There has been an update on the Greg Smith book deal.That is a great deal of money for this book. I think in today's explosive media circus culture this book (and probably an eventual movie) will make some money.
It really makes you question his motives though. Did he blast GS in the NYT because of how he felt, or because he knew he'd be setting himself up for a book deal and life as a TV guest commentator?
I have not decided whether I would be interested in reading it.
It is going to pay off big time for former Goldman Sachs exec Greg Smith to write about his stint in the belly of the Wall Street beast.Smith scored a mind-boggling $1.5 million advance to chronicle his life and times at the investment bank.
Smith exited this month with a scathing resignation that was published as an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times.
Soon after, publishers began vying for a book from the South African native, who rose through the ranks in Goldman’s London office.
By Monday, with the price tag flirting with the $1 million mark, it was down to two bidders, Penguin and Hachette Book Group.
Hachette’s Grand Central Publishing finally nailed the deal with a $1.5 million advance yesterday.
OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP CALLING HIM A FUCKING EXEC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE FRIENDS IN THEIR 20s THAT ARE HIS LEVEL!!!!!! AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
lol, but seriously, it's getting out of hand...
omfg i think i should get to director level at my current place as soon as a cumshot then quit like greg smith and write a book about the evil doing in mbs sector with 1.5 mil paid to me upfront!
Why?!?! This guy is an awful writer, I doubt he is going say anything that hasn't already been said in other "insider" finance books, and being an employee at an investment bank isn't exactly book-worthy.
Guys, Tim Tebow was (and probably still is) a NY Times Best Seller. You do not have be a "good" writer to sell books.
He probably won't even write his own book, he'll just dictate to some scrub making $10 an hour or whatever. Most of these books are cookie cutter garbage pump and dumps anyway.
More than likely he'll have a ghost writer... most people like him do
first mover advantage, losers!
props to him for mastering the art of grifting the griftmasters.
That's a lot of money for a book about things everyone already knows ...
Greg Smith (NYT Columnist) Writing A Book On Goldman Sachs (Originally Posted: 03/25/2012)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/24/greg-smith-book-deal_n_1377393…
Looks like he is cashing in! So will you buy the book?
no
Old topic.... http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/gs-greg-smiths-book
[quote=Relinquis]Old topic.... http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/gs-greg-smiths-book[/quote] Woops. Should have checked there before I posted this.
Apologies.
NOpe
He's not a fucking executive.
I would be curious about the book. Assuming it were well-written and informative, I'd probably buy it. It would be the "Ball Four" of today. And by the way, I'm sure that many of us who are disgruntled and disillusioned by our current employers would leap at the opportunity to write a tell-all book about our experiences. What a way to vent!
GS Greg Smith's Book (Originally Posted: 03/25/2012)
This was very interesting….
Questions: 1. Do you think it’s a good idea? Regardless of how he feels now, GS has given him a good 12 years. Haha 2. Hes made a good effort to change things at GS before – is it THAT bad that he resigned and is willing to publish a book rather then try again to change stuff?
This was his motivate all along when releasing the op-ed. That's why he threw in the bs about the Rhodes scholar finalist... the ping pong championship. He was trying to get his name out there so he could get people to buy his book. Scum to talk shit about your company that made you rich for your own personal game under the guise of being 'noble'.
There's more to this story. Some UK blog, of course probably not very reliable, wrote about how Smith was furious at his low bonus and a lack of promotion, and hence he quit (w/ a bang).
I doubt this guy just became morally superior overnight. There must've been some issues internally that motivated him to lash out.
Regarding the book deal, it is what it is. This is America and some people make $ in slimy ways. I bet he pays more for lawyers than the royalties from the book anyway.
Well we all knew this was coming. Bashing a firm which had given him his livelihood for the last 12 years is ridiculous to me.
You guys who are crying foul at this clown turning a buck at Goldman's expense need to wake up. Goldman certainly has no loyalty to any one of their employees (just look at how many "partners" get demoted each year). You have to make your money where you can in this world, and if he makes his money shoving it up Lloyd's ass with no grease and then breaking it off, more power to him.
That said, I won't be buying the book unless it includes bona fide satanic rituals in the Goldman boardroom or the systematic slaughter of litters of puppies by the incoming analyst classes. The bar for Goldman misdeeds is set pretty high.
Dude will spend 2X in libel/slander suits before the book is even published than he will ever earn from it.
Not if he gets the fuck out of the UK and uses an American publisher. You'd be surprised at all the libelous shit that gets published here and the laws are heavily slanted against the libeled. Plus, when you sign a book deal your publisher agrees to pick up the tab on legal fees unless it's proven you fabricated something.
His (or I should say his publisher's) larger concern should be whether or not the book will "earn out" - in other words make more money than the publisher pays to him in advance. Most financial books do not.
Do you think he could set up his own "consultancy" advising clients on how not to get screwed by the BBs? The same way Nick Leeson (the rogue trader who brought down Barings Bank) makes money advising banks and institutions on their internal fraud controls.
He doesn't have enough notoriety in my opinion, but a book should help get his name out as an expert.
No shot. The means Goldman uses to screw their clients (that HE know's about) cannot be circumvented. And last I checked, Nick Leeson was a fired soccer coach. (no disrespect to Nick because he was a baws back in the day).
Interesting... If he can't even help his clients circumvent his own (and Goldman's) tricks then it's even more important that he wrote that op-ed.
At least in my sector, GS isn't all knowing and omnipotent...
Stupid question - but was he a trader or a salesperson? I read he worked in equity derivatives but then on a news clip it said 'he sold to sharks' so just a bit confused over what this all meant.
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