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The royal family

SPARE - Harry’s book release announced

630 replies

Rinoachicken · 27/10/2022 11:34

So he’s called it ‘Spare’ and it’s being released on 23rd Jan.

OP posts:
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Readinginthesun · 27/10/2022 14:06

Sick granddaughter *

derxa · 27/10/2022 14:07

I wonder if he keeps a diary. I've forgotten most of what people said and did in my life but then I'm quite old.

MaulPerton · 27/10/2022 14:08

lunar1 · 27/10/2022 12:43

It must refer to all the spare money he's going to have after it's published. Wasn't it a $20 million advance?

The title is obviously a subtle nod to his feminist credentials where he is referencing the Spare Rib magazine I'll get my coat...again

PoseyFlump · 27/10/2022 14:08

OliveKitten · 27/10/2022 13:51

Hardly screwed. He has enormous wealth and privilege purely as a result of the family he was born into.

Are wealthy people immune from mental illness? Can you treat people in your life badly as long as you give them lots of money?

JaneJeffer · 27/10/2022 14:09

He would technically be defined as a ‘young adult’.
A 38 year old woman having a baby is referred to as a geriatric mother!

LaMarschallin · 27/10/2022 14:16

I'm all for a 38 year old being described as "young adult" - makes me feel a lot younger.
But "young adult fiction", say, tends to mean books written with adolescents in mind.
"Young adult" for 38 is pushing it a bit imo.

JackiePeralta · 27/10/2022 14:17

@Ladytreacle clearly they’re rough. Translation rights - given main markets for this book are English speaking, I can’t see vast French / Spanish / Chinese rights generating substantial advances. Serialisation however should be good for Uk/ us / aus / can. Odd as a publisher you don’t factor those in. Price - already available to pre order at £14 (half cover price). Aus / US pricing consistent. odd as a publisher you haven’t seen this. Print run - what you need to factor in is returns / pulp numbers. This does demonstrate the gap between publishers (it does seem more that you’re a Harry fan-girl based on posting history being solely about the Sussexes) and what they look at vs those who receive the royalty statements and what they look at. There won’t be royalties; PRH are buying market share as much as anything. As a publisher you know that though.

BlowseNSkirt · 27/10/2022 14:21

Interesting cover design.

SPARE - Harry’s book release announced
SPARE - Harry’s book release announced
Rushingfool · 27/10/2022 14:23

Oh ffs. Countless women have been ignored in wills even up until quite recently in this country, and they still are in some countries, where everything is left to sons and women are expected to basically sell themselves instead. Pathetic of him and yet again trading on his 'poor me' mentality.

Gilmorehill · 27/10/2022 14:26

derxa · 27/10/2022 12:56

You'll all flame me but I don't get the big deal about the walking behind the coffin. It was a funeral and my experience of funerals are that they pass in blur no matter what happens. It's the months and years of grieving which are important. I believe that Harry said that he buried his feelings for years. This led to his behaviour in his teens I believe. I have a great deal of sympathy for what he suffered. However he's now in his late thirties and has time to process and learn to cope. Lashing out at the royal family won't help him in any way.

I’m glad someone else has said that. Lots of dcs who have lost parents at that age want to be involved in the funeral.

adriftabroad · 27/10/2022 14:34

LaMarschallin · 27/10/2022 14:16

I'm all for a 38 year old being described as "young adult" - makes me feel a lot younger.
But "young adult fiction", say, tends to mean books written with adolescents in mind.
"Young adult" for 38 is pushing it a bit imo.

😂Absolutely! Also @JaneJeffer I must be barely, barely middle aged at 50.
I also agree with @KimWexlersPonyTail

ShamedBySiri · 27/10/2022 14:35

A wag on twitter saying it should have been called "Surplus" Grin

PoseyFlump · 27/10/2022 14:36

Lots of dcs who have lost parents at that age want to be involved in the funeral.

Not on global tv? The thing about adults is that they should make the right decisions for children. And when children grow up they have a right to believe they were not protected for their own good, regardless of what a child 'wants'. There was a way for the children to be involved in the funeral that would not involve a long walk behind the coffin.

PoseyFlump · 27/10/2022 14:37

ShamedBySiri · 27/10/2022 14:35

A wag on twitter saying it should have been called "Surplus" Grin

You're kinda proving his point. Probably thinks the whole world sees him like that.

Ladytreacle · 27/10/2022 14:37

JackiePeralta · 27/10/2022 14:17

@Ladytreacle clearly they’re rough. Translation rights - given main markets for this book are English speaking, I can’t see vast French / Spanish / Chinese rights generating substantial advances. Serialisation however should be good for Uk/ us / aus / can. Odd as a publisher you don’t factor those in. Price - already available to pre order at £14 (half cover price). Aus / US pricing consistent. odd as a publisher you haven’t seen this. Print run - what you need to factor in is returns / pulp numbers. This does demonstrate the gap between publishers (it does seem more that you’re a Harry fan-girl based on posting history being solely about the Sussexes) and what they look at vs those who receive the royalty statements and what they look at. There won’t be royalties; PRH are buying market share as much as anything. As a publisher you know that though.

Clearly they’re rough

Your figures are non-existent. Your conclusion is based on nothing but sheer desire to see this title fail (why is that?). I can tell you have never worked out a book’s likely profitability and know they little about the field of book publishing through practical experience. Someone who can make such an assertion about the likely profitability of a title without knowing anything about the production costs, royalty rates negotiated, print run and the various income streams etc. of a title has never worked in publishing – at least not in a prominent position.

BoreOfWhabylon · 27/10/2022 14:42

BlowseNSkirt · 27/10/2022 14:21

Interesting cover design.

I think he looks just like a thinner, ginger James Corden in the cover picture!

JackiePeralta · 27/10/2022 14:45

I have never worked in book publishing. But I’ve very clearly negotiated more writer agreements than you and have no need of precise details on one title to have a good idea of what a 400 page hardback with a reasonable number of photographs (likely colour, let’s face it) costs to produce and distribute at the moment than you do, despite your claim to a relevant commercial role.
And you’ve missed where I clearly say that PRH make money long before royalties are payable. You’re confusing royalties and profitability- oops!

Ladytreacle · 27/10/2022 14:49

JackiePeralta · 27/10/2022 14:45

I have never worked in book publishing. But I’ve very clearly negotiated more writer agreements than you and have no need of precise details on one title to have a good idea of what a 400 page hardback with a reasonable number of photographs (likely colour, let’s face it) costs to produce and distribute at the moment than you do, despite your claim to a relevant commercial role.
And you’ve missed where I clearly say that PRH make money long before royalties are payable. You’re confusing royalties and profitability- oops!

I have never worked in book publishing

As I alluded to earlier, that was very obvious.

ShamedBySiri · 27/10/2022 15:02

As regards the bereavement and funeral trauma, which I do not in anyway underestimate, none the less other children have childhood bereavements and difficult funeral experiences in their lives, albeit not in the public eye.

In my case my father committed suicide when I was seven. My parents had divorced and Mum remarried when I was a baby and I had a very happy childhood with my stepfather being basically my father. However I am the youngest, so my older sisters had a different experience and were obviously closer to my father and saw more of him than I did.

On the day he died I remember Mum breaking the news to us and one of my sisters asking how he had died and a being told he had a heart attack. It wasn't until I was an adult with questions that I obtained his death certificate and discovered it was suicide and let my sisters know. This was never discussed with my mother or step father or other members of the family such as aunts who would have known the truth.

My eldest sister was 15. Daddy had taken her to Germany to drop her off at an exchange family and come home and killed himself. Mum didn't want to disturb my sister's trip so she wasn't told till she came home. None of us were given the opportunity to attend his funeral. I have no idea where he is buried though I do sometimes consider tracking it down to visit. Not really sure where to begin finding out - key people who would know are either dead or past remembering.

Anyway, I think my eldest sister definitely has grounds for long term trauma and resentment but she has lived a happy life bearing no particular grudge against our mother (beyond the tricky relationship we all had with her as she was a somewhat difficult personality).

In fact she had this weird thing about death. She just couldn't discuss it. Ever. As a child one would come home from school and look for the dog/hamster/pony and they would be gone. She'd have them put down (when they needed it obv) but never discuss it with us.
My next sister up spent a year in Switzerland as an au pair. When she came home we had a sweepstakes laying bets on how long it would be before she had a row with Mum. We were all over generous with our time estimates. The first thing she said when we met at the airport was "I can't wait to ride (her favourite horse)" and Mum replied "I'm so sorry, she broke a leg and had to be shot" prompting a massive row starting in arrivals! Of course the poor horse had died many months before but Mum wouldn't have her told as it would make her homesick apparently.

Anyway I tell you all this by way of offering a different experience of death of a parent and a family dealing with it. Of course the secrets couldn't have been kept if we were a family in the public eye. I don't think any of us particularly carry childhood scars as a result though it might mean we have parented our own children differently.

Harry's experience is unique to him. His perspective different to William's as W was older and had been party to much more information than H would have been exposed to. I don't doubt the trauma and shock he suffered. But many other children have traumatic experiences, also unique to them, and while they may be blessed in not having to deal with it in the public eye, I don't think it gives H a unique pass to bitterness and blame. He needs to put it all behind him as so many other children do.

I often think about children whose father's murdered their mother. That must be an appalling trauma to get over, and effectively losing both parents not one. I've not looked at studies or statistics if they exist but I'm sure some go off the rails and never recover and others gratefully accept the anonymity that comes with time and public forgetfulness and get on with their lives. Harry needs to get on with his.

I'm also pretty sure I remember when H & W did an interview/tv program celebrating their Mother's life (?2017 twenty years anniversary) when they said they wouldn't be discussing her publicly after that. Obviously some things like the Bashir scandal have meant they couldn't ever not mention her again but I thought there was a general intention to treasure their own private memories of her and not go on revisiting her death (publicly) every year.

Perhaps Diana and her death will occupy a relatively small chunk of the book. I hope so.

ShamedBySiri · 27/10/2022 15:16

Oh, and after that long post I should have said that all of my siblings and I would have liked to go to my father's funeral. We weren't given that opportunity. Obviously the secrecy surrounding the circumstances of his death would have made that difficult and discussing / revealing the reality of his death would have been difficult for anyone let alone my mother. I'm just saying whilst funerals might be traumatic for a child, being shut away and not having it ever mentioned isn't good either! I don't think it is helpful for H to lay the blame for all sorts of issues on this one event in the way he does.

toomuchlaundry · 27/10/2022 15:20

Don’t think a 38yo is called a young adult surely that is someone in their 20s

adriftabroad · 27/10/2022 15:30

@ShamedBySiri what an incredibly brave and interesting post. You raise such good points too.

Thank you.

MidnightConstellation · 27/10/2022 15:33

ShamedBySiri · 27/10/2022 14:35

A wag on twitter saying it should have been called "Surplus" Grin

Or should that be ‘Sourpuss’?

Coucous · 27/10/2022 15:34

ShamedBySiri · 27/10/2022 15:16

Oh, and after that long post I should have said that all of my siblings and I would have liked to go to my father's funeral. We weren't given that opportunity. Obviously the secrecy surrounding the circumstances of his death would have made that difficult and discussing / revealing the reality of his death would have been difficult for anyone let alone my mother. I'm just saying whilst funerals might be traumatic for a child, being shut away and not having it ever mentioned isn't good either! I don't think it is helpful for H to lay the blame for all sorts of issues on this one event in the way he does.

So you haven't read the book but he's laying blame - where?
Your circumstances and his are different, you are not the same people, you will suffer loss in a different way, you were not there. Even if you were there, experiences will never be the same. The book is there for you to understand his take on his own circumstances not for you to tell him that he cannot feel a certain way about his own life.

Why should he follow your life experience as though he doesn't have a life of his own.

adriftabroad · 27/10/2022 15:36

Well that is fucking rude.