Surviving as a Writer in the British Empire

Hero(1)

He ran impatiently at Mr. Miller.

Yes, it is ‘without patience’.

His behavior alone was roughly predictable.

From noble mtl dot com

The problem is that such a person is looking for me.

When I flinched, Mr. Miller made eye contact with me, smiling even as he was grabbed by the collar and shaking. Then he pointed at George Nums with his chin.

Ah, this is his expression when he is joking around.

In another sense, it also meant that it was that close, so you could trust it.

well, if so

I moved lightly and went behind him, who was shaking Mr. Miller in his arms.

“Why are you not talking? Bring that writer, Hanslo Jin, right away! Didn’t I tell you before!”

“Hey, excuse me.”

“huh? ah, i’m sorry It was a little disturbing. But I have something to say to this friend…”

“Oh, it’s not like that.”

I said, unable to contain my laughter.

“I am Hanslo Jin.”

“uh? Uh… uh, uh?”

“Yes, I am.”

it’s me

***

George Nums.

He is not very famous in modern Korea, but in this era, he can be called a ‘magazine king’ comparable to the American newspaper king Hearst.

Creator of magazines that will rock London, starting with Strand Magazine, Wide World Magazine, Westminster Gazette and Country Life.

A media mogul who specializes in creating and selling magazines on topics desired by the mass market.

Well, if that’s the reason that person is looking for me…

“Please help me!! If this continues, our Strand Magazine will be closed!!”

What is it, Sherlock Holmes tinkering.

As far as I remember, the death of Sherlock Holmes was the final event in 1894.

However, Arthur Conan Doyle, a nobleman, was obsessed with something and killed Sherlock faster than the original history.

I don’t know what the cause is, but anyway, for that reason, Strand Magazine’s sales fell as it was in its original history… no, more than that, and from the point of view of a company whose reason for existence is profit, this was a serious situation that could not be tolerated.

Well, even so, I think the closure is a bit exaggerated.

That will be too.

“Aren’t the other writers who are currently publishing serials also great?”

“Of course there are good people.”

At that, I nodded.

of course. Authors who are currently serializing, as far as I know, Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Morrison, Charles Grant Allen, etc.

Although not as good as Sherlock Holmes, they are highly acclaimed writers.

“But I just don’t want that much.”

“It’s just that.”

“I admit that it is a good piece of literature. But those writers don’t write as popular works as Sherlock Holmes or you, Hanslo Jean!”

In other words, it doesn’t make money!

He said so and blank! and hit his head on the table.

No, but Kipling wouldn’t be like that.

Well, he’s a little too old, he’s an imperialist, and he’s an idiot, making up words like ‘white man’s duty’, but… Wasn’t that person, the white man’s zeitgeist that this era wanted? So sales aren’t bad either.

But George Nums gritted his teeth.

“That person is in America now.”

“ah.”

“I told you to come back to England and do a series, so don’t listen! So far, it’s a shame that it’s a monthly magazine, and it’s a mess. How well can a manuscript from across the Atlantic understand the public, huh?!”

Then there is nothing you can do

I couldn’t help but nod my head involuntarily.

Some people think that the public’s taste is something that doesn’t change, but it’s the public’s direction that changes in an instant even within a month.

Besides, the UK and the US at this time are similar but quite different societies.

In that sense, the reason why I was popular in London after being in Ashfield was because I was attacking childish innocence and cider pass, which can be said to be universally valid.

“so.”

I exchanged glances with Mr. Miller for a moment. When he nodded, I asked without hesitation.

“Do you want me to write a new book to replace Sherlock Holmes?”

“Yes. Don’t be afraid to give money.”

Saying so, George Nums recited the amount he had in mind.

Hmmm, it’s definitely an amount he can proudly say.

…If only I hadn’t rolled the Foundation yet.

“It’s a bit lacking.”

“Eh, hmm?!”

I said with a grin.

“As you said, it’s a magazine crisis, isn’t it? Even though it’s just one piece, it’s still published in a competing magazine, so don’t I need a ‘justice’ to save the other side? Please add some more.”

“No, the writer could serialize it here and there.”

“anyway! I don’t really want to force myself.”

There is an upper limit to the amount of money that can come out anyway, such as royalties, so what I wanted was rather this.

“So, how about taking on a sponsor there?”

At my words, he paused for a moment, then put his finger to his chin for a moment. After thinking about it for a while.

“······indeed.”

George Nuels twisted his mouth. Maybe it’s because he’s a businessman called the magazine king, so he’s quick-witted.

“Would you do charity according to charity, and receive tax cuts as tax cuts?”

There are many advantages that Nux’s company can get from entering this side’s sponsorship.

First of all, tax benefits.

Right now, my royalties are earning quite a bit, and as there is no such thing as freelance tax cuts at this time, the income tax I pay is rather high.

And now, even in England, there is a system that reduces taxes by investing in charitable foundations.

If this is the case, the answer is no different. If it’s a tax you already pay, it’s better to use it as little as possible and meaningfully.

This alone is considerable, but if I had only wanted this much, I would not have made this offer.

It was for more indirect reasons that I wanted to bring him into this business.

First of all, this era. The power of networking and connections is so great that the term cartel is laughable.

Even the lowest-ranking servant couldn’t work without a letter of recommendation, so what about the upper class?

Of course, I have a strong guardian named Mr. Miller, but this type of business is bound to become stronger as the connections are entangled like a spider’s web.

In addition, George Nums is a self-made man, but since his father was also an Anglican minister, he could expect another route of connections with Mr. Miller, who was an immigrant to the United States.

Above all, the symbolism of being a foundation entangled with two renowned publishers cannot be ignored.

In a business like this, a justification is important enough to determine the direction of the business.

If possible, I would like to receive support as a guardian of the royal family, but… wouldn’t that be a bit excessive? No matter how much he is, he probably doesn’t have enough personal connections to attract the royal family.

Anyway, it was like attracting a big hand in the media world, so there were many benefits for me.

Besides, if this is something that only benefits me… it’s not.

George Nums, too, can receive tax cuts, wash images, and as a pioneer of public content, it will take the justification of investing for the future of the public, so it will never be a bad business.

“First of all, it feels like this. How about this? I think it will be of great benefit to Mr. Nuels.”

“Heh heh, you are good at negotiating. Are you from China by any chance?”

“No, I am from Korea.”

“Hmm, I think I heard it somewhere.”

anyway.

George Nuels looked this way again, then nodded with a satisfied chuckle.

“good! I will.”

“great.”

When I held out my hand, he grabbed it strongly and waved it up and down.

This concludes the contract.

For more details, you can write a contract through your agent later.

But it wasn’t all over. Rather, it should be seen that the real story begins now.

That would be too.

“Now then, shall we talk about which works to publish? As I said before, all I want is fun! It is a work that the public can enjoy. If it’s halfway, I’ll reject even your work.”

“Of course.”

What writer would think to throw a mess below expectations.

At my answer, he turned towards me with an expectant look in his heart.

“So, do you have any stories in mind? Or something… a story I wrote down.”

It’s like a feeling of pressure, as if you see the words ‘Thumping’ behind your back.

This man… As expected, pretending not to be the case, he was terribly anxious.

As if in return for such an appearance, I also spoke strongly.

“No, there is no such thing?”

“What?”

“Has it been talked about now? Of course, I have to think about it from now on.”

It’s not that there aren’t any, but it doesn’t suit the nature of the magazine, or it’s all just fragmented sketches at a rough level.

You can’t go on like that. There are still a lot of questions to be answered, such as whether it is commercially viable, whether the public will like it, and whether it can be serialized for a long time.

“Grunt.”

He seemed to agree with that part as well, swallowing a groan and shaking his head.

“Then, wait a minute.”

I sat down on a chair in the townhouse drawing room, pulled out my notebook, and slowly started thinking.

Let’s see, what I’m going into right now is the patchwork of ＜Sherlock Holmes＞.

And the magazine that I will be serializing, Strand Magazine, has been influenced by ＜Sherlock Holmes＞ since the first serialization, and there are many works that belong to the category of gothic novels, which are relatively adult-oriented, befitting this era.

If that’s the case… writing in a similar genre would appeal to me.

gothic novel.

A novel that deals with ordinary people who are swept away by beings that are difficult for humans to resist, such as Frankenstein’s monster, vampires, and werewolves.

Even so, warriors of reason fully equipped with the Christian moral code to resist them.

Looking for something similar in modern times, would it be a genre like ＜Berserk＞ or ＜Hell’sing＞? No, at this time, it would be close to ＜Dracula＞.

‘then.’

Try combining the materials in your head here and there.

good. If you want to patch it up like this and put settings suitable for serialization there…

From noble mtl dot com

When I woke up, the top of my notebook was dense. Rather than organized, it was a wig made by fingers.

OK, I nodded as I looked at my own mind map with everything put together.

“First of all, reasoning will go into the basic base.”

“Guess? Is it a detective story?”

“hahahaha, that’s not it. I’m not good enough to use it professionally…”

Of course, I also like mystery novels like Sherlock Holmes. I also enjoyed reading detective comics like ＜Little Detective Nam Doil＞ and authentic mystery novels like Keigo Nishino.

But have I told you before? It is said that mystery novels do not work in web novels at all, and this is not because of the writers’ abilities, but because the serialization method itself does not fit with mystery novels. So I’ve never written one either.

I don’t even have the confidence to write.

In this situation, publishing a full-fledged mystery story for ＜Strand Magazine＞ is practically a gamble. It is also a gamble with an infinitely high probability of losing.

It’s like going all-in with a pair is nothing short of crazy.

“Instead, you can use reasoning as a seasoning.”

“seasoning?”

I answered with a light smile as I opened my eyes wide and looked at the two people looking at me.

“The subject of this novel is simple. It’s good and bad.”

“Hoo.”

“I see, if you roughly name the genre…”

I glanced at Mr. Miller and grinned.

“It could be a ‘hero’.”