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Chapter 284: The Publishing Industry Has Always Been a Goldmine
🕑 Added 2025-04-13 07:00:10 +0000 UTC[After your conversation with Matsuzaka Sayuri, you came to a harsh realization.]
[As things stood, there was simply no way the Matsuzaka household could afford to send Satou to university.]
[You started considering how you could earn enough money to change their situation.]
[Fortunately, you possessed a talent for writing that was nearly unmatched—crafting stories and articles with ease.]
[But whether it was novels or articles, making money from writing was a slow process.]
[And not just because writing itself took time.]
[The real issue was the long chain of submitting to publishers, waiting for editorial approval, getting contracts signed, printing the book, selling copies, and then finally receiving royalty payments.]
[This process was far too slow for a family that needed money immediately.]
[To avoid affecting Satou's studies and to solve the financial problem, you decided—]
1. Leverage Your Relationships: Both Shinjo Akane and Futaba Rio came from prestigious families in Tokyo. As their boyfriend, borrowing a few million yen from them for emergency use shouldn't be a problem.
2. No Way in Hell I'm Mooching Off Anyone! You'd find a perfect solution on your own.
3. Why Not Ask the Almighty Yamada-a-mon?
4. [Direct Simulation]
As soon as Minami glanced at the list of choices, his eyelid twitched.
"The hell is this first option?"
This was the first time he had ever seen someone describe mooching off girls in such a refined manner.
"Borrow a few million yen... just 'for emergency use'?"
Minami could already predict what would happen if he actually asked Futaba Rio and Shinjo Akane for money.
Even if he tried to pay them back later—
Those two would never accept it.
And most importantly—
"Why is it only Akane and Rio in the first option?"
"What about Yamada Ryo?"
Was this simulation looking down on Yamada-sama?!
…Actually—
It probably was.
Because the more Minami thought about it, the more he realized—
Yamada Ryo burned through her money like crazy, constantly blowing her allowance and ending up foraging for wild vegetables.
"This woman—"
"I should be thankful she's not borrowing money from me instead."
Minami decided to ignore the first option and moved on to the second and third.
2. No freeloading. Earn everything with my own efforts.
This option made sense.
But the publishing world was brutal.
Even in a past simulation with Nishikigi Chisato and Inoue Takina, it had taken him over two years to establish himself as an author.
In Japan, breaking into the publishing world without connections was hellishly difficult.
Which left him with—
"The third option..."
Minami's eyes lingered on:
[Why not ask the almighty Yamada-e-mon?] (TL: Doraemon)
Of course.
Yamada Ryo had one major advantage over Akane and Rio.
Her father absolutely doted on her.
Shinjo Akane's parents barely paid attention to her.
Futaba Rio's parents were always overseas.
But Yamada Ryo's father had always been there for her.
Which meant…
If they could use her father's connections, they might be able to contact a publisher directly.
Having made his decision, Minami chose Option 3.
After all—
It wasn't the first time he had freeloaded off Yamada Ryo.
He was already used to it.
[You decided to ask Yamada Ryo to introduce you to her father, hoping he could connect you with a publishing editor.]
[But before that, you focused on writing the novel first.]
[With your exceptional talent, writing was not difficult for you.]
[You spent the entire winter break immersed in your work, and by the end, you had finished two short stories and one medium-length novel.]
[Once your manuscripts were ready, you reached out to Yamada Ryo.]
[If it had been anyone else, Yamada Ryo wouldn't have cared.]
[But you were the person she had feelings for—so naturally, she agreed immediately.]
[Of course, she also took the opportunity to demand kisses, hugs, and... pictures.]
[Especially revealing pictures—which she was very enthusiastic about.]
[As she put it: "These photos are really useful."]
"Wait a damn minute."
Minami froze.
"Yamada... what exactly are you doing with my pictures?"
His expression turned strange.
Now that he thought about it—
Lately, Yamada Ryo had been taking a lot of photos of him.
Could she be using them for—
"...I'm definitely checking her phone next time I see her."
Who knew how many of his photos she had stashed away?
Shaking his head, he continued reading the simulation.
[You fulfilled Yamada Ryo's demands. Satisfied with her "payment," she happily went to speak with her father.]
[She also threatened him, demanding he treat you very kindly—because it would help her blackmail you later.]
[Not that it was necessary.]
[Yamada Ryo's father was already quite fond of you. When he met with you, he politely asked how he could assist.]
[You told him you wanted an introduction to a publishing editor. He laughed and agreed, telling you to wait for his update.]
[And sure enough—two days later, he called you.]
[He had successfully contacted an editor from Kodansha.]
[The editor was interested—but wanted to see your manuscript first.]
"Damn... not bad at all."
Seeing this, Minami couldn't help but be impressed.
Kodansha was a publishing giant.
When people hear "Kodansha," their first thought is often that it's a manga publishing company. In recent years, they've published hit works like Attack on Titan, and further back, they had Devilman, which set the foundation for Japan's dark hero genre.
But Kodansha is much more than that.
Manga is just one of its publishing channels—Kodansha is actually Japan's largest comprehensive publishing company and copyright holder.
The publishing industry naturally covers literature extensively, making it a true giant among Japanese publishing houses.
For Yamada's father to have connections with such a powerhouse of a publisher—
That alone spoke volumes about his influence in Tokyo.
If this worked out—
The Matsuzaka family's financial troubles might soon be a thing of the past.
Shouji Minami refocused his attention and continued reading.
[Under Yamada's father's arrangement, you brought three of your novels to meet with an editor from Kodansha.]
[The moment Editor Yamamoto from Kodansha saw you, he was visibly disappointed.]
[Your age was simply too young—he couldn't imagine someone like you being capable of writing anything remarkable.]
[But out of respect for Yamada's father, Editor Yamamoto remained polite toward you.]
[You noticed his thoughts immediately, but you didn't mind. You simply smiled, introduced yourself, and took a seat.]
[After some brief conversation, the editor picked up your manuscripts and began reading.]
[It was at that moment that your extraordinary writing talent shone through.]
[With just the first short story, the editor, who had initially been disappointed, found himself unable to look away.]
[Your writing pure, clean, and deeply moving—drew him in completely after only a few paragraphs.]
[He hurriedly skimmed through the rest of your work—two short stories and a full-length novel before excitedly telling you that all three had the potential for publication. However, he needed to bring them back to Kodansha's headquarters for further review with the other editors before giving a final answer.]
[This response was within your expectations. You agreed to his request without hesitation.]
[However, you made a request of your own.]
[You asked for an official response within five days.]
[It was a reasonable request, and Editor Yamamoto agreed immediately.]
[After exchanging contact information, you returned home to wait.]
[Kodansha's response arrived on the third morning.]
[They informed you that the novels could be published in the middle of the month and would receive promotional support through digital platforms, train station advertisements, and bridge billboards.]
[Your two short stories would be compiled into a single volume and printed in 20,000 copies, priced at 850 yen each. The full-length novel would have an initial print run of 40,000 copies, priced at 1,500 yen per book. If sales were strong, they would consider additional printings.]
[You agreed to Kodansha's publishing plan.]
[For a newcomer in the publishing world, this was an extremely generous starting point.]
That was no exaggeration.
For most new authors, publishers would rarely print more than 10,000 copies as a trial run—after all, if the books didn't sell, the financial loss would fall entirely on the publisher.
Not to mention that Minami's full-length novel was getting a 40,000-copy run from the start.
A standard paperback novel was priced at 850 yen. With a 10% royalty rate, that meant Minami would earn 85 yen per copy sold.
For the short story collection, that was already 1.7 million yen in royalties.
And the full-length novel?
At 1,500 yen per book, the 10% cut meant 150 yen per copy sold—which, for 40,000 copies, totaled 6 million yen in royalties.
"When I simulated Chisato and Takina's publishing scenario before, I didn't pay much attention, but… the Japanese publishing industry really is this profitable?"
Even in reality, Minami did a quick mental calculation and couldn't help but sigh in amazement.
And this was just the income from publishing.
If the book were adapted into other media or if merchandise like keychains or bookmarks were sold, he could earn even more royalties.
No wonder so many young people in Japan aspired to become novelists, writers, and manga artists.
If you made it big, it really was lucrative.
[With Kodansha's backing, you officially debuted as an author under the pen name "Nami," and your books hit the shelves of Tokyo's major bookstores mid-month.]
[As expected, talent only needed a platform to shine.]
[While other debut authors in your batch were struggling to push a few thousand copies, your books sold more than half of their stock on launch day.]
[In particular, your full-length novel sold two-thirds of its copies within the first nine hours of release.]
[This success didn't just excite you—it electrified Kodansha as well.]
[Selling out more than half of a print run on the first day was a strong indicator that your book could become a bestseller, which also meant a high probability of a reprint.]
[Editor Yamamoto stayed in constant contact with you, assuring you that he would notify you as soon as a reprint decision was made.]
[That moment wasn't far off…]
[Just two days after release, Kodansha's official account announced that your novel would be reprinted.]
[Hearing this news, you finally let out a sigh of relief.]
[Because this wasn't just about money—it also meant that you and the Matsuzaka family no longer had to worry about financial struggles.]
[You stopped paying attention at this point, only waiting for the bank transfer to arrive.]
[Yet even without your attention, things didn't end there.]
[Your novel, with unstoppable momentum, climbed onto Japan's Twitter trending list.]
[People began discussing your work, praising the way your writing could effortlessly paint a world of gentle romance with just a few strokes.]
[The name of "Nami," the rising debut author, was now entering the public eye.]
[Even when tutoring "Kessoku Band" and Matsuzaka Satouu, you often overheard them chatting about the breakout novel by "Nami."]
[Magazines and newspapers started mentioning your pen name as well.]
[Even though this wasn't your original intention, your reputation was undeniably growing.]
[Meanwhile, your books went through two more reprints, bringing total sales to 200,000 copies—90,000 copies of the short story collection and 110,000 copies of the full-length novel.]
[For a debut author, this was nothing short of terrifyingly impressive.]
[Even seasoned authors in your release batch had only reached around 40,000 copies sold at best, far below your numbers.]
[You couldn't help but marvel at how profitable the Japanese publishing industry was.]
[With just this one release, you had already earned 241.5 million yen in royalties—and that didn't even include potential future revenue from merchandise like book covers, keychains, and bookmarks.]
[Even after paying the hefty Japanese taxes, you still had enough to support the Matsuzaka family with ease.]
[You no longer had to worry about financial instability.]
