Writing Web Novels In America-Chapter 83 Signing Ceremony

Several days later at New York International Airport.

jk•Rowling, dressed in a black woman’s suit and holding her suitcase, looked around with intent.

It wasn’t until she saw a young man holding a sign with her own name that she quickly walked over.

Following the young man’s direction, jk•Rowling settled into the back seat of a car.

Looking through the car window at the incessant stream of people on the streets of New York, she felt as though she was in a dream.

Just a few months earlier, she was a single mother, constantly enduring domestic violence and drug use from her boyfriend.

But at this moment,

not only had she used the website’s manuscript fees to take her daughter and leave that piece of trash,

she had also made her way to New York, to attend the Random House’s book licensing ceremony through the website’s connections.

"Ma’am, the company’s executives are waiting for you in the office," the young man said. "I will take you to the hotel later, is that okay?"

"Is it Mr. Wang?" jk•Rowling asked.

"Of course."

"I’m getting a bit impatient," she said, her British accent tinged with urgency.

It was this Mr. Wang who not only gave her the confidence to persevere through his work,

but also set up a website that allowed "Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone," rejected countless times by publishers, to be seen by more readers.

Thinking of all this, jk•Rowling couldn’t help but look forward to this meeting.

She took out the mirror she carried with her, trying to tidy up her messy makeup after the long journey,

while pondering how to behave so as not to seem rude when she met him.

As jk•Rowling’s thoughts fluttered, the young man pulled the car to a stop.

"Ma’am, this is the company’s office address," the young man said, opening the car door for jk•Rowling.

jk•Rowling looked up, her eyes dreamily fixed on the office building.

This is where her dreams came true?

Guided by the young man, she arrived outside Wang Jian’s office.

The young man signaled her to wait a moment and then knocked on the door to report in.

Less than a minute later, he reemerged from the office, gesturing to Rowling to follow.

jk•Rowling took a deep breath, trying to maintain the composure befitting an author, as she stepped in.

"Hello, you must be Ms. jk•Rowling, right?" said a young Asian man standing up, reaching out his hand to her.

jk•Rowling stared blankly at him, in disbelief. free𝑤ebnovel.com

This was Wang?

The person who had guided her writing skills was so young?

Wang Jian, confronted with a professionally dressed, yet utterly stupefied blonde woman, couldn’t help feeling a bit helpless.

Hey, lady, could you shake hands?

You’re making me lose face, you know?

Just as he was about to lift his hand in a gesture to run his fingers through his hair to ease the awkwardness,

the British woman opposite suddenly grasped Wang Jian’s hand, her mouth rapidly uttering English with a strong regional accent.

"Mr. Wang, I’ve read every one of your works," jk•Rowling said excitedly. "You’ve helped me so much with writing."

What’s wrong with her?

Wang Jian looked at his hand, already raised.

It was almost touching his hair.

Only now, a jk•Rowling was clinging to it...

After more than ten minutes of compliments, both finally took their seats.

The office atmosphere returned to a normal business negotiation, no longer like a fan meeting.

Wang Jian first politely mentioned that jk•Rowling was very talented in writing and that "Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone" was a classic work.

jk•Rowling then sat up straight, watching Wang Jian intently, looking like a student desperate to please her teacher.

Wang Jian, confronted with the situation, didn’t know what to say anymore.

Shouldn’t it be you compliment me, I compliment you, then we get down to business?

What happened to the dialogues? It’s turned into a monologue.

He thought for a moment, then decided to move on to the next step.

He opened the desk drawer and took out a document.

"This is Random House’s publishing terms for ’Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.’ Aside from pre-ordered copies by fans, the royalty split for other copies is 12%."

"For pre-ordered copies by fans, after deducting the publishing costs, the website takes a 30% royalty, and you’ll get 70%."

"Here are the relevant data and contract details."

Wang Jian handed jk•Rowling a stack of documents. "You can fax them to your lawyer to review."

"If there are no issues, then the signing ceremony will officially take place at Random House tomorrow morning."

jk•Rowling took the documents and asked, "Will you be attending too?"

"Of course, this time it’s an unprecedented tripartite signing," Wang Jian said as he poured a cup of coffee for her. "You’re the first author to be launched from the website; naturally, I’ll be there."

jk•Rowling breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Sorry, I’ve been rejected by publishers so many times that I’m still a bit unbalanced."

After Wang Jian offered further comfort and encouragement,

she left with the documents in hand, her footsteps light.

Wang Jian shook his head with a smile, contemplating the recent interaction.

He picked up the phone, calling Tom’s mobile to confirm how many journalists would be at tomorrow’s signing ceremony to ensure it was foolproof.

Time spent waiting is always excruciatingly slow.

As an author about to be freshly minted with a physical book, jk•Rowling laid in her hotel bed unable to sleep from excitement.

Wang Jian, returning to the physical book publishing scene in a new role, was still diligently pondering if there were any details he had missed.

When the sun rose the next day, Wang Jian and jk•Rowling both appeared with big dark circles under their eyes, taking separate cars provided by Tom and his team.

After arriving at the place prepared by Random House for the signing ceremony, Wang Jian and jk•Rowling caught sight of each other’s appearance and couldn’t help but laugh in mute disbelief.

At exactly nine in the morning, Random House’s deputy editor finally arrived fashionably late.

Wang Jian, jk•Rowling, and the deputy editor introduced each other and then took their places.

Once the staff had placed the three contracts in front of them, they signed their names with smiles and exchanged documents.

Afterward, the three of them shook hands again and held the documents up in front of them.

The photographers below snapped away, capturing the moment.

These photos, along with the newspapers behind the journalists, would spread across America.

For the average onlooker, it was merely a publicity stunt for a novel, hardly worth extra attention.

But for those in the publishing industry, it signified the bankrupt plan of the Six Major Publishers to target online-published works.

Random House had left the alliance with the other five publishers, choosing instead to collaborate with the web novel company.

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