"Bang!"
The door closed, and the footsteps faded into the distance, leaving everyone in the meeting room looking at each other in bewilderment.
"Hey, this kid's a real hothead. He comes and goes as he pleases, he's just acting recklessly!"
Someone spoke up and muttered something under their breath.
Others were also discussing it, as they had never seen such a partner before.
Yang Chen didn't get involved; instead, he was deep in thought, considering what kind of treatment he should give Xiao Ning to keep him.
All collaborations are based on the premise that his work is retained by Diaoniang, so that subsequent copyright development and cooperation between the two parties can proceed.
Otherwise, IP derivatives such as animation, film and television, games, and music would have absolutely no connection with Tencent.
"He definitely wouldn't accept a 50/50 split of royalties for ordinary authors, but he's unlikely to accept the 70/30 split for top authors or the 80/20 split for platinum authors. That's a bit of a problem!"
"He won't do it if I offer him too little, but it's against the rules if I offer him too much!"
Yang Chen pondered the issue of profit sharing in his mind.
Well, there's not much else to discuss, except for the split of royalties. It could be split equally, or you get 70% and I get 30%, or you get 80% and I get 20%.
Don't underestimate this 10% share. You might not notice it when the royalties are low, but if you earn hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars a month, then this 10% difference becomes quite significant.
Generally speaking, the royalties of authors under Diaoniang are split 50/50, meaning the author and the company split the profits equally.
Once an author achieves some success, such as having a book with tens of thousands of subscriptions and becoming a hit, they become a veteran author and have a slight possibility of negotiating terms.
Slightly better off than ordinary authors are long-term contract authors, who usually sign word count contracts. For example, after the contract is signed, the contract will automatically expire only after the specified number of words has been written.
For example, if you sign a contract of 20 million words, you have to write 20 million words before the contract can be terminated. The only advantage is that there is no time limit or quantity limit.
It could be one book with 20 million words, or ten books, each with 2 million words.
Some long-term contract authors receive a 6:4 split of royalties, but not everyone receives this treatment; it all needs to be negotiated, and of course, how well one negotiates depends on their individual skills.
Even better treatment than long-term contract authors are top-tier authors, whose revenue sharing ratio is 7:3, meaning they can receive 70% of the royalties.
In addition, top authors also receive hidden resource allocations, such as major cover recommendations upon the release of their books, or flash promotions on apps, and many more.
The platinum-level authors, needless to say, receive 80% of the royalties, and the remaining recommendation slots are not much different from those of the top authors.
Of course, the difference in contracts has little to do with performance.
There are plenty of great authors whose new books flop. It's not that they're bad; it's just that times have changed, my friend!
At this moment, Yang Chen was considering what kind of contract to offer Xiao Ning.
If he were to receive a contract from a top-tier author, it would be extremely unfair to the other level 5 authors who are waiting in line for such contracts.
After all, the rule of first come, first served must still be followed.
However, if we offer him a regular contract, I'm afraid he won't agree.
After hesitating for a moment, Yang Chen took out his phone and made a call. After three seconds of ringing, a voice came from the other end:
"Editor-in-Chief Yang, how did the talks go?"
Yang Chen quickly explained his previous concerns and said, "I'm having trouble making a decision, so I'm specifically asking for President Chen's opinion!"
On the other end of the phone, Chen Wu hesitated for a moment before saying, "If he's worth that price, we should pay what we owe. You should understand the principle of spending a fortune to buy a horse's bones! And don't forget the production team behind him; that's the most crucial part!"
As if struck by a thunderbolt, Yang Chen instantly understood and quickly replied, "Okay, Mr. Chen, I understand!"
Yang Chen then hung up the phone, a smile appearing on his face.
Meanwhile, the heads of other departments had already consulted with their superiors and obtained their respective bottom lines for negotiation.
On the fifth floor, Xiao Ning, wearing a bathrobe, lay on the sofa, with a masseuse giving him a light massage behind him.
The sound of rice came through the headphones.
"Master, the bottom line of the negotiation with Dian Niang Company is that the royalties will be split 2:8 with you, but you are required to sign a long-term contract of 5 years and 20 million words, and you must not disclose the contract to anyone."
"Tencent Pictures' intention is for both parties to co-produce the first web series, with Tencent fully funding it and Tencent receiving 20% of the profits. At the same time, the film and television rights will belong to Tencent Group, but their bottom line is 30%!"
"The collaboration between Tencent Animation and Tencent Music is that the book's namesake animation and music will be released on Tencent Pictures and Tencent Music, but the copyright belongs to Tencent Group, and the profits will be split 50/50!"
"The game department means that the game of the same name as this book will be fully distributed by Tencent, but they will take 30% of the profits as a channel and promotion fee!"
Xiao Ning squinted as he listened to Da Mi's words, pondering the feasibility of the situation. Of course, he couldn't just agree to sign the contract right away; otherwise, what difference would it make from selling himself to a penguin?
After a while, he waved his hand, and the technician behind him tactfully left, stood up, changed his clothes, and went back to the conference room.
"Everyone, how did your discussion go?"
Pushing open the door, Xiao Ning took the initiative, staring intently at everyone. They felt an invisible pressure bearing down on them, and the noisy conference room immediately fell silent.
Just as they realized what was happening, the pressure vanished instantly, as if it had never existed, making them think they had hallucinated.
The crowd was filled with doubt and uncertainty, and they were already at a disadvantage in terms of their aura.
Xiao Ning sat imposingly at the head of the table, looking down at the crowd. He asked again in a deep voice, "How has your discussion gone?"
A smile played on his lips, and an air of domineering arrogance emanated from him.
Yang Chen was filled with shock and wondered to himself, "Could it be that after Chinese martial arts are cultivated to a certain level, one can really develop the aura of a master?"