Penny Smart, Pound Foolish
Writer John Green, who I am starting to become quite a fan of, has an interesting post on book advances and publishing on his blog (not to be confused with his vlog). He considers which is a better option for an author to go with–Editor 1 with a $300,000 advance for three books or Editor 2 with a $30,000 advance but a “significantly better hardcover royalty.” He says Editor 2 and I agree with him. Although, turning down a $300,000 check is far easier when it is hypothetical.
The blockbuster mentality of publishing scares me. It doesn’t seem to work all that well for publishers–if you invest a bazillion dollars in a book and it only sells 1,000 copies, that’s a pretty big loss–and it doesn’t allow writers to build their careers slowly. Also it encourages publishers to let people like Kanye West write books. What can I say? I guess I’m more of a slow and steady kind of girl.