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Chapter 27 Royalty Negotiations

In 1996 Los Angeles, even the air was thick with the hormones of sports.

Founded in 1994, the Los Angeles Galaxy made its debut in Major League Soccer, attracting a large number of fans. More than 6.9 people flocked to their opening game at the Rose Bowl, and soccer began to gain popularity in the Los Angeles area.

In football, UCLA defeated USC 48-41 in double overtime, achieving an unprecedented six-game winning streak against USC.

In basketball, O'Neal joined the Lakers with a record-breaking $1.2 million contract, laying a solid foundation for the team's future dynasty.

No one knew that the skinny, dark-skinned kid acquired from the Hornets in the draft was about to embark on his legendary journey and become the greatest star in Lakers history. His name was Kobe Bryant.

At the recently concluded Atlanta Olympics, athletes from Southern California performed exceptionally well, sparking a gold medal frenzy throughout the state.

The entire Los Angeles area was celebrating the sports world, but Joseph Condy was definitely not among them.

As the general manager of Simon & Schuster, Joseph has been enjoying great success in recent years.

Although Ernst was not signed by Joseph against all odds, his contribution should still be recorded in the annals of merit.

In terms of company size, Simon & Schuster continued its expansion strategy from the 1980s throughout the 1990s, successfully acquiring other companies to become one of the four major English-language publishers.

Among the top works, Simon & Schuster published The Hunger Games, a global bestseller, ending the long-standing lack of works with huge influence.

Although Ernst was not signed by Joseph against all odds, it was still his achievement.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Joseph's prize money this year will be an astronomical figure, with millions of dollars being a certainty.

But who could have imagined that while sitting at home, disaster would strike out of nowhere, causing a sudden problem with the core of the publishing house's recent rocket-like revenue surge.

But now everything has changed, because the core of Simon & Schuster's recent revenue surge has run into trouble.

"fxxk, creating content is like a cow giving birth, how can it be so fast?"

Pulling out three copies of "The Hunger Games" at once could be seen as Ernst's burst of inspiration, but what's with the fourth one?

This Hunger Games 4 book is definitely a new one. At the time, Ernst's acquisition of MGM was making headlines, and everyone knew he was short of money. If it was really written before, why didn't he mortgage it to the bank along with it?

However, none of this concerns Joseph; the current focus is on the publishing rights for "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 4".

"F*** you!" Joseph cursed again, then picked up the phone on his desk.

"Pass down the message: a meeting will be held in the conference room in ten minutes."

I hung up the phone, picked up the manuscript on the table. Although it was only a little over 30,000 words long, it was already quite eye-catching.

Like the previous three books, this book will definitely continue the glory of its predecessors. However, thinking of Craig's arrogant look just now, Joseph's expression was as ugly as if he had eaten a mouthful of shit.

"A 30% royalty rate, a 20% profit share, and a $2000 million upfront payment."

When Craig made this outrageous demand, Joseph wondered if the man had gone mad, even suspecting that he had been blinded by the Los Angeles sun.

Is there a 30% royalty rate?

Yes, but each one is a leader in their field, a master-level figure.

Is there a 20% profit share?

Yes, but the total number across the entire United States is less than one hand's worth.

The combination of the two is unheard of.

Take Stephen King, one of the highest-paid novelists of the 1990s, for example. This leading figure in the horror genre has written works such as The Haunted Cop, The Shining, Pet Sematari, and Misery, many of which have been successfully adapted into films.

However, his publishing contract only stipulated a 25% royalty rate and a 20% profit share. To reach the maximum in one condition, concessions had to be made in other conditions, and the 25% royalty rate was the concession he made.

"That's impossible; there's no such contract in the industry."

"That's because there has never been a genius like Ernst," Craig said, completely unaware of the word "humility."

"Ernst's debut novel topped the US bestseller list, and the subsequent Hunger Games series was like a powerful bomb, causing a global sensation."

"Ernst is amazing in both his writing style and his speed of creation."

"In the vast universe of literature, everyone is like a tiny star, striving to emit their faint light and try to leave a mark on the sky of history. But Ernst is like a unique supernova that appeared out of nowhere, whose brilliance instantly eclipsed all the other stars."

"The key is that he is only 24 years old, and his future is full of possibilities, just like Hugo and Tolstoy..."

"Cough cough," Joseph couldn't stand it any longer and had to cough lightly to interrupt the other party's self-praise. He admitted that Ernst was a genius, but it was impossible for him to have reached such a status.

"Craig, we at Simon and Schuster are very sincere."

Joseph had to remind the other party to get down to business.

Craig, however, was unconvinced. "I was very sincere, otherwise I wouldn't have approached you first after Ernst's 'Hunger Games 4' was written."

"You know, the publishing rights to Ernst's works are in high demand right now. I get calls from other publishers every day until I'm overwhelmed. If it weren't for Ernst's old friendship, I wouldn't have chosen Simon & Schuster again."

"You have given me a very bad impression, but I need to respect my employer's decision."

Craig was both angry and helpless, as if approaching Simon and Schuster was out of necessity, not of his own volition.

Joseph frowned. "Bad impression? What's the reason?"

"Reason?" Craig jumped up, his eyes bulging like copper bells.

"Ask that damn McHale what he's been up to all this time!"

"Yes, Ernst was indeed captivated by the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, but that had nothing to do with him becoming a great author; he was simply acting on some impulses that any man might have."

"But what about McHale? Not only did he not care about defending Ernst, he also made outrageous remarks in front of the media, saying that describing Ernst as having run out of ideas was a huge compliment, and that he had absolutely no talent."

"They even said Ernst had fallen from grace, that his first book becoming a bestseller was pure luck, and suspected that someone had ghostwritten it."

Joseph knew that McHale was the one Simon and Schuster were responsible for liaising with Ernst.

But he never expected that McHale would say these things to others.

"I will give Ernst an explanation."

"NO," Craig shook his finger. "Only children believe in explanations. Adults only care about interests. Show me your sincerity."

What's the point of confessing? What good is firing the other party?

In the adult world, it's better to be more practical.

"We cannot agree to this condition, and I don't think any publisher would agree to it."

"That's something that happened later."

After saying that, Craig stood up and prepared to leave.

"What I need now is to see your sincerity."