Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Is the Writer Omnipotent?
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The next day.
The two arrived in Bucheon right at lunchtime.
“Were they an office worker?”
“Yes, that’s what they said. They only had time during lunch.”
“I figured they were a writer since it was Bucheon.”
Bucheon had been home to various genre publishers since the days of physical books.
The writers’ offices, famously called Scholar Village, were located there too.
Representative Kwon had assumed it was an established author just from hearing Bucheon.
But an office job?
It was a bit surprising.
“We’re meeting at a café, right?”
“Yes, over there.”
Both of them were familiar with the area, having worked at publishers in Bucheon before.
The old Bukbu Station road had become a square, making it easy to get around.
Spotting the café, the two walked over and stepped inside, scanning the room.
That’s when they noticed a man sitting there.
“That’s probably him. Matches the description they gave.”
“Do you recognize the face?”
“First time seeing him.”
Team Leader Yang Jong-woo knew most established writers on sight.
If it was a first-timer, they probably weren’t one yet.
Of course, he couldn’t say for sure.
Representative Kwon Tae-sik took the lead and approached the man.
“Excuse me... are you Writer Jeong Tae-seong?”
“Yes, that’s me. You’re from YK Books?”
“Yes. It’s an honor to meet you. I’m YK Books CEO Kwon Tae-sik.”
“I’m Yang Jong-woo, the editorial team leader at YK Books.”
“I’m Jeong Tae-seong. I currently work at a design firm.”
After exchanging business cards, the three sat down.
“I really enjoyed *Return of the SSS-Class Hunter*.”
“Thank you.”
“Reading it, I could feel the depth, so I naturally assumed you were an established writer. Have you written before?”
“I dabbled a bit, but this is my first genre novel.”
“Pure literature, then...?”
“Something like that.”
It was astonishing.
Cases of pure literature writers switching to genre fiction weren’t unheard of.
But most of them failed.
The reason was simple.
The two forms of fiction pursued different goals.
Pure literature writers often failed to grasp the essence of genre fiction, which aimed solely for entertainment.
“I’m sorry you came all this way, but my lunch break is short.”
“Oh! Shall we get straight to business, then?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve met with several publishers, so you probably have a sense of the market contract terms.”
“Most offered 6 to 4 splits.”
“The publishers aren’t colluding to match terms, but that split is necessary for smooth operations.”
“I understand. But I doubt all publishers offer the same conditions.”
He’d hit the nail on the head.
Kwon could sense this writer was different from the others.
“Ahem, of course. Each publisher has a limited number of banner slots on platforms. Do you know about that?”
“I didn’t know the details, but I figured as much. I noticed different publishers had varying numbers of works featured on banners. So, I took it to mean differences in sales power.”
“Exactly. What YK Books can offer is superior sales power over other publishers. If you sign with us, we’ll feature your work on Grape Books’ main banner.”
Grape Books.
It was the largest platform in the genre market right now.
Its main banner was fiercely competitive.
Getting a spot there was a huge perk.
YK Books could only secure it for about three works a month.
But Tae-seong showed no reaction.
Watching him sip his coffee leisurely, Representative Kwon had a gut feeling.
‘They’ve made a similar offer elsewhere.’
More than that, the writer before him, Jeong Tae-seong, didn’t seem like an easy mark.
‘Feels like he’s negotiated countless contracts. Is he really a newbie?’
Representative Kwon was thrown off by Tae-seong’s composure.
As he started losing ground from the outset, a faint smile tugged at Jeong Tae-seong’s lips.
‘Easy.’
Having lived 999 lives, Jeong Tae-seong had negotiated countless deals.
No matter how seasoned Kwon Tae-sik was in the industry, he was still a novice compared to him.
And it wasn’t just Kwon.
Every publisher rep he’d met before had been stripped bare, exposed down to their limits, before leaving.
This time was no different.
In the end, Kwon could only wrap up the meeting after offering his absolute best terms.
* * *
The basic terms were similar across the board.
None stood out as exceptional.
The main differences were in the advance payments.
They were framed as signing bonuses but deducted from future royalties—essentially prepaid sums.
‘I don’t really need an advance.’
He wouldn’t turn it down if offered, but it wasn’t a deal-breaker.
It was like an interest-free loan, nothing more.
‘Only about three publishers can guarantee the most exposure on major platforms.’
YK Books.
William Publishing.
Cheonun Publishing.
Those three dominated main banner spots.
‘And among them, the one who definitively promised a main banner spot was...’
YK Books.
Grape Books held the biggest market share in genre novels.
He didn’t know exact sales figures, but the view counts showed a clear gap.
‘If it gets featured on their main banner, exposure is guaranteed.’
It was his first child, so to speak.
He wanted as many people as possible to see it.
Tae-seong checked the forum and his posted novel.
‘The latest chapter’s views are over 20,000.’
An impressive number.
Considering it hadn’t even hit 20 chapters yet, it was phenomenal.
Recommendations were over 2,000.
Comments hovered around 300 per chapter.
His inbox blinked daily.
New messages incoming.
Mostly from publishers.
Some were reader cheers.
And at the end, system messages from supporters.
He was grateful for all of it.
That his debut work got this kind of response.
‘I want to show it to even more people.’
Time to decide.
* * *
He signed a formal contract with YK Books.
CEO Kwon Tae-sik came in person with the contract.
“We won’t let you regret choosing us.”
“I like transparency. No funny business, please.”
His blunt tone momentarily flustered Kwon Tae-sik.
But the veteran composed himself and nodded.
“Of course.”
“Can I see the contract?”
“Yes.”
Opening the navy blue folder Kwon handed over revealed two sheets.
The content was straightforward.
It delegated publishing rights for the work *Return of the SSS-Class Hunter*.
“Let’s delete the automatic renewal clause here.”
“Yes, understood.”
No matter the deal, avoiding automatic renewals was best.
After striking that, he read through again.
“Are secondary copyrights bundled in too?”
Secondary copyrights.
They covered all derivative rights from a single piece of content.
For instance, if *Return of the SSS-Class Hunter* came out as a novel, turning it into a webtoon, anime, comic, and so on made those secondary copyrights.
The scope was broad, including games or merchandise like figures.
Lately, with secondary rights growing in value, publishers often bundled them from the start.
“It makes OSMU easier on our end...”
“Hm. Let’s remove the wording and add a clause for prior negotiation.”
Secondary copyrights were the hottest topic these days.
Kwon flinched at the demand to exclude them.
“Impossible?”
He looked ready to stand up and walk out.
In the end, Kwon had no choice but to cross it out with his pen.
“As long as there are no issues with YK Books, we’ll of course contract secondary rights with you too. Think of it as a safety net. I’d appreciate that.”
“Yes, of course.”
Tae-seong played hardball like a pro.
“No other changes needed. Let’s sign like this.”
“Yes. Then please fill in your personal info and sign here.”
As Tae-seong signed, a smile spread across Kwon’s face.
‘Finally!’
Lately, writer Jeong Tae-seong was the hottest topic in publishing.
Countless publishers—no, every publisher—wanted to sign him.
It wasn’t just the strong start anymore.
The writing stabilized, plots tightened, characters gained personality.
Even without fancy prose, it was entertaining.
And it only got better with more chapters.
‘We have to snag a writer like this.’
He’d met many authors over a decade-plus as an editor.
But few like Jeong Tae-seong.
A genius.
Letting him slip would mean missing out on massive talent.
That’s why every publisher threw big money at him.
And in the end, they’d won.
“Here you go.”
“We won’t let you regret choosing us.”
“Looking forward to working with you.”
Jeong Tae-seong chose YK Books as his first publisher.
“Oh, by the way, how much of the manuscript...?”
“About 5,000 manuscript sheets.”
“Pardon?”
CEO Kwon’s jaw dropped.