Chapter 14: I’m Being Generous (3)

“I might have mentioned her in passing during our phone conversations. She is the editor of your novel. Take a seat, Ms. So-Mi.”

Jung So-Mi sat down beside Kwon Tae-Won and poured herself a cup of water.

“Thank you for editing my work. It must have been hard.

“Please don’t say that; your story is so interesting that it didn’t feel like I was working.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Jung So-Mi frowned slightly as she felt falsely accused. “It’s true, Writer Ha. I wasn’t that all familiar with the martial arts genre, but your novel made it easy for me to understand it.”

Ha Jae-Gun shook his head with an embarrassed expression. It was rare to hear compliments from editors. Of course, whenever they complimented authors, it would be more of an encouragement to inspire struggling writers.

In the past, when Ha Jae-Gun’s sales performance wasn’t that good, he often ignored those so-called nice words. However, ever since Records of the Murim Master made its mark in the market, those same words sounded quite different in his ears. The compliments coming from his editor Jung So-Mi had touched his heart.

Everyone's soju glasses were filled to the brim, and the meat on the grill was turning into a delicious golden color with Jung So-Mi's grilling skills.

A conversation about the small things in their daily lives was exchanged for a while, and when the second bottle of soju was opened, Kwon Tae-Won probed once more.

"Writer Ha, about Records of the Murim Master earlier…"

Ha Jae-Gun nodded as he chewed on a piece of meat. His eyes were fixated on the grill, lost in thoughts. Kwon Tae-Won waited quietly for his response without saying anything.

"Sorry, I can't extend the novel any further."

"Is that so…"

"I believe the story is well wrapped up at volume ten. Of course, it would be great if I could extend it because I would earn more, but it'll be tough on the reader if the story gets too long."

Resignation to fate colored Kwon Tae-Won's face. Jung So-Mi, on the other hand, who didn't have much experience with such situations, stayed silent between them and listened closely to judge the situation.

"Since you've decided, there's nothing else we could do. I understand. Honestly, I think the end is interesting enough as well."

"Instead…" Ha Jae-Gun spoke as he picked up a bottle of soju.

Kwon Tae-Won stared wide-eyed in anticipation at Ha Jae-Gun, wondering about what the latter was about to say as the latter picked up his empty soju glass and filled it up.

Ha Jae-Gun finally continued. “I’ll sign a contract for my next novel with you.”

"A contract for your next title?"

Ha Jae-Gun smiled brightly and asked jokingly, "What’s up with that surprised look? I actually thought you'd be the first to bring this up."

"Ah, no. Of course, we'll be grateful if you do sign with us. But you should be exhausted after working on Records of the Murim Master, so I think you should probably take a break…"

Ha Jae-Gun shook his head. "It's fine, I should continue writing while the momentum is still there. I'll send over the synopsis tomorrow, and I should also be able to send you volume five’s manuscript in a week."

Kwon Tae-Won nearly spat out the soju in his mouth. "Five volumes in a week?! Are you sure about that?"

"I actually have a stockpile, so it shouldn't take me long." Naturally, Ha Jae-Gun lied.

Ha Jae-Gun hadn’t written even a single character of his next title. He only made the promise because of his newfound skill of being able to write ten thousand characters in an hour.

"The problem is whether the synopsis will interest you or not, but I'll do my best to write it of a similar standard as Records of the Murim Master."

"I definitely trust your skills. You seem to have gotten a hold of things as well, so I believe that your next novel will be great as well."

At Kwon Tae-Won’s words, Ha Jae-Gun nodded with a serious and took a sip of water. Now, it was time to discuss the serious stuff. Since he had become a rising writer, it was time for him to negotiate his value.

Kwon Tae-Won was a humane editor-in-chief who had been taking care of Ha Jae-Gun for quite some time now, so it was tough for Ha Jae-Gun to bring the issue up.

"Writer Ha, what got you so deep in thoughts?" Jung So-Mi asked upon noticing the odd silence for a while now.

Ha Jae-Gun mentally prepared himself and looked up. He wanted to address this not specifically to Kwon Tae-Won, but to their company, Star Books.

"I would like to change some of the conditions laid out in the contract."

"Ah, sure. Of course. We could never allow the conditions to remain the same this time."

"I won't ask for too much since I haven't turned into a super popular writer just yet. But I would like to ask for 9% in royalties at three thousand copies as well as—"

Ha Jae-Gun was interrupted by Kwon Tae-Won taking out a file from his bag. Kwon Tae-Kwon then pulled out a contract and handed it over to Ha Jae-Gun.

"Would you like to take a look at this?"

"...A contract?"

“I prepared it in case we were to sign a contract for your next novel. Please take a look."

Ha Jae-Gun tilted his head and started flipping through the pages of the contract. Surprise gradually filled his face as he flipped each page. The benefits were much more than what he wanted to ask from them.

"Editor-in-chief, this…" Ha Jae-Gun was at a loss for words.

The contract stated a base royalty percentage of 10% from three thousand copies onward, and he would be given an additional 1% for every thousand copies afterward. On top of that, the ebook revenue ratio was set at 6 to 4, with Ha Jae-Gun getting 6.

Ha Jae-Gun's contract was usually for the paperback market, in which there were added costs due to the production. The additional costs meant that the publishing company would be exposed to more risks.

Publishing companies would usually add a clause in the contract with the ebook market in mind. If the writer didn’t get popular, then it would be hard for them to obtain over fifty percent in ebook revenue. However, Ha Jae-Gun’s novel had just begun to receive positive responses, but he was already receiving sixty percent.

It was a pretty shocking and unconventional clause.

"Editor-in-chief? You really prepared this in advance?"

"I thought we should do this much for you now. Rather, I feel quite apologetic that I couldn't increase the benefits further than this…”

”However, if your next novel becomes a big hit, I will do my best and even beg our president to be more accommodating for your future novels."

Ha Jae-Gun felt so overwhelmed that he could only nod in response. He was so grateful to Kwon Tae-Won for taking e care of him to this extent, even though he still hadn’t brought up the matter involving his benefits.

"Now that we’re done discussing all the important stuff, shall we focus on enjoying our dinner?" asked Kwon Tae-Won.

"Yes, let's dig in. Ms. Jung So-Mi, please eat."

"Thank you. Please eat more, Writer Ha!" Jung So-Mi replied brightly.

The group clinked their glasses together. By then, the restaurant had more and more customers, and their surroundings became noisier. Despite being in a noisy restaurant, Ha Jae-Gun's next novel was quickly taking shape in his head.

***

'What… what's this?' Haetae Media's Deputy Park Kyung-Soo was staring intently at the screen in front of him.

He was reading the responses by the owners of the Book Rental Association about Star Books’ latest publication, Records of the Modern Master, by author Poongchun-Yoo.

- A male in his twenties kept pestering me, and he keeps on asking when the third volume would come out. A female in her thirties said that it was very entertaining, and a regular male customer in his forties said that he always brings the book with him whenever he goes out.

- A male in his fifties who is a huge fan of martial arts novels doesn't usually read fusion novels, but he rented the entire series, including author Poongchun-Yoo's previous works.

- A student in his teens even told his friends that he only reads the Records series and nothing else.

- I'm sad that I still don’t have the books I reordered after the first print was sold out.

Park Kyung-Soo’s face turned pale as he read the responses, and the blue light shining from the monitor and onto his face made him look even paler.

Park Kyung-Soo could not believe his eyes.

It had only been eight days when he went to look for Ha Jae-Gun, but the latter had already published his new novel, and the responses were positive.

All of a sudden, the potbellied president of Haetae Media stomped his way into the editing department of the company.

“Where is Department Head Ma?” he shouted.

Park Kyung-Soo stood up from his seat, trembling. “H-he still hasn’t arrived…”

“What time is it now?! How dare he come into the office whenever he pleases?! Call him and tell him to come to the office as fast as he can! Tell him to come to my office later!”

“Y-yes, sir…”

The potbellied president left the editing department’s office while fuming.

Park Kyung-Soo plopped down on his seat. He didn’t even dare to imagine how much scolding his superior would receive after losing a popular writer.