American Idol and Literary Advances

In a blog post, veteran editor Alan Rinzler (pictured) tried to find out why a few first-time novelists had landed large advances recently–citing a $600,000 and two six-figure advances for untested authors.

He debated the topic with Algonquin Books and Workman Publishers editor-at-large Jay Schaefer. When asked why these first time advances had went so high, Schaefer theorized: “A new author with a clean slate has no baggage to overcome.”

However, the editor noted that Algonquin had been “selective” with new authors. Schaefer blamed a popular television show for creating myths about becoming a writer. Here’s more from the post: “We’ve declined a lot of well crafted but empty stuff. You know, I think too many writers have been influenced by American Idol. They want to leap out of the chute, and win the literary lottery without working that hard.”

It’s food for thought this weekend. What do you think?

Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including The Onion‘s Baratunde Thurston (left), Facebook’s Morin Oluwole, and bitly’s Tim Devane. Register now.