My Blog

Who Says that Crime Doesn’t Pay?

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In counter-point to my previous post about what some bestselling crime writers are earning, here’s what author John Scalzi says he has earned strictly from his science fiction writing:

1999: About $400, from Agent readers
2000: About $1000, from Agent readers
2001: About $1100, from Agent readers and a short story sale at Strange Horizons
2002: About $1000, from Agent readers
2003: About $6000, from Agent readers and from first part of advance for Old Man’s War
2004: About $5000, from Agent readers and from first part of advance for The Android’s Dream
2005: About $15,000, from second part of OMW advance, first part of The Ghost BrigadesAgent to the Stars hardcover, and short story sale to Subterranean Press.
2006: About $67,000.

Scalzi has other sources of writing income outside of his SF genre work, but this gives you a view of what earnings are like for a successful and acclaimed author in a particular genre who is not a megastar.

(Note: Agent refers to Agent of the Stars, a book that Scalzi offered online)

Bob Won’t Die

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The TV Series Finales site charts the many reunions of the THE BOB NEWHART SHOW characters in other sitcoms and specials in the years since the series ended. Everybody knows about Bob & Emily’s surprise reappearance in the finale episode of NEWHART…but did you know that Bob and his secretary Carol showed up in  MURPHY BROWN episode?

Murphy Brown – “Anything But Cured” episode from March 14, 1994.
A regular joke of the sitcom is that the title character (played by
Candice Bergen) had to endure a long line of incompetent and strange
secretaries. In one episode, her secretary turns out to be Carol and
she’s the perfect aide. Unfortunately for Murphy, Bob appears at the
end of the episode and begs Carol to come back. He says that the office
is a mess; Jerry’s got his files all messed up and Mr. Carlin thinks
the temp is out to kill him. After getting into a bidding war and
trading barbs with Murphy, Bob wins out. As Bob and Carol leave in the
elevator, Bob is cornered by insecure Frank Fontana (Joe Regalbuto) who
is looking for some free psychological advice. Bonerz was a frequent
director on Murphy Brown but didn’t direct this particular episode. Wallace was nominated for an Emmy Award for her appearance.

Why Isn’t My Name on the List?

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The Shots Magazine blog reports that some authors are making lots of money writing crime novels:

Figures recently released show that earnings through the trade in 2007
for crime writers looked pretty healthy. Figures are shown as GBP MILLIONS

James Patterson  10.3
Ian Rankin  5.2
Martina Cole  4.8
Jed Rubenfeld  4.7
Alexander McCall Smith 4.4
Antony Horowitz  4.3
Patricia Cornwell 4.1
John Grisham  3.9
Lee Child  3.7
Tess Gerritsen  3.5
Clive Cussler  3.5
Andy McNab  3.3
C.J. Sansom  2.8

A Partnership that’s Plum Over

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The Smart Bitches are reporting what I already knew — the collaboration between my friends Janet Evanovich and Steve Cannell didn’t work out. The way I heard it from Steve, their writing styles just didn’t mesh but things ended amicably between them. I’m not surprised they have remained friends despite whatever creative tussles they may have had — they are two of the nicest,  and most talented, people I know.

Where the Wild Tie-In Writers Are

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More and more high profile authors are turning to tie-ins.  Dave Eggers, author of A HEARTBREAKING WORK OF STAGGERING GENIUS, is
writing the novelization of the movie adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s
classic children’s picture book WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. The novelization
will be based on the script by Eggers’ and director Spike Jonze, which
expands on Sendak’s 300-word book. Publishers Weekly reports that the
novelization was Eggers’ idea but it was Sendak who lobbied Eggers to
be the one to write the tie-in. Harper Collins will publish the book, Eggers’ first since
2000 not to be published under his own McSweeney’s banner. It was not
an easy deal to craft:

The publisher acquired world rights to the novel about a year
ago, in a deal that involved not only Eggers but lawyers from Warner
Brothers, since a tie-in book was already part of the movie contract.
Intellectual property rights of both Sendak and HarperCollins (Where the Wild Things Are
was originally published by Harper & Row) also had a bearing on
terms. As [editor Dan] Halpern put it, negotiations involved “many different moving
parts.” But the goal was always to have any tie-in book published by a
Harper imprint, per the preexisting deal between Warner Brothers and
Harper, which owns publication rights to the Wild Things
franchise. Sendak, who has since been affiliated with other houses,
agreed “there was something correct” about Harper doing Eggers’s book.
 

MIDDLEMAN Is a Go!

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My friend Javi’s pilot THE MIDDLEMAN has been picked up as a series by ABC Family. I couldn’t be happier for him. But the behind-the-scenes story of how this show was developed is almost as exciting and unbelievable as any MIDDLEMAN adventure. It began as a spec script, became a comic book, and then finally what it was always meant to be: a pilot film…all thanks to Javi’s perseverance and unbridled enthusiasm. I’m sure the Emmy for his great work on LOST didn’t hurt…

I want to see the MIDDLEMAN episode where the Chaodai return (they were in Javi’s "lost" episode of SEAQUEST 2032). Until then, I guess I will have to make due by humming the Chaodai song.

James Reasoner is back on-line

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James Reasoner is back on-line after the terrible fire that destroyed his home:

"Awe-struck. Humbled. And very, very grateful. That pretty much
describes how I feel about the incredible outpouring of love, concern,
and support from all over the world following our fire last week. I
just can’t tell you how much we appreciate each and every one of you.

[…]To those of you who have sent money, thank you so, so much. Even though
the place was insured, there are going to be a lot of extra expenses
that insurance won’t cover. You never realize how much you have to
replace when you lose everything. To those who are sending books . . .
this is absolutely wonderful. To go from being surrounded by tens of
thousands of books to none in a matter of minutes is almost more than
the mind can comprehend. Any and all book donations will be hugely
appreciated. We can use copies of the books we wrote, research books,
fiction of all sorts."

I’ve already sent one box of books and more are on the way. Books can be sent to:

Kim Lionetti
BookEnds Inc.
136 Long Hill Road
Gillette, NJ 07933

Checks should be made out to the Western Writers of America with a notation in the memo portion that it’s for the James Reasoner Emergency fund. Here’s the address:

WWA
MSC06 3770
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001

(The picture of James is from the Saddlebums Western Review)

A New Approach to Fandom

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The Los Angeles Times reports today that DR. WHO executive producer Russell T. Davies is taking a new approach to fans. He’s completely ignoring them.

"I think we’re an unusual
science-fiction franchise in taking a very big step back from fandom
and having nothing to do with them. . . . Every program on the BBC has
a message board on the website. I forbid it to happen on ‘Doctor Who.’
I’m sorry to say this, all the science fiction producers making stuff
in America, they are way too engaged with their fandom. They all need
to step back."

His policy of ignoring the fans doesn’t seem to be hurting his show at all.  In fact, it may be helping by making his show more accessible to mainstream audiences worldwide.

It falls to
Davies "to keep balancing how much continuity there is, how many
stand-alone elements there are." Ever mindful of the shows’ "mainstream
audience" (meaning, not just sci-fi enthusiasts) and put off by
"exclusivity" in general, he said he is reticent of creating overly
inclusive stories dependent on viewers’ in-depth knowledge of ornate
histories.  This job is made easier by Davies’ policy of ignoring the voices of those most vigilant.

Is there a lesson to be learned here for showrunners?