Blockbuster or Bust - WSJ.com: "Dark days are upon the book industry. Last month alone, Random House announced a massive restructuring; Simon & Schuster laid off 35 staffers; the adult division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt stopped acquiring manuscripts for the rest of the year; and HarperCollins sent comedian Sarah Silverman a contract worth $2.5 million to write her first book.
Yes, that's right -- amid the worst economic crisis to hit the United States in decades, publishing executives are still making what many see as outrageous gambles on new manuscripts."
But not on mine.
8 comments:
Me either.
But Bill, I bet you it's going to be worth every penny. Sigh. At least we're not yet at the point where every mystery novel is going to have to be ghostwritten for B-level celebrities (damn it! I want to have to ghost write for an A-level celebrity--I want dibs on the Paris Hilton line of mysteries!)
Sorry, Dave. That one's mine!
I now have a vision in my head of Paris Hilton sobbing uncontrollably with a manuscript in her lap while a man is on the phone, saying "I'm afraid my client insists on losing the scene with the chihuahua and meat grinder Mr. Zeltserman."
Bill, I can already see the first book in the series: 'Paris Hilton, Skank Detective: The BFF Murders'. Someone keeps killing Paris' BFFs, forcing her to do more reality shows until she puts on her thinking cap and deduces that it's the villianous (and hunky) TV producer.
Nathan, I'd like to say that no dogs are ever harmed in my books, but sadly I can't. However I see no reason to have to use a meat grinder when you have a perfectly good garbage disposal nearby.
Actually, Dave, that's not bad. You should get your agent to work on it.
Well it worked for Gypsy Rose Lee and Margaret Truman, and this year we're getting ghosted or co-written books by soap star Eileen Davidson, Joan Rivers, Blair Underwood and director Guillermo del Toro. Not to mention CSI creator Anthony Zuiker. So hey, I don't want to read a Paris Hilton-"authored" novel, but we're not so far off.
You guys are too hung up on names. Ghosts have a lot of fun. Think about it...
Jacques Debierue
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