Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Books Tao Lin Is Selling His Stuff, Penguin Is Suing Its Authors, All Writers Are So, So Broke
Posted by Virginia K. Smith on Wed, Sep 26, 2012 at 2:16 PM
No, not a great day at all.
First, the Observer brought us news of a strapped-for-cash Tao Lin selling off personal belongings (including a $99 juicer) to drum up extra funds, a tactic he's actually resorted to in the past.
On a brighter note, he does have a book advance and some teaching money from Sarah Lawrence on the way, and a stranger sent $200 to his PayPal account just to be nice, but still, not encouraging.
Even less encouraging is the realization of every author's worst nightmare, Penguin's spurt of lawsuits against authors to whom they sent cushy advances for books that never ended up being written. Turns out they would like that money back!
Reportedly, Elizabeth Wurtzel owes $33,000 (plus interest) on a $100,000 deal she received in 2003, Ana Marie Cox has been asked to return $81,250 of a $325,000 deal from 2006, and the New Yorker's Rebecca Mead owes $20,000 from a $50,000 deal for a collection of her journalistic writing.
Well, that is a lot of money, and all paid for books that didn't actually happen, so this does make quite a bit of sense. Nevertheless, this is a terrifying, terrifying scenario to consider.
Want to feel better about literature and the people who write it? Would you care for a link to our brilliant, totally comprehensive look at all things related to Brooklyn lit? Why yes, you're very welcome for that!
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