Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Archer 'to get extra five million'


11.03.13 | Bookseller staff

Pan Macmillan has declined to comment on the details of a Sunday Times article that reported the publisher is set to pay author Jeffrey Archer an extra £5m after high sales for titles in his latest five-book series, The Clifton Chronicles.
In an article in the national yesterday (10th March), arts editor Richard Brooks reported that Archer "outmanoeuvered" Pan Macmillan in initial negotiations for the series.
The author reportedly agreed to a contract clause which would see his initial £16m deal reduced if sales for the series fell below a certain level, but only on the proviso that if the second and third books sold better than expected he could "renegotiate the value of the contract or opt to leave for another publisher".

Archer, speaking from Dubai where he has been speaking at the Emirates Festival of Literature, said: "I'm in a position to leave Macmillan but don't want to. It's just that we've proved that the sales of each book in The Clifton Chronicles get better and better and so we believe the contract should be renegotiated."

Archer's agent, Jonathan Lloyd of Curtis Brown, told the Sunday Times: "I can confirm that we are currently reviewing Jeffrey's contract due to the phenomenal success of books one, two and-already-three."

In a statement, Pan Macmillan said: "We are delighted with the sales of The Clifton Chronicles, which have already shown a sales growth of 68% between Book 1 and 2 in the series. Whilst we never comment on our author contracts, we are looking forward to even greater success with the launch of Best Kept Secret this week and to publishing Jeffrey for many years to come."

According to Nielsen BookScan figures, The Sins of the Father proved Archer's bestselling hardback since records began, selling 50,600 copies - up 66% sales of book one in the series, Only Time Will Tell. Total sales to date across all print editions stand at 167,000 (£1.2m) for Sins of the Father and 220,000 (£1.3m) for Only Time Will Tell.


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