False Advance Exposes Media
Share
Ryan Holiday shares how he intentionally misled the media about his book advance to prove a point about media fact-checking.
"I got a $250,000 advance for Trust Me I'm Lying - it was $200,000 with some incentives. But when I announced it, I announced that it had been sold for $500,000 because I knew nobody actually fact-checks press releases.
The whole point of the book was to prove that the problems I was talking about in the media system were real. So I promptly doubled the advance when I announced it, and nobody checked.
The ironic part is while the book sold well, it will probably only earn out its advance by this summer, which will be the 10th anniversary. The royalty statement I get in July 2022 will finally go from negative to positive on the advance statement - so it took 10 years to actually earn back that initial advance."
Ryan Holiday
Started in media and marketing before pivoting to writing and public speaking on Stoicism. Authored 10 books, including bestsellers "The Obstacle is the Way" and "Ego is the Enemy," selling over 2 million copies worldwide.
Hosts "The Daily Stoic" podcast, offering practical guidance on applying Stoic principles to modern life.