My Mr. Mermaid

Untitled Part 12

Chapter 12: ~(@^_^@)~ by ryuxenji

After the editorial department ended their regular meeting, Yun Duo was notified that only one of her two manuscripts had been approved for publishing. The one that had been kicked back was the one on Tang Yi-Bai.

"Why?" Yun Duo was very surprised.

"Because there isn't any news value," the other party replied.

Such a cursory explanation left Yun Duo feeling even more troubled. How could Tang Yi-Bai have no news value? Could it be that she had taken the wrong approach in writing the article?

She wasn't thick-skinned enough to continue pestering the other for details, and when she asked Cheng Mei, Cheng Mei was unable to make things any clearer either. So, Yun Duo could only carry these dark and dejected feelings with her as she waited for the return of Teacher Sun.

In the late afternoon right before work let out, Teacher Sun returned to the agency to retrieve some things, only to see Yun Duo sitting at his work station, her face . Teacher Sun asked curiously, "Yun Duo, were you scolded by Director Liu again?"

"No. Teacher Sun, I'd like to ask you a question." Yun Duo briefly recounted what had happened, as well as showing him the words of recommendation Cheng Mei had written as proof that her manuscript was pretty good.

After listening to her story, Teacher Sun comforted her dismissively. "Who hasn't had some manuscripts get rejected as a reporter? Don't take it to heart."

But Yun Duo was stubborn. "I just want to know why."

Teacher Sun pulled up a chair to sit beside her and helped her to analyse the issue. "Yun Duo, firstly, the main reason this manuscript did not pass is that you've overestimated Tang Yi-Bai's status. News is time-sensitive, and the effect of news is also time-sensitive. Indeed, Tang Yi-Bai really did raise quite a bit of attention when he became champion of the national swimming championship, but it has already been a month since then. National-level swimming competitions can be held up to 4 times a year — the swimming championships is just one of those events. No matter how great someone performs in events like this, the end result is just a brief surge in popularity. It's wrong to think that a chance encounter with Tang Yi-Bai is newsworthy enough for a standalone article. Secondly, you've missed the main point. Tang Yi-Bai is an athlete. Before he becomes a major superstar, the most valuable selling points on him can only be related to sports. For example, if you had managed to dig up the detailed reasons for his ban three years ago, then you would be able to use that as the main point for your news. But doing what you did — using what top scholar, motivational perspective as the focus of your article ... these are all things that are merely icing on the cake. If Qi Rui-Feng was a top scholar, then that news would have much greater potential. Tang Yi-Bai still has not produced results as an athlete, so this sort of decorative piece is really not substantial enough. Do you understand?"

His words instantly enlightened Yun Duo. She scratched her head. "I understand now. It's all because Tang Yi-Bai isn't famous enough, right?"

Teacher Sun nodded and said, "And one more thing — the recommendation Cheng Mei wrote for you is also problematic. She may have written a lot of praises for you, but she is even more off-topic than you. You were originally already off-base, and her words of recommendation just pushed you even further away. It would have been a miracle if your manuscript was accepted."

Yun Duo bowed her head in thought. "Teacher Sun, I know how to fix this now."

"Hey, hey, hey," Teacher Sun looked at her is surprise, "I told you all this not to teach you to fix your manuscript. Don't think about fixing this manuscript anymore. It's pointless. Just save it in your hard drive for memory's sake."