Why a book deal will ruin your life

swvaughn · Jun 9, 2007

A friend of mine posted this link on her blog recently:

http://www.nyobserver.com/2007/my-book-deal-ruined-my-life?page=0%2C0

The story profiles a handful of novelists (most of them are actually writing, or have written, memoirs or biographers) and explores the "difficulty" of getting a book deal... comparing it to winning the lottery. One of the novelists discussed is James Frey.

In the article, the writers are taking years to complete the books, missing deadlines, and running through their advances like water.

I believe this article represents a poor sampling of writers, and is not reflective of the industry at all. There are no genre writers mentioned or profiled (save for the obligatory King reference, and that, I believe, only in the comments). This talks about the idealized "Great American Novelist" concept, portraying these auteurs sequestering themselves in their apartments, in remote farmhouses, or on writer's retreats in order to pen their masterpieces, for which they will then be paid peanuts. Tortured artistes, unite.

I have to agree with my friend, who titled her blog entry about this article "Cry Me a Fucking River."

Your thoughts?

scarletpeaches · Jun 9, 2007

I read that link on someone's blog too and thought, "Well if you're dishonest in your business practices, careless with money and just plain stupid, you deserve everything you get."

Someone who writes with integrity, earns their money with honesty and looks after their finances won't go far wrong.

badducky · Jun 9, 2007

I'm glad I'm too busy writing successfully for money to post something like that to my blog.

Elodie-Caroline · Jun 9, 2007

I don't know why people cry about making money and then losing it? If you've got it, spend it, you can't take it with you when you go. If I had money and spent it all in a minimal time, so long as I enjoyed spending it whilst I had it, I'd just shrug and say 'so what' afterwards. It would be nice to have it in the first place, but that isn't my reason for writing, I do it because I enjoy it.

Now, when I get published and receive a big cheque, I am going to spend the money on sipping Lattés, sat outside of Parisian cafés, whilst writing my next big seller on my pink laptop!

Elodie

Jamesaritchie · Jun 9, 2007

Elodie-Caroline said:
I don't know why people cry about making money and then losing it? If you've got it, spend it, you can't take it with you when you go.

Elodie

No, you can't take it with you, but sensible people want it to last until it's time to go.

SpookyWriter · Jun 9, 2007

Elodie-Caroline said:
Now, when I get published and receive a big cheque, I am going to spend the money on sipping Lattés, sat outside of Parisian cafés, whilst writing my next big seller on my pink laptop!

Elodie

I'd love to get work in Europe and sip vodka while writing stories. Can I come live with you and suffer while I write the next great American novel?

Gillhoughly · Jun 9, 2007

No one I've ever met in the publishing industry has ever had their life ruined by landing a book deal.

I've met a LOT of folk in publishing, and lordy-lordy, we DO love to gossip. Therefore, if they had heard of a life ruined by a book deal I'd have heard about it while hanging in the bar sucking down a cold Guinness.

Of course, none of those people were complete wanking IDIOTS. I suppose the writer of the article put the word out on the local Craig's List: "Literary losers, please contact me for free crying towels!"

James Frey deserved exactly what he got, and he got off lightly. He freakin' LIED. Worse, he exploited the real life tragedy of a family that lost their child to an accident, grafting it into his million little lies fantasy. He can lie about himself all he likes, but using that family to further his pathetic agenda was just WRONG.

As for writers who squander their advances blah-blah-blah, been there, done that, but at least I had the brains to put back half of it for taxes.

I'm smarter now for the practice and have money left over--enough to buy a nice little two finger violin so I can play a "poor me" lament for the dolts who wasted their big opportunity.

:tongue

Sandy J · Jun 9, 2007

swvaughn said:
I have to agree with my friend, who titled her blog entry about this article "Cry Me a Fucking River."

Your thoughts?

EXACTLY!!

I actually threw a cheeto at my screen when I read it.

CheshireCat · Jun 9, 2007

Well ... the differences between lit fic and commercial genre fic aside, writing is like any other job: it has its ups and downs. There are times when you love what you do and times when you hate it, times you tell yourself, if only silently, that you're a genius and other times you're convinced what you're writing is total crap. Times when the business side of writing does its level best to drown the joy of the creative end of writing.

The thing is, with most jobs, if one door gets slammed in your face, for whatever reason, you go down the street and knock on another door. Polish up your resume and start trolling for a new job. And if you've got a marketable skill, you're more than likely to find one.

Writing, like most other creative endeavors, doesn't really work that way. When you're starting out, sure, you knock on lots of doors (agents, publishers) just trying to get a foot in. But once that foot is in, you're judged -- often with terrifying finality -- on the performance of just one or two books. Not your ability to write that book or the next book, not on your writerly skills, honed and polished likely over years of hard work, but on the performance of that "product" in a market over which you have virtually no control whatsoever. If that first book does very well or even just acceptably well in a tough market, you'll probably get a second shot. Probably.

But the brutal truth is that, most times, you're only as good as your last book. Only worth what the capricious market says you're worth. And sometimes, as has happened to a couple of my friends, you get booted out not because your books have been doing badly or your writing skills and creativity are no more, but simply because newer writers are cheaper. The decent advances and better contract terms your agent has spent years painstakingly getting for you become a liability rather than an asset.

I know. It sucks. But, especially in some of the commercial genres such as romance, it's also a fact of life in publishing. Newer writers are cheaper. They'll take lower advances, don't argue so much (if at all) about unfair contract terms, and because there's a core audience out there waiting, a certain number of sales is as close to guaranteed as you can get in publishing. For that first and, maybe, second book, at least.

The whole locking yourself in a turret to suffer years for your art attitude seems to belong more to the lit fic crowd, and I can't speak to that. As a working writer of commercial fiction I have an office in my home, and that home has a mortgage, and the utilities and grocery bills don't stop coming due; I've never had the luxury of taking years to finish a project. I feel lucky if I have a few months.

The advance stuff is unfortunately true. People hear "six-figure advance" and think it's a lot of money and isn't so-and-so a lucky SOB. But those of us in the business begin mentally subtracting. 15% off for the agent. (And some authors are paying 20%.) State taxes, for most of us. Federal taxes, including the double-whammy of self-employment taxes. All of which can easily hit 50% or even more. So you end up with, maybe $40-50k if you're lucky.

And out of that, you'll have to pay for your own health insurance and try to carve out some sort of savings and a retirement plan, because if you've been paying attention you know damned well that this is one of the more unstable of the creative professions and that selling one book or six books or sixty books doesn't mean you'll be able to make a living writing next year or the year after that. Or, maybe, ever again.

I once heard an interior designer say, as she "man-handled" a heavy piece of furniture into place, that it was no job for wimps. That it wasn't about pillows and curtains and frilly bits and bows; there's a hell of a lot of work involved.

Same with writing. It isn't a job for wimps. And as hard as it seems to get that first foot in the door, doing so doesn't solve all your problems, or put you into a La-La Land of fame and riches (usually).

It's a job.

It's the joy of my life, and I can't imagine doing anything else.

But it's a job.

BardSkye · Jun 9, 2007

Many people who unexpectedly come into money blow it practically overnight. I think, though, that the majority of successful writers treat their work as a business that pays haphazardly at times.

Got a sudden windfall? Hire an accountant. It'll be the best splurge you ever had.

RLSMiller · Jun 9, 2007

Sandy J said:
EXACTLY!! I actually threw a cheeto at my screen when I read it.

A cheeto?

Sandy J · Jun 9, 2007

RLSMiller said:
A cheeto?

It was all I had handy that wouldn't cause serious damage. I've been known to hurl things when I'm annoyed. Ask my significant other. :scared:

Azure Skye · Jun 9, 2007

I'm a little confused. Was I supposed to feel sympathy?

:::goes off to ~~make brownies~~ do another revision:::

Blurb · Jun 9, 2007

swvaughn said:
I have to agree with my friend, who titled her blog entry about this article "Cry Me a Fucking River."

Your thoughts?

My thoughts:

Cry me a fucking river. Then drown yourself in it.

SpookyWriter · Jun 9, 2007

Gotta love them baptist.

MelodyO · Jun 9, 2007

The article was good for a laugh and/or raised eyebrow (a la Spock holding a tribble), but I found the comments to be very thoughtful and enlightening. Thanks for posting the link!

PS My family pitied - and snickered at - me and my husband for years because no matter how poor we were, we saved our money instead of blowing it. Now we're trying to decide where we might want to buy a vacation property. Trust me, if I got paid a large advance or even won the real lottery, I wouldn't be living in a trailer in two years.

scarletpeaches · Jun 9, 2007

That woman who's being sued by her ex for using him in a book - Your. Own. Stupid. Fault.

See this is why I don't use real people in books. I know many writers do, but that don't make no sense to me.

I'm a writer. I make things up.

Elodie-Caroline · Jun 9, 2007

If you can peel spuds and wash up, and it's okay with my hubby, oh, and you don't invade my space first thing in the morning, then yes

SpookyWriter said:
I'd love to get work in Europe and sip vodka while writing stories. Can I come live with you and suffer while I write the next great American novel?

SpookyWriter · Jun 9, 2007

Elodie-Caroline said:
If you can peel spuds and wash up, and it's okay with my hubby, oh, and you don't invade my space first thing in the morning, then yes

I was hoping for a job as a database programmer at 5,000 euro a month. But I can cook and clean toilets if necessary.

scarletpeaches · Jun 9, 2007

It's not a book deal that ruined these people's lives. It's being a twat with money.

Elodie-Caroline · Jun 9, 2007

Oh, well, sorry old bean, I don't have any jobs going like that, that was just odd jobs for you staying with us. You'd have to look for your own job to pay your way, especially for the Vodka! :tongue

SpookyWriter said:
I was hoping for a job as a database programmer at 5,000 euro a month. But I can cook and clean toilets if necessary.

Elodie-Caroline · Jun 9, 2007

And isn't it funny how the money always falls into the twats laps, and the rest of us have to hard graft for it

scarletpeaches said:
It's not a book deal that ruined these people's lives. It's being a twat with money.

SpookyWriter · Jun 9, 2007

Elodie-Caroline said:
Oh, well, sorry old bean, I don't have any jobs going like that, that was just odd jobs for you staying with us. You'd have to look for your own job to pay your way, especially for the Vodka!

Well, depending on what country in Europe you are located I can pay up to 500 euro a month. I need short-term for a few months until I get situated.

Elodie-Caroline · Jun 9, 2007

I'm in boring old England I'm afraid. But hey, we only live around 20 miles away from the great old city of London, and the main motorway in is right on our doorstep!

SpookyWriter said:
Well, depending on what country in Europe you are located I can pay up to 500 euro a month. I need short-term for a few months until I get situated.

SpookyWriter · Jun 9, 2007

Elodie-Caroline said:
I'm in boring old England I'm afraid. But hey, we only live around 20 miles away from the great old city of London, and the main motorway in is right on our doorstep!

Yikes! I was born in England, lived there for quite some time, and don't plan on a return trip any time soon. Can you please move to Holland or somewhere besides the UK, so I can live in your basement and write my next novel. :Hug2:

Why a book deal will ruin your life

swvaughn

adrift

scarletpeaches

badducky

No Time For Chitchat, Kemosabe.

Elodie-Caroline

Jamesaritchie

SpookyWriter

Gillhoughly

Grumpy writer and editor

Sandy J

In a state of denial...

CheshireCat

Mostly purring. Mostly.

BardSkye

Barbershoppin' Harmony Whore

RLSMiller

Sandy J

In a state of denial...

Azure Skye

Huh?

Blurb

SpookyWriter

MelodyO

Waiting for love on the web

scarletpeaches

Elodie-Caroline

SpookyWriter

scarletpeaches

Elodie-Caroline

Elodie-Caroline

SpookyWriter

Elodie-Caroline

SpookyWriter