Shanda Literature: How to make a writer earn more money

Absrtact: Although Shanda has been in turmoil in recent years, senior management teams have resigned. But the grand literature in the CEO Hou under the leadership, in the network literature has built a day of their own. The first quarter of 2012, Shanda literature revenue 191 million yuan, the year-on-year growth

Although Shanda has been in turmoil in recent years, senior management teams have resigned. But the grand literature in the CEO Hou under the leadership, in the network literature has built a day of their own.

The first quarter of 2012, Shanda literature revenue 191 million yuan, an increase of 38.2%, and the first profit of 3 million yuan. Some investment analysis reports also show that Shanda's revenues are expected to reach 1 billion in 2012.

Now Shanda literature is waiting for the U.S. capital market to improve, timing listed. The company is currently valued at 800 million dollars. If capital markets get better, valuations could rise further.

At the end of December 2012, Hou received an interview with this newspaper. 1 hours of interviews, he passed the grand literature of film and television Dream, which is a grand exploration for many years of the cause.

"We want to get the most creative people together and offer them the best and most valuable service." "In his view, this is to explore the network of literature and film and television production of a road, the future, to be a step by step down."

Intensive industry chain

"21st Century": Shanda literature has been a micro-innovation to promote the company's development. In recent years gradually online publishing, text copyright layout and get good results. Next, which direction will the company go?

Hou: I think that innovation is a stressful company will do things, a lack of survival and development pressure of the company does not have the core power to innovate.

Shanda literature is not just a company to make money, but also a mission to make more writers earn money. This actually creates a certain amount of pressure. In the past, we proved that we are not only a digital publishing company, but also a literature industry chain company. This means that a writer's copyright can be "sold" several times, sold on digital websites, mobile phones, or published online, and can also be turned into a video game copyright.

In line with this, we have expanded our industrial chain over the past four years. Set up a dedicated mobile reading business team, to the mobile internet to sell copyright. An offline publishing team was formed to turn online text into offline publishing. Set up a special film and television game copyright sales team.

Now the network literature user has more than 200 million, has surpassed the electronic commerce crowd. The next question, then, is how the writer can make more money on the basis of the 200 million users.

The future development of Shanda literature is still to be in the Grand group's overall structure plan, borrows the grand resources, we have more opportunities. Shanda Group has a literature, video, games three content platform, Shanda online split into cloud computing, advertising, pay three branches, the entire Grand Group has formed three vertical structure.

"21st century": You have opened the network literature, offline publishing, film and television production of the entire industry chain resources. In the network literature has occupied a stable market share. Shanda literature is now in the transfer from the content to people, but also need to spend a lot of material and manpower to the market scale bigger, especially in the field of film and television expansion. What was the specific plan for 2013?

Hou: 2013, the revenue of Shanda literature is not the most important requirement of Chen and board, even if there is no growth in 2013 years, it is no big deal.

2013, the grand literature is more important is completes the layout. First, firmly grasp the content production, fully serve our writers.

Second, the mobile Internet is our fancy. We will continue to increase our input to the bookstore in the cloud and make it more efficient in distributing content.

Third, for the traditional offline publishing, we will follow the development of their own laws under the line. We will also actively explore how online and offline integration is more appropriate. For example, comics may be the best combination of offline and offline, because everyone looks at comics under the line. Companion one months to issue 6 million copies of comic Magazine, which, selling the most basic is a grand literary novel.

Four, the industrial chain more intensive cultivation. In the past, we sold apples. In the future, can we sell apple juice? For example, hope to leave the film and television, from the game closer to the downstream infiltration of the industrial chain. We invited the world's top writers in 2011 to train writers, to turn novelists into playwrights, and to maximize the value of online literature. In the future, Shanda literature can even set up a screenwriter company to carry out screenwriter, training, brokerage and other business, docking film and television production.

In fact, in this piece, we have done a lot of attempts, initially tasted some sweetness. We recruited more than 1000 students in 2011 and 2012 for screenwriter training. You know, two years can recruit more than 1000 students, tuition is still more expensive, there are some difficulties. This also proves our value from the side.

In the future, the grand literature on the writer's training is closed-end training, will choose 50 to 100 writers, to develop their own selection of good prospects. We are even ready to start the sound competition, select the most performing and vocal talent, adapt our network novel masterpiece. Whether it's a comic or a sound or a screenwriter, it's an important part of our next layout.

"21st century": you have just mentioned the need to let the cloud bookstore better distribute content. In the mobile internet age, the bookstore in the cloud will also be an important export of Shanda literature. How will the cloud bookstore this app's installed capacity, download volume bigger?

Hou: Now many apps do cosmetic work by brushing machines. For the bookstore in the cloud, I request is highly technical, to become a technology-driven products, rather than market-driven, you can use intelligent Referral system, do a good job of data mining.

I never approve of the price cut in the bookstore. The book bookstore in the cloud is either free or keeps a basic price. I don't want to attract a lot of users by cutting prices. Because the content itself is very cheap, and then a substantial price reduction, unfair to the author. And, by cutting prices to get users, it is likely not a loyal user of online literature.

Therefore, in the future, the strategy of the Cloud Bookstore is to be highly invested in the technology, the business model will do further exploration, but it is not easy to reduce prices.

Online literature can produce top-grade works

"21st Century": Shanda literature extends from online reading to offline publishing, which is a relatively successful resource switch. But to the film and television, has not yet made a very successful film and television works, before the speculation of the "ghost blows" is still in production. Some people have analyzed that the imaginary components in network literature are more difficult to adapt to film and television dramas. In your opinion, what is the reason?

Hou: There are no problems with the novels made in the grand literature. In fact, American film and television technology and literature interaction frequently, American directors also consciously, is willing to try those new technologies, to express the imagination of literature, through the combination of technology and literature, often those who have breakthroughs, innovative theme shooting very well, such as "Avatar", "Juvenile fantasy Drifting", "2012" and the Harry Potter series.

China's network literature has been very developed, highly typed, market-oriented, very open, very imaginative, and technology to combine more sophisticated, but also more in line with the contemporary way of thinking. But China's best directors do not have the same themes as they did 20 years ago, without feeling the new opportunities brought about by online literature and technology.

The network literature is exquisite in structure and rich in imagination. In my opinion, the 10 most representative works in network literature are enough to make the greatest film and television productions of China's top directors.

For example, "Dou Breaking the Sky", "spirit" and so can become great works, stories, structures, imagination is undoubtedly world-class. In addition, "Will Night", "Guest", "Silk nocturnal" and so on are world-class works, can make good film works.

"21st century": You judge the existing network literature works can make great film and television works. Where do these judgments come from? Is it from your background in literature or from your contact with the Internet?

Hou: To make this judgment is because I across the network literature and film two lines, based on the information symmetry to make such judgments.

Look at the network literature people do not contact the film and television circle, people who understand film and television often do not read the network novel. And I am just with these two circles, information accumulated more. In addition, there is a question of opportunity. Sometimes, I can see a huge glacier showing a head, sometimes see the fire surging, but outsiders do not see it, this requires a suitable opportunity.

"21st century": you have to understand the network literature, but also contact the film and television circle, which is very busy naturally. How do you reconcile your time, a workaholic?

Hou: For a while, I felt like a workaholic. But later, I have a judge of myself, I am not a particularly intelligent person, but a very strong desire to learn people. I meet different people. Learn a lot from them.

And, I may be more insistent than others, some things, as long as I want to do, then must find a way to make it. In Shanda literature, Chen Tianqiao gave me enough authorization. And I gave my men enough authorization. Sometimes you just have to tell each other a goal and provide a support, and you'll find that the other person can do everything.

My motives are different from my values. From the motive, I am willing to live a more indifferent life, I like reading, chanting, dog and cat, life is a more lazy state. But my values are a more easily compromised person. Although there are many things you do not want to do, but because it is particularly important, so will do. And, only at a particularly extreme time can you see me angry. This makes me look more moderate, and can be more pragmatic, have a strong executive power.

The most important thing is the most difficult to do.

21st Century: What is the key point for the grand literature to pry the film and television industry through the network literature?

Hou: The film industry is about people, not about cold machines. The film industry has an industrial side, but like a scale on a skyscraper, any sign of trouble will make it unbalanced. For people, it is difficult to control one thing through experience, so people's things are the hardest to do.

We have figured out some ways to train people. For people, the first to have a good selection mechanism, to choose a good seedling. Then, give these good seedling to carry on the science, the practical training. We will ask the best producers, directors, writers to do the training. After the training is complete, you have to split into a team, the team should have a leader, need to collaborate, and slowly build is a relatively difficult process. Fortunately, American dramas, Korean dramas, and even Taiwanese dramas have a good experience to learn from.

21st Century: What changes will the innovation model bring to the future literature and film industry?

HOU: Any business model is built on the basis of practice, not written in PPT. Looking back, the first two transformations of Shanda's literature have opened a new business model. The first is a free transfer to the fees, and the second is a digital publishing company transformed into a full copyright company. Whether writers, sound, writers or cartoonists are within our service range, our UGC model, our channel, our team is completely open.

We want to get the most creative people together and offer them the best and most valuable service.

The business model used to be that the longer the better, the more money is made. But some people are not suitable for writing long text, but suitable for writing 100,000 words. Shanda literature has so many writers, the most imaginative people, as long as through the chain, the future opportunities will be many. In the future, users in the grand literature platform to write ad copy, writing script, etc. can make money, is our success.

We now know how online literature is made, how online and offline publishing can be combined. But for film and television companies, we do not know. Now, we have to find a way between online literature and film and television, to see if it can get through.