Book Deals: big bucks and peanuts.

aruna · Oct 20, 2006

OK, since we're discussing money, let's look at some deals. This list is a few years old, but it's interesting nevertheless. How many of those huge deals are for books you never heard of again? And why?

http://books.guardian.co.uk/insidepublishing/story/0,,532997,00.html

karo.ambrose · Oct 20, 2006

Aaaarrggghh!!! Can someone give me the conversion between pounds and dollars? These numbers have no meaning for me.

veinglory · Oct 20, 2006

When speaking of millions (also a different unit across the pond) does the exact amount really matter? It's *a lot*.

PennStater · Oct 20, 2006

So is this list in pounds of peanuts or what?

aruna · Oct 20, 2006

100 pounds = $188

find conversion tables here:
http://www.xe.com

ibid. · Oct 20, 2006

generally, a pound is about 2 dollars, is how I think of it.
x-rates dot com has the pound at 1.8, so close enough.

unless we're talking millions, heh.

badducky · Oct 20, 2006

The next question I'd ask -- and one far more important to me -- is how many of these authors earned out their advances.

Especially the fellow with the 1 pound advance.

Sesselja · Oct 20, 2006

I don't quite understand what you are asking?

A lot of the deals on the list doesn't name book titles, just "two-book deal". I have heard of most of these writers (or the person they were writing about in the case of biographies).

Aprt from the last 2-3 on that list, I thought they were all pretty good deals!

veinglory · Oct 20, 2006

PennStater said:
So is this list in pounds of peanuts or what?

£ -- this is a pound sign

Sesselja · Oct 20, 2006

badducky said:
The next question I'd ask -- and one far more important to me -- is how many of these authors earned out their advances.

Especially the fellow with the 1 pound advance.

This would be a much more interesting question to know the answer to!

The "fellow" with the 1 pound advance is (or was) a bestseller.

aruna · Oct 20, 2006

I met one of those authors - Jake Arnott. We were on Sky TV together.

Liam Jackson · Oct 20, 2006

There are twelve on the list I'd never heard of before today. I don't know how relevant this is as my reading taste, with regard to genre and subject matter, is pretty specific these days.

Sesselja · Oct 20, 2006

Liam Jackson said:
There are twelve on the list I'd never heard of before today. I don't know how relevant this is as my reading taste, with regard to genre and subject matter, is pretty specific these days.

It's a British list, which is why it might make more sense to Aruna, who's based there, and me, who used to live there. Quite a few of the people on the list were British TV personalities, not necessarily writers.

Book Deals: big bucks and peanuts.

aruna

On a wing and a prayer

karo.ambrose

._.

veinglory

volitare nequeo

PennStater

aruna

On a wing and a prayer

ibid.

badducky

No Time For Chitchat, Kemosabe.

Sesselja

veinglory

volitare nequeo

Sesselja

aruna

On a wing and a prayer

Liam Jackson

Heathen Horde Elder

Sesselja