Authors and Writers by the Numbers

For those who are curious about writing as a career, here's an interesting article in Publishers Weekly. People are always asking me if it's hard to be a full-time writer, and how much authors make. Here is one snapshot that might provide some insight. I'll let you draw your own conclusions about what the numbers mean!

Clues in the News

It's a big day for 39 Clues. Scholastic announced today that DreamWorks has purchased the film rights to the series. Deborah Forte and Steven Spielberg will produce, and Steven Spielberg is considering directing the project. (Deborah Forte, who is very nice, called me yesterday and said, "Yes, Steven will be producing with me." And I was like, "Um, when you say Steven . . ." And she said, "Rick, there is only one Steven.")

Wow. Just when I thought nothing more could possibly surprise me. You can read the story in Variety here.

Also today, Publishers Weekly reports that the first print run for The Maze of Bones, the first 39 Clues book written by yours truly, has doubled from 250,000 to 500,000. They will also be printing half a million card packs, which is about what my sons have stashed away in their room. You can read the PW story here.

It's exciting to be part of a project like this, and I'm so glad it's already generated such a positive response. I hope you'll enjoy Maze of Bones, which will be published September 9.

From the Mailbag

Over the weekend, I dug my way out of a mountain of fan mail that had been piling up since my May tour. Thanks to everyone who wrote!

Among the highlights, Ian from Chicago told me I was a 'beastly writer.' He assures me that 'beastly' is a good thing. Eric from Jasper, Indiana sent me a petition signed by all his friends asking me to visit their town. I doubt I will be able to, Eric, but I really appreciate the invitation and your enthusiasm! Jacob in St. Louis sent me the photo above because he wants to be demigod of the week. Congratulations, Jacob. You are! Our other demigod of the week is Alia from Oklahoma, the first person ever to send me a fan letter in the form of a graphic novel. You can see her work above. Thanks, Alia. I'm glad your family has enjoyed the books, and your dog likes Mrs. O'Leary!

I hope everyone has a lot of good books to get through the summer. Stay cool and have fun! I'm deep into revisions of Percy 5. More about that in a few months!

Cat and Mouse

From the desk of Rick Riordan: this is one of our cats, Little Boy. Recently Becky started feeding him Friskies treats as she sat at the computer. Little Boy (who used to be very shy) has now decided the computer is his favorite place to hang out. He will sit here all day, or walk back and forth in front of the screen waiting for treats, which is cute, although it makes it a little hard to check email. If the next Percy Jackson book has lots of references to monstrous black cats, you will know why!

Jason and the Argonauts sail again!

Check out this fun story in the news!

Demigod of the Week

Thanks to Nicole R. from Wisconsin who sent the amazing fan art above. I think you definitely have a future as a professional illustrator, Nicole. You are demigod of the week!

Photos from the Road

Photos are starting to trickle in from all sorts of places, documenting my many travels during May. At the top, a picture of me in Winchester, England for the Hampshire Book Award. That was a wonderful bunch of kids! Below that, me with Jeff Kinney of Diary of a Wimpy Kid fame at the ABC Not-a-Dinner during Book Expo in Los Angeles. Jeff is a great guy and did a fabulous job MCing the event! Finally, some more pictures from LA: the uber 39 Clues party which Scholastic hosted. You can see the 39 Clues logo projected on the dance floor, the three-color caviar that was part of the Russia station (man, sooo much food!) and me signing the infamous Rick Riordan trading cards.

The Last Signings!

Thanks to all my Texas friends who came out for the last three Battle of the Labyrinth signings. On Wednesday I was at the Twig bookstore here in San Antonio. It's always fun to do an event in my hometown because I never know who will show up or how I will be connected to them -- old classmates, friends of my parents, neighbors of friends, parents of classmates, the possibilities are endless! I saw a lot of very happy and relieved school kids who had just enjoyed their first day of summer. Hooray and congratulations! Special thanks to Estrella, who couldn't have been more than nine. She made her own Powerpoint presentation printout for me to pitch the idea of a Percy video game. She'll make a great salesperson someday. In case you're wondering, there's been some talk and interest in a video game, but that's all I can say right now. The rights reside with Fox, the movie studio, so we'll see what happens.

Saturday I went to Read All About It in Boerne, always a fun town to visit. Thanks to my friends at the public library who sponsored a costume parade down to the bookstore. I saw a lot of Greek gods and goddesses, and even a few heroes who had whittled their own wooden swords. Kids came from as far away as Dallas and Oklahoma to attend the event. I'm honored you could join us!

Yesterday I was at the Arboretum Barnes & Noble in Austin for the final event. We had at least four hundred people, I was told, and I believe it looking at the pictures. That's my Uncle Rees and my mom, who both attended the event and braved the crowds. Thanks, guys! Thanks also to Caren and Sasha, CRMs extraordinaire, who helped orchestrate the event.

Now . . . I'm just a writer again! I'm finishing up work on a short story project for Puffin Books. Then with luck I'll be back to work on Percy 5. Happy summer, everyone.

Live at Borders 01

The event I recently did at Store 01 in Ann Arbor is now live on the Borders site. You can check it out here.