Script Writing System In Modern Family

Chapter 15: Book Publishing (Part 2)

Ryan woke up the next day. The first thing he did was check if there had been a reply to his email, but to his disappointment, no new email was received.
Ryan decided to stop worrying about it. After all, it was just a call. Even if it came to worse, all he had to do was finish three phone calls as soon as possible.
Also, from his last encounter, he knew they went to cycle at around 4:30 pm.
He comes back by 3:45 at the latest he should be able to finish all the book contract stuff in 45 minutes, right?
Hell, there is no guarantee that all the publishers will ask for a Wednesday. Maybe someone might even ask for a Thursday.
The reason Ryan was so worried was that for him, works can be purchased whenever he wants, but once an episode has passed, then it is over. He can never part-take in that episode again.
If he could, then he would probably have no worries in his life. Ryan would just brush one episode that gave him the most points repeatedly. It might get boring, but it's a hard day's work.
Just when Ryan was about to log off his computer and head downstairs, he suddenly received an email from Felony and Mayhem Press.
It stated that they would like to have a chat at the earliest convenience possible to finalize the contract terms.
Ryan couldn't help but smile. God had truly blessed him.
First, a reply from a top book publisher within 24 hours, then when he was worried that the day would be Wednesday, he received an email stating that he could call today.
Thankfully Ryan believed in God. Otherwise, he would have thought someone was pulling strings for him in the dark.
Ryan then headed downstairs to share the good news with his family.
Ryan – "Guess who just received a reply from Mayhem Press."
Nathan – "Oh, what did they say?"
Ryan – "They would like to have a chat at my earliest convenience. They have also given me the contact information of the editor assigned to me. His name is Mark Clarkson."
Nathan – "Good in that case, I will come back early, and then we can talk terms with Mr. Mark Clarkson."
Ryan – "Alright."
Ryan then headed to school like usual after all, the school was vital for someone his age.
He couldn't just drop out of high school because he made some money. If he did that, then he would have no plan B.
Ryan had a typical day at school, except that all the studying he had been doing had finally paid off.
As he attempted his first surprise quiz and scored full marks in it.
Compared to his ongoing life of doing big things like writing movies and TV scripts, scoring full marks in a quiz might sound ordinary, but it brought Ryan tremendous confidence.
All the movies, tv shows, and books couldn't really compare in front of this test, for Ryan might claim that he created all those works in this world, but on the inside, he knew the truth.
He might have worked hard to earn points to purchase the works that granted him the title of a genius, but at the end of the day, they weren't really his own.
At the moment, Ryan received his results. Ryan felt that he could officially let go of any hidden burdens in his heart and could truly proudly call himself a genius.
Ryan – "A genius, I am a genius."
When he said his thoughts aloud, he felt embarrassed as he called himself a genius for doing well on a small surprise quiz.
Ryan – "Not yet. I will only hold this title of a genius if I truly manage to get full in all subjects."
"After all, you know life is just like that. You have to take one step at a time, slowly building confidence over time. How do they say it start small but end on a high."
Alex, by chance, happened to pass by the hallway at that time, and she heard Ryan whisper about how one should slowly build confidence in himself.
This inspired Alex, and she felt she should also apply it to her own life in the future.
Ryan had no clue that Alex had heard him and had become inspired. The only thing Ryan knew was that the system had given him 2,000 points for no reason.
He only found this out on his routine check at the car returning home from school. Ryan asked the system for an explanation, and the overpriced system wanted to charge him 200 points.
Ryan – "You know what? I don't care about the reason. It's not like I lost points for no reason. I much rather suffer from success than give points to the system for useless info."
Ryan then got home, and soon after, his dad arrived as promised. They both sat down at Ryan's desk and dialed the number mentioned in the email.
After dialing the number, Nathan turned the phone's speaker function so that both could listen to the conversation.
It was decided that Nathan would represent Ryan in the deal, and Ryan would write down any questions he might have to ask later in the conversation.
Mark – "Hi, it's Mark Carson speaking. May I know who this is? "
Nathan – "Hi, I am Nathan. I will be representing Ryan Williams in negotiating a publishing deal offer we received."
Mark – "Ryan Williams, let's see ah, the writer of "A Study in Scarlet." I do have to say I really liked the Sherlock Holmes character, and I think so will our readers. "
"By the way, may I know who I am speaking with? I also hope Mr. Ryan Williams is with you on the other side of the phone as his awareness of the terms is critical."
Nathan – "I am Ryan's father, and yes, he is present. "
Ryan – "Hi, I am Ryan. "
Mark – "Father, you say can I know just how old Mr. Ryan is? "
Nathan – "He is 13 currently and will soon be 14 in a couple months."
Mark – "Uh thir.. thirteen years old?"
Ryan – "Yeah, that's right.*
Mark – "Wow, that's just remarkable. I don't even remember what I was doing at his age. "
Nathan – "Can we get on to the contract? "
Mark – "Uh, yes, absolutely. So as mentioned in the contract are initial offer is one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and royalty is not up for negotiation."
Ryan gestured a one through his fingers. Nathan understood and asked, "I know that royalty is not up for negotiation, but we would like to propose a 15 percent royalty if the book sells out a million copies."
Mark – "A million copies, you say that would be incredibly challenging, but I don't mind entertaining your idea. So I will counter offer you 12 percent if a million copies are sold."
Nathan – "I can bring it down to 14 at max."
Mark – "You know what? Fine, as it is a hypothetical situation, I will offer you 13 percent royalty for a million copies sold."
Nathan- "Deal."
Nathan – "Alright, now onto a more serious topic. We want 280,000 dollars as a payout. "
Mark – "I can get it up to 215,000. "
Nathan – "we will reduce our offer to 275,000."
Mark – "Come on, that now how this works. If I increase my offer, you should also appropriately decrease your offer. I offer you 235,000 dollars."
Nathan – "Our final offer is 265,000. Take it or leave it."
Mark – "That is still too high. I liked the book a lot. It has potential, but your son is still a rookie. So here is my final offer 245,00 dollars."
Nathan – "Fine, increase by another 5,000 dollars, and you have yourself a deal."
Mark – "Alright, then it decided a payout of 250,000 dollars split into half."
Nathan – "Next, how do you plan to maker the book, and how many copies will be printed at first?"
Mark – "Will put all our available resources to market the book for a month and print a minimum of 10,000 books in the first week. The rest will depend on how fast the first 10,000 books sell out."
Nathan – "Alright, that's fine with us."
Mark – "Any other questions?"
Ryan – "I have one. How long will it take for the book to be printed and available for sale."
Mark – "Good question Ryan. It will take about three months. I will probably communicate the fixed date with your father later on."
"Any other queries? "
Nathan – "Nope, you can fax over the contract, and I will email it to my lawyer to take a look at it. Upon his approval, Ryan will sign on the dotted lines."
Mark – "Fine works with me."
Like that, Ryan's net worth increased from 380,000 to 630,000 dollars.