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The highest-paid authors in ChinaPosted by Joel Martinsen on Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at 2:00 PM
 Credits for Guo Jingming's latest This year's ranking of China's richest authors has been released, and Guo Jingming is in first place for the second year running. The list was started in 2006 by Wu Huaiyao (吴怀尧), who was a young reporter with China Business Post at the time. The Chinese media now identifies him as a "professional list-maker," and his annual author income list appears in the Chengdu Business News. In the three months after the Olympics, Wu interviewed over 100 people working in the publishing industry in a number of major cities throughout the country to determine author incomes and identify general trends during a year when the cost of paper skyrocketed. This year, the top ten positions have a combined income of 71.3 million yuan, 9 million more than last year. However, the value of the remaining 15 slots contracted from 43.5 million to 27.9 million. Author income was estimated based on an average author royalty rate of 10% multiplied by the number of copies of new books and additional printings of older books between November 2007 and November 2008. The resulting figures are inaccurate for a number of reasons: · Film and TV adaptations were not taken into account because, according to the newspaper, "those are trade secrets." A few authors on the list, such as Shi Kang and Hai Yan, would rank considerably higher if that income was included. · The authors are credited with income they may not have received yet. The newspaper cites Wang Liqun (14) as a case in point:
Thriller author Cai Jun may be in a similar situation: he noted on his blog that his income in 2008 will likely be higher than in 2007, but according to the rankings, he made twice as much last year. Li Ximin, another author of thrillers who was propelled to national attention in May when he was trapped in a collapsed building for three days after the Wenchuan earthquake, told Chengdu Business News that he'll only be getting his hands on his full amount a few months from now. On the other hand, publisher Larry Lu Jinbo, whose stable of authors includes Sharon, Girlneya, Shi Kang, and Han Han, told the newspaper that their numbers roughly agreed with his own figures. · The influence of magazines on author income is unclear. Most of the YA authors who occupy high rankings on the list have launched their own branded magazines. Guo Jingming edits Top Novel, Sharon edits M-Girl, Girlneya (6) edits a self-titled magazine, and Ming Xiaoxi (11) is attached to Princess. Some observers suggested that Guo landed at the top of the list last year because of revenue from Top Novel and the I5land book series. The other YA titles were launched after Top Novel, so perhaps we are beginning to see the same effect for other authors. Zheng Yuanjie (2) also runs his own magazine, King of Fairy Tales. The newspaper ascribes his high ranking to royalties from his considerable back-catalog, but the magazine might also have something to do with it. Sichuan authors made a good showing this year: Guo Jingming, Yang Hongying (3), Sharon, and He Ma (7) are in the top 10, and Mai Jia (17) is one of the only literary authors to make this year's list. The paper notes with regret that these authors all work with publishers based outside of Sichuan. The Rankings (with last year's rank, if any):
For comparison, the newspaper also called on ten literary critics to draw up a separate list of influential authors. There's no overlap whatsoever this year, although a few of the names popped up on last year's rich list:
In addition to the lists, Wu Huaiyao wrote up interviews he conducted with five authors, each from a different generation. Qin Qing (秦青) represents the 1990s (just barely, though), Guo Jingming the 80s, Shi Yuanxi (施袁喜) the 70s, Yang Li (杨黎) the 60s, and Yan Lianke (阎连科) the 50s. Links and Sources
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Comments on The highest-paid authors in China
I wonder what it says about me that I've read several of the authors' books from the second list but none from the first (though I have to admit that I picked up Tibet Code at the airport shop a couple days ago) ;)