This year has made it clear that celebrity sells political candidates. We also know that non-fiction books written or ghost written by celebrities earn those celebrities six-figure advances while those of us who are more camera shy toil on in the zero-to-four-digit world.
But what about fiction? Especially crime fiction. Famous people's first book sales may benefit from name recognition, like Marcia Clark and the late Joan Rivers, but I don't think their second, third, or fourth books sell unless the books are good. (Joan Rivers only wrote one mystery, in 2009.)
However, writing about celebrities is different. My first earned income from fiction was for the short story "Johnny Depp Kickline of Doom," for Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Would the editor have loved it as much if it had been about a doomed kickline of people no one had ever heard of? The fact that Mr. Depp wasn't in my story (just a bunch of people dressed like him) hasn't disappointed anyone yet, not that I've heard. But I'll never know. On bad days, when the words won't behave, when I can't find the perfect first line, when the end of the story makes less sense than The Big Sleep, I wonder.
If I can't ever sell another short story, that's what we in the industry would call a clue. I'll let you know how it turns out.
How did I miss that Joan Rivers mystery?
It seems to me that the Mysti Berrys of the world are held to a higher standard than the Marcia Clarks, but I have no doubt that you will keep up.
Posted by: camille minichino | September 15, 2016 at 08:27 AM