Religious Broadcaster Gets Rich Contract for Next Book


By EDWARD WYATT
Published: March 15, 2006
Multimillion-dollar book deals are usually the realm of presidents, popes and Federal Reserve chairmen, plus the occasional mega-best-selling novelist like James Patterson or Michael Crichton.


Joel Osteen, the pastor of the Lakewood Church in Houston, praying with his wife, Victoria, and their children, Jonathan and Alexandra, at the opening of the church's 16,000-seat arena last summer.


Mr. Osteen, a television evangelist, has signed a book deal with Free Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, that publishing insiders say is potentially one of the richest for a nonfiction book and could bring the author more than $10 million.

Mr. Osteen's contract follows the enormous success of "Your Best Life Now," published in 2004 by Warner Faith, a division of the Time Warner Book Group. More than three million hardcover copies were sold, along with more than one million copies of associated journals, daily devotionals and study guides.

The contract does not adhere to usual format, with the author receiving an advance on future royalties and the royalty rate set at 15 percent of the cover price of each book sold. Rather, the Osteen contract is known in the industry as a co-publishing agreement, with the author receiving a smaller advance — perhaps $1 million to $2 million — but then being entitled to receive 50 percent of the publisher's profit on sales.

That type of deal was popularized by Stephen King, the best-selling novelist, who in 1997 signed a deal with Simon & Schuster for the novel "Bag of Bones" that paid him a $2 million advance plus 50 percent of profit. At the time, Mr. King had been seeking an advance of close to $17 million. Simon & Schuster has signed similar contracts with Dr. Phil McGraw, the talk-show host, and other authors.

If Mr. Osteen's book deal were conventionally structured, it would be one of the biggest ever for an author of a nonfiction book, surpassing the $8.5 million or more received in 1994 by Pope John Paul II and just last week by the former Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, and potentially topping the $10 million former President Bill Clinton received for his 2004 memoir, "My Life."

Two people involved in negotiations over Mr. Osteen's book, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because their companies do not allow the disclosure of financial arrangements with authors or clients, said Mr. Osteen, 43, and his agent, Jan Miller of Dupree, Miller & Associates, were seeking a guarantee of close to $13 million for the right to publish his next book.

Ms. Miller did not return phone calls seeking comment yesterday. Publishers Weekly, a trade journal, reported on its Web site yesterday that Mr. Osteen "got some $13 million" in the deal with Free Press.

Adam Rothberg, a spokesman for Simon & Schuster, which is part of the CBS Corporation, said that the $13 million figure was "way off base." He declined to comment on the specifics, but he said that Free Press had agreed to a co-publishing arrangement with Mr. Osteen for one book plus ancillary publications, like journals and devotionals. According to two other people briefed on Mr. Osteen's deal — who also spoke on condition of anonymity because their companies do not allow the disclosure of financial arrangements with authors or clients — his wife, Victoria, who appears with him at the "inspirational nights of encouragement and worship" that he conducts at arenas across the country, is also planning to publish a book, possibly with Simon & Schuster's children's division.

Mr. Rothberg declined to comment on any deal with Mrs. Osteen. "We view this as the beginning of a long publishing relationship that has many different opportunities and possibilities," he said.

While the co-publishing agreement does not necessarily guarantee Mr. Osteen a minimum amount beyond the initial payment, publishing executives say that for an author of his stature, it would not be unusual for the publisher to promise that an author would receive a certain amount of money over an extended period of time, perhaps 5 to 10 years.

The effort to woo Mr. Osteen away from Warner Faith, his previous publisher, was intense. A few months ago, four senior Simon & Schuster executives traveled to Texas to meet with him and his agent, according to people who have been briefed on the deal. The executives were Carolyn K. Reidy, president of the company's adult publishing group; Martha K. Levin, publisher of Free Press; Dominick V. Anfuso, editorial director of the imprint; and Rick Richter, president of the Simon & Schuster children's division.

Mr. Osteen's profits on his first book almost certainly have exceeded $10 million on the $20 hardcover edition, given the standard royalty rate. He would also receive smaller but still significant royalties on the ancillary books.

Given the success of "Your Best Life," Mr. Osteen last year gave up his $200,000 salary from his church. His teachings emphasize that consistent tithing — the giving of 10 percent of a person's income to the church — brings even greater rewards, both spiritual and otherwise.


-- Edited by RTconcern at 09:29, 2006-03-16