novelraw Part 1 of Chapter 79's Plan
Part 1 of Chapter 79's Plan
Just as Maijo Kyosuke and Uyama Hideomi were enjoying a hearty drink in the "Longevity Soup".
Little did they know that at this time, the entire Japanese publishing industry was in dire straits!
Today is Tuesday, January 15, 1980.
Kodansha President Genjiro Noma secretly instructed the sales manager, Yasunori Mikoshiba, to release 300,000 copies of the first issue of "Top Hat" magazine into the market early in the morning!
Because the magazine "Top Hat" published Maijo Kyosuke's famous article "A Bellflower".
This will make many readers who managed to snag a copy of Kyosuke Maijo's "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" want to buy a copy of "Top Hat" magazine to keep as a collectible.
Similarly, the initial release of "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" was so small, only 50,000 copies.
This led many people to wait for the reprint of "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" and could only catch a glimpse of Kyosuke Maijo's charm through "A Bellflower" in Top Hat magazine!
The staff at major bookstores in Tokyo also knew from the newspapers that Maijo Kyosuke had become the "King of Controversy" in the Japanese mystery genre recently, thanks to his arrogant remarks at the Edogawa Ranpo Ryusho Awards and the quality of his works.
But no one expected that Maijo Kyosuke's popularity would reach such a terrifying level!
Since yesterday, "The Astrological Murder Mystery" has sold out.
Every few minutes, a customer would come into the bookstore and say that phrase that all the bookstore staff were tired of hearing.
"Hello, excuse me? Do you have Mr. Maijo Kyosuke's book, *The Astrological Murder Mystery*, here?"
At first, the bookstore staff would patiently explain to the customers that only 50,000 copies of "The Astrological Murders" were released, and they were quickly sold out as soon as they were put on the shelves!
If you want to see "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders," you'll have to wait for Kodansha to reprint it.
Unfortunately, as more and more customers asked this question, the bookstore staff gradually lost patience. Whenever they heard the words "Dance City" mentioned, they would reflexively give a mechanical response.
"I'm so sorry, but we don't have Maishiro-sensei's 'The Astrological Murder Mystery'. Not only do we not have it here, we probably can't find it anywhere in Japan..."
Unfortunately, usually before the bookstore clerk can finish speaking, a customer will complain:
"What?! It's not here either!"
"With Professor Kyosuke Maijo being so popular right now, why don't you bookstores stock more of his work... Seriously!"
In the end, the disappointed guests could only complain as they took away copies of the magazine "Top Hat" featuring the poem "A Bellflower" by Kyosuke Maijo.
In this peculiar atmosphere, and with the growing fame of Maijo Kyosuke, 300,000 copies of Top Hat magazine were quickly sold out in just one morning!
The bookstore clerks could only smile wryly at this situation, because they had absolutely no idea what Kodansha was up to.
Why not take advantage of the fact that the popularity of Kyosuke Maijo hasn't faded yet and print more copies of "The Tokyo Zodiac Murder Mystery" to boost sales?
Why bother printing those unprofitable "Top Hat" magazines?
Little did they know, this was a grand scheme by Kodansha!
Because Kodansha not only used Top Hat magazine, but also captured a huge share of the Monday magazine market.
They also capitalized on the popularity of Maishiro Kyosuke and the remaining influence of Top Hat magazine to continue disrupting the magazine market on Tuesday!
Noma Genjiro's actions were clearly incomprehensible to ordinary people.
But in the eyes of other publishing houses and magazine departments, it was extremely vicious and malicious!
Because of Noma Genjiro's interference this time, not only did the sales of long-established short story mystery magazines such as Kobunsha, Bungei Shunjusha, and Takarajimasha decline.
Even Shinchosha's literary magazine "Shincho", Shogakukan's manga magazine "Big Comic Original", and Shueisha's manga magazine "Weekly Young Jump" were not spared in this commercial war!
All of them experienced a precipitous drop in sales on Tuesday!
The main reason is that Genjiro Noma did not promote the reprint of Top Hat magazine.
He secretly handed over "Top Hat" magazine to newsstands and bookstores, as if to say, "Even if I can't sell all of my magazines, I'll still disgust you to death!"
Seeing such a vicious business war, the magazines wished they could tear Noma Genjiro apart and drink his blood alive!
Among these, the worst off is Takarajimasha's "Novel Mystery". In the short story mystery magazine market, "Novel Mystery" was already squeezed out by Kobunsha's "Novel Jewel" and Bungei Shunjusha's "ALL Reading Material".
Now, another "terrifying train" has emerged, with sales plummeting from 400,000 copies to 200,000, and it has also received a large number of negative reviews.
After all, all the mystery novels in the entire "Fiction and Mystery" magazine are not as good as a single petal of "A Bellflower"!
But what can you do about it?
Given Maijo Kyosuke's current immense popularity, even if he were to bring in Akagawa Jiro, the bestselling mystery writer at the moment, to commission a manuscript, it would be of no use!
Moreover, this is only part of Noma Genjiro's plan, or rather, an appetizer.
Because the real business battle has only just begun!
Meanwhile, Jiang Liu Meili also became busier due to the influence of Mai Shiro Kyosuke.
After the Edogawa Ranpo Ryusho Awards concluded, Eru Miri's magazine department began receiving short story submissions from all over the country.
Most of these submissions came from third-rate mystery writers.
They asked for neither royalties nor any other form of compensation.
They had only one purpose in submitting this article.
That is, I want a chance to compete with Kyosuke Maijo in Top Hat magazine!
Their idea was simple and direct: to extinguish the arrogance of Maijo Kyosuke, this haughty new writer!
Although Jiang Liu Meili knew very well that Mai Shiro Jingjie's "Conclusion" had far surpassed these submissions.
However, as the editor-in-chief of the magazine, Jiang Liumei did not ignore the manuscripts submitted by these writers.
Jiang Liu Meili knew that she had to be fair and just in her dealings with people in order to leave a good reputation for Wu Cheng Jingjie.
Although I am in the same boat as Maijo Kyosuke, we are people who share the same fate.
However, we cannot ignore any writers who submit their work.
Only in this way can everyone understand that Maijo Kyosuke earned his current status through hard work and ability.
Instead of having powerful backers and living off women!
With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Liumei distributed piles of manuscripts.
Have all staff members in the magazine department cross-compare data.
If the manuscript is of good quality, it will be published in the second issue of the magazine "Top Hat".
If the quality does not meet the requirements for publication, you must not throw the manuscript into the trash as usual.
All editors must ensure that they provide each author with a clear explanation of why their manuscript cannot be published.
Maijo Kyosuke's arrogance stems from his personal pride, but Eri Ryu is a loyal follower of Maijo Kyosuke.
It must be truly fair and just, completely open and transparent, and no critic, mystery writer, or reader should have any objection to this "Challenge Contest" by Top Hat magazine!