Grab thee your tank tops and crumpled sundresses, ladies, because a new trend has been born: Blog-diary-tattoo-themed books by oversharing twentysomethings who can't help who they love and can't help writing about it. Former Gawker editor and recent NYT mag cover girl Emily Gould has sold her book, And The Heart Says "Whatever", in what we hear was a "significant deal," as publishing insiders say (it's unreported, but the chatter is $350K, and we heard it too). That probably doesn't include whatever option deal she's going to strike for a movie or TV deal (we hear that a number of producers were looking for her after the cover story hit).
It's a great triumph for Gould, particularly after a rather volatile month since her much-maligned and hyper-blogged NYT mag cover story was published, and is a clear indicator of a few things: (a) Everyone wants the next Sloane Crosley book; (b) the Blog Book isn't dead; (c) advance publicity can really close a deal; and (d) it always, always helps to look adorable in a teeny tank top splayed across rumpled sheets.
It's important not to define this deal by what it's not, namely the cool million-dollar deal reported on Monday. That would have put her in the same league as, say, Anderson Cooper ($1 million) and Stephen Colbert ("solid seven-figures") — a ridiculous expectation, no matter how many frenzied commenters descended on the NYT site. That doesn't make her $350K score any less impressive (especially on a 16-page proposal). On the contrary, it makes her a bona fide Big Blogger Book, like Stuff White People Like ($300K) and The Washingtonienne (also $300 K), aka Jessica Cutler, whose subject matter was similar to Gould's in that both deal with sex and relationships (but hopefully Gould will resist the temptation to pose for Playboy).
So, yes, it's a triumph — but to use a well-worn trope, I can't help but wonder, reading her recent work, if Gould would trade it all to go back to her old apartment with Henry and her two cats, when her life was "cozy and safe." Monday's post saw another flood of bile in the Gawker comments section, and today's annoucement brought similar barbs. It's a far cry from the kind of support Lizzie Skurnick received last week for her own book deal on Jezebel. Meanwhile, the reception to Gould's leaked book proposal at NY mag last week was tepid at best; indeed, the reaction of her peers is best summed up by this Twitter entry from former Gawker editor Jessica Coen: "...and the former co-workers say, 'whatever.'"
Money is great (no really, it's awesome) and so is this kind of validation in the industry where you first toiled as a lowly editorial assistant. But so is a reception like Sloane Crosley has gotten.The good news is, that's available to her, too — all she has to do is write a good book.
So — congratulations to Emily. Now go on and write a good book, that sells. There's an army of tousled girls with laptops and tank tops who are depending on you.
Emily Gould's Book Sold, Not for $1 Million [Daily Intel]
Emily Gould's Memoirs Sold for "Low Six Figures" [Gawker]
Related:
Another Pretty Face of a Generation [Salon]
A Serious Article About Something Important by Emily Gould [Emily Magazine]