Not P but Donadio and Heller

[Mark Kohut]

I am reminded of this about great agent Donadio speaking of rights sales.
She sold an excerpt of* Catch--22 *to New American Writing, a mass market
literary book as magazine, a famous maker of writers' reputations.
She sold this years ahead of when Joe finished his masterpiece, so much
ahead that the excerpt bore the title *Catch-18.*

On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 8:48 PM David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:

> OK, so now you’ve provided some context for discussion of this $800
> payment.  Not knowing publishing like you do, are these Esquire payments a
> kind of fine or a settlement for publishing excerpts before the book’s
> release?  Or are these things negotiated before article publishing?  Either
> way, in today’s world does this practice still happen?  Any publicity of a
> new novel would seem a gift in the state of today’s publishing world, no?
>
> David Morris
>
> On Wed, Aug 25, 2021 at 8:28 PM Tyler Wilson <tbsqrd at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> 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
>> --
>> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>
>