There’s hot gossip making the rounds in mystery-writing circles about the husband of A Famous Author who sent letters to first-time novelists recently offering to sell them blurbs from his wife as part of a promotional "break-out bestseller" package they’ve put together. The services allegedly include having The Famous Author rave about the book on her website, provide links on her website to the writer’s, and provide the writer witha mailing list of the "Minotaur 100" reviewers as well as members of MWA and SiC. In that spirit, author Donna Andrews jokingly offers her own menu of promotional services.
I’m not going to introduce my own competing service. But
I have some ideas. Just tossing around some rough figures, mind you,
but here’s what I’ve come up with so far:Website link: $5
Working website link: $50
Blog mention: $5
Humorous blog mention: $50
Blog entry claiming that I’ve read your book: $100
Actually reading your book and saying something intelligent about it: contact management for current rates.
Mentioning your book in public as what I’m currently reading: $25
Mentioning
your book as one of my year’s favorites: sliding scale, depending on
where the mention appears. Contact management to negotiate terms.
I hope this is a gag. Man otherwise we’ve hit rock bottom. Ed Gorman
Tell you what: You can rust on my laurels if I can rust on yours.
For $1,000, the author will enter into a snark-fest for three weeks over some minor issue. You’ll be denounced by name and book title at book signings, and a letter of complaint about you and your book will be sent to the NYTBR. Bonuses paid if mentions of the feud surface in Gawker, Page Six and Publishers’ Weekly.
Fanfic based on your book: $4
Good fanfic based on your book: $62,500
I can see that Tim and I are once again lacking in financial acumen — it never would have occurred to me to ask my husband to be the broker for payment for a blurb!
Oh, the lost opportunities! Too late now. I guess I’ll still hold out for the old-fashioned way of giving endorsements — free, to books I’ve read.
I appreciate Tim’s support, but I’ve always been thankful that he didn’t try to become overly involved in my career. I know a few authors who seem to do fine with a spouse who is a “business partner,” but for every one of them, I can name six who cause others to wince at their approach.
Jan
That being said, Jan, I’m willing to offer you $50 for a blurb on my next book. I’m willing to cut you a check directly. Your husband never has to know.
And, uh, Lee: Could you at least email me and tell me who this author is?
Lee’s post explains why Janet Evanovich acted so snottily toward Sarah Strohmeyer. Obviously, the check bounced.
(And just for the record, I’m kidding about that. I really don’t know who Lee is talking about.)
Funny Bill, that’s exactly what I was thinking. 🙂
No, it’s not my friend Janet (Yes, I know who it is, and no, I’m not going to say. I’ll let someone else make it public and face the wrath of the embarrassed Famous Author).
As for Strohmeyer’s essay, I wouldn’t take it as gospel if I were you. I’ve heard the other side and it ain’t pretty.
Oh, great, now I have to surf all of the mystery-writer blogs to find someone with little enough discretion to post names. Beats working, I guess.
I haven’t heard that rumor, but I suspect it’s probably not true. It sounds like a goof to me.
Lee: I can understand your not wanting to name the author in question, but there _must_ be a copy of the communications _somewhere_ that can be sanitized to remove the recipient’s name for protection.
Without that, David Montgomery’s hunch makes it seem likely that this is the stuff of urban legend …