Comments on Wylie-Merrick Literary Agency: Do Advances Advance Your Career?

Interesting post. Now I'll be watching for her boo...

2009-05-10T17:10:00.000-07:00

Interesting post. Now I'll be watching for her book! And watching for my own advance :)

Thank you very much for your comments. I will now ...

2009-05-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

Thank you very much for your comments. I will now give a MFA serious consideration! Ah, so much to think about...

Claudia

LaFleur and Ferret, As with anyone, I'm impressed...

2009-05-03T05:50:00.000-07:00

LaFleur and Ferret,

As with anyone, I'm impressed by an advanced degree. When I receive a query from a writer with an MFA, I spend more time with that query. It's just natural to do that. Does it make one a better writer--maybe and maybe not. In my opinion, the ability has to be there before the MFA is earned. Do all successful authors have one? I don't know, but I do know that many are "discovered" from MFA programs.

LaFleur, If you look at publishing as a whole, th...

2009-05-03T05:34:00.000-07:00

LaFleur,

If you look at publishing as a whole, there is no such thing as an average advance. Advances can run from zero to a few million dollars. Major publishers have deeper pockets and therefore can pay more for books, whereas medium and smaller presses usually don't have this kind of money so can't pay the larger advances. However, nothing is set in stone and much depends on the number of books bought, on the books themselves and their perceived value in the marketplace.

I wonder if there's any research out there that sh...

2009-05-03T00:13:00.000-07:00

I wonder if there's any research out there that shows what percentage of accomplished authors actually have diplomas? It just seems, to me, that you have it or you don't...and no amount of schooling can change that. Maybe I'm wrong.

Thanks for the post. I have considered returning t...

2009-05-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the post. I have considered returning to school for my MFA, but decided against because of the cost. I am still trying to pay off a student loan from over ten years ago!

I would be interested to know what is the average advance for a 1st time, unpublished author. What is fair? But based on your post, the question is moot anyway, eh? LOL

Although Neffenegger is the poster woman for MFA's, and trust me, I LOVED Time Traveler's Wife (hence the inner debate on whether to return to school or not) do the majority of successful authors have one?

Thanks!
Claudia Ross
http://lafleurnovel.blogspot.com/

the part about lying about advances, that is proba...

2009-04-22T10:35:00.000-07:00

the part about lying about advances, that is probably true. There seems to be a lot of lying by supposed "experts" in the industry these days. Problem is, the ones accusing others of wrongdoing are turning out to be the biggest frauds of all.

Thank you for validating my "advance." I did not r...

2009-04-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

Thank you for validating my "advance." I did not receive a large one even though my publisher is Random House and my sweet and kind and saintly-patient agent got to hear my lament over this on many an occasion. His advice is to let it be a stepping stone to the next thing, not the end all be all and because of the size of my advance, which he did say was "good for a first time author in non-fiction" should earn out. He also said a lot of first time authors lie about their advances to help their ego ride the wave until their next big thing sells. Is he right about that? I don't see the reasoning behind being dishonest about this or even really telling anyone what you got. Regardless, thanks for this post.

Thank you for validating my quest for an MFA, just...

2009-04-15T07:54:00.000-07:00

Thank you for validating my quest for an MFA, just in time to pay next semester's tuition.