Random Notes

Only a few know, and none will confirm. Newly welded HarperCollins bought three books from erstwhile Tory MP Jeffrey Archer for somewhere between one dollar and twenty million; it’s a deal with the air of an out of court liability settlement—the principals agreeing not to discuss the terms of the stipulation. Talk around town— all of it speculative—is somber. Sure, HarperCollins is “well positioned,” but if it paid that tinny wordsmith twenty big ones for three books . . . well, it’s the end of civilization. (Worse than the money for some is the fact that Mr. Archer was agentless.) And just a few days before, Dell made a pact with another Brit, Ken (Eye of the Needle) Follett, paying $12.3 million for two novels. Rule Britannia!

But in the Archer bargain is also the air of author-orchestrated publicity. Talk about the money began with him, when he told Publishers Weekly he had recently turned down $20 million from an unnamed publishing house. When asked how much he subsequently got from HarperCollins, the José Canseco of scribbling said, “I’m not allowed to answer that, but it certainly didn’t go below” the unnamed publisher’s bid. HarperCollins is mum, which usually indicates big bucks will change hands. It’s hard to figure the HarperCollins math, though. Say five hundred thousand hardcover copies plus two million paperback copies of each book sold, times $25 ($5 for the paperback), times a 15 per cent royalty. Mr. Archer’s actual earnings on the various editions sold in the U.S. and Canada would, on those calculations, be just over $10 million. Not bad. Unless

BM

About the Author

Brad Miner

Brad Miner, a former Literary Editor of National Review, is senior editor of The Catholic Thing website. This article is taken in part from his book The Compleat Gentleman: The Modern Man’s Guide to Chivalry, now available in a Third Edition from Regnery Gateway.

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Only a few know, and none will confirm. Newly welded HarperCollins bought three books from erstwhile Tory MP Jeffrey Archer for somewhere between one dollar and twenty million; it’s a deal with the air of an out of court liability settlement—the principals agreeing not to discuss the terms of the stipulation. Talk around town— all of it speculative—is somber. Sure, HarperCollins is “well positioned,” but if it paid that tinny wordsmith twenty big ones for three books . . . well, it’s the end of civilization. (Worse than the money for some is the fact that Mr. Archer was agentless.) And just a few days before, Dell made a pact with another Brit, Ken (Eye of the Needle) Follett, paying $12.3 million for two novels. Rule Britannia!

But in the Archer bargain is also the air of author-orchestrated publicity. Talk about the money began with him, when he told Publishers Weekly he had recently turned down $20 million from an unnamed publishing house. When asked how much he subsequently got from HarperCollins, the José Canseco of scribbling said, “I’m not allowed to answer that, but it certainly didn’t go below” the unnamed publisher’s bid. HarperCollins is mum, which usually indicates big bucks will change hands. It’s hard to figure the HarperCollins math, though. Say five hundred thousand hardcover copies plus two million paperback copies of each book sold, times $25 ($5 for the paperback), times a 15 per cent royalty. Mr. Archer’s actual earnings on the various editions sold in the U.S. and Canada would, on those calculations, be just over $10 million. Not bad. Unless

BM

About the Author

Brad Miner

Brad Miner, a former Literary Editor of National Review, is senior editor of The Catholic Thing website. This article is taken in part from his book The Compleat Gentleman: The Modern Man’s Guide to Chivalry, now available in a Third Edition from Regnery Gateway.