This is a true story. Every word.
I had an author who became more and more successful. As her success continued to grow, she turned into a raving prima donna. She had once been liked by everyone; now she was barely tolerated. She didn’t scream or demand things. No, that was not her style. But she let everyone know, in subtle but distinct ways, just how little she thought of us. We were the people who had made her a star, but now we weren’t good enough for her.
That happens. If you are reading this and you think it’s about you, think again. Many authors turn into prima donnas. It’s not unusual. Agents and publishers are used to it. We don’t like it, but we’re used to it.
When it was time to negotiate a new contract for this particular author, she asked if the publisher would pay for her husband to accompany her when she went on tour. Touring may sound glamorous, but it’s hard, and it’s lonely. Still, publishers don’t generally pay for things like spouses joining a tour, and she didn’t really expect them to say yes.
They didn’t. Life went on.
Then, about a year later, I was having a drink with one of the publishing execs and we talked about this author. I reminded her that the author had asked for her husband to go with her on tour. The publisher waved that aside. “Oh, we could have paid for that,” she said. “We just didn’t want to because we can’t stand her.”
What is the moral of this story?
Behaving badly is never a good idea. You may think that you can do whatever you want and be as obnoxious as you want, especially as your career blossoms, but there may be consequences. The publisher will do nothing to hurt the books. They want to make money on the books. But that doesn’t mean they are obliged to make your life easier, especially when you have made their lives difficult.
The moral is to be polite, respectful, and sincere, always. Those things will never let you down. Sure, you can still get mad and demand things and try to get want you want. Just be careful how you do it.
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