Would you rather: 7 Figure Deal or Long Underrated Career?

AndreaX said:

Would you rather

a) Get a 7 figure deal for your debut book and go on tours, huge media appearances, and get on the NYT Bestseller list, have your books be made into movies but then fail to deliver on your next books and fade into obscurity.

or

b) Keep publishing stand alone titles and series your whole life with book deals never going higher than 4 or 5 figures, no movie or tv deals, very little buzz etc. So just an overall underrated but long-term career?

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TBF, I think real life is rarely so cut-and-dried, but I'd choose b. I've never wanted fame, I just want to be able to sell the next book.

...Who's starring in the movie?

Can I choose A but without the tours and media appearances? If, and this is a HUGE if, the fame and fortune was actually due to the lasting quality of the book (we all know of bestsellers that are...well, let's just say some books can be very popular, but also have a limited shelf life). I'd rather have one masterpiece that people will remember for a long time, but stay in the shadows myself, like Harper Lee. (Actually, I always thought if I created something that made me famous, it would be fun to be known only by an animated avatar, ala Gorillaz).

Financially, I'd make enough on that one book that I could afford to pursue whatever creative projects I wanted for the rest of my life without having to hold down a day job to pay the bills. I could get a little place in the country and spend my days writing, fishing, and gardening. That's my dream life, even if the other projects never took off like the big one.

Can we choose c) A pony? Because I'd choose a pony.

mccardy! how did they know the pony was sick?








because he was a little hoarse

mccardey said:

Can we choose c) A pony? Because I'd choose a pony.

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But can the pony edit? I’d need to know that.

I'm not picky- I'll take either. Although tours and appearances sound a little terrifying.

I'll take #1. I wouldn't care if my follow up books didn't reach commercial success. I'm writing because I want to tell this story, not necessarily because I want commercial success. But the money would allow me to quit my day job and get a housekeeper so I'd have more time to write.

Sounds like Wealth (A) vs. Legacy (B). I think option A has both wealth and legacy options (e.g. Rowling). There should be an option C, both.

"Seven figure deal" is tempting, but the "huge media appearances" sounds like the worst thing. I'd rather steadily write "OK, not Great, but decent enough" books than have fifteen minutes of terrifying fame, fail to deliver further, and wonder the rest of my life if it was a fluke. It'd be nice if I could have it all, but of the two options B sounds more comfortable.

One of my favorite books as a teen was THE LASTBORN OF ELVINWOOD, by Linda Haldeman. AFAICT she published only two books; I believe I read somewhere that she died young.

I was a kid, so I don't know how Big that book got, but I read it over and over and over. Somewhere in our basement I still have my copy. It was a huge part of my life - a big comfortable blanket that I could turn to when I needed something good in my life.

No movies, no long career. But her work meant something real to me.

Could that be option C? Minus the dying young? Because I don't think I could ever ask more of my career than that.

(But I still want to know who's going to be in the movie. )

A all the way. Seven figures is more than enough to retire on/be financially secure for the rest of my life. The media circus would be exhausting in the moment, but it moves on fast.

A, for all the excellent reasons that have already been stated. Media frenzy fades (thank god), but a seven-figure book deal would allow me to relax and write without worrying about my financial stability, assuming I've invested my money responsibly. I could buy a modest house with some property and spend the rest of my writing life focusing on weird/niche passion projects. I'm bound to hold onto at least some of my readership with subsequent books. Those readers are my people. I'll happily stick with my people, even if the rest of the world wanders off to greener pastures.

I'm all about keeping my independence and writing what I like even if all I ever reach is a niche audience. Consequently, I'm also always pretty tight on money and I would totally take the 7-figure deal. Unless the deal includes sequels. I'll do the media circus thing for a while, but I won't be pinned down on what my next title is going to be about.

And then I'll move on back to my niche writing and be very happy self-publishing obscure books until the money runs out.

Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

My choice is C: one or two books that become classics, during or after my life, with or without huge sales.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

How big is this 7 figure deal?

Helix said:

How big is this 7 figure deal?

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About 13 hands. But strong, yanno?

mccardey said:

About 13 hands. But strong, yanno?

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I thought you were going to point out that a pony is about 140ml. (Or 25GBP.)

Probably B. I have other things I want to do. Understated suits me fine.

I'd say long, underrated career. I think slow growth is more sustainable, and a seven figure deal would probably make me intimidated to write more books (but I wouldn't refuse it....).

I'd go with long term. Even if I didn't get the big payoff right away, after taxes and the percentage going to my agent, I'd still be able to invest the money and possibly be able to retire in about 10 years while still having a long writing career. And while I'd be sad that none of my books were optioned for movies, I'd rather have them optioned for TV shows More chance to explore the world, the characters, the series, etc. without condensing everything into a 2 hour movie and getting "the Hollywood" treatment. Ugh.

Plus, I'd still get to write for the rest of my life and eventually quit my day job. So, win!

I'd choose B.

It may sound ike hypocrite but I was also told that money doesn't give you full happiness if you do not feel realized and I think that fame applies too. I rather write and although I knew no one would ever read what I just wrote, I would feel happy with myself and would be like Hey! mission accomplished. I think fame has bad things and the major problem is: people get addicted to it and when you lose it you go mad.

Right now, I’d choose A, mostly out of entirely selfish reasons: I’m so buried in student loan debt that a massive windfall is probably the only way I’ll ever pay it off.

Since day 1 I've wanted A. But the media tours? Johnny Carson is dead. Dick Cavett is dead. Tom Snider is dead. There's no one today I want to talk to.

ETA: Oh. Dick Cavett isn't dead. He's 81. OK. Bring him back for me to talk to and we've got a deal.

I'll take the seven figure deal. Where do I sign?

I can always live off the interest and keep writing more books, even if no one reads them. But a lot of people read the bestseller, versus if I have a long unremarkable career not a lot of people read any of them. My average book would be hardly better off than my unsuccessful books in the other scenario.