Otaku Translation: Literary Genius: This Kid Was Born Smart C162

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Chapter 162: Hurry Up and Write a Novel!

Most publishing contracts explicitly state that authors are obligated to cooperate with promotional activities, including the distribution of freebies. These "gifts," of course, were merely tools to stimulate sales.

The Little Prince was already in its third reprint. While royalties hadn’t been settled yet, the performance so far was promising.

"Many new publishers and publishing companies are highly ambitious these days," Director Jian explained. "Some even pay bookstores for better display placement."

He paused before continuing, "That’s why we need more promotional items—to ensure our books get prime real estate on shelves."

The Children's and Youth Literature Publishing House had been recognized as an advanced collective in the 1990s and was one of the first outstanding publishers. However, paying for shelf space wasn’t just a mental hurdle for Director Jian—it was also a logistical one. Any application for such funds would likely be rejected outright.

Still, Director Jian understood the times well enough to compensate for this gap through clever use of promotional giveaways.

Gu Lu thought it over and realized the truth in what Director Jian said. Whether at Sanlian Bookstore or Xinhua Bookstore, The Little Prince occupied highly visible spots—right by the cash registers and front-and-center in the fairy tale section.

A quick comparison with Cat-San-Ning’s less prominent placement made the difference glaringly obvious.

At first, Gu Lu assumed it was due to strong sales… but upon closer inspection, the current sales figures had already plateaued. It wasn’t about sales anymore.

There were so many intricacies to book publishing that Gu Lu now fully appreciated the importance of shelf placement. A significant number of bookstore visitors didn’t come in with specific titles in mind. If a book caught their eye while browsing, they might impulsively buy it.

"It’s because I’m not famous enough," Gu Lu mused aloud. "If I were more well-known, I wouldn’t need promotional tactics like freebies to secure a good spot."

"Haha, that’s absolutely true," Director Jian chuckled, then added seriously, "But let me qualify that statement with a timeline—you’re not famous yet. I have complete confidence in you. By the time you turn twenty, you’ll undoubtedly become a bestselling author whose works bookstores can’t afford to ignore."

With less than three years until his twentieth birthday, Gu Lu felt the weight of Director Jian’s faith in him.

"That puts a lot of pressure on me," Gu Lu admitted. "I’ll need to step up my game."

Director Jian nodded. "There’s one condition to my prediction—you must stay focused on your craft and not slack off."

"I…" Gu Lu began, intending to mention the two other manuscripts awaiting publication, but Director Jian cut him off.

"Park of Yesterday is eighty percent repurposed short stories, and Mr. Holmes originally serialized in another magazine. Don’t tell me you don’t have any plans for a full-length novel?"

Director Jian’s words hit their mark. Gu Lu had no rebuttal. After some reflection, he realized the only long-form project he had was After School, which wasn’t suitable at all.

"I’ll get to work on it," Gu Lu resolved. He had a feeling The Pinnacle of Youthful Campus Fiction from his tag library would be perfect for Director Jian. And Miracles of the Namiya General Store? That would work beautifully too!

If he could pull this off, he’d take another step closer to becoming a mega-bestselling author. He needed to figure something out—and soon. With renewed determination, Gu Lu committed the task to memory.

"I’ll be waiting for good news," Director Jian added. "It’s been five months since you sent me the manuscript for The Little Prince. Let me clarify—I’m not rushing you. I simply want to remind you that while your short stories are excellent, don’t neglect cultivating your skills in writing longer works."

"Got it, got it. I won’t abandon my efforts in novels."

"Good. Ideally, give us another Little Prince. Hahaha!"

With everything clarified, Gu Lu ended the call feeling lighter and more relaxed. He picked up the magazine and the Harry Potter series, instinctively shelving them before pulling the magazine back out.

Monday morning, he’d hand the magazine over to Mr. Hu. For now, he decided to freshen up and change into something cleaner.

His wardrobe wasn’t overflowing with options, but it was still better than his past self’s collection—mostly clothes from elementary school that no longer fit. This served as a reminder: having lots of something useless doesn’t make it useful.

"On the flip side," Gu Lu mused, "The Little Prince book covers effectively replace display fees. Merchandising really does wonders."

He’d wait two more years—until he turned eighteen—before diving into developing merchandise for The Little Prince. Gu Lu prided himself on being cautious. Though his alcoholic father hadn’t caused trouble recently, there was always the possibility of complications. Better to play it safe until adulthood.

Fifteen minutes later, Gu Lu left home and headed toward Chongqing Grand Theatre. The venue was across the district, so he set out two hours early.

Arriving at the theatre entrance, he scanned the area but didn’t spot anyone familiar.

He texted Zhou Lin: [How much longer?]

Her reply came quickly: [Soon! Almost there!]

Fine. Gu Lu found a discreet spot to wait.

Yes, he’d given the spare ticket to Zhou Lin.

Let’s analyze Gu Lu’s thought process when choosing a companion. First, the ticket couldn’t go to waste—it had to be shared with a friend.

In the six months since his arrival in this world, Gu Lu hadn’t made many close friends. Fan Xiaotian and Li Guyuan weren’t interested in plays, Zhao Juan was busy volunteering during the holiday, leaving only Zhou Lin—the girl with incredible strength.

Ten minutes passed without a sign of her. Gu Lu sent another message: [Where are you now?]

[Five more minutes! Traffic’s a bit slow.]

Another fifteen minutes dragged by.

Zhou Lin finally replied: [Three minutes away. Hit a red light.]

Gu Lu almost forgot—his middle school classmate Zhou Lin behaved exactly like a stereotypical underachiever, except for her grades.

She counted down the seconds until the bell rang at the end of class.

Homework? Copied from others during breaks.

Snacks? Smuggled into class daily.

And she entered the classroom precisely when the bell rang.

Punctuality? Impossible for someone like Zhou Lin.

Deciding not to ask again, Gu Lu waited patiently. Sure enough, moments before the show started, Zhou Lin sprinted toward him, panting heavily. Her bangs were tousled from running so fast.

"You made it just in time!" Gu Lu said.

"Hehe—" Zhou Lin grinned sheepishly. "Blame the taxi driver who drove slower than a snail. Plus, every single traffic light turned red against us. Bad luck, right?"

Others might try to charm their way out of trouble; Zhou Lin just played dumb. Gu Lu shook his head, deciding to let it slide since she hadn’t technically been late.

"Come on, let’s hurry and check in. We’re cutting it close," Gu Lu urged. He wasn’t exaggerating—they barely had seven or eight minutes left, factoring in finding their seats.

The pair rushed inside, barely making it to their second-row seats before the curtain rose. Thankfully, Vice Chair Shen’s tickets were for the front row—otherwise navigating between floors would’ve been a nightmare.

"I looked it up," Zhou Lin said after sitting down, clearly trying to make up for her tardiness. "This play is about Stilwell. Do you know who Joseph Stilwell is?"

"Tell me," Gu Lu encouraged.

"Oh, you’re giving me a chance to shine!" Zhou Lin beamed, launching into an enthusiastic explanation. "Joseph Warren Stilwell visited China five times. He was a true expert on Chinese affairs, and most importantly…"

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