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Ahhhh. To Dream.
- Thread starter Miss Java
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Kind of makes me want to poke someone in the eye with a pointy stick just out of jealousy...I wish it was that easy.
Well, a 25K advance isn't all that unusual, even for a first novel. I'm not sure what the record is for a first novel, but it's in the millions.
Ha! I had a good laugh at this cartoon today. As far as I can tell, it only took that character a couple of months to pull it off as well. All without an agent. Amazing!
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Well, they did leave out all that he went through before getting the contract... So maybe we can be comforted in the possibility of him drudging through all that.
The only thing incongruous about the strip was that he was learning about the offer by mail. I would have expected a phone call.
And no, I don't think there's anything that unusual about a $25,000 advance for a first novel, but I do recognize that my perspective may not be the general one.
And no, I don't think there's anything that unusual about a $25,000 advance for a first novel, but I do recognize that my perspective may not be the general one.
Maybe you all shouldn't tell me that. That way when (or if) I sell my novel, I won't be disappointed if it is only 5K or something.
This is what I don't get: I believe he was well-versed in writing articles for newspapers and magazines, then decided to write a novel. Sure, no problem. And yes, that was within the past year. He submits it and BAM! A contract and great advance. Hmmm... Maybe that's why it's in the comic section. Too funny.
Well, my advance was only ten percent of his, but I wrote a novel and sold it in less than two months, and had a contract shortly thereafter. And $2,500 was good deal more money then than it is now.
Publishing can work very slowly, or it can work with remarkable speed. If the right novel gets in from of the right editor at the right time, it's amazing how fast things can work.
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I've been following FBOFW for years. And I've been following Michael's writing career as well.
He's mentioned he was writing a novel about three times. Before Christmas, his apartment house burned down. After making sure his family was safe, he ran inside to rescue his laptop. That was the last mention of his book. Before then, he had finished it, but they've never said what it's about.
Today he gets a contract. I had HOPED to see him during the revision process. I had HOPED to see him get rejections over the period of a year before getting a contract, or never at all.
Then, completely out of the blue, without ever having told us that he was submitting, he's getting published.
Argh. IMHO, this paints an inaccurate view of the publishing industry.
OTOH, time is abbreviated in FBOFW. We've seen some characters age (in years) over the course of one year. So, I suppose there's some suspension of disbelief.
Still, I'd like to know what his book's about.
allen
He's mentioned he was writing a novel about three times. Before Christmas, his apartment house burned down. After making sure his family was safe, he ran inside to rescue his laptop. That was the last mention of his book. Before then, he had finished it, but they've never said what it's about.
Today he gets a contract. I had HOPED to see him during the revision process. I had HOPED to see him get rejections over the period of a year before getting a contract, or never at all.
Then, completely out of the blue, without ever having told us that he was submitting, he's getting published.
Argh. IMHO, this paints an inaccurate view of the publishing industry.
OTOH, time is abbreviated in FBOFW. We've seen some characters age (in years) over the course of one year. So, I suppose there's some suspension of disbelief.
Still, I'd like to know what his book's about.
allen
Please tell me that comic is animated. Because the characters are blinking.
Even if I'm not seeing things, that is still sufficiently creepy.
Revision? Rejections? You speak in strange words.
It may not be realistic in the vast majority of cases, but it really does happen this way with some regularity.
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The media portrayal of the publishing business is usually a bit unrealistic. I always cringe whenever they have an editor fly out to wherever the new writer lives to meet them... then two months later, the book comes out and becomes a best seller.
But. $25000 is not unusual. If you read PW or Publishers Marketplace you will notice quite a number of "nice deals" every week.
But. Yeah, it's as if Michael didn't know he was going to get a contract with a $25000 advance. What? They didn't even talk on the phone? Does Michael even have an agent? Why so out of the blue. Someone's not going to just send you a contract out of the blue like that. There should be at least some idea on Michael's part that he's been accepted? That I find unrealistic.
But. $25000 is not unusual. If you read PW or Publishers Marketplace you will notice quite a number of "nice deals" every week.
But. Yeah, it's as if Michael didn't know he was going to get a contract with a $25000 advance. What? They didn't even talk on the phone? Does Michael even have an agent? Why so out of the blue. Someone's not going to just send you a contract out of the blue like that. There should be at least some idea on Michael's part that he's been accepted? That I find unrealistic.
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A couple of weeks ago, the remake of Cheaper By The Dozen was on TV. The mother wrote a book, sent it to "a friend in the industry", and a month later not only had a publishing contract but needed to leave home immediately for a book tour! Because we all know that books hit the shelves about two weeks after you sign the contracts.
*rolls eyes*
James, yes, no one is saying it can't happen. It does. But in this case, in the comic For Better Or For Worse, it seemed to happen without much blood, sweat, or tears. Yes, that's what happened to you, I'm sure, and deals like that are posted on PW (of course, we don't know from PW how much revisions were done or how long it took for the book to be sold) but it's not the norm. Really.
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I'm not disputing the advance. Heck, we should all get so lucky, and I know that it does happen--for that amount or even greater.
Michael's whole process seems so inaccurate. I realize the writer Lynn Johnston can't show us every detail of Michael's life, since the strip is very soap operatic. The average reader, not knowing anything about publishing, might read this and say, "Oh, getting published is so easy! You just write a book and the next month you have a signed contract and a check for $25,000!"
It would be like watching only the last episode of American Idol and saying, "Wow, the music business is so easy and effortless! You sing a song and the next thing you know you're a star!"
allen
Michael's whole process seems so inaccurate. I realize the writer Lynn Johnston can't show us every detail of Michael's life, since the strip is very soap operatic. The average reader, not knowing anything about publishing, might read this and say, "Oh, getting published is so easy! You just write a book and the next month you have a signed contract and a check for $25,000!"
It would be like watching only the last episode of American Idol and saying, "Wow, the music business is so easy and effortless! You sing a song and the next thing you know you're a star!"
allen
Well, it's just a comic. I doubt anyone else took it as non-fiction for the real world of publishing.
Yeah, I agree with SouthernWriter ... though I will admit it inspired me a little to get my own hiney a-movin' on my novel!
I'm more annoyed with Lynn's tendency to rely on Deux ex Machinas. "Oh no, we're all cramped in this tiny space, we lost our apartment and life sucks ... OMG LOOK I got $$$ for a book that went through the publishing process like a laxitive through Superman!!! Life is rad again!"
Of course, it's only a comic. And I still read it at the crack of dawn every day.
I'm more annoyed with Lynn's tendency to rely on Deux ex Machinas. "Oh no, we're all cramped in this tiny space, we lost our apartment and life sucks ... OMG LOOK I got $$$ for a book that went through the publishing process like a laxitive through Superman!!! Life is rad again!"
Of course, it's only a comic. And I still read it at the crack of dawn every day.
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