Tokyo Mystery Writers

Chapter 47: A Romantic Journey Against the World

In front of an izakaya (Japanese pub) near Asakusa, Tokyo.

There was a red BMW and a black Jaguar parked there.

Jiang Liu Meili, Yu Shan Hideomi, and Mai Shiro Kyosuke sat around the table, celebrating that "The Tokyo Zodiac Murder Mystery" had won the Edogawa Ranpo Ryu-sho Award!

Winning the Edogawa Ranpo Ryusho Award is certainly something to celebrate.

But for Kyosuke Maijo now, what's truly worth celebrating is the birth of Top Hat magazine.

After all, he had already learned from Jiang Liumei that the first edition of "Top Hat" had a circulation of 500,000 copies!

With the joint comments from the five judges and the challenge he issued on the awards stage today, Jingjie Maishiro believes that many writers who dislike him will come to submit articles to Top Hat magazine to temper his arrogance!

Although this challenge is extremely risky, it can quickly boost one's reputation, allowing one to go from a new mystery writer to a well-known author!

Thinking of all this, Maijo Kyosuke looked at Jiang Liu Meili with a satisfied smile on his face:

"Miss Jiang Liu, with the challenge I've issued tonight, there will definitely be more submissions to 'Top Hat' magazine. If some well-known writers come up with the challenge, it will surely boost the magazine's sales!"

"How about increasing the circulation of the second issue of 'Top Hat' magazine to 600,000 copies?"

Maishiro Kyosuke's words made Uyama Hideomi, who was eating noodles nearby, choke and pound his chest!

Wiping the sauce off his face with a tissue, Uyama Hideomi looked at Maishiro Kyosuke and asked in confusion:

"Ms. Mai, when I first met you, I remembered you as a very composed person?"

"How come it's like they've completely changed their appearance in just ten days?"

"How about increasing the circulation of 'Top Hat' magazine to 600,000 copies?"

"Do you even know what nonsense you're spouting?"

Uyama Hideomi threw the tissue into the trash can, interlaced his fingers, and said to Maishiro Kyosuke and Eri Miri with a serious expression:

"Although I am the deputy editor-in-chief of the publishing department, I also held an important position in the magazine department for a period of time at the beginning, so my understanding of the magazine department is no less than that of Ms. Jiang Liu."

"Everyone thought that the magazine department was much easier than the publishing department."

"But in reality, the magazine department is a place rife with bloodshed!"

"Because the publishing department only needs to be responsible for proofreading, typesetting, binding, and cover design, etc. The rest depends on the author's personal reputation and the quality of the book."

"The readers who buy the book are all loyal mystery fans."

"Simply put, the publishing department only needs to consider two issues: the quality of the books and the reputation of the authors."

"The sales and publishing departments have a very controllable understanding of how many copies a book can sell and what the market potential is. If it doesn't sell well, we stop reprinting; if it sells well, we continue reprinting!"

Uyama Hideomi drank the sake in his cup, then poured more for Maishiro Kyosuke and Eri, and continued speaking:

"Compared to the publishing department, the magazine department faces far more problems!"

"Because people who read magazines aren't necessarily die-hard mystery fans; they just buy a magazine to kill time during their commute."

"Therefore, magazines need to consider not only proofreading, cover, layout, the quality of the works, and the reputation of the authors."

"We also need to consider other enemies!"

"For example, Shogakukan's flagship manga magazine 'Big Comic Original,' Shueisha's dark horse 'Weekly Young Jump,' which was just launched last year, Takarajimasha's 'Shosetsu Mystery,' Kobunsha's 'Shosetsu Jewel,' Bungei Shunju's 'ALL Yomimono,' Shinchosha's various literary magazines, as well as countless gossip magazines and long-running literary serial magazines—these are all competitors that the magazine department needs to consider!"

"Although Miss Jiang Liu received comments from all five judges, Professor Wu Cheng, you also took a gamble on the stage, using your own methods to try and boost the popularity of 'Top Hat' magazine by leveraging the works of other authors!"

"But Mr. Mai, you need to understand that a magazine isn't a publication. A higher circulation isn't necessarily better. What makes a good magazine is its long-term reputation and consistently stable sales!"

Seeing the puzzled look on Maishiro Kyosuke's face, Uyama Hideomi continued:

"Simply put, if the circulation of the first issue of a weekly magazine is 50,000 copies, then the circulation of the next issue might be 51,000 copies. If it can maintain that, then the third issue will be published, with 52,000 copies. If it can be published continuously for a whole year, that is, 52 issues, then the magazine will reach a circulation of 100,000 copies."

After taking a bite of ramen, Maishiro Kyosuke asked:

"What if the next round doesn't sell as well as the last?"

Jiang Liumei took over the conversation, her expression equally grave, and said:

"If the latest issue of the magazine does not reach the sales volume of the previous issue, it will be cancelled!"

"In other words, if Top Hat magazine has a circulation of 500,000 copies, even if 490,000 copies are sold, Top Hat magazine will be immediately canceled!"

Completely baffled by the reason, Maijo Kyosuke asked in confusion:

"To cancel a publication simply because it doesn't meet expectations? Isn't that a bit too hasty?"

"A magazine that sells 490,000 copies is bound to be much better than one that only sells 50,000, right? Besides, don't we often see in the newspapers that a certain magazine's sales have plummeted and it's going to reduce its circulation?"

Jiang Liu Meili shook her head with a wry smile after hearing Mai Cheng Jingjie's words:

"Mr. Mai, the kind of magazines you mentioned that can reduce circulation are mostly established ones. Even if they don't reach their expected sales, they can still sell by reducing circulation."

"But for new magazines, especially those that can't even stay stable for a year, President Noma won't give you that kind of opportunity!"

"If sales fluctuate, we'll act swiftly and decisively to stop the magazine from continuing to lose money!"

"As for why? Mainly because the ways magazines make money are completely different from those of publications. Many people think that magazines make money based on circulation, and the larger the circulation, the more money they will make. But this is actually a misunderstanding, because the money that can be earned from selling magazines is just a drop in the ocean compared to the fees paid by publishers!"

"To put it simply, publications make money from readers by getting them to willingly buy an author's entire work."

"Magazines use their articles to attract readers to buy the magazine, and then insert GG into it to increase the brand value of GG merchants."

"So, the problem arises: these Google Ads vendors are business people after all, and they are very careful in choosing which Google Ads to advertise."

"While magazines with large circulations attract more readers, the price of GG magazines also tends to increase along with their circulation."

"The magazine's GG fee is usually charged on a quarterly basis. If the circulation of our 'Top Hat' magazine's first issue is 500,000 copies, the GG publisher will pay us a quarter's GG fee in one lump sum."

"But if our magazine's sales fluctuate significantly, for example, the first issue sold 490,000 copies and the second issue sold 450,000 copies."

"So for GG distributors, it's a losing proposition. After all, GG distributors paid extra for 500,000 copies. Once they noticed the fluctuations in sales, GG distributors would naturally withdraw their investment early and demand a series of compensations from us."

"Therefore, in reality, a magazine that can consistently sell 50,000 copies per issue is far more profitable than a magazine with an unstable, large circulation!"

After listening to the patient explanations from Hideomi Uyama and Misaki Eri, Kyosuke Maishiro finally understood the workings of the magazine department. However, at the same time, new doubts arose:

"If that's the case, why did Miss Jiang Liu take such a big risk by increasing the number of copies of 'Top Hat' magazine to 500,000?"

"With Ms. Jiang Liu's abilities, she's more than capable of managing a magazine with a circulation of 100,000, right?"

Jiang Liu Meili heard what Mai Cheng Jingjie said, bit her lip lightly, and remained silent.

On the contrary, Hideomi Uyama, who was standing to the side, took a sip of sake and explained the reason:

"What else could it be for? Of course, it's to increase Teacher Wucheng's fame!"

"While a high-circulation magazine with an unstable circulation may face the risk of being shut down at any time, its ability to boost an author's profile far surpasses that of a stable, low-circulation magazine!"

After speaking, Uyama Hideomi seemed to realize that he had let something slip.

He resorted to his old trick again, claiming he was drunk and collapsed on the table.

Maijo Kyosuke was speechless at Uyama Hideomi's clumsy acting, but secretly felt a sweet feeling inside:

"Miss Jiang Liu, to ensure that our 'Top Hat' magazine never ends, from now on, I will participate in every single issue of 'Top Hat'!"

Maijo Kyosuke grasped Eri's beautiful hand with a sincere expression.

There is certainly love involved, but what surpasses love is gratitude.

After all, in this parallel world, Maijo Kyosuke has no relatives or friends.

Faced with Jiang Liu Meili's romantic gesture of being willing to fight the world alongside him, Mai Cheng Jingjie had already made up his mind that no matter what happened in the future, he would never let her down!