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| Mel Belli |
From a book blog:
People Really Want to Buy Keith Richards' Memoir
As promised, UK superagent Ed Victor held off until this month to shop around Rolling Stones guitarman Keith Richards' memoirs, and the gambit has paid off handsomely, according to Crain's Matthew Flamm. Bidding for a book by the Rolling Stones' famed founding member, co-song writer and rhythm guitarist has reached $7.1 million for world English rights, according to publishing industry sources. With just three houses vying for the book, now the battle rages between HarperCollins and Little, Brown.
"This is Bill Clinton money," an executive not involved in the bidding told Flamm. Knopf paid $10 million to $12 million for former President Clinton's autobiography in 2001, while we're guessing the final bid will be somewhere in the vicinity of $8 million. Alan Greenspan money, perhaps?
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| BONOISLOVE |
quote:
Mel Belli wrote:
"This is Bill Clinton money,"
THE JOY!!
But I bet he's one of those weird dudes who have sex with women. YUCK. |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
"Sleep Walking Through History" has already been taken I think. |
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| bootcover |
Auction for Keith Richards book tops $7M
By: Matthew Flamm
July 24. 2007 2:40PM
The battle for Keith Richards’ autobiography has turned into the hottest auction of the summer. Bidding for a book by the Rolling Stones’ famed founding member, co-song writer and rhythm guitarist has reached $7.1 million, according to publishing industry sources.
London-based literary agent Ed Victor has been conducting the auction in New York this week, inviting just three houses to offer bids, according to one insider. HarperCollins and Little, Brown, a division of the Hachette Book Group USA, are the ones left vying for the title.
The $7 million offer would be for world English language rights. Translation rights, which Mr. Victor will sell separately, will push the total advance even higher.
Some publishing insiders were shaking their heads at how high the bidding has gone.
“This is Bill Clinton money,” says an executive not involved in the bidding. Knopf paid $10 million to $12 million for former President Clinton’s autobiography in 2001. “All the Stones books have covered him,” the executive adds.
Though a shelf full of books on the Rolling Stones has been published over the years, Mr. Richards’ own story could draw both old fans and new readers. The British press has said it would be “the holy grail of rock books.”
Mr. Richards, who had a bit part in the recent Pirates of the Caribbean movie, is a colorful figure known for his keen musicianship and decades of excessive drug and alcohol use.
Some reports have questioned whether “Keef,” as he’s known in Britain, would remember enough of his past to write a book. In May, Mr. Victor told the New York Post that memory wouldn’t be an issue since Mr. Richards would collaborate with his friend of 30 years, the noted non-fiction author James Fox.
A call to Mr. Victor was not returned.
HarperCollins declined to comment. Executives at Little, Brown could not be reached.
Source:
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| Saint Sway |
I'd buy it if it ever came out
thing is... is there really ANYTHING that Keith's done that we dont already know or that he hasnt already told us? |
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| Mel Belli |
quote:
Saint Sway wrote:
I'd buy it if it ever came out
thing is... is there really ANYTHING that Keith's done that we dont already know or that he hasnt already told us?
I think yes, honestly. And I'm as much interested in hearing Keith's take on all that went on around him as I am on everything that happened to him. When he's not doing 15-minute phoners and doling out soundbites to journalists, we all know Keith is a tremendously insightful guy.
Especially about music.
I've always loved the long-form, substantive interviews he's done over the years with guitar magazines. I always learn something from him -- like, for instance, how important the electric bass was to the development of rock 'n' roll.
Those kinds of observational nuggets, plus the war stories, will make for a great read, I think. |
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| pdog |
he doesn't want to write songs, and that's his thing, can't see him writing a book. He'll be bored quickly... |
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| Saint Sway |
quote:
pdog wrote:
he doesn't want to write songs, and that's his thing, can't see him writing a book. He'll be bored quickly...
but he LOVES to talk about himself and tell tall tales. The Publishing House will obviously have a ghost writer in place, so all he'll be doing is sitting around spinning tales while throwing back drinks and cigs. And we all know thats his favorite past time. |
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| pdog |
quote:
Saint Sway wrote:
but he LOVES to talk about himself and tell tall tales. The Publishing House will obviously have a ghost writer in place, so all he'll be doing is sitting around spinning tales while throwing back drinks and cigs. And we all know thats his favorite past time.
True, that's how I pictured it too. He'll still get bored b/c it will be to tedious and cover things repeatedly. It will also require him to use parts of his brain that have been severly damaged. I just don't have high expectations, shit even low expectations that the book will be anything new or revealing.
[Edited by pdog] |
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| mrhipfl |
quote:
Saint Sway wrote:
I'd buy it if it ever came out
thing is... is there really ANYTHING that Keith's done that we dont already know or that he hasnt already told us?
word is he suffered a stroke not too long ago. |
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| Saint Sway |
quote:
pdog wrote:
True, that's how I pictured it too. He'll still get bored b/c it will be to tedious and cover things repeatedly.
nah. He's been spinning that old tale about writing Satisfaction for 40 years now with the same glee as the 1st time he told it.
the old cracker tells the same stories over and over and over again and loves doing it
god bless him |
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| stonedinaustralia |
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saint Sway wrote:
I'd buy it if it ever came out
thing is... is there really ANYTHING that Keith's done that we dont already know or that he hasnt already told us?
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Mel Belli wrote
I think yes, honestly. And I'm as much interested in hearing Keith's take on all that went on around him as I am on everything that happened to him. When he's not doing 15-minute phoners and doling out soundbites to journalists, we all know Keith is a tremendously insightful guy.
Especially about music.
I've always loved the long-form, substantive interviews he's done over the years with guitar magazines. I always learn something from him -- like, for instance, how important the electric bass was to the development of rock 'n' roll.
Those kinds of observational nuggets, plus the war stories, will make for a great read, I think.
that was my first thought too Sway but Mel's response is good
at this stage you would have to say that it could be great or a complete dud - keith's apparently a big reader so if he takes the time to take the care it could well be a well written piece (cf. Dylan's Chronicles) - alternatively with ghost writer by his side - it could be a re-hash of all "we" (i.e. hard core obsessives) know in order to take the keith richards "legend" to the general public |
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| GotToRollMe |
ROLLING STONE GATHERS $7.3M
By Keith J. Kelly
July 26, 2007 -- Call him Jumpin' Jack Cash.
Keith Richards, co-founder of the Rolling Stones, is starting up the bidding war for his life story and is likely to get lots of satisfaction as publishers have already pushed the price tag for the advance to $7.3 million in the hottest biding war of the year.
By late yesterday, the bidding had narrowed down to two houses, HarperCollins and Little Brown.
Harper Collins is owned by News Corp., which owns The Post. Little Brown is owned by Hachette Filipacchi.
Originally, three potential publishers were in the running at $7.1 million, according to Crains' New York Business, which broke the news online Tuesday.
The three were pitched on a proposal presented by the agent Ed Victor, the writer James Fox, who's known Richards for 30 years and will serve as his collaborator on the tome, and Jane Rose, Richards' manager for three decades.
One source with knowledge of the proposal said it was based on a few pages that had to be read on site.
At least one source was saying late yesterday that Doubleday was no longer in the hunt.
Doubleday officials didn't return calls for comment. "Price is no longer an issue," said the source, with the bidding deadlocked at $7.3 million. It is now up to Richards, Victor and Rose to pick the winner based on intangibles, such as the editor that would team up with the aging rocker on the project and the marketing effort across other platforms that each publisher can muster.
At the outset, Richards' only goal was to beat the nearly $5 million advance that Eric Clapton snagged for his memoir, due out this October.
Richards had an advance of $1.6 million to write his life story for Bantam in the 1980s, but gave it back after he supposedly told the publisher he couldn't recall enough to fill a book.
Victor and officials at Little Brown and HarperCollins all declined to comment.
Link: http://www.nypost.com/seven/07262007/business/rolling_stone_gathers_7_3m_business_keith_j__kelly.htm
[Edited by GotToRollMe] |
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