The vampire squid giveth, and the vampire squid taketh away. Not that they really had anything to do with the following. On the heels of a very public outing, the voice behind snarky Twitter (and WSO) account @"GSElevator" John Lefevre has reportedly lost his recent book deal with Simon & Schuster. Perennial butt of his jokes Goldman Sachs wasted no time in gloating on Twitter:
Guess elevators go up and down, http://t.co/xkDPZgaCI8
— Goldman Sachs (@GoldmanSachs) March 6, 2014
The reason the book deal was pulled? Ostensibly it was the fact that Lefevre never actually worked at Goldman, but I think most of us would agree that's probably bullshit. I mean, at least Lefevre is a fellow finance guy who knows about which he speaks, whether or not he ever personally recommended the purchase of CDOs before going short himself. Far more likely is that fact that his outing cost him some of his mystique, and for Simon & Schuster the very possibility of decreased book sales was enough to yank the deal.
I have no doubt that another publisher will step in and the book will get made. Maybe he's even pissed enough to air some stuff he was going to hold back. In any case, Byrd Leavell is his agent and that guy is an absolute assassin in the publishing world, so have no fear: you will someday read this book.
As a fellow author, I feel bad for him and as a fan of his humor I feel bad for all of us. But again, I'm sure it's a temporary setback.
Keep fighting the good fight, @"GSElevator". And keep giving 'em hell. It's obviously working.
That sucks. I wouldn't declare victory so soon, though.
I would. It will get published.
He mentioned in interviews that Simon & Schuster was aware of the inevitability of him being identified before inking the book deal - seemed like a bizarre move on their part.
That comment makes me want to punch Lloyd in the throat
The whole time i saw this news posted on various media sources I was thinking what great advertising/publicity it was. Now a whole bunch more people know about the book and await its release. It will definitely be picked up by another book house.
I cant find the exact quote but Lefevre basically said anyone who actually believed the stuff was word-for-word verbatim that actually took place in a GS office was an idiot. Which i tend to lean towards. I always thought the whole thing was a Wall st commentary as a whole not actually shit that was said at GS
WSO should hop on this opportunity and nevertheless the book gets made or not, secure him as a writer
Man that quote from GS is dickish. I don't think anyone with half a braincell actually thought every quote was realistically from an elevator in GS offices.
I hate Goldman Sachs.
Very surprised that a corporate twitter account would be so candid
I would have expected more class from them
It was probably pulled because GS threatened a lengthy and costly lawsuit that would greatly outweigh the revenue from the book.
Agreed. Goldman gave a rare glimpse of their inner bucket shop with that tweet.
Might be alone here, but my thing with GSE was always that it just seemed so contrived - even before Lefevre was outted. The posts are hilarious, but knowing that it's just one dude who's blasting out unsourced tweets certainly detracts a bit from the mystique and comedy of the whole thing. Kind of hard for me to see how that's any different from a troll account....which is fine, but zero chance I'd spend a dollar on this book, and Simon and Schuster likely knew there'd be plenty out there that shared my view.
Edit: is his book supposed to be similar to his articles, or just more quotes real people never said? No question he's a funny dude, so if it were more anecdotal, that would certainly change my views toward it
Would call this a small loss. With 650K followers he can simply self publish the book. People would buy it purely for entertainment value.
BI would pick it up and run the story.
With that many people, it would sell at least 100K copies and clear 6 figures.
Small bump in the road.
Worry not amigos...I will be coming out with my book faster than you can say expensive lawsuit.
PP long time no see amigo, how's the good life been treating you?
@rufiolove : I meant for the BANK not to declare victory so soon, not GSElevator.
Ahh, gotcha...
That GS would acknowledge this guy is testament to his relevance. That GS would acknowledge this, is testament to their declining culture, and possible that of finance itself. The stiff upper lip crowd has become soft and corrupt, and other groups smell blood.
I forsee another publisher picking him up, or self publishing being an uption like WallStreetPlayboys said. Hell, I hate what GSElevator stands for and I'd buy his book. Facts are, it's the new 'Monkey Business' in terms of training manuals.
I think GS should send out snarky tweets every time they fuck their muppet clients or the rest of us in the ass.
I didn't think anything would improve my opinion of them, but sure enough this would do it. How gangster would that be?
Obviously GS paid Simon & Schuster to cut the cord on the deal.
GSElevator was always a very poor man's version of LSO.
I gotta say, LSO is really, really well done. I see a lot of people don't like the recent stuff as much but he clearly puts a lot of effort into it. (I love the new stuff too)
New stuff? Word! I need to check that out.
edit: That Y-Combinator piece is awesome.
i like the tweet from Goldman, we want companies/athletes/media etc to be more candid but then call foul when they do.
Eddie, he'll get a book deal or like WSPlayboys said he can self publish it on Kindle.
Tweet of the year
How has no one on here mentioned that several different media outlets and comedians have accused Lefevre of plagiarism? I'd imagine that Simon & Schuster is already dealing with enough of that trouble having given Jonah Lehrer another book deal, even after two of his three previous books have been pulled from the shelves for plagiarism and fabrication.
Lefevre has been roasted from all angles over the last week. Couple that with an already-dubious book proposal, accusations of plagiarism and the specter of whatever libelous tort GS is sure to threaten, it doesn't take much imagination to understand why a publisher would be reluctant to put its name behind Lefevre.
I honestly hadn't heard of any plagiarism accusations. That does change things if there is anything to them.
He should have never revealed his identity... ruined it imo.
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