The multimillion-dollar sums that celebrities make on books — and how they actually sell
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After returning a one million-dollar book advance (with interest) to HarperCollins in 2014, Amy Schumer landed one of the biggest advance deals the publishing world has ever seen — at an astounding rumored $8-10 million.
The comedian announced the pre-order for her book, out August 16, on Tuesday, and posted the book cover to her Instagram.
Though Schumer's multimillion-dollar book advance tops the deals made for Tina Fey's "Bossypants" and Lena Dunham's "Not That Kind of Girl," these giant sums for A-list books are becoming more and more common. And the actual book sales don't always end up being so impressive.
The autobiography's publisher, Simon & Schuster, declined to release the amount of his advance, but Page Six reported that it was more than $10 million.
Here's a look at six reported celebrity advances and how some of the subsequent books have sold.
"Bossypants" by Tiny Fey
Little, Brown and CompanyAdvance: $6 million
Sold: More than 3.5 million copies since 2011
Source: New York Times
"Boys in the Trees" by Carly Simon
Flatiron BooksAdvance: More than $1 million
Sold: 74,999 copies since November 2015
Source: Crain's New York, Publishers Weekly
"Modern Romance" by Aziz Ansari
AmazonAdvance: $3.5 million
Sold: 282,000 copies from June 2015 through September 2015
Source: New York Times
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