NewsHour Online: Big Book Deals

MEGABOOKS

NOVEMBER 10, 1995

TRANSCRIPT

Elizabeth Farnsworth looks at the recent wave of celebrities making multi-million dollar book deals.

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Yesterday, Marcia Clark, the lead prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson murder trial, joined the exclusive club when she signed a reported $4.2 million book contract to tell her story. Who gets the big bucks and why? Earlier today, I put that question and others to Maureen O'Brien, who covers big book deals for "Publishers Weekly." Thank you for being with us, Ms. O'Brien. Why did Marcia Clark get such a huge deal, such a lucrative deal?
MAUREEN O'BRIEN: Well, I think it's all about the news. I think it's all about the enormous interest that has been around this trial of the century from beginning to end, and I think that there's an awful lot of people out there who are interested in hearing her story and what she has to say.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: And is there something about, about Marcia Clark, herself, that made this especially big? I mean, Christopher Darden got $1.3 million or something like that, her co-counsel.
MS. O'BRIEN: Exactly. Exactly. Well, she was, you know, the pseudo-leader of the prosecution team, so from that point of view, I think that that's unique, but I think more so in terms of her value to the book business, the majority of book buyers in this country really are women, and I think that there's an awful lot of women out there who are somewhat angry or at least interested to learn more about what she feels about what went right and what went wrong with this case. It's a real woman's story I think here.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: The trial has generated quite a few books. How many now have come out of the trial?
MS. O'BRIEN: It's just astounding. We've never seen anything quite like this in the industry. To date, there are more than 36 books already in bookstores that have sprung out of this trial. Some are serious; some are spoofs. There are at least--at this point--at least fifteen, maybe twenty, possibly more on the way.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Now, it's not just the trial that's generating very large advances. Newt Gingrich was offered but ended up turning down more than $4 million. Colin Powell got more than $6 million. What's going on here? Is this a new phenomenon?
MS. O'BRIEN: No. It's not really new, but it's getting an awful lot of more attention. I think the book business in general as an industry is, is being covered more widely in the media. There have always been multi-million dollar deals done in the book business, but I think, I think you're correct in your assumption that there are more coming, and they're getting a lot more attention.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: How do you explain the success of Colin Powell's book?
MS. O'BRIEN: Well, that was just one of the most shrewdest marketing campaigns we've ever seen in the industry. It was well orchestrated. It took two years of planning, and, you know, basically, I think the success of it was that he stayed absolutely quiet up until the day that book was published. He wouldn't talk to a reporter about anything, and then, of course, he launched a, you know, the buzz that he was possibly running for President. It was a brilliant way to sell a book.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: You think that was a way to sell a book?
MS. O'BRIEN: Yeah. I think most definitely. I think that this was No. 1, a way to sell the book, and No. 2, a way for him to test the waters as to whether or not he would run for President. But it was to sell the book, I'm sure.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Besides big political figures and somebody that's been involved in the O.J. Simpson trial, what other kinds of people are getting these big advances?
MS. O'BRIEN: Well, the Pope, himself, received quite a large advance, over $6 million. Marlin Brando received over $5 million. Anyone with world recognized names, any, any very high name recognition value author is going to be able to command a multi-million dollar book advance.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: And what, what effect does it have on the publishing industry? Are these books, for example--Colin Powell's book is selling enough to pay for the advance and also make money for the publishing company?
MS. O'BRIEN: I think so. I think that it's always a gamble. You never quite know. Marlin Brando's book, which was also published by Colin Powell's publisher, Random House, really performed quite poorly, and I believe they lost a bundle on that book, but overall, these, these big multi-million dollar celebrity book deals do more than just make money for the publisher. They draw a lot of people into bookstores who might not otherwise go into a store, and as a result, they sell an awful lot of books by--that normally wouldn't be seen by people.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Do you think they're overall good for the publishing business?
MS. O'BRIEN: Yeah. I think it is. I think it's--the book business, let's face it, is an industry, it's an entertainment industry, and it's a business, and this whole phenomenon is drawing a lot of attention to it. And it's--you know--it's showing the world that the book business can compete with the rest of the media.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Do they help pay for books that might not sell so many copies?
MS. O'BRIEN: Absolutely. That's one of the things that goes very much under reported, these large super glitzy, super high profile, newsy books, even, we're talking like Rush Limbaughs and Howard Sterns, when they--when they're successful, when they really bring in millions of dollars for a publishing company, that money helps to underwrite the publication of dozens and dozens of more literary works, you know, your short story collections, your first novelists, the books that really are a high risk for a publisher to go ahead and bring out. These big blockbuster books really are worth it, because when they succeed, they help to kind of pay for the--pave the way for other, more quality literary works to be published.
ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Well, Ms. O'Brien, thanks for being with us.
MS. O'BRIEN: Thank you.

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