RIP Dan Humphrey You Would Have Loved Self-Publishing
Spotted: Publishing graduate finishes a Gossip Girl rewatch and wants to recap the publishing drama
I just finished all six seasons of Gossip Girl again and boy do I have some thoughts.
I never appreciated how unproblematic Nate was
People always say Chuck deserves jail but Blair is the guy who calls his exes crazy and leaves out all the out of pocket things he did to drive them crazy
Love the boundary Chuck and Blair set on their relationship to be apart until they had both accomplished their goals
One thing that hasn’t changed is that I have and will always be a Serena girl, sans the character assassination in the end
Dan could have saved himself a lot of pain if he self-published
I did not care for the publishing drama when I first watched the show at 18, but it was interesting to watch it unfold through fresh eyes after studying the inner workings of the industry.
For the uninitiated, Dan Humphrey is a writer from Brooklyn who attends the same private school and assimilates into the circle of Manhattan’s ultra wealthy.
His first book, Inside, is a novel with fictional characters inspired by the people around him. The book was published without his consent. Towards the end of the show, he publishes a series of “character studies” – basically scathing exposés of his friends and family on the Upper East Side, real names and all.
Here are all the issues surrounding Dan’s projects:
Mishandling the film rights adaptation of Inside
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There’s a reason why authors write and agents handle the negotiation of rights deals – authors have experience with writing and agents have experience with exploiting rights.
When Inside was published, Serena was working as a studio executive and her boss, Jane wanted dibs on film rights. After a series of backs and forths, Serena ends up sabotaging any potential deals by leaking false news that the film option had been sold to Jane. He gives the deal to Serena anyway, because of their history, on the condition that he gets to write the screenplay.
The first development meeting does not go well. Radical changes are suggested and they all compromise Dan’s vision for an independent film. After the meeting, Serena convinces Dan that he’s too close to the book and that the project will be “stuck in development hell” if he writes the script. Dan reluctantly agrees to waive his rights to the screenplay. When Serena discovers that Jane intends to turn the book into the next Social Network (aka villanise Dan’s character), she has the movie killed. Inside drops off the bestseller list and Serena gets fired.
The bidding process in real life probably involves less betrayal, but Dan’s agent was seriously MIA. Granted, Dan made a rogue decision and (badly) brokered the film rights deal himself. But where was she when he needed someone to advocate for him during the development meeting? Dan could have self-published and ended up with the same short-lived debut novel.
Publishing in periodicals
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Dan couldn’t to find anyone to publish his exposés as publishers were worried about potential lawsuits and damage to their reputation. However, magazines were more than willing to take on this risk for the sales-boosting shock factor that he was peddling. Nate was gunning for Dan to publish his chapters in the print arm of his media company, The Spectator, but Dan eventually decided on Vanity Fair, which affected their friendship for the rest of the season.
If Dan had self-published, he could’ve avoided all the drama and made bank. His friends and family wouldn’t sue him, and even if they did, he could easily prove that his stories were true. Unlike publishing houses, he had no stakeholder relationships to maintain. Self-publishing is certainly a way to get a controversial message out there, but it might be wise to hire a legal expert to assess the legal risk of any material.
Georgina Sparks was a killer literary agent
Gossip Girl’s resident evil genius, Georgina Sparks, is a recurring character on the show. Photo from Gossip Girl Out Of Context.
Say what you want about Georgina Sparks, but she is everything an agent should be. As Dan’s book agent for the Upper East Side exposé, she kept him on track with his writing schedule, had a knack for negotiating the best deals and even forced him to date a girl for boost his public image. Georgina had his (and her own) best interests at heart and although she wrecked havoc in Dan’s personal life, the chapters were a major success.
A skilled agent can propel a book to success. In traditional book deals with a publishing house, an agent will be assigned to the author. For authors who want more autonomy over who they work with, consider contracting an independent literary agent who can dedicate more time and resources to the project.