Chapter 127 Project Team

Financial Street, London,

Schostic Group, 15th floor, European headquarters building.

The Little Prince project department.

“Editor-in-Chief, the printing factory hopes that we can speed up the progress. The EU is still on strike, the supply chain is not operating stably, and the prices of paint and labor are increasing. The group’s financial department estimates that if printing is delayed, By April, the printing cost of the first batch of books may increase by 7 to 15%.

The Little Prince project assistant who just stepped out of the elevator was a fat man.

He had half a donut in his mouth, a paper plate full of Starbucks coffee cups downstairs in his arms, and beads of sweat hanging on his forehead.

While the fat assistant was making vague calls using a Bluetooth headset, he walked into the office and placed coffee on the desks of every senior in the department.

He hung up the phone, wiped the sweat from his neck with the sleeve of his coat, and quickly ran back to his work station without any prompting from his supervisor.

The editing, three proofreadings and typesetting of the final text content of The Little Prince have been completed. The printing cycle is about to begin and the entire department is busy.

This is not the 1970s. If you dare to order the little clerk girl in the office to serve tea and water, maybe tomorrow the human resources department will talk to you on the grounds of discrimination against lesbians.

As a result, the fat assistant became the most inhumane person in the department because of his junior qualifications.

Not only does he need to communicate with various departments of the group, he also has to buy coffee, pick up express delivery, and bring lunch for the big guys in the same office. He doesn't even have time to eat a donut.

The fat assistant who is bullied in the workplace can only imagine that when he becomes a veteran, it will be his turn to point fingers at the newcomers and enjoy the hardship.

He sat at his workstation, turned on the computer, and found that there was a new email in his mailbox.

Detective Cat Little Prince Sample Agent rfoivora

"Detective Cat Mr. Sloth has such a weird name."

The fat assistant curled his lips .

"It's a sample sent by the online illustrator." A man was holding a coffee cup, standing behind him and staring at his computer screen, "With milk"

"Milk, two spoons, no saccharin."

The fat assistant, who was used to being treated like a cow, fluently reported the visitor's request using only the blurry mirror reflection of the computer screen, and he nodded. Yes, it’s the sample sent by the illustrator of Little Prince appointed above.”

“You can’t say for sure the illustrator of Little Prince. If she wants to get the contract, she has to pass the art department. It just needs to be reviewed."

The man seemed to know some of the gossip from the top of the group. He hummed in a low voice, "I heard that the boss of the art department was very dissatisfied with this detective cat's interference."

“Don’t say that the art department is dissatisfied, I am dissatisfied too.”

Another colleague came over and said, “I worked so hard to make a set of books, but in the end I hired an unprofessional network Illustrator, sort ofWhat's going on? It doesn't matter if it's another book. Everyone knows how important illustrations are to the little prince. ”

The little prince belongs to the most special category in fairy tales.

The first section of the first story is about the protagonist drawing all kinds of things when he was a child. Paintings for adults.

Every plot is closely related to various illustrations from the first sentence to the end. The original author Saint-Exupéry would not have drawn so many illustrations himself.

In the past, a senior book reviewer on the famous reading website odreaders believed that for the little prince, even words are just a carrier. The skeleton of thought, and illustration is the real soul.

For such an important job, it is not only the art department of the group that has objections, but also these little princes. Most of the colleagues in the project team are actually unhappy.

The illustrations will be poor, the sales will not be good, and everyone will not be paid for their performance.

Because of the posters. Because it caters to the general public, illustration is the subject with the lowest "artistic" content in the painting contempt chain.

Similarly because it caters to the public, illustration is the most capable of distinguishing the quality of painters in the painting contempt chain. Subject matter.

Writing is not the first, and martial arts is not the second. Illustrations are not among them.

Put up a row of paintings by Picasso, Leonardo da Vinci, and Van Gogh and ask them who they are. Not only the audience has different opinions about who is a good painter, but also the professors from top art academies.

To put it bluntly, There has never been a unified evaluation standard for artistry.

But illustrations are different. Audiences will vote with their actions.

What can draw the best for customers to buy. The illustrator of the work of desire is the most powerful illustrator.

In the book market, there are two identical works in front of you, only the illustrations on the covers are different.

Then don’t talk about art concepts and painting techniques. In the eyes of the market, they will be the last. The latter's illustrators are better than the former.

Traffic and sales are the last word.

This is why good illustrators are so important to the schostic group's project team. p>

The works of excellent illustrators can really be converted into real sales, and they can earn a lot of money for the group, and they have the ability to turn waste into treasure.

They have a lot of people. A good illustrator, this is why Charlie, the director of the art department, has the courage to disobey President Osborne.

"Shhh, Detective Cat can grab this fat job from the art department, and his connections are strong. I don’t know who the monster standing behind you is. Don’t spread gossip. ”

Someone kindly reminded him.

At this time, the fat assistantMany colleagues were already standing behind me, and everyone wanted to see what the new illustrator’s drawings looked like.

"Huh, if there is any hard relationship, it seems that he is not a serious illustrator. He doesn't even have a contracted gallery or studio. Why is his agent called Mr. Sloth? It's probably also an online name. Still. The thing about recruiting people online is not formal at all."

My colleague's tone became much more restrained, but he still hummed in a low voice, "That means we are a big group and some people. When a small company commissions a painting, you don’t even know how it will be sold.”

Another role of an excellent agent is to handle the contract and strive for more benefits for the artist.

Some rookie illustrators encountered a shady boss and worked hard to complete the project. However, because of some clauses in the contract that they did not read carefully, they could not get a penny. There are no unlucky people who lose money.

"Hey, what are you doing standing there, open it and take a look."

Someone urged the fat assistant.

The fat assistant opened the email, and then he was stunned for a moment.

This was not what I imagined. The online illustrator just sent the finished drawing to his mailbox and it was done.

On the contrary, this is a very long and detailed email.

"Advance payment of 24%, right to authorize the cover, and monthly sales share for each issue."

As the fat assistant scrolled down the email.

In the email, the other party’s agent, Mr. Sloth, made many requests for illustrators in a polite but very firm tone.

Some colleagues behind him who were unhappy with Detective Cat said angrily, "You think of yourself as a person. You don't have the guts to make so many demands even if you don't have a single character. If you really let this guy I don’t know how troublesome it will be to get a formal contract.”

“Oh, this Mr. Sloth is really knowledgeable.” The supervisor on the side was also watching, and he shook his head.

The supervisor is Osborne’s direct subordinate and does not have much ill will towards Detective Cat.

More importantly, he discovered that this agent named Mr. Sloth was indeed quite powerful.

The other party seems to have many and detailed requirements, but it can only be said that they are very professional and not excessive.

The biggest problem when illustrators make deals with publishers is that the payment cycle is too slow.

In many cases, remuneration cannot be paid until more than a year after the book is released, and six months is considered fast. A large group like Schostic has a relatively abundant capital chain and can actually pay a 1025 remuneration in advance as an advance payment.

Of course,

No one would dislike having too much money in their account. If you don't take the initiative to fight for this kind of rights, the publisher will not mention them to you.

The second is the right of signature. The right of signature is a natural right provided by the law to illustrators, which means to tell everyone that this painting was drawn by you.

Except for ghostwriting in some gray areas,Otherwise, the general contract will stipulate that the painter will be given the right to sign.

However, how to give it is also particular.

The illustrator’s signature does not necessarily need to be on the book. It can even leave a line of small words on the copyright title page of the book that no one will notice, even if the publisher is very powerful.

The vast majority of readers who buy books do not know who drew the illustrations in this book.

The cover signature required by the other party is that in addition to the original author and translator, there must also be the label "Detective Cat" on the cover.

This requirement is difficult.

Having your name printed on the cover of a work that is expected to print millions of copies in its entire sales cycle is naturally a beautiful thing for an illustrator.

But in general, illustration or layout design work is not as important as text author.

The publishing house is not willing to leave such a prime cover position to the illustrator.

Unless you are a legendary painter who is so famous that many fans pay for your name, such as Andy Warhol.

But considering the particularity and quantity of the illustrations of The Little Prince, it is not completely out of the question. In contrast, after the book is put on the market, the sales share of each issue is paid on a monthly basis, but it is a detail.

Mr. Sloth handled the key issues of the contract very skillfully.

“Very professional.”

The supervisor rubbed his chin and praised.

For making these requests during the trial draft stage, it can be said that the other party’s agent is very magnanimous.

Not only is he very knowledgeable, but he also has full confidence that Detective Cat can win this official contract.

Either this Mr. Sloth is very confident in the quality of Detective Cat’s works, or else he is very confident in Detective Cat’s connections at the top of the group.

Or both.

The supervisor became even more curious about this online illustrator who could be personally taken care of by Vice President Osborne.

"Let's take a look at the painting now. The attachment has been downloaded."

The supervisor motioned to the fat assistant to open the attachment at the bottom of the email.

The assistant opened the sample manuscript sent by Detective Cat, turned the computer screen to everyone, and adjusted the brightness of the computer.

A brightly colored illustration appeared in front of everyone.

There was a brief silence in the office.

Some people have heard of Detective Cat before, some have not.

But regardless of whether they know Detective Cat or not, they, the employees of the publishing house, instinctively do not trust the standards of online illustrators.

Many people originally looked at the work of the illustrator posted above with critical thoughts.

But now,

They subconsciously feel that this painting looks like.

It should be good.

“Oh this painting”

“It’s trueQuite beautiful. ”

“Look at the colors, it looks like it’s really space. This is an oil painting. It looks amazing.” ”

After a few seconds of silence, many people began to exchange their opinions.

Some of these people are proofreaders and editors, and some are responsible for layout design. In fact, few of them are Professional art people.

But the audience for illustrations is not professionals, but ordinary people.

These people do not have any stereotypes about knife painting. Basically, few of them have heard of drawing with a knife.

They just intuitively think that this painting is very beautiful.

It gives people a sense of wonder.

“I don’t know much about painting, but it does seem to be something. The intuitive feeling is even better than the previous illustrations designed by our art department. ”

Even the well-informed colleague who was very dissatisfied with Detective Cat as an illustrator at first and had been making fun of him nodded in surprise.

Everyone and the illustrator After all, teachers are a community of interests. Seeing that Detective Cat handed over such a surprising sample, the project team was immediately less unhappy with the Internet painter.

"What do you think?"

The supervisor asked an uncle next to him. This uncle was an artist seconded by the project team from the art department. He was the only one among these people who studied art.

“It seems like drawing with a knife. ”

The uncle stared at the fat assistant’s computer screen, a little unsure.

He thought this was probably a painting, but the details were really good. Bar

These dreamy colors of paint, these smooth and elastic curves

Ordinary colleagues in the office just think they are beautiful

He is a professional and knows this better. The difficulty of this painting method.

The uncle is a little unsure whether this is really a work that can be painted with a hard oil painting knife.

The painting knife can really be perfect. Is it at this point?

“What’s wrong with knife painting?”

“This painting method is a bit unpopular and difficult. But this picture is a little too perfect. "The uncle carefully considered the wording. "If I were to describe it, it would be two words: rare and beautiful. ”

“Rarely beautiful, beautiful and rare. "The uncle murmured his evaluation.

"Can you draw such a painting?" the supervisor asked.

"I'm not joking, boss. ”

“First of all, I am not a professional oil painter. The uncle smiled bitterly, "Secondly, the details of this painting are so perfect that it doesn't look like it was painted by a human being." "

"So, if this painting passes the review of the art department, there should be no problem," the supervisor asked with a smile.

"Normally, there is no problem, but"

The uncle looked around at his colleagues, hesitant.

He heard that Director Charlie had already announced that he would be stuck with the detective.Cat sample.

In matters like art, if you really want to cause trouble, even if Leonardo da Vinci was alive and possessed by Rembrandt, he would still be able to find fault.

At least this unpopular painting method is a problem.

"Understood."

The supervisor nodded.

He dismissed his colleagues, then leaned down and patted the fat assistant's arm.

"Don't send the sample to the art department yet, swipe my job card, take the VIP elevator to the 41st floor, find President Osborne, and show him the work on the computer."< /p>

The supervisor ordered softly. Please remember to collect it, the latest and fastest website is free to read without anti-theft