This diary is a correction of sorts to a diary I recently published regarding the book deal that John Edwards had with HarperCollins for his November 2006 book "Home." Edwards has attacked Rupert Murdoch recently for his disgusting publications which are labeled "newspapers" and "television channels" and Murdoch responded by releasing information regarding the book deal that Edwards made with the News Corp. subsidiary.
We know that Edwards was given a $500,000 advance, all of which went to charity, and $300,000 for expenses. However, it was never made clear what those expenses pertained to.
Ben Smith of the Politico found out that the money went to Cate Edwards, Edwards's daughter, and to Jonathan Prince, Edwards's deputy campaign manager.
Read on for details.
It should be noted that no specific figures regarding Spencer or daughter Edwards have been released. They might have been given $5 for cab fare for all we know. However, Smith says that at least two first-hand sources confirmed that they received some funds from the expenses, and sources close to the book confirmed that both Prince and Cate Edwards put a lot of work into it.
It also is noted what the majority of the $300,000 might have been spent on.
Most of the contributors of the book's 57 short essays on childhood homes were unpaid, though the expense budget also paid for the book's design and for licensing some of the photographs and text, people familiar with the book said.
So while most people were not paid, apparently some usage rights did have to be acquired.
In my diary, I floated the idea that the book probably made quite a bit of money for Murdoch. I was actually quite wrong. HarperCollins apparently lost quite a bit of money on this deal. In fact, apparently HarperCollins probably knew it was a losing investment going into the deal.
The book, a News Corp. executive confirmed, in part of the company's sharp-edged response to Edwards' criticism, brought Edwards a $500,000 advance and $300,000 in expenses. It was an extraordinary amount, publishing industry sources say, for a book of its type, and nowhere near recouped by what have turned out to be modest sales.
"It's a sweet deal," said Frances Goldin, a New York literary agent, after learning of the advance and expenses. "Maybe he's got a friend at HarperCollins."
I also suggested that Edwards had his choice of publishing firms to go to. I was also wrong there as well. Edwards shopped the book to Simon & Schuster as well as two other unnamed editors. As for the money, Smith points out:
Nielsen Bookscan, which is thought to account for between 60% and 70% of domestic sales, reports that it has sold about 20,000 copies so far, and thus perhaps about 30,000 overall.
Publishing economics are notoriously murky, but with a cover price of $29.95, those sales might have earned back roughly $100,000 royalties, a fraction of the $500,000 advance, publishing industry sources said.
Indeed, the book's gross sales, at full price, would have roughly covered Edwards' advance and expenses -- and publishers usually net roughly half of that gross sum, and then pay authors a relatively small percentage of that net.
So was this deal done for ammunition against a likely adversary, or just a business deal? Most likely, I would say it was a business deal gone wrong, as HarperCollins confirmed Edwards had no contact with Murdoch at all and chose the publisher solely on the fact that they offered considerably more money than anyone else. Edwards obviously sunk quite a bit of money into the deal and wanted to recoup his expenses.