Time has arrived in late January. According to the lunar calendar, it is already the twentieth of the twelfth lunar month. In the blink of an eye, "The Death of Van Gogh" has been published in "Contemporary" for more than half a month.

As the first issue of the journal changed from quarterly to bimonthly, the first issue of "Contemporary" in 1981 attracted the attention of everyone in the editorial department and the leadership of the Humanities Society.

After the publication is revised, even if the sales volume of each issue is the same, the amount of money brought to the Humanities Society will be half as much.

That morning, the pre-editing meeting in the club had just ended, and Wei Junyi stopped Qin Chaoyang.

"Has the paper issue been resolved?"

"It has been solved. The printing factory started printing yesterday." Qin Chaoyang said.

Wei Junyi nodded and said, "That's good."

Since the late 1970s, the limited output of printing paper has been a major problem plaguing my country's publishing industry.

Catching up with the great development of the domestic cultural industry in recent years, the annual increase in printing paper has reached a large level, and many publishing houses often face the problem of paper shortage.

Even though the Humanities Press is a national-level publishing house, it will inevitably encounter such problems.

Since its first issue in 1981, "Contemporary" has been enthusiastically sought after by readers, and sales have once again hit a new high.

In just twelve days, the first printing of 350,000 copies of the magazine sold out.

Such a terrifying speed was completely beyond the expectations of the editorial department of "Contemporary". The previous publication of "Lai Zi's Summer" by Lin Chaoyang increased the sales of "Contemporary" from 130,000 copies to 530,000 copies. People in the editorial department felt that

It's already an exaggeration.

But now, the new issue of "Contemporary" has sold out 350,000 copies in just 12 days after it was launched. What is the concept of this?

The previous highest sales volume was 530,000 copies sold in three months, and now it has sold 350,000 copies in 12 days. At this rate, isn't the sales volume of this issue of "Contemporary" reaching one million copies?

Such a drastic change in sales made all the editors of "Contemporary" fall into great happiness, but it also brought happiness troubles.

Because the supply of printing paper is tight, both books and periodicals have printing paper quotas. If you exceed the quota, you have to apply.

According to the estimates of the editorial department, the sales volume of the first issue of "Contemporary" after the revision is probably going to be a big one, and the demand for paper will increase significantly. Qin Chaoyang immediately reported this problem to the agency.

Originally, the sales volume of "Contemporary" has been steadily increasing since its inception, so it is reasonable for the paper consumption to increase.

But suddenly it increased so much at once, doubling the original already large amount, which is not a big problem for the humanities club.

After two days of coordination, the club finally freed up some printing paper for "Contemporary".

Ensuring the printing volume of this issue of "Contemporary" is equivalent to ensuring sales and ensuring the benefits of the Humanities Society.

An extra 500,000 copies were sold in one issue. Coupled with the subsequent impact, the sales volume of "Contemporary" in 1981 can be increased by at least one million copies. "Contemporary" is also expected to compete with "People's Literature" and "Harvest".

A top literary publication.

You must know that these two publications were founded as early as the 1950s. One is a national-level literary magazine with the word "people" on it, and the other is headed by a leading figure in the literary world.

In contrast, it is extremely difficult for "Contemporary", which has been in existence for just over a year, to gain such momentum in such a short period of time, even though it is backed by the Humanities Society.

"Writer Lin Chaoyang, you guys at "Contemporary" should maintain a good relationship and keep in touch frequently. He is very popular now, and a lot of magazines outside want to write articles from him." Wei Junyi warned Qin Chaoyang.

The two major sales jumps of "Contemporary" were both due to the publication of Lin Chaoyang's works. It can be said that Lin Chaoyang made an indelible contribution to the development of "Contemporary".

There is no need for Wei Junyi to remind him, "Contemporary" has already mentioned Lin Chaoyang as the highest priority for cooperation.

"Of course, he is now a great contributor to our "Contemporary"." Tan Chaoyang said with a smile.

After the meeting, he returned from the front building to the back building. As soon as he arrived at the editorial department, Qin Chaoyang heard bursts of laughter coming from the office.

He walked in and asked relaxedly: "What are you so happy about?"

Although Tan Chaoyang was the editor-in-chief, he never had any airs about him. Seeing him come in, everyone in the editorial department looked as usual.

Liu Yin replied with a smile on his face: "Nothing, I just read some letters from readers, and they all praised "The Death of Van Gogh"."

"What did the readers say?" Qin Chaoyang asked curiously.

"What else can I say? I praise it so much, it can be said that it has received rave reviews!"

Zhu Changsheng on the side said: "Liu Yin, you are exaggerating. Why are you talking more and more like Lao Rong?"

He made a sarcastic comment on the two people, causing Rong Shihui and Liu Yin to retaliate. They are all old comrades, and they usually talk and laugh without any scruples.

"Am I exaggerating? Just talk about the letter from a student at Jiangxi Normal University. What did they say?"

"He knew nothing about Van Gogh before reading "The Death of Van Gogh", but after reading the novel, he was deeply moved by Van Gogh's talent and personality in the novel, and understood his loneliness and loneliness that were not understood by the world.

depressed.

I also truly understand that the so-called art is by no means a pretentious and arrogant debauchery, but must bloom in the deepest loneliness.

Listen, today’s college students are so thoughtful!”

Qin Chaoyang listened to her retelling, with a smile in his eyes, "You really understand it well. It is a blessing for our magazine to have such readers. Please think of replying to others."

As soon as he mentioned this matter, Xiao Yao, who is responsible for opening letters from readers in the editorial department, complained: "Editor-in-Chief, there have been too many letters from readers recently. Let alone replying to them, I waste a lot of time every day when I receive letters and open them.

.”

The enthusiasm of readers in this era to write letters to newspapers and magazines is unimaginable in future generations. The Humanities Society is a national publishing house. Although "Contemporary" has only been published for more than a year, its reputation in the literary world has already risen. Letters from readers on weekdays

The quantity will naturally not be small.

As soon as Xiao Yao goes to work on Tuesdays and Fridays every Tuesday, he has to go to the guard's reception room and carry a sack of letters from readers to the "Contemporary" editorial office on the second floor of the back building.

A small envelope is not heavy, but a sack of envelopes is quite heavy, weighing forty or fifty kilograms.

Thanks to the fact that lesbians at this time were not delicate and had the idea that "women can hold up half the sky" rooted in their minds, Xiao Yao carried it out for more than a year.

Since the beginning of this year, as the sales of "Contemporary" have soared, the number of letters from readers has also increased dramatically.

Originally she was supposed to carry two sacks a week, but in the two months after "Raiko's Summer" was published, she had to carry sacks almost every day.

Those two months of carrying sacks made Xiao Yao feel a little dazed. Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder, did she come to the Humanities Society to be an editor or to work as a contractor?

Fortunately, after the two-month peak period, the number of letters from readers of "Contemporary" dropped significantly in the second half of the year, but it was still much more than before. She still divided the volume of three to four packets of letters a week into two.

I carried it back upstairs, which was barely acceptable.

But who knew the good times would not last long, this January, Lin Chaoyang's "The Death of Van Gogh" was published again in "Contemporary".

After just a few days, the number of letters from readers in the communication room rebounded to the level after the publication of "Raiko's Summer" in the first half of the year, and soared again in the following days.

Xiao Yao now rides his bicycle to work every day. What he fears most is when Uncle Zhai opens the window and sticks his head out and shouts: "Xiao Yao, come and get the mail!"

From twice a week, one pack at a time to once a day, two packs at a time, only one "The Death of Van Gogh" needs to be published.

And this is just the beginning. When the letter reaches the editorial department, you have to open it, right? After you open it, you have to read it, and after reading it, you have to return it, right?

No one understands Xiao Yao's pain, and no one sympathizes with her. Who makes her the new young person in the editorial department?

This is how everyone comes here. If you have been caught in the rain, no one else can even hold an umbrella?

In recent days, due to the huge sales of the new issue of the magazine, the editorial office has been filled with laughter and laughter. Everyone is immersed in joy, except Xiao Yao, who is always depressed and sighing.

Listening to Xiao Yao's complaint, Qin Chaoyang asked: "There are too many letters?"

He rarely pays attention to letters from readers, and he doesn't know the specific volume of letters. Leaders are close to the people, but it is impossible to care about even this trivial matter in every detail.

Zhu Changsheng replied: "Isn't it true that the recent response to "The Death of Van Gogh" has been so good? Letters from readers have been very enthusiastic."

Tan Chaoyang nodded, "Thank you for your hard work, Xiao Yao. Lao Zhu, if you have time, help Xiao Yao share the work."

"good."

Tan Chaoyang's light words made Zhu Changsheng stop laughing. Several other people in the editorial department even gloated after Tan Chaoyang left.

Although Tan Chaoyang just said "you", he only named Zhu Changsheng.

With a "bang", Xiao Yao placed half a package of unopened letters from readers on his desk.

"Lao Zhu, thank you for your hard work!"

When he said this, Xiao Yao showed a smile that couldn't be hidden at all.

"Xiao Yao, I still have so many manuscripts that I haven't reviewed yet. How can I have time to read these letters?"

"You should take the time to read it. Just take a look at it. It won't waste much time. If you find something interesting in the letter, I'll reply with a few words."

The more relaxed Xiao Yao said, the more worried Zhu Changsheng became. It's not like he had never done this before, it would be nice if it was that easy.

"It would be great if our publishing house had a communications department!" Zhu Changsheng sighed.

The so-called communications department is generally a functional department established by a newspaper. It is mainly responsible for communicating and coordinating communications with superior authorities, training correspondents for subordinate organizations, and contacting the masses.

A very important job of the Communications Department is to handle letters from readers, because letters from readers of newspapers are basically reaction issues, and many of them are related to the vital interests of the people.

The Humanities Society is a publishing house, and letters from readers are mostly reviews of published books and journals. The workload is not large, so there is no department specifically responsible for handling letters from readers. Young editors are responsible for them.

"Do you want me to have another secretary for you?" Liu Yin teased mercilessly.

"Then it's good to have a love, it's best to be a female secretary." Zhu Changsheng said jokingly.

"You are so beautiful!"

After the joke, Zhu Changsheng felt worried when he looked at these letters from readers.

He knew that the letters in front of him were not even half of the number of letters the editorial department received every day recently.

Let him read some manuscripts, but if he wants to read letters, he can't insist on it.
To be continued...