Obama receives a pittance while stars continue to rake in millions

Huffington Post brings us news today that Obama signed a new two-book deal with Crown just before his inauguration. The grand total? $500,000 for a rewrite of his memoir for a younger audience AND a new work of nonfiction after his presidency.

Maybe this is a sign of publishers FINALLY holding back their inflated advances, but how in the world did Kathy Griffin and Diane Lane snag multi-million-dollar deals weeks after Obama signed up for his pittance?

For the record, I'm frustrated by the current system of advance payments doled out by publishers. I certainly understand the hype a hefty advance creates. It generates early publicity and creates momentum in-house so that everyone, from assistant editor to publicist, is excited about the upcoming project. It also creates competition, though we know the biggest bidder isn't always the best publisher to handle a given title.

I frown every time a ginormous advance is announced, thinking if they cut Griffin's advance in half, to around $1 million (she reportedly got $2M, right?), they could snap up 20 additional debut novelists for a very healthy $50,000 each. Or 40 additional books at $25,000 each. As agents are saying nowadays, 25 is the new 50 and 50 is the new 100, and I don't know a single author who would scoff at $25,000 in this market.

Maybe Crown is ahead of the times. Even back in January. They also offered him hefty royalties -- 15% for hardcover and 10% for paperback. Still, that's only a few points above the common royalties for Crown's authors. Of course, Obama was likely under option with Crown because of his previous deals, but why not head somewhere like HarperStudio, where he would have received 50% of every penny earned? I hope the 10% adds up nicely for his account of such a historic presidency*, but I'm certain Crown underpaid this time.

Or maybe this whole hype-and-awe system is really for the birds.

Thoughts?

*I'm not a fan of "an" historic and will never use it. I pronounce the "h", which is a consonant.

50 Reasons No One Wants to Publish Your Book

From Allan Moot at Bookgasm, a few good reasons your book might not be getting the attention you think it deserves.

Backspace: Jeffrey Moores is an expert

It's official. I'm an expert. Or at least according to the best writing consortium on the web, BACKSPACE.

With nearly 1,000 members (and growing daily), Backspace has been offering online forums and critique groups since 2004. They also host a formal writing conference each spring in New York City. Writers Digest has annually named Backspace one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers since Karen Dionne and Christopher Graham launched the community in 2004.

Way back in December, when we were still counting down W's days in office and wondering which bank would fail next, I participated in a query workshop for Backspace. This week it was an online forum welcoming any sort of publishing questions writers could muster.

Now, Backspace wants me to stick around and give advice on a regular basis as a resident expert, joining the ranks of fine folk like agents Laney Katz Becker and Jeff Kleinman. Visit BKSP.org, sign up (for a mere $30/year!), and tune in as I try on my expert pants.

Aside from opinions from me and a whole host of literary agents, editors, and published authors, you can join online critique sessions and discussion forums. Check 'em out.

Book panel at SXSW in Austin causes a stir.

A recent panel at SXSW gave way to a slightly bitter tussle between panel and audience members. Probably the most tension I've scene in a group of people coming together to talk about books. Usually it's shy voices from the back and the tinkling of water glasses. Not this time around. Take a look.



You're not alone, Frustrated Guy In The Blue Shirt. Caren Johnson today points out that, yes, there's a lot of negativity in the book world these days. In my opinion, the panelists were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Of course it's their job to defend their companies, but plenty within the publishing world are beginning to see the ultimate question that the brave audience member posed: What role, exactly, does the modern publisher play? With consumer confidence waning, how long will it be for the editorial reins of the Big Few are taken over by the grassroots nature of self-publishing?

It's a brain-buster. Too early for a clear answer, perhaps.

In my opinion, the changing nature of an agent's role is a sign of the changing times. Take my transition, for example. As a full-time agent I was stuck. I had to make money, had to keep the commissions rolling in. That meant capitulating to publishers' demands, since they are an agent's only buyers. Alternately, this means an agent is hounding himself daily to identify the next micro trend, or to keep up with industry gossip well enough to know that his client's novel about a family of four homeless people should be sent to that young editor who's been volunteering at a homeless shelter on the Lower East Side for the past three months. Or so-and-so just bought a house on the Cape, so be sure to send your political thriller about a Kennedy-like family his way.

It's a daunting, seemingly endless task. But this transition to capitulation versus trend-setting is nothing new in the publishing business. Editors went through the same throughout the 70s and 80s as corporations swallowed independents left and right. Suddenly Bertelsmann or Viacom wants its publishing arms to act as profitably as its film production or paper manufacturing divisions. Double-digit gains each year, too. Of course, as an artistic endeavor, publishing never historically relied on grand returns, instead hoping for just enough to keep the doors open and the literature flowing.

Should we be surprised that the public is finally catching on and calling out mainstream publishers for treating their readers the same as Kellogg's might treat the consumers of cereal?

Also, consider the rising status of self-publishing. Even two years ago agents and editors turned up their noses, quickly deleting or tossing away self-published manuscripts that arrived on their desks. The easy excuse: it's already published; why would I want to consider it?

Meanwhile, little by little while mainstream publishers kept at it, books like David Wong's JOHN DIES AT THE END garnered steady online audiences -- in his case, 70,000 readers absorbed his sprawling manuscript electronically. No surprise that Thomas Dunne Books called me up shortly after I'd offered Wong representation. They'll now publish JOHN DIES AT THE END with an initial print run of 50,000 (October 2010). Wong is the epitome of what might become a new trend -- editors looking outward and snapping up rights to work that authors have already made popular on their own.

In the meantime, I expect more tense conversation like these at writing conferences and literary events across the country. These panelists seem defensive but forthright -- they're not a writer's enemy in any way, but Blue Shirt's skepticism matches that of much I'm hearing in writing circles and within the big scary world of New York.

I'm LIVE, RIGHT NOW, on the Interwebs. With BACKSPACE!

The fine people at Backspace are allowing me to spout off for three days straight in a live web forum.

Visit Backspace to learn more about their online workshops and forums. They regularly host guest experts from all areas of the publishing universe. And no crazy Skype skills are required -- they use a simple thread exchange that's simply Web 1.0 at its best.

Some useful and well-said advice

Tommy Donbavand. Hollering some great advice about literary agents. His advice comes all the way from the UK, but it's useful on both sides of the pond.

Click here to read Tommy's Top Tips - Number 1: Literary Agents.

His ten commandments include "Don't send your manuscript to anyone" and "Don't try to be clever". It's worth a read.

A telling sign for creativity in the next few years?

Gawker brings us the depressing reality that the most creative iteration of the super hero flick just can't pass muster.