John UM
The cartoonist Futian Suzi, who runs the comics’ classroom, once mentioned on Twitter several times. Many of her students said: “Although I bought a very good comic book, it ended up without finishing the work. This happened a few times. I am afraid and sad again. Now I can’t believe that the work can really end, so the more I like the work, the less I dare to buy it.”
Fukuda understands that sales are very important for commercial publishing. But for this reason, I repeatedly betray the readers. In the end, what kind of end will be waiting for myself? If the reason is “the industry is difficult”, then if the readers give up reading, will it only become more difficult?
Although there may be people who say, “If you do, you should buy it when you come out,” but it is because these loyal readers “have already done so, but still can’t follow up”, it will be even more sad
And in recent years, readers have come to the point of “no longer feel betrayed = no longer expecting” (not for writers, but for publishers)
“There is no way to sell because you can’t sell it.” This statement seems to be correct, but Fukuda has doubts about it. She believes that even if it is a last resort, it can only “because it can’t sell, so it is swayed”, and it is also obligatory to “let the work come to a successful conclusion and pass it on to the readers.” This kind of trust relationship is called business. If you can’t get the benefits, then thinking about “how can you achieve it” is something that individuals can’t do, but companies can. If the publisher side “has nothing to do at this stage,” at least there must be a way to let go of the restrictions on copyright, so that writers can complete the work on their own. And if the writer does this, she also hopes that the publisher will fully support the writers and fulfill their responsibilities to the readers as people who have participated in the works
(https://twitter.com/motoofficial/status/1162667167575228416).
Fukuda’s words have been supported by many comic lovers and cartoonists. But at the same time, some people do not agree
The cartoonist Yamamoto, who believes that “there is a duty to finish the comics” is like saying “Why don’t you come back alive” to people who are far from home and die on the battlefield. Do you have the ability to come back alive? This is a private statement, but it is your freedom; but in public, can you take this responsibility for the rest of your life? There are all kinds of situations in life
Yamamoto said that things that he can’t do should not be imposed on others. No, even if you do it yourself, you can’t bind others. Because this is not what you won by fighting alone
(https://twitter.com/atsuji_yamamoto/status/1162613832658718721).
Network novelist Fei Qianwen also said that both the author and the publisher have come up with the final volume, but the resources are limited… If the publisher is required to “out of the first volume, it must be completed until the end”, then The publishing house will not give the opportunity for newcomers to sell books without guarantees, and will only allow big-name writers to make sure that they can sell books. Which one would you choose? It is better to have more opportunities
Fei said that, to be honest, for the publisher, there are not so many books that can be profitable. The current publishing industry relies on a handful of books that sell and sell, to fill the deficit of books that cannot be sold. In this state, you have to take responsibility for the book that can’t be sold out to the end, and it is too strong for people
(https://twitter.com/HizenHumitoshi).
Compared with individual creators, publishers, as companies, seem to be large and powerful, so they are often misleading. But in the ocean of business, even the top publishers are not big companies compared to other industries. Japan’s largest publisher, Kodansha, has only 932 full-time employees, less than a third of what you call a “small break” bilibili. The number of employees in Shueisha is 757, about one quarter of the B station. Even the quarter-B station of the 708-person primary school building is not enough
Large-scale comprehensive publishing houses are still the same, and publishers specializing in specific fields can be described by “small enterprises”. Among the publishers that readers may be familiar with, the number of employees in Shuangyeshe is 164, 135 in Akita Bookstore, 120 in Bamboo Study, 101 in Baiquan, 83 in Hayakawa, 60 in Fangwen, and 51 in Tokyo Chuangyuan. WANIMAGAZINE 50 people, 45 teenagers pictorials, the official staff of Fuxin News Agency only 15 people, is already a small workshop level
According to a survey released by Imperial Data Bank in 2016, more than three-quarters of the publishers had a total turnover of less than 1 billion yen in FY2015
(https://www.tdb.co.jp/report/watching/press/p161106.html).
And these small and medium-sized enterprises not only have to undertake the planning, editing, typesetting, review and publicity marketing of books (there are also publishers outsourcing these services to other companies or freelancers), but also to afford the design, Printing, binding, circulation and other expenses and communication with these companies and individuals are all real costs. The sales of a book are not only important for writers, but for publishers, it can also be said that it is a matter of life and death
As for letting the publisher return the copyright to the author, this looks really beautiful. But even if it does, how many writers will choose to write the work that has been stamped with the “can’t sell” seal, rather than going to start a new work that is more likely to be sold? Unlike the same-person writers who only regard creation as an interest, the source of income for professional writers is only the manuscript fee (most of the novelists do not have a continuous fee), royalties, work and old age. If every writer is required to “take responsibility” to complete a work that cannot be sold, I am afraid that the newspaper will not leave another page in addition to the news that the writer starved to death