#1 New York Times Bestselling Author & TV Producer
Variety reports that Lena Headey has been cast in the title role of THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, the Fox pilot based on the TERMINATOR movies. I’ve never heard of her, have you? Headey takes over the role from Linda Hamilton, who I had an enormous crush on as a kid. David Nutter is directing the pilot, and he has an unbroken record of success, so it’s a safe bet you’ll see this on the air in the fall. Josh Friedman wrote the script, and he’s no slouch, either.
Author Ed Gorman is blogging again. Brace yourselves.
I just got back from Germany, and part of my trip there was devoted to teaching the principles of American TV writing & producing to German writer/producers and network executives with my friend Bryce Zabel. Today on his blog, Bryce sums up the experience perfectly:
The work was very fun, working for a company that facilitates
interaction between U.S. writers and international clients. The idea
here was to share some of the tricks of the trade the U.S.
television industry has learned in order to crank out orders of 22
episodes a season at a factory-like pace. More on that in future posts,
I’d imagine. Let me just say that if anything is holding back German
television it’s not the energy, creativity or ideas of their writers
but the structure of their system which doesn’t allow them to work
together often enough to achieve the greatness they’re capable of. That
seems to be changing. Everybody I met was extremely bright, talented
and motivated to make a better product so the chances are they will,
soon.
Author Bill Crider clued me in to AfterEllen’s list of the ten best lesbian vampire movies…essential knowledge for every American.
Yes,
there is a problematic relationship between sexuality and violence in
these movies, and many lesbian vampire flicks are nothing more than
vehicles for the male desire to see hot women biting each other […]the lesbian
vampire is campy good fun for dykes, complete with plenty of heaving
bosoms framed by low-cut gowns held up by, apparently, the sheer force
of evil.
You don’t see me whine and complain much here, and author John Connolly knows why:
There are good things and bad things about being a writer. In truth,
the good things far outweigh the bad, and the bad are generally things
about which it is churlish to complain.
He’s right. This was the lead-up to him telling the tale of having to fly from South Africa to L.A. to interview Stephen King in New York in front of hundreds of fans and publishing execs.
True, perhaps I tried too hard with some of my questions, and I am
still kicking myself 24 hours later over the fact that I confused the
words "ambiguous" and "ambivalent" in one of my interrogations (I plead
nerves), an error that King corrected without comment. Yet all through
the interview, and for some time afterwards, a small voice in my head
reminded me that this was probably as good as it was going to get. I
was interviewing a writer whom I had long admired, and whom I had long
wanted to interview, in front of a sympathetic audience. This was a
writer whose work I had begun reading before I even entered my teens,
and my boyhood self could never have imagined that, one day, he would
be sharing a stage with this man.
I know exactly how he feels. I feel that way every day, especially when I am in the company of people like David Morrell, Steve Cannell, Stuart Kaminsky, Ken Levine, Janet Evanovich, Michael Gleason, Robert Parker, Donald Westlake, Sue Grafton, Michael Connelly, William Link…the list goes on and on and on. Half the time I am with these writers I’ve admired for so long, many of whom I now count as friends, I am struck by how unbelievably fortunate and privileged I am.
Sarah Weinman reports that my friends Stephen J. Cannell and Janet Evanovich have signed a "major deal" to co-write a new, hardcover adventure series for Warner Books. I’m having lunch with Steve tomorrow and will try to coerce him into giving me all the details.
What would happen if Aaron Sorkin wrote a series about baseball? Emmy-winning writer Ken Levine gives you a brilliant example.
EXT. KAUFMAN STADIUM — NIGHT
THE
MANAGER, LEO, TROTS OUT TO THE MOUND TO TALK TO BELEAGURED PITCHER,
DANNY (THERE’S ALWAYS A DANNY). THE BASES ARE LOADED. THE CROWD IS
GOING NUTS. IT’S GAME SEVEN OF THE WORLD SERIES.LEO
You can’t get a good lobster in this town.DANNY
Last I checked we were in Kansas City.LEO
4.6 billion pork ribs sold every year and 18.9 tons of beef consumed annually since 1997 –DANNY
They like their beef, what can I tell ya?LEO
But you’d think just for variety’s sake.DANNY
I can still throw my curve.LEO
For strikes?DANNY
I’m not throwing enough?LEO
I’ve seen more lobsters.
There’s more… much much more…and it’s hilarious.
A year ago, I wrote abou lost TV series that were ordered and shot but never aired. Variety reports that the new CBS series WATERFRONT is destined to be another show that will only be broadcast in oblivion.
Over at the Eye, "Waterfront" was originally slated for midseason.
But with few holes to fill on its sked, CBS execs decided to pull the
plug on the drama from Warner Bros. TV.Jack Orman created the
skein, which starred Joe Pantoliano as the mayor of Providence, R.I.
William Baldwin, Mary Stuart Masterson and Larenz Tate also starred.Four
episodes, plus the pilot, of "Waterfront" had already been shot.
Insiders said net execs weren’t completely pleased with the show’s
direction; without a pressing need to schedule it, the net decided to
pass.
Each episode of the show probably cost at least $2 million to produce. Plus it’s likely that the producers and cast have pay-or-play deals, meaning they will have to be paid for 13 episodes whether they are shot or not. So this decision essentially means that CBS will be flushing over $10 million down the toilet.
There’s a fascinating and informative discussion going on (as usual) at Joe Konrath’s blog. Today my friend is talking about basketing or "cross-collateralization" deals, which he had on his first three books.
My royalty statements confirm this. As of my statement of June 2006, both Whiskey Sour and Bloody Mary have earned out their advances. They did this on the paperback releases.
Unfortunately,
I won’t see any royalties until next year, because of basketing.
Basketing is a form of joint accounting. When books are basketed in a
contract, the publisher doesn’t pay out royalties until all of the
books have earned out. So the earnings from Whiskey and Bloody are
paying the advance for Rusty Nail. Which is fine. By next year, I should be in a royalty situation. This is a good thing.
Author PJ Parrish left a comment, noting in part:
This cross-collateral accounting is, I am told, simply an easy way for
a publisher to withhold money due to a writer while spreading its risk
over several books.For example, you might have two books with
$10,000 advances, but if one does great and the second poorly, you
still won’t see any royalty money until the entire $20,000 advance
earns out. Why shouldn’t each book stand on its own merits? Why should
an author be penalized for the success of one and not another when so
many factors that go into that success are out of the author’s hands?
I’m sorry, but I don’t buy it and I don’t think any author should.
I’m with her on this. My DIAGNOSIS MURDER books are cross-collateralized and so are my MONKS.
It’s standard in multiple book tie-in deals and not something I had the
leverage to exclude from my contract. I wish I could. It benefits the
publisher and screws the writer. Which brings me to nit-picking one of
Joe’s comments:
I’ve said, from the very beginning of my career, that my goal is to make money for my publisher. For my first two books, I’m doing just that. It will be interesting to see where it takes me."
My
goal is to make money for me. Obviously, that means making money for
my publisher, too. But enriching my publisher and enriching myself
should go hand-in-hand. That doesn’t happen in cross-collateralization
deals or when you spend your advances…and then some…on promotion.
It might pay-off in the long run, but if you want to make a living as a
writer, it’s a delicate balance. Joe made another comment that I don’t entirely agree with:
Royalties are like found money. You’re earning on work you did years
ago. Your publisher also likes royalties. They no longer have to spend
marketing dollars on your backlist, but it keeps generating income.
Earning out an advance is a good indicator that the book made a profit,
and the longer it stays in print, the more profitable it becomes.
I disagree with his first line but I agree with everything else. Royalties are not found money, it’s money you’ve earned, it’s how you make a living. And in cross-collateralization deals, the publisher is keeping your money from you.
Royalties are where the real money for an author is over the long run. Yes, you have to promote your books to sell enough to generate royalties, but again…it’s a balance.
If you’re making a living as
a writer, advances and royalties (or script fees and residuals in TV)
are how you pay the bills. If you spend your advance on promotion, and
your royalties are caught up in cross collaterization, you are
succeeding in making money for the publisher…and screwing yourself.
I
am not saying this is the case with Joe, and I certainly think
self-promotion is important (just look at me at what I do), but I think it’s a mistake for newbie
writers to necessarily follow Joe’s example unless they have a
lucrative day job.
The New York Times reports that mystery writer Carol Higgins Clark was one of the tenants in the NY building that was hit by a private plane yesterday flown by Yankee Pitcher Cory Lidle.
The building is a condominium with residents like Marvin R. Shanken, the publisher of Cigar Aficionado and other specialty magazines; Marvin S. Traub, the former head of Bloomingdale’s; and Carol Higgins Clark, a mystery writer who is the daughter of Mary Higgins Clark.