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> McPhee usually had one person at the center of each piece, so he would aim to spend a lot of time with that person … stay at their cottage for a season Even

> McPhee usually had one person at the center of each piece, so he would aim to spend a lot of time with that person … stay at their cottage for a season Even back when every household received a morning paper I cannot fathom how a single article could command such a high pay.

cjpearson 1y ago
For a magazine like the New Yorker, there was money. You might be interested in Bryan Burrough's experience writing for Vanity Fair in the 90s and 2000s. > For twenty-five years, I was contracted to produce three articles a year, long ones, typically ten thousand words. For this, my peak salary was $498,141. That’s not a misprint—$498,141, or more than $166,000 per story. Then, as now, $166,000 was a good advance for an entire book. Yes, I realized it was obscene. I took it with a grin. https://yalereview.org/article/burrough-vanity-fair-graydon-carter https://yalereview.org/article/burrough-vanity-fair-graydon-...
parodysbird 1y ago
> Even back when every household received a morning paper I cannot fathom how a single article could command such a high pay. He wrote for the New Yorker, which is a magazine rather than a newspaper. The number of long-form literary nonfiction pieces that the New Yorker runs every year is drastically fewer than the number of news articles produced to fill a daily newspaper in just a couple weeks.
kevin_thibedeau 1y ago
How do you think Googlers command such high pay?
MrVandemar 1y ago
Roger Zelazny, the science-fiction author, relates a story of how he wrote one story that fulfilled the briefs of three anthologies/magazines, sold it three times, and it was enough to pay for a cruise. Things were different back in the day.
- justin66 1y ago
  Less cynically, John McPhee would have been fine if what he made from the New Yorker merely covered his expenses, since he would also publish his work in books.

cjpearson 1y ago

For a magazine like the New Yorker, there was money. You might be interested in Bryan Burrough's experience writing for Vanity Fair in the 90s and 2000s. > For twenty-five years, I was contracted to produce three articles a year, long ones, typically ten thousand words. For this, my peak salary was $498,141. That’s not a misprint—$498,141, or more than $166,000 per story. Then, as now, $166,000 was a good advance for an entire book. Yes, I realized it was obscene. I took it with a grin. https://yalereview.org/article/burrough-vanity-fair-graydon-carter https://yalereview.org/article/burrough-vanity-fair-graydon-...

parodysbird 1y ago

> Even back when every household received a morning paper I cannot fathom how a single article could command such a high pay. He wrote for the New Yorker, which is a magazine rather than a newspaper. The number of long-form literary nonfiction pieces that the New Yorker runs every year is drastically fewer than the number of news articles produced to fill a daily newspaper in just a couple weeks.

kevin_thibedeau 1y ago

How do you think Googlers command such high pay?

MrVandemar 1y ago

Roger Zelazny, the science-fiction author, relates a story of how he wrote one story that fulfilled the briefs of three anthologies/magazines, sold it three times, and it was enough to pay for a cruise. Things were different back in the day.

justin66 1y ago
Less cynically, John McPhee would have been fine if what he made from the New Yorker merely covered his expenses, since he would also publish his work in books.