Pretty wow, if I say so myself-- since it isn't me. The Esquire requisition-- by Arnold Gingrich himself,-- to pay Thomas Pynchon for the Crying of Lot 49 excerpt.

[Tyler Wilson]

The review slip and jacket state $3.95.
—
T


On Aug 25, 2021, at 4:49 PM, Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:


A little more of my book experience some might like to read.

I cannot find the original price of the hardcover of The Crying of Lot 49. But given the year and
small size, I'm going to judge it had to be under $10. (I have a shaky memory that i saw $7.95
on a library copy once. )

Anyway, at 15% royalties, Tom would have to have sold @5830 copies to earn the amount of the Esquire excerpt.



On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 3:35 PM Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com<mailto:mark.kohut at gmail.com>> wrote:
I am too much a fanboy but 1) I don't think any Pynchon scholars or few, have seen this document. Many don't know the terms (amount)
and timing, I don't think. I, at least, never knew the amount, did you? Anyone, anyone?

Inflation calculators show this $800 is equal to @$7000 today. ...Further on this guy's site---he saved these documents from the
trash at Esquire and framed them......I say documents because there are three others, one a bit later in the 60's shows Ms Donadio
getting a grand grand for Roth for an excerpt from what was not then entitled Portnoy's Complaint.

I'll drop the wows. One man's wow is another guy's old news.

Mark



On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 1:23 PM David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com<mailto:fqmorris at gmail.com>> wrote:
Oh.  So this is an ancient non-story?  A story that never was?  So much for that “wow.”  Mark is way too much a fan boy, and I don’t do Twitter.

On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 1:08 PM Tyler Wilson <tbsqrd at hotmail.com<mailto:tbsqrd at hotmail.com>> wrote:
Isn’t this clearly just the payment he received for the excerpt that appeared — pre-publication! — in the December 1965 Esquire issue. Seems pretty straight forward . . .
—
T



> On Aug 25, 2021, at 9:51 AM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com<mailto:fqmorris at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> It’s impossible to understand *anything* about this $800 payment w/o any
> context.  Like, was “fair use” violated, and, if so, how?  That would be my
> first question.
>
> David Morris
>
>> On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 12:45 PM Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com<mailto:mark.kohut at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>> https://twitter.com/DanielTorday/status/1430549770146250754/photo/1
>> --
>> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>
> --
> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l