Chapter 57: Young Man, Are You Tired of This?
Random House PublishingEditorial Department — Corridor
"Nora!"
Jack Cerf's professional composure dropped immediately into something genuine. He stepped forward and embraced the woman warmly — the specific warmth of someone who had known a person long enough to be actually glad to see them.
"Jack." She returned the greeting with a composed smile, the kind that had its own gravity.
Adam stood to the side and observed. She was in her forties, clearly someone whose career had given her exactly the kind of confidence that couldn't be manufactured. The editor trailing behind her had the expression of a man who had been trying to make a good impression for the last twenty minutes and wasn't sure if it had worked.
"You hate New York," Cerf said, pulling back. "What brings you in?"
"My son is here for school," she said. "I came to see him and stopped by while I was in the city." A pause. "You're not going to make me feel unwelcome, are you?"
"Never. You're our most important author." He meant it completely.
Her eyes moved to Adam with polite curiosity. "And this is?"
"Adam Duncan," Adam said. "I'm a student at Columbia. First novel."
"Has it been signed yet?"
She glanced at Cerf with an expression that read several levels deep.
"We're still discussing terms," Adam said.
"Jack." She turned to Cerf with a smile that was pleasant and entirely pointed. "You're not doing the thing you always do with new writers, are you?"
"We follow industry standard practice—"
"I know what your industry standard practice looks like," she said. "I was on the receiving end of it from my first publisher before you very kindly pointed out exactly how badly I was being treated and suggested I come to Random House instead."
Cerf's expression developed a specific quality.
"I remember," he said, carefully.
"Good." She looked at Adam. "May I read it?"
Adam handed her the manuscript.
"You two go ahead," she said, settling into the chair by the window. "Don't mind me."
Cerf and Adam resumed the negotiation. The dynamic in the room had shifted in ways that both of them felt and neither directly acknowledged.
"Six percent revenue share," Cerf said. "And we'd need broad rights to properly position the book—"
"Six percent for print and distribution," Adam said. "Film, television, gaming, and merchandise rights stay with me. Completely separate from this agreement."
"Without our promotional infrastructure, those rights have limited value. We're the ones who build the audience that makes adaptation attractive. A full rights arrangement lets us invest more heavily in the launch—"
"If Random House acquires full rights and then licenses them to a subsidiary at internal pricing, the eventual sale price of those rights goes through an entity you control. My share of a high-priced sale becomes my share of whatever the internal transfer price was. That's not a concern I'm willing to set aside."
Cerf stared at him.
"You're eighteen," Cerf said, not accusatorially — more like a man recalibrating his mental model.
"Nineteen," Adam said. "And I've read enough about how publishing contracts work to understand what I'm being asked to give up."
"The film and television market for literary adaptations is not what it will be—"
"I know what it is now," Adam said. "I also have a reasonable idea of what direction it's heading. I'll keep those rights."
The back-and-forth continued. Cerf was experienced and patient. Adam was unhurried. Neither was making ground.
From the chair by the window came the sound of pages turning at a steady, engaged pace.
Then the pages stopped.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Both men looked over.
Nora had set down the manuscript and was looking at Adam with an expression of genuine amusement and something that might have been respect.
"That," she said, "was a very good thirty chapters."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Young man. Are you tired of going around in circles?"
Adam opened his mouth.
Closed it.
"A little," he admitted.
Nora smiled. She looked at Cerf. Then back at Adam.
"Then let's talk about what a fair arrangement actually looks like," she said.
End of Chapter 57
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