Publisher Shells Out for
Crime Novel by Retired English Teacher in “Nice” Deal
Small Press Throws Down for
Middle-Aged Poet’s Chapbook in Three-Figure Deal
47-Year-Old Mother of Three
Sells Debut Novel in 1-Book Deal
Trade Publisher Quietly
Acquires Midlist Author’s Sixth Romance Novel in Low-Key Deal
Venerable Press Finally
Makes Offer on Literary Novel It Has Been Sitting On For Eleven and a Half
Months
**
Friends: publishing is not
all six-book mega-deals and twenty-year olds winning national book awards. Most book deals are small-to-medium, and
most people getting book deals are not teenaged geniuses, contrary to what you read online.
You are valid if you are 20 or 32 or 47 or 64 or 71, if your advance is three hundred bucks or ten thousand, if you are fashionably obscure or completely unknown. The models are Photoshopped.
You are valid if you are 20 or 32 or 47 or 64 or 71, if your advance is three hundred bucks or ten thousand, if you are fashionably obscure or completely unknown. The models are Photoshopped.
Love, INTERN.
Best. Post. EVER.
ReplyDeleteBest. Commenter. EVER. <3
Delete"The models are photoshopped." I love that :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this. My birthday is tomorrow, and I'm feeling a little...old today. :)
ReplyDeletehappy birthday! don't feel old. people start feeling old way too early in our culture :)
DeleteI so love your blog. Please don't stop.
ReplyDeletethank you so much, Dustin!
DeleteI would send you all the chocolates for writing this post. ALL of them.
ReplyDeletedoes this mean there ARE chocolates?!
Delete"You are valid if you are 20 or 32 or 47 or 64 or 71, if your advance is three hundred bucks or ten thousand, if you are fashionably obscure or completely unknown."
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm valid...
yay! *hands mirka a "Valid" sticker*
DeleteThanks! Love this post.
ReplyDeleteI have a deep, dark suspicion that I may in fact be an invalid 32-year-old.
ReplyDeleteI hope I one day get to meet you and buy you a drink. Your blog is one of my favorites. :-D
ReplyDeleteWe love you, too, Intern. You mean I don't need to go get my 40-something nose pierced and dye my hair pink to hang with the trendy editors?
ReplyDeleteLove. It's way too easy to end up with a PW hangover which spirals into a cycle of self loathing and doubt. Way to put things into perspective.
ReplyDelete"PW hangover" just about sums it up. the headache, the dry mouth, the need for waffles...
DeleteToo right, you beauty! Love this! I'm thinking hashtag series #PubDealsUMissed or somesuch. This topic has legs. Thanks for the post and encouragement. :D
ReplyDelete#pubdealsumissed—love it! or maybe #publishing99%, occupy-style?
DeleteClearly I have not had enough coffee. I read VALID as VAPID the first time through...which is, of course, much more akin to my state of mind this morning. Spent the last 30 minutes reading your past blog posts. Not exactly conducive to my quest to reach my word count goal for today, but I sure needed the clearer perspective, and the grins. Great stuff.
ReplyDeleteAdorable! I'm one of those: "55yo mother of two sells debut novel to independent publisher Buddhapuss Ink, hits the Amazon Bestseller list within hours of release, wins IPPY Bronze Award 2012 three months after publication."
ReplyDeletewhy congratulations, madame!
DeleteI <3 you Intern:)
ReplyDeleteYES. Thank you for the reality check, INTERN.
ReplyDeleteaaaah! can't keep up with replies to comments.
ReplyDelete<3 <3 <3s TO EVERYONE!
thanks for the love!
Fantastic! I love this :)
ReplyDeleteYou = hilarious. Hearts!
ReplyDeleteI will print this post out and tape it to my desk. With luck, I'll see it before I slam my forehead into the wood grain. Again. ;)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your informative post. :)
ReplyDeleteI was a 47-year-old mother of three when my debut sold in a one book deal! I have a sneaky feeling that might be me. :) The best part is I've sold 5 more since! It can happen at any age to any of us. Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteI used to subscribe to Publisher's Marketplace, but recently I shut down my subscription, because it was making me tense! I knew a lot about the ins and outs of the publishing world, but the knowledge only made me anxious.
ReplyDeleteIntern, I know you've said before that you have a Canadian streak of Nice. I'm sure you noticed that in the PW code for deal values, "Nice" is the lowest rung. Followed by "very nice" and then "good," etc. Ouch, right?
:) :) :) You probably just made every writer smile. Thanks.
ReplyDelete