Event Recording
November 20, 2023
The structure of book advances has evolved in recent years, with payments often broken up into several pieces along a spread-out timeline. Authors should know what to expect and how to manage the money along the way.
This frank conversation will include guidance on best practices for how to spend, save, and invest your advance. Erin Lowry (author, Broke Millennial series) moderates this chat with Paco de Leon, author of Finance for the People and founder of The Hell Yeah Group, a financial firm for creatives; Eric Myers, founder of Myers Literary Agency; and Andrea Stewart, author of The Drowning Empire trilogy.
Paco de Leon is the author and illustrator of her forthcoming debut book, Finance for the People. She founded The Hell Yeah Group, a financial firm focused on inspiring creatives to be engaged with their personal and business finances after her experiences in small business consulting, financial planning and wealth management. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, New York Magazine, Vice, Refinery 29 and Business Insider. She lives in Echo Park, Los Angeles, with her wife Jenn. She plays in a band called Mister Fantasy, runs a boutique bookkeeping agency called Hell Yeah, Bookkeeping, is the co-host of the Money Diaries Podcast, and is a co-founder of the arts-based non-profit organization, Allies in Arts.
Eric Myers founded Myers Literary Management, LLC in 2017, following two years with Dystel, Goderich, & Bourret, LLC and thirteen with The Spieler Agency. A graduate of UCLA and the Sorbonne, Eric entered publishing as a journalist and author. Books he has written include Screen Deco: A Celebration of High Style in Hollywood, Forties Screen Style: A Celebration of High Pastiche in Hollywood, and Uncle Mame: The Life of Patrick Dennis, all published by St. Martin’s Press. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine and Arts and Leisure sections, Time Out New York, Opera News, Art and Auction, Variety, and Quest.
Andrea Stewart is the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Drowning Empire trilogy (The Bone Shard Daughter, The Bone Shard Emperor, and The Bone Shard War), with a second trilogy, The Gods Below, starting in 2024. The Bone Shard Daughter was her debut and was the finalist for numerous awards, including the Goodreads Choice Award and The British Fantasy Award. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading, painting, birdwatching, and falling down research rabbit holes. Photo credit: Lei Gong.
Erin Lowry, moderator, is the author of the four-part Broke Millennial series, including:Broke Millennial, Broke Millennial Takes On Investing and Broke Millennial Talks Moneyand her recently published Broke Millennial Workbook: Take Control and Get Your Financial Life Together. Erin’s been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and on CBS Sunday Morning, CNBC and The Rachael Ray Show. She has written for The New York Times, USA Today, and is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. She publishes a twice-weekly Substack newsletter called Broke Millennial with Erin Lowry.
With support from Penguin Random House and our donors, the Authors Guild Foundation is pleased to make Business Bootcamps for Writers free and open to the public.
Several writers organizations have partnered with the Authors Guild Foundation to help shape these programs. Our deepest appreciation to these organizations.
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