1994: I Became a Literary Master in America

Chapter 14 Literary Agent

Xu Shengjie's alcohol tolerance is not very high.

He only drank a third of the 700ml Chivas Regal before collapsing onto the sofa like a little idiot.

Zhang Ping'an finished the rest of the wine, then carried him to the bed in the bedroom, covered him with a blanket, left a glass of water on the bedside table, and then quietly left.

Outside the building, Kenny Zhang sat in his car.

"How's that kid doing?"

"It's alright, but his alcohol tolerance is too low."

"Didn't they say anything?"

"No, he just drank and then told me the story he's currently writing."

Dad, you know what, this sounds quite interesting. I feel like it would be great as a TV series.

I never expected this kid to have such skills. I always thought he was just a reckless brute, but he's actually quite talented. Interesting.

"What story?"

"A story about a young girl exorcist fighting vampires."

"Ha, Americans love this stuff. If you actually made him write something like 'The Legend of the Swordsmen of Shu Mountain,' Americans probably wouldn't understand it. A female exorcist... Justin, do you think this kid's got a thing for women?"

"Isn't that normal? 19 years old, the age when young people are in love."

Zhang Ping'an picked up the teacup next to Kenny Zhang and took a big gulp.

"Are we just going to abandon that Chinese woman?"

"Uncle Hua from Mott Street has spoken up, so we have to give him face."

Besides, that woman is smart; she hasn't called the police for so long, which means she doesn't want to cause trouble. Let's just leave it at that! Besides, with James Huang protecting him, there shouldn't be any major problems. The matter with Li the Cripple is over.

As Kenny Zhang spoke, he took out a box of Marlboro cigarettes and lit one.

"Old Ding was worried he'd go astray, but now it seems this kid has some talent, so we don't need to worry about him anymore..."

That's settled then. Let's deal with Uncle Atu's matter first, and then we'll talk about other things.

"good!"

Zhang Pingan got out of the car and walked towards the pickup truck on the side of the road.

Kenny Zhang started the car, drove onto the highway, and sped off towards Mott Street.

……

The next day, Xu Shengjie woke up from his hangover.

It feels pretty good!

He remembered meeting Zhang Ping'an last night and having a drink with him.

He knew exactly what he had said and what he had done.

The drinking session seemed to have made him feel much more relaxed. After taking a shower, he felt exceptionally energetic, and his thoughts became much clearer. So at home, he wrote another chapter and then took the electric typewriter to study it.

This thing is definitely not convenient to use.

At first, I only typed three or four hundred words per hour.

But gradually, as he became more familiar with the machine, his speed increased, reaching one or two thousand words per hour, and the speed was still increasing. With this typewriter and word processor, although not as convenient as a computer, it was much easier. At least, he could process text according to the format required for publishing house submissions.

Have David send over some more printing paper later!

A few days later, he attended Atubo's funeral.

Many people attended the funeral, including some Chinatown elders who rarely make public appearances.

Mr. Yin was also there, but he didn't talk to Xu Shengjie. Instead, he chatted with the elders, laughing and talking, seemingly discussing something. However, none of this concerned Xu Shengjie. He simply attended the funeral in silence, and after everyone else had left, he placed a bouquet of flowers in front of the tombstone, poured a bottle of wine, and then turned and left.

Uncle Atu is gone, but his story is not over!

……

Back at his residence, Xu Shengjie parked his car.

"Jeff, why are you only just getting back?"

On the steps of the apartment building sat a Black man wearing a baseball cap askew.

It's Tupak!

I haven't heard from him since he left that day.

Xu Shengjie was somewhat surprised by their sudden appearance.

"Amaru, what brings you here?"

"No one answered the phone, so I had to come over... Bro, what are you up to?"

"Uncle Tu from Canal Street is gone... You should remember him. He helped people write letters at the Canal Street subway station entrance, and he even bought us sodas back then."

"Oh, that little old man? I remember now! He..."

"He suffered a heart attack, but passed away peacefully without suffering. Today is his funeral, and I just came back from Greenwood Cemetery."

Xu Shengjie led Tupaike upstairs and back to their residence.

The living room was a bit messy. The sofa that used to be placed in the middle of the room had been removed and replaced with a huge worktable.

An electric typewriter and a word processor were placed on the table.

There were also notebooks and manuscript papers lying haphazardly, making the place look particularly messy.

"Bro, is this a war? It's all so chaotic!"

"I've been writing a book lately, so... By the way, how's BIG's new album?"

"Very fierce!"

Tupac plopped down in a chair, took the Coke Xu Shengjie handed him, and took a big gulp.

"I told you long ago, this guy is a genius!"

I'm telling you, he's going to be famous, and very famous at that.

As he spoke, he took out a box of special cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to Xu Shengjie.

Xu Shengjie snatched it away, crumpled it up, and threw it into the trash can. "Amaru, you can do whatever you want outside, but don't throw this thing in front of me. You know, this thing is taboo for Chinese people."

"OK, OK, you're the boss!"

Tupac didn't seem to care and chuckled as he spoke.

He took a notebook out of his pocket, tore off a page, and handed it to Xu Shengjie.

"What is this?"

"Contact information for literary agents."

He saw a box of cigarettes lying on the table, and without saying a word, he took one out and lit it.

"Bro, it took me a lot of effort to find this."

You know, our nigger circle and the literary circle don't really overlap. I only figured out the ins and outs by contacting Matteo, the editor-in-chief of *The Source*. Listen, bro, if you want to establish yourself in this circle, a top-notch literary agent is essential. I asked around for agents, and finally found Elaine.

"Who?"

"Elaine Coster, New York's most powerful queen of business fiction today."

never heard of that!

But that's normal.

Neither Xu Shengjie nor the original owner had much contact with the American publishing industry, let alone knew anything about its inner workings.

Tupac scratched his head and then launched into a long explanation of the information he had recently gathered.

In 1994 New York, there were five major agents, three major agencies, and some second-rate agencies.

Tupac didn't even care about third-rate stuff.

"Morton L. Janklow, one of the top agents."

At the beginning of the year, he shocked the American publishing industry by securing the rights to Pope John Paul II's *Crossing the Threshold of Hope* with a $1000 advance. He had previously represented works by Nixon, Carter, and Barbara Taylor. However, he primarily represented works by political and religious leaders—something you wouldn't normally associate with.

Well said, but don't say it again!

Xu Shengjie looked at Tupaike with a wry smile. "You really dare to think this way. Is this the kind of agent that someone like him, a nobody, can even contact?"

"Lynn Nesbit is Morton's partner and leads high-end literary and non-fiction projects."

"Next!"

Andrew Wylie owns his own agency.

He poached a well-known author with a large upfront payment; his nickname is "aka Literary Shark."

Xu Shengjie paused for a moment, then said, "Next!"

"Famous writer"? That one word alone sealed Xu Shengjie's fate.

Georges Borchardt, a senior agent, has represented Charles de Gaulle and Jane Fonda.

However, the focus now is on bringing in European authors, so…”

"So, it's just Elaine?"

"Don't underestimate her gender. This woman... Matteo said that since the 90s, she has continuously represented and published several best-selling books with sales exceeding one million copies. She is most skilled at handling female-themed and popular novels."

She also has her own agency, which represents authors like Daniel Steele.

I think she's the perfect author for you... and I heard from Matteo that advance payments are very common in the publishing industry these days. If Elaine takes a liking to your work, you'll at least get an advance payment, which will make things easier for you."

It seems that Morton's $1000 million advance payment has already stirred up the American publishing market.

"Elaine, can you sign me?"

"this……"

Tupac scratched his head, a sheepish smile on his face.

"That depends on your skills, brother."

Matteo has some fame in the rap world, but in cultural circles, he's nobody.

To put it bluntly, The Source is just a hip-hop magazine. Although Matteo is the editor-in-chief and can act like a cultured person in front of rappers, no one in the cultural or publishing circles cares about a nobody like him.

Even Tupac is the same.

Ultimately, they are just operating within a small circle with a limited audience, and cannot be considered part of mainstream culture.

Two thousand years later, Eminem, a white man, dominated the rap scene, truly breaking into the mainstream cultural sphere.

But before that...