Sep 24 2008
What Does it Take to Get a Book Deal with Little Brown?
Well, you can start by being as famous as Sharon Osbourne. She has reportedly been offered a deal for her next novel, which is to say her first novel. Well… of course it will be no such thing.
Both of Osborne’s two memoirs (also published by Little Brown) were ghost written and when it comes to the novel “Osbourne will work with a ghostwriter, but will come up with many of the ideas herself” according Little Brown’s publishing director. Now doesn’t that sound arduous? But wait, there’s more, there are plans for this an Osborne novel to become an annual event.
Mainstream publishers increasingly depend on blockbusters and the quickest way to hit the best seller list is on the coat tails of a well-branded celebrity. So, no doubt Ms. Osbourne will be laughing all the way to the bank and more power to her. Meanwhile those suckers out there putting in the time to develop their skills as novelists can only grind their teeth as they paddle around in the slush pile… or start looking for lucrative ghostwriting gigs.
And then there’s the phenomenon where actors who get good lines in a movie are forever credited with them as if they wrote them. Two seconds of thought would make anyone realize that a practically invisible writer wrote the line, but who gives those two seconds of thought?
And can’t Sharon just write a dreadful first draft herself? Joan Collins did that much.
oh the joy it would be if we were the rich and famous. I’m not saying how many thins I’ve sent to publishers. Now if I were a celebrity I could write little dribble and get it published.