When Will Sloane Crosley Quit Her Job?
MORE Pub Crawl
Sloane Crosley used to be a book publicist at Vintage. She still is one, actually, though the longer her collection of essays, published in April by Riverhead as I Was Told There’d Be Cake, remains on The New York Times best-seller list, the weirder that fact becomes. Shouldn’t she quit pretty soon? Isn’t that what happens now?
Sure, the advance she got from Riverhead was a mere good-not-great sum in the five figures, but the book has sold a staggering 20,000 copies and has easily earned out its advance. Shouldn’t Ms. Crosley be out pitching her next book, striking while she’s hot, shooting for the big bucks? Isn’t she sleeping on piles of cash?
Not just yet. “I don’t really have an eye towards quitting anytime soon,” Ms. Crosley said last week. “Even if for some reason I was suddenly rolling in it, which I’m not, I wouldn’t know about it for months and months and months.”
But the question has come up, right? “People have been saying congratulations a lot. They haven’t said, ‘Congratulations, when can I have your office?’”
Russell Perrault, Ms. Crosley’s boss in the Vintage publicity department, thinks Ms. Crosley is very happy working for him—though he admitted to Pub Crawl that the thought of her leaving has certainly occurred to him.
“Sure, of course, I’ve considered the possibility,” he said. “Do I think it’s going to happen? I certainly hope not! If we were getting in the way of her writing, I would say that she should leave, but I don’t think that’s the case right now.”
Riverhead publisher Geoff Kloske, meanwhile, is unconcerned: “I confess when we set out to make Sloane’s book a success, Random House’s welfare was not part of my calculation.”
What of Ms. Crosley’s poor authors, though, the ones whose books she works so tirelessly to promote?
Who will blurb her next book, if not them?
Unfortunately, this is another "conscience" article by Leon Neyfakh and TNYO. OK, you went a little bit overboard last time around in your praiseful profile of Sloane Crosley ("The Most Popular Publicist…"). It likely caused her more embarrassment than it did— or should have done — for you. But do not fall into the B.S. "Fair and Balanced" mold. You don't atone for for Left by going Right. Just go straight for the accurate reporting and commentary to begin with. I understand from a friend-of-a-friend who knows Crosley (Who doesn't have a NYC friend who knows her?) that lately she's been putting in 70-80 hour weeks and weekends working for her Vintage authors, just to make sure they continue to get her best effort. Does that sound like someone who's focussing on herself and moving on? TNYO: the days of atonement are gone.
i agree that this silly piece is pointless. but not for "going left or right." You clearly know Crosley. I apparently am the only one in the city who doesn't know this chick but it seems pretty damn unfair that she gets consistantly punished in the snarky press for being good at TWO jobs and working to help other people.
Damn, this girl is HOT. And funny as Hell. Sloane Crosley is perfect. I am going to go weep now.