the battle and romance scenes, the novel could reach one point five million. words.

But Neil didn’t think it was necessary at the moment.

After all, he was still a fresh talent and needed to maintain his writing quality.

Going too much into detail was only something done by experts.

Mr. Chadworth immediately said, “If you can ensure such quality for the next storyline, this draft is good to go! I can help present it to the company and request more resources to promote it for you. But the prerequisite is the quality of the book!”

Neil knew Mr. Chadworth was worried that his ingenuity would only be short–lived.

Too many people were defeated by a lack of perseverance in the writing circle. They couldn’t endure the dull and challenging writing life, so their brilliance and talent were ruined.

Neil ensured him. “Mr. Chadworth, my writing speed is up to ten thousand words daily. At present, I have drafts of one hundred and fifty thousand words. I can submit my draft of the following three hundred thousand words in two weeks.”

Mr. Chadworth’s eyes widened and he exclaimed, “You write so quickly!”

Neil felt frustrated. He was physically writing, and his speed was far from ideal.

If the Internet was as developed as in his past life, he could use shorthand or speech–to–word software. Writing fifty thousand or one hundred thousand words daily wouldn’t be a problem!

But his current speed already surprised Mr. Chadworth.

Neil smiled and found a reasonable excuse.

“I’ve always been interested in fantasy fiction and have read many novels. The scenes keep playing in my mind, so I don’t need much effort to write.”

“Mm. That makes sense.” Mr. Chadworth looked at the neat handwriting on the manuscript.

Neil had at least fifteen to sixteen years of experience writing with a hard–tipped pen.

It was reasonable for him to have a faster writing speed than regular people.

Mr. Chadworth nodded. “Alright. I’ll discuss the royalties with you. Just a moment.”

He turned and walked behind his desk before taking a file from his information drawer.

He came back and passed it to Neil.

“This is the contract template. You’re a newcomer, so I can only help request mid–level contract resources. You won’t be able to get a better contract. The payment criterion is here…”

Neil read as instructed.

The payment was twenty–five per thousand words. The royalties were eight percent.

Neil had a rough understanding of payment in the nineties.

It was generally twenty to thirty–five per thousand words. The royalties started at six percent and were capped at fifteen percent.

Newcomers usually couldn’t get follow–up royalties if they were bought out.

Mr. Chadworth’s twenty–five per thousand words price was a pretty good deal.

“Neil, I have high regard for your book. Don’t worry, and keep writing. When the book gets popular, we can definitely continue with follow–up resources. We do quite well in the domestic two–level channel, and you’ll be able to earn more money.”

Books had a few distribution channels. They were generally direct channels, two–level channels, and Internet channels.

In 1997, the Internet wasn’t as developed yet, and the publishing house mainly depended on the first two channels.

The direct channels were Barnes & Noble and Powell’s Books, a meticulous yet comprehensive national network.

With Greenleaves Publishing’s scale, the direct channels gave them no advantages.

The second channel was private, including wholesale book markets and smaller private bookstores.

This channel had always been a book distribution channel that could not be ignored.

The second channel operated flexibly and reacted quickly to the market, which was advantageous. It took up half the book market.

Greenleaves Publishing had an edge in private channels. They had thousands of partnering networks in the country.

These networks contributed to astonishing sales for fantasy fiction novels.

Neil believed Mr. Chadworth.

Furthermore, he wasn’t interested in publishing income.

As William’s disciple, Marcus thought highly of himself by selling one hundred thousand copies.

Even if ‘Harold Patter‘ could get famous, it could only sell two to three hundred thousand copies.

He couldn’t earn much.

Neil wanted to break into the fantasy fiction market with this book and pique the attention of the film and television industry’s big shots!

Selling the film and television copyrights was truly the big deal!

Then, animation and game copyrights could be sold when the Internet was better developed

later.

In old Dracorea, payment was calculated per sentence, creating a new writing style.

The writers didn’t make enough money, and the later generation ridiculed this for ages.

But in the nineties, a woman wrote an autobiography after getting famous. She sold a million or so copies because of her popularity!

And Rowing’s ‘Harold Patter‘ book series had been sold over six hundred million copies. worldwide.

After that, eleven movies were made and grossed over seven billion at the box office. Over twenty games were created and earned more than two and a half billion.

These would help Neil build a fantasy fiction world of his own!

After all, he was reborn with a bag of tricks.

Neil gladly accepted the contract.

“No problem. I can sign it now.”

Mr. Chadworth said happily, “Alright. I will get my assistant to make you a new contract. Don’t worry.”

The two chatted briefly before his assistant sent the new contract over.

Neil signed his name on it.

Mr. Chadworth said, “Your novel will be released in three volumes. Coincidentally, you have three main characters. But if the first volume doesn’t do well, requesting resources later will be hard. Therefore, you have to ensure the quality of the plot in the beginning…”

Neil nodded and pretended to ask casually. “Mr. Chadworth, will there be a chance to

book to directors in the film and television industry if it does well?”

recommend my

Mr. Chadworth was startled. “You want to sell film and television rights? It’ll be slightly difficult. However, everything can be discussed if the book becomes popular. Perhaps resources will come

looking for you.”

Information was limited and less developed than in the Internet era.

But every generation was the same. No one would bury talent!

Neil was relieved.

This amazing talent didn’t belong to him, but he had brought it over.

Like the comedian Lucille Ball had said, Neil would rather regret what he had done than what he didn’t.

Neil laughed at himself.

He didn’t think carefully and only thought of making money. Where was the virtue in that?

The novel’s introduction draft was given to Mr. Chadworth.

Neil left Greenleaves Publishing.

He held on to his bag filled with cash and rocked around on the street. He planned to buy some things for his wife and children.