Page 28 of Camino Ghosts

She said, “Etta wants to shop it around. What do you think about that?”

Since most of the writers on the island confided in Bruce, he knew the ins and outs of the business. They trusted his advice and spoke openly to him about money. He was discreet and fiercely protective of their business.

He replied, “That always sounds good, but the problem is that it could damage your relationship with Viking, and the bigger danger is further rejections. What if you shop around and get less, or nothing, from other publishers? Lana will be ticked off, and she’ll also be proven correct. Don’t run from happiness, Mercer. If you’re happy at Viking, stay there. I’ve seen so many writers hurt themselves by hopping from one publisher to the next chasing a few extra bucks. You don’t want that reputation. Lana is a great editor and Viking is, well, it’s Viking. One of the legendary houses.”

“What would you do?” Thomas asked.

“Counter at three hundred and push hard. Tighten up the schedule and get more money sooner. One-third at contract, same at delivery, same at hardback publication.”

They pondered this for a moment as Bruce poured more wine. Noelle excused herself and retired for the evening.

Mercer asked, “And what about Lovely?”

Along with the disappointment of Viking’s offer was the complicating and quite sticky issue of Lovely’s expectations.

“How much does she want?” Bruce asked.

“We didn’t get that far, but it was obvious she expects to be compensated. And I’m fine with that, to a point.”

“Ten percent?” Bruce said.

“That seems low. I don’t want to insult her and I don’t want to give the impression that us white folks are once again taking advantage. On the other hand, I could reach a threshold where I ask myself if the whole project is worth it. If she wants too much and I walk away, then she gets nothing.”

Thomas said, “We’ve talked about this endlessly. Mercer is basically taking her story and relying on her memory and history. Let’s say that’s half the book, and much of the work has already been done. The other half is the fight to save the island. There, Mercer will do all the heavy lifting.”

“You’ll help,” she said.

“Of course I will.”

Bruce blew a cloud of smoke at the creaky fans and said, “Look, why not just talk to Lovely and see what she wants? She’s never had a dime. She spent her life working here on the island, first in the canneries, then in the hotels, cleaning rooms and doing laundry. Now she lives on Social Security. She has no family to support, and as far as we know there’s no one looking for a handout. It’s hard to believe she’s expecting a big windfall. Keep in mind she knows something about publishing and selling books, although hers has yet to top a hundred copies.”

Mercer said, “I know. I just want to be fair.”

“Then talk to her. Meet her at the store tomorrow. Use my office. I’ll make sure you have some privacy.”

“Thanks, Bruce.”

“And when are you guys leaving? Myra wants to have a proper send-off, a small dinner, one final booze-up before you have to go back to work.”

“Saturday. She called today and said she and Leigh are having a party. Didn’t ask if we wanted to be included, just assumed so.”

“I’m sure you agreed.”

“Of course. Who says no to Myra?”

“No one in this town.”

7.

Since the first two meetings with Lovely took over a week to arrange, Mercer was surprised when Miss Naomi called back and said they would be at the bookstore at ten o’clock the following morning. Mercer suspected the granddaughters wanted some more books. A clerk welcomed them to the kids’ section and showed them some new arrivals. Thomas managed to occupy Miss Naomi in the cookbook section with a discussion about Low Country recipes. Bruce turned off his desk phone and locked the doors.

When they were alone, Mercer explained what was happening with the book proposal in New York. Etta had wrangled $250,000 out of Viking as an advance. Miss Lovely absorbed this figure without a reaction.

Mercer was saying, “This sounds like a lot of money, but it’s really not. Fifteen percent goes off the top to the literary agent, then about thirty percent goes for taxes. The money will be spread over four years, maybe five, depending on how long it takes me to write it.”

“How long will it take?” Lovely asked.

“It’s hard to say. A lot depends on what happens to the island now, and that’s tied up in court. With court cases, it’s difficult to predict anything.”

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