There’s nothing juicier than a celebrity memoir. And according to this article in New Statesman, the genre is a big part of what has been keeping the UK’s publishing industry alive while everyone holds their breath for the next Dan Brown book. But here’s what I find interesting: a quick look at some of the buzziest celeb tell-alls last year in the US (Chris Ciccone’s Life With My Sister Madonna; Valerie Bertinelli’s Losing It; George Hamilton’s Don’t Mind If I Do; Tori Spelling’s sTori Telling; Kirk Cameron’s Still Growing) suggests that this kind of book doesn’t have the same clout Stateside — unless you factor in Barack Obama’s Dreams from My Father, which didn’t come out last year, but certainly became increasingly relevant. Read More »
“Six years after the publication of her blockbuster best-selling novel, “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” Audrey Niffenegger has sold a new manuscript for close to $5 million, according to people with knowledge of the negotiations. It is an especially significant sum at a time of retrenchment and economic uncertainty in the publishing world.” [NYT]
No disrespect to Ms. Niffenegger – the book sounds pretty good – but are you freaking kidding? The publishing industry is currently a grim place of salary caps and lay-offs, and supposedly people stopped buying books in the 198o’s. It’s not that we think publishing is dying (yawn), but moves like this make it seem unsustainable. How in holy hell can any single book sell well enough to recoup an advance like that, plus production and promotion costs?
