I’d like to be an author now…
1.
In 2017, the Obamas reportedly landed a more than $65 million advance for a joint book deal, which included Michelle’s Becoming and Barack’s A Promised Land.
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Penguin Random House won the deal with its high bid, making it the most expensive presidential book deal in history.
4.
In 2014, Hillary Clinton reportedly landed a $14 million advance for Hard Choices.
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Hillary’s book about her time at the State Department earned her a huge chunk of change from Simon & Schuster, although her book’s sales had a slow start. This was the former Secretary of State’s fifth published book.
5.
In 2003, Bill Clinton reportedly landed a $10 million advance for My Life.
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Publisher Alfred A. Knopf made the deal with the former president for a memoir about his life and his time in the White House. The book was a huge success, selling 400,000 copies on its first day on the shelves.
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Simon & Schuster signed Bruce’s book about his childhood, his desire to become a musician, and his iconic rock ‘n’ roll career.
7.
In 2015, Amy Schumer reportedly landed an $8 million advance for The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo.
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Amy initially earned $1 million for her book with HarperCollins in 2013, but soon cancelled her contract due to time constraints. By 2015, Amy revised her book of essays and signed with Simon & Schuster for $8 million. Talk about an upgrade!
9.
In 2008, Tina Fey reportedly landed a $6 million advance for Bossypants.
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After getting bids from multiple publishers, the comedian ended up signing with Little, Brown and Company, who offered a high bid. The book is a collection of autobiographical essays about Tina’s journey as a writer, actor, and mother, written in her humorous voice.
10.
In 2008, Russell Brand reportedly received an advance of $3.5 million for a two-book deal for Articles of Faith and Booky Wook 2: This Time It’s Personal. In this deal, the publisher also got the rights to Russell’s popular first memoir, My Booky Wook.
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HarperCollins signed with Russell for two books based on the success of his first autobiography. Articles of Faith takes a look at Russell’s thought process as well as explores his previously published articles. Booky Wook 2 uses a more traditional autobiography style.
11.
In 2012, Lena Dunham reportedly landed a $3.5 million advance for Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s Learned.
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Bidding for Lena’s book started at $1 million, but she ended up scoring a larger advance with Random House Publishing. Her book, which ended up becoming number two on the New York Times Best Seller List is a collection of funny essays, lists, and emails.
12.
In 2013, Aziz Ansari reportedly landed an advance of $3.5 million for Modern Romance: An Investigation.
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Aziz’s book, which was picked up by Penguin Press, is not a typical memoir. Instead, it is a humorous take on finding love in the age of technology.
13.
In 2015, Gabourey Sidibe reportedly received an advance of $2.5 million for This Is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare.
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Several publishers vied for the actor’s collection of autobiographical essays, but the book ended up with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in a multimillion-dollar deal.
