Author John Scalzi has just signed a 13 book deal with TOR. For the next ten years he will be writing for the DRM-Free publisher and will be garnering over $3.4 Million dollars.
The first book will launch a new far-future space opera series. Scalzi will also return to the Old Man’s War universe. Other titles will include sequels to 2014’s bestselling and critically acclaimed Lock In.
“Well, now I know what I’m doing for the next decade,” says Scalzi. “And that’s a good thing. In an era when publishing is in flux, this contract with Tor will let me spend more of my time doing what readers want me to do: writing books and making new stories for them to enjoy. It also gives both me and Tor a stable, long-term base to grow our audience, not only among established science fiction and fantasy fans, but among readers of all sorts. Science fiction is mainstream culture now, and there are so many people discovering just how much there is to enjoy in these stories of ours. We have much more to share. That’s what we’re going to do.”
The TOR website is really hyping this man up, as well they should. In a recent blog article they said “John Scalzi is one of the most acclaimed SF authors to emerge in the last decade. His debut Old Man’s War won him science fiction’s John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. His New York Times bestsellers include The Last Colony, Fuzzy Nation, his most recent novel Lock In, and also Redshirts, which won 2013’s Hugo Award for Best Novel. Material from his widely read blog The Whatever has earned him two other Hugo Awards as well. Currently three of Scalzi’s novels are in development for television: Redshirts (FX), Old Man’s War (SyFy), and Lock In (Legendary TV).”
So here is a bit about the deal. The money is spread out over ten years, he doesn’t get paid unless he writes the books. John also is getting an indeterminate amount as a signing bonus. Two books with the TOR deal will be focusing on YA and hopefully get the same type of audience that other books like Maze Runner gets.
In the end, this certainly isn’t the biggest book deal in publishing but it does give John security in order to write books and know where his next paycheck is coming from.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.