“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?