Became an American Retro Novelist - Chapter 173



Only Noblemtl

173.

The nerd guys at the comic book store who had gathered in front of me were all excited and shouting.

“SF?!”

“What’s going on? Please tell me!”

“Please!”

“······.”

It may have been a request, but it was almost like a threat.

The sight of everyone chattering and talking at each other reminds me of the zombie hordes from my previous life’s greatest hit, ‘Dead Man’s Heaven’, wouldn’t it be rude to say?

Anyway, seeing the advertisement for the new book in today’s newspaper and seeing people reacting so strongly to me······.

“’Country of losers’?! Are you talking about us?!”

“Why are we losers?!”

“No! This is a satire on class society!”

“Then who will be the winner?!”

I couldn’t hide the smile that spread across my lips.

Since they knew I wouldn’t give them a proper answer anyway, they started asking questions randomly, and when they found something to talk about, they pushed up their glasses and dispersed, putting their heads together and starting a discussion.

As I watched them, my anticipation for the new work also rose.

These were ‘nerds’.

Nerds of this era tended to wear prescription glasses about 90% of the time, and most people got along well with each other regardless of race.

······Sadly, nerds are a very special hidden class, so there aren’t many of them at school.

‘If we didn’t stick together, we’d quickly lose our lunch money.’

Those who are enthusiastic about unrealistic stories regardless of their type, no, ‘we’ have a habit of delving into works or genres to the limit. In fact, considering the nature of the field of hobbies that each person develops because they like it, it was inevitable that they would do so.

Nerds tend to deconstruct and analyze genres, savoring and enjoying each one in depth, and so they really like SF.

‘Because there’s a lot of room for imagination about the setting.’

In a similar sense, I also enjoyed playing around with the settings in Sword and Sorcery. Even after the work is over, there is a lot of room for me to imagine the story myself. In a way, my liking for TRPGs can be said to be a derivative of that.

On the other hand, my previous work, ‘About T’, was a work that did not require a deep and broad setting.

It was a teenage story set in ordinary reality, and the interpretation of relationships was more important than the setting of each character. So, in fact, it wasn’t a nerd pick. I would say it was closer to a story that was a bit boring for them to read.

Also, since Bill had previously mentioned to me, “This is so different from our school days!”, I guess that’s why it was hard to get immersed in that part.

······I stopped thinking about this part because it made me feel so sad when I thought about it any further.

“The cover illustration is really killer.”

“Yes, it’s impressionistic. Or maybe metaphysical.”

“The impressionistic and metaphysical cover is really cool.”

“······.”

······Well, because of that, I also revealed excessive intellectual vanity.

I don’t think Denzel took that into consideration when drawing the cover. In fact, he said that he sensually implemented the images that came to his mind after reading the work.

Anyway, I walked past the nerd guys who were chatting amongst themselves excitedly, picked up a newspaper that someone had left on the stand, and carefully opened it.

An ad in the culture section of the Los Angeles Times.

My eyes were drawn to a huge advertisement that took up about a third of the page.

‘It definitely gave me strength.’

I let out an exclamation of “Wow” without realizing it.

The front and back were in color, but the interior was printed on cheap recycled paper and was in black and white, which blended in exquisitely with the feel of the illustrations.

The advertising slogan was simple.

『A new SF novel by a new writer.』

『Scheduled for publication on April 1st.』

“A world where only losers exist.”

Three lines like this.

Everything was as I inspected.

‘I like it.’

With a cover image by Denzel in one corner and a photo of the actual book, it’s easy to understand why the nerd guys at the comic book store were drawn to the artwork.

As nerds, they can’t help but be drawn to the design and advertising of this heavy and serious-looking book. It seems to have some depth to it.

‘That’s actually true.’

Now, advertisements were run sequentially in Torrance New Media and Guns ‘n’ Sword magazine, and the book was scheduled to be published three days later.

I smiled, anticipating that moment, which was not far away, would come sooner.

It was just then.

“Oh my, the new issue of Detective Rem is sold out.”

“Ah, thank you······ Huh?”

I turned around at Doofi’s voice, and I tilted my head at the sight of the guy holding in his hands all the books I had ever published.

“What’s that? Don’t you have them all?”

After hearing my question, Doopi spoke in a blunt voice.

“For missionary work.”

······For some reason, I feel like my scalp will fall over if I twist it.

***

Through the former head of Hardboiled Publishers, Simon Carver, and his connections, he placed advertisements in the Los Angeles Times and Torrance New Media.

And in the end, it turned out to be a very rational choice, but one that completely failed to anticipate the consequences.

The two largest-selling newspapers in California have given their subscribers the ‘information’ that a new novel by God is coming out in hardcover, and now there are thousands waiting for the book to be released in two days.

The problem was that the number was much larger than expected.

“Boss, boss.”

“······hmm.”

“I heard a new work by a new writer is coming out.”

Starting with the glass factory workers, Juan Vega and Felix Fischer.

“Oh my~. A new novel by the new writer is coming out.”

“Yeah, yeah, I went to the autograph session this time.”

“How was it?! Did you actually see the face?!”

“Yeah, he’s a really handsome young Asian man.”

Martha Fisher and her co-workers at the animal shelter where she works.

“······Now that I think about it.”

“god?”

“Hoo.”

Meshbeard Al and his colleagues are still feasting on melt-in-your-mouth sweet food at the trucker-only restaurant today.

“Huh.”

Even Jay, the popular writer for Guns and Swords magazine, who smiles while reading a magazine on his desk.

With so many people waiting and hoping, April 1, 1985 arrived.

From the day before until the early hours of the morning, books were shipped to bookstores across California through distributors and wholesalers and placed on shelves, waiting to be sold.

Soon the sun rose and morning came, and Logan, the owner of the large bookstore ‘Logan & Cathy Bookstore’ where Shin’s first autograph session was held, went to work early in the morning and prepared for business as he had learned from his father, the former owner.

After checking that the books were properly displayed as he had instructed his staff yesterday, and inspecting the specially placed ‘Country of Losers’ closest to the entrance of the bookstore, he visually checked that the position of the oversized billboard he had jointly created in consultation with Hardboiled Publishers was okay.

Having followed in his father’s footsteps and worked in the bookstore for a long time, he thought that the billboard would be better placed right next to the counter rather than behind it, so he adjusted its location. The billboard, which was printed in large size with the unique image on the cover, was immediately visible to customers entering the bookstore.

‘Well, I think it would sell well even without this.’

No matter what, there is something called a ‘form’, so he just did the best he could.

In fact, the new author’s works are currently among the best-selling in bookstores.

‘Should I say it’s popular?’

And Logan just chuckled, thinking that there was something wrong with his thoughts.

‘Wasn’t genre literature originally popular writing?’

However, genre literature that was conscious of the general public from the time it first came out, now feels like it has become a writing that only readers seek out and read.

What are the differences between the 19th century Victorian era and today that have made genre literature less popular?

‘Is it a television?’

It seemed like it was because we had entered an era where people were more enthusiastic about media that they could see with their eyes than through text. The sales of the new author’s work, ‘About T’, also skyrocketed after it was broadcast as a television drama.

‘This is how you wag your tail.’

Popular genre literature rather than pure literature.

A work of God more popular than genre literature.

A popular television drama rather than a work of God.

While pondering the implications of that fact, Logan finished preparing for the opening.

“Okay.”

After encouraging himself with a soliloquy, he opened the fire shutter at the entrance.

And in the next moment, the body froze like stone.

9 o’clock in the morning.

Office workers have to go to work and be at the office, housewives have to send their children to school and then start the piled up housework, and the children are busy studying at school.

Nevertheless, the area in front of the bookstore was full of people.

They had been forming a sea of ​​people beyond the glass door, and as soon as the shutter opened, they let out a huge cheer.

[Waaaaaaaaaaaaggghhhh-!!]

‘······I guess I should take back what I said about the writing being unpopular.’

And at the same time, Logan realized.

I thought this would be enough, but it was a huge mistake to only bring in 500 copies.

***

The new novel ‘Country of Losers’ by the new author, which was placed in bookstores throughout California, sold out in an instant and caused a shortage of copies.

And the news went up sequentially from each bookstore to the wholesaler, from the wholesaler to the distributor, and from the distributor to the hard-boiled publisher.

First day of publication.

Simon Carver was sitting in his office all night, unable to sleep, shivering like a Chihuahua in a snowy field, and just looking around the phone in vain. Suddenly, the phone rang and he picked it up, his eyes widening in surprise.

April 1st. 3pm.

It is said that all 30,000 copies of the first edition were distributed.

[And orders keep coming in, but we can’t send any more. It’s much faster than we expected. Our CEO himself has urged us to do a second edition.]

We had expected the initial run to sell out, so we ordered an additional 20,000 copies and were printing them, but we had no idea that sales would be so fast that we wouldn’t be able to keep up with them.

As the second printing was in progress at a nearby printing house recommended by the general distributor in case of an emergency, it seemed that the news was being shared with each other.

“Ah, thank you. Then when will the second edition be······?”

[From what you said, I think it will take at least two days. Check to see if the third printing schedule is possible right away. Depending on the situation, you may also need to look into arranging for other printing companies.]

“I see. I’ll try to get it done within today.”

After hanging up the phone, Simon was overcome with very mixed emotions.

The fact that a customer wanted a product that wasn’t on the market could be a huge blow to a business, because it was a trust issue.

‘Was it this much?’

I heard that when Stephen King’s first novel, Carrie, came out in hardcover, it sold 16,000 copies.

Of course, Stephen King and Shin were different at that time, and the market conditions were different. Shin was a definite star writer in California, as all his works, starting with his debut, had become media franchises.

But no one expected that all 30,000 copies prepared would be sold out in less than a day.

Before the office workers left for work, Simon called Julia in Rotham and explained the situation.

And then, unexpectedly, she burst out laughing.

[Does this smell like money?]

“Oh, the smell of money?”

[Yes, did you contact the new writer?]

“Oh, no. Not yet.”

[Is the author’s opinion that the first edition will be 30,000 copies?]

“Yes. We did coordinate with each other, but······.”

[Then you will listen and laugh like me. I said people are cunning.]

“Why?”

[Ask them directly.]

Julia hangs up the phone, saying she’ll find out if there’s a print shop with some vague questions.

Simon tilted his head, but he immediately called the new writer.

To ‘Han’s store’ in Koreatown, Los Angeles.

[Yes, it is a Korean medicine store.]

“Okay, author! It’s Simon!”

[Oh, Simon. What’s wrong? Your voice sounds really urgent.]

“That’s right, they say the initial stock is already sold out. Additional orders keep coming in every half day, but the distributor has no copies left, so they can’t meet the demand right now. There must be a bookstore somewhere that has some left in stock, but… They say it will take about two days for the second edition to come out, and the third edition should come out right away. I’m sorry, author. I should have analyzed the market better….”

[Why are you apologizing? It’s a good thing.]

“yes?”

Shin, who was watching the store, put his finger on the phone line and laughed while twisting it around.

“Simon, I told you.”

Things went as I had hoped, with this flow.

His first novel, a single volume that was never serialized anywhere.

There is science fiction, which is arguably the most popular genre in America.

Of course, I didn’t expect a huge sales figure since it was a novel with much more weight than my previous works. After all, my goal was to be recognized for its quality from the time I first wrote it and to get good results at the SF awards ceremony at the end of the year.

But that doesn’t mean I won’t do anything that could have a positive impact on the sales or buzz of the book.

God has added a spoonful of a sort of premium strategy to the sales of this ‘Country of Losers’.

To begin with, there was the issue of capital for hard-boiled publishers, so they had no choice but to put in a small first edition. However, the problem could have been overcome through bank loans or collaboration with distributors, but God deliberately left it alone to allow this kind of accident to happen.

“People tend to want something more the more it is out of their reach.”

[······yes?]

“Could you please publish an apology in both the Los Angeles Times and Torrance New Media in the next day or so? Saying that the book sold much better than expected and was sold out, and that you will be careful not to do this again.”

[Oh, so······ the author anticipated this situation and set the number of copies at 30,000?]

“Well, I didn’t necessarily lead it. ······I printed ‘fewer’ copies because they might not sell, but they sold ‘much’ better than expected, which is why this uproar occurred. Then, I thought we could naturally continue to deal with that through marketing.”

[······Author. A forgotten memory came back to me.]

“What is it?”

[The fact that the author is a villain.]

“I will take that as a compliment.”

Shin smiled as he suddenly remembered the time when Simon’s words were used to obtain personal information.

The next two days.

Readers will suffer, and the more they suffer, the more they will desire to own and read.

In such a situation, God could only say something like this to himself.

‘I will repay you with better work.’

······It was a moment when I understood why celebrities and athletes who had accidents said that.

End

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