Writing Web Novels In America-Chapter 213 - 211: Change of Mindset (4k)

Flushing, in the office.

Wang Jian had just hung up the phone with Stephen King.

He then let out a long sigh.

Although due to special circumstances, he had already learned about the Writers Association’s announcement through the media.

Still, the necessary procedures had to be followed.

As the referrer, Stephen King was calling to inquire whether he was willing to join the Writers Association.

Of course, he also casually mentioned the time of the next meeting and the news about Wang Jian’s induction ceremony.

"$50,000 for the initial membership fee, $20,000 for the annual fee, must be the highest fees among these types of associations, right?"

Wang Jian took a sip of coffee and muttered to himself, "No wonder there are fewer than 200 official members in the Writers Association."

Immediately after, he shook his head.

"But the influence of these people is no match for that of the Detective Writers Association, or the Realist Writers Association."

Thus, rejecting this association’s invitation would be akin to offending the strongest forces in the literary world of the United States, and even the entire Western world.

Especially since they had already made an announcement.

"Has any writer ever declined an invitation from this association?"

Wang Jian sipped his coffee while whispering to himself.

It wasn’t that he was distressed about spending tens of thousands of dollars (okay, maybe a little...),

but the persona the Writers Association had created for themselves was even more exaggerated than the one Goldman Sachs had created for its IPO.

The critical point was, Goldman Sachs knew their persona was fake.

But the Writers Association believed theirs was real!

That was pretty awkward...

"I’m not Hugo who had to deal with political and business powerhouses for the publication issues of ’Notre-Dame de Paris’!"

Wang Jian casually clicked on his mouse and entered Twitter.

He saw the topic "Wang Jian, going public for literature" already ranking high on the leaderboard.

"Wang," Tom pushed open the office door and handed him a fax, "this is from Time Magazine."

"They want to conduct an interview with you about your literary dreams."

"Holy shit!" Wang Jian cursed softly.

He was the largest shareholder of Twitter, a billionaire on paper!

"Why do the media dig into the specific fortunes of other ’Technology Elites’,"

"And yet when it comes to me, the media’s focus is so strange!"

"Uh..." Tom hesitated for a moment, picked up the remote control, and turned on the TV in the office.

"I also think this popularity is a bit abnormal. After all, writers are not Hollywood stars."

He switched through the TV channels, continuing, "I asked around a bit through an insider."

"Which insider?" Wang Jian casually asked.

"It was the CBS project manager for ’Prison Break,’" Tom looked up at Wang Jian, "because you rarely appear on set, you don’t know him."

"Okay..." Wang Jian took a sip of coffee, trying to hide his embarrassed expression.

"What did he say?"

"Some insider details about the television industry," Tom paused for a moment and slowly began, "as the strongest three major networks, it’s an unwritten rule not to attack each other."

"But NBC blatantly violated this rule during a live broadcast."

"Though it didn’t have a particularly big impact, crossing the line is crossing the line."

"However, since Viacom Group was behind them, NBC holds a strong position among the three major networks."

"Under pressure, ABC did not choose to retaliate immediately, but instead, they handled the discrimination crisis with some tactics."

"But the executives at ABC were very dissatisfied with NBC’s actions."

"What does this have to do with me or with this matter?" Wang Jian stared at Tom, looking completely bewildered.

"NBC might have realized this and thus, tried to reach out by aligning with ABC in generating publicity," Tom gestured ’don’t rush’ and continued.

"However, for some reason, the major shareholder communications that should have taken place never occurred."

"From the Viacom Group’s side, there was no action at all."

"So, ABC continued to stir the current hot issues to express their dissatisfaction."

"As for CBS..." Tom shrugged and said with a smile, "They might also face being acquired by the Viacom Group."

"Now, the executives at CBS are very eager for ABC and NBC to engage in a major media battle."

This...

Is this the reason why I’m regularly featured in the news on the three major networks?

"Fuck, what if NBC never apologizes? Will this matter just drag on indefinitely?"

"Or the impact may continue to expand, attracting personal attention from media mogul Redstone," Tom shrugged helplessly and continued, "Or, we’ll just have to wait for the next highly influential news event to arise."

"Damn!" Wang Jian looked up at the TV screen.

By then, my writer image will have deeply rooted itself in the hearts of the general American public!

For an ordinary writer, this would be a dream come true.

Yet I am a billionaire, supposed to be surrounded by sunshine, beaches, and beautiful women!

"What do you think," Wang Jian pointed at the TV screen, "would happen if this persona collapsed?"

"Continuing this exposure, Wang, you will be the Michael Jackson of literature lovers’ hearts."

Tom switched to a serious expression and continued, "Fans of folk and rap music might not like Michael Jackson’s work."

"But they must admit that among singers, Michael Jackson had the highest level of recognition!"

"Just last year, the extent of smearing Michael Jackson over issues like race and children was something you also understand."

"Excluding some power plays, many music lovers participated spontaneously."

"Though the number of literature lovers is far less than those who listen to pop music..."

"However, most literature lovers like to write something..."

"Even a significant portion of gossip journalists are actually not so interested in music."

"They smear Michael Jackson’s image just for exposure."

"But then..." Tom said with a wry smile, "How many journalists don’t proclaim themselves as writers of text?"

So, am I being slowly roasted on a grill?

"James..." Wang Jian’s mouth trembled as he spoke bitterly, "Is this what he meant by win-win?"

He was about to pick up the phone to call the other party to quickly settle this matter.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, the office phone rang.

"Mr. Wang, there’s an external call for you," the sweet voice of the company receptionist came through Wang Jian’s ear.

"The caller claims to be the founder of Yahoo, Mr. Jerry Yang."

Hmm?

I don’t recall having any connections with this distinguished Yahoo founder.

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Put him through."

"Hello, I’m Jerry Yang." A gentle male voice came from the phone, "Are you Wang Jian, one of the founders of Twitter?"

"Hello, Mr. Yang," Wang Jian asked curiously, "May I know what this call is about?"

"Hehe, I just returned from vacationing on a private island and just heard about Twitter going public."

Yang Zhiyuan let out a faint laugh, "As a fellow Chinese, and having achieved financial independence early on due to the internet."

"I’m just a bit curious about Mr. Wang."

How curious!

The most important thing for him right now was to quickly get in touch with James and get rid of this inexplicable persona.

Otherwise, Yang Zhiyuan could buy a private island and go on vacation.

While he could only invest his money and energy into the endless literary career.

"Wang Jian, that’s a typical Chinese name," Yang Zhiyuan continued, "Why don’t you adopt an English name? That would help you integrate better into mainstream United States society."

Uh...

Wang Jian didn’t know how to answer this question.

He couldn’t very well say that when he first traveled through time, he was so poor that he almost starved, and he hadn’t thought about it at all.

By the time he made his first fortune with "I’m a Great Mage," it was inconvenient to change his name.

After all, an author’s name can attract some loyal readers.

In a sense, it is quite valuable.

"You remind me of Mr. Wang An," Yang Zhiyuan sighed on the other end, "He also refused to use an English name and even named his company after his own."

"As an entrepreneur, inventor, and pioneer in the computer industry, he managed to make the mainstream United States adapt to him."

Yang Zhiyuan’s voice grew somber, "Since then, no Chinese person has achieved that success on American soil."

"I also greatly respect Mr. Wang An," Wang Jian said, glancing at his watch as he spoke on the phone.

If it weren’t impolite to just hang up, he really didn’t have time for this billionaire on the other end.

"By the way, Wang," Yang Zhiyuan continued, "when are you coming to Silicon Valley? I’ll introduce you to a charity association."

A charity association?

Another expense?

Wang Jian’s brain began to search for a reason to decline.

But Yang Zhiyuan continued, "As Asians, we are a minority group in the United States."

"And because of our racial characteristics, we don’t have much of a powerful backing here."

"So, Wang, participate more in some charitable activities."

"We need to use a small amount of money to secure a strong base."

"That way, we won’t find ourselves in a highly unfavorable situation one day due to our skin color."

"Like the time America Online wanted to acquire Yahoo."

Huh?

Wang Jian puzzledly took a sip of his coffee, "I’ve never heard of that!"

He was about to ask for details.

Other things, he could ignore.

But he was very concerned about being robbed of his wealth.

However, before he could ask, Yang Zhiyuan on the other end suddenly had to go.

"Wang, here’s my contact information," he rushed, "Remember to contact me when you come to Silicon Valley."

This...

You tell me, I’m about to lose wealth and then you just hang up?

"Shit!" Wang Jian cursed under his breath, "I won’t be able to sleep tonight until I clear this up."

He didn’t put down the handset; instead, he directly called Lehman.

"Lehman, what happened between America Online and Yahoo?"

"Goldman Sachs should also be one of the shareholders of Yahoo, right?"

"Oh, you’re talking about America Online," Lehman was startled before responding.

"Before, America Online wanted to acquire Yang Zhiyuan’s shares in Yahoo."

"However, later, with the support of Yahoo’s tech staff and some other factors, this plan was vetoed by Yahoo’s main investors."

"External factors," Wang Jian was somewhat dissatisfied, "What does that specifically refer to?"

"The Stanford University Mutual Aid Society," Lehman replied without hiding anything, "It’s a semi-charitable organization that funds Stanford students who excel academically but can’t afford the tuition."

"Most of its funded students are from the computer science department."

"And due to the relationship between Stanford and Silicon Valley, it’s also called the cradle of Silicon Valley’s grassroots workers."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Jian slowly sipped his coffee.

So, there was such a story before Yahoo went public.

"Be prepared for danger in times of safety, be prepared for danger in times of safety," Wang Jian muttered to himself, assessing his own situation.

Yang Zhiyuan graduated from Stanford University and started a business in Silicon Valley, barely linking him to this organization.

But what about himself?

He hadn’t even attended community college and had just run off to Silicon Valley to donate to some charity organizations.

And then, to hope that at some point, these organizations would support him just like they supported Yang Zhiyuan?

Wang Jian shook his head and said, "Stop dreaming!"

It’s important to know that not long ago, even Lehman, with whom he had a fairly pleasant collaboration, betrayed him over interests.

And the reputation of Stanford-linked companies wasn’t much better than that of Wall Street.

Would they stand up for an "outsider" when it mattered?

Please, he wasn’t a graduate of Stanford University nor was he Jewish.

So, which group has influence and also sees him as one of their own?

"Wang, the famous author Mr. Dan Brown has announced that to support the Writers Association, he will release his latest novel ’Angels & Demons’ on the website," Tom said with a smile as he sat in a chair reading the newspaper, having noticed Wang Jian was busy making phone calls.

"Dan Brown, the writers community?" Wang Jian murmured to himself, a flash of insight crossing his mind.

Isn’t this his very base?

...

Meanwhile, in the office of the Los Angeles Screenwriters Association.

Many screenwriters were feeling disheartened as the impact of their strike weakened.

"Turn off the TV," a young screenwriter mumbled, "That noise is just annoying!"

"Look at the unity among top writers, then look at ours."

"Actually," another writer pondered, "Many of these top writers have worked as screenwriters."

"Like Stephen King, George Martin, and others."

"Should we..." he looked around at everyone present, leaving his sentence unfinished.

"But this Wang, he’s never been a screenwriter. If we associate ourselves too closely with him, isn’t it a bit inappropriate?" someone questioned.

"Who says he’s never been a screenwriter? Look at the news; it’s clear that Wang is the screenwriter for the second episode of ’Anomalies.’"

"But what if the second episode of ’Anomalies’ is terrible? People will question the professional level of the Screenwriters Association."

The most prestigious screenwriter glanced at everyone and spoke after a moment, "We’ll see tomorrow how the second episode of ’Anomalies’ turns out."

"If it’s above standard, then we can also announce that this Asian writer is a senior member of the Screenwriters Association."

"Let’s just hope," the senior screenwriter sighed, "that this riding of coattails can focus public attention on the screenwriter’s strike!"

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