US president Barack Obama, who earned a whopping $2.46 million in royalties last year as an author, has signed a new book deal worth $500,000.
Four years ago, Obama became a millionaire through the popularity of his autobiography, which was quickly followed by a second book, The Audacity of Hope. He earned $3.89 in royalties for each hardcover, $1.03 per paperback and $4.50 for an audiobook.
News about Obama's new book plan was revealed in a disclosure form filed on Tuesday which showed that the 47-year-old president had signed a new $500,000 book agreement five days before taking office on January 20.
Aides said Obama would receive $250,000 of that for an adaptation of his autobiography, Dreams from My Father for young readers. The other $250,000 will go to the publisher in the deal, the New York Times reported. When Obama wrote Dreams From My Father, which came out in 1995, he did not sell enough books to pay back the advance of 30,817. But when it was reprinted after his famous 2004
Democratic National Convention speech, sales flourished which led to another book deal worth $1.9 million.
For that, Obama agreed to write another non-fiction book and a children's book. He wrote in his disclosure report that he intended to delay both books until he left office.
Robert B Barnett, a Washington lawyer who represents Obama on his publishing work, said that the $500,000 agreement was not for a new book but rather for a license so
the president's autobiography could be condensed into a book for middle-school students.
Obama has already signed about 50 similar licensing arrangements, Barnett said, typically when the book is translated into another language. A review of Obama's disclosure reports since he arrived in Washington four years ago as a Senator from Illinois shows a rapid ascent in his wealth, thanks to his work as a best-selling author.
In 2005, he reported royalties of $1.23 million and in 2006, $572,490. In 2007, after his second book was published, royalties increased to $4.1 million. Obama
received royalties worth $2.46 million in 2008. He will continue to receive book royalties while president, the report said.
Asked whether Obama will keep the $250,000 from the latest book agreement or give it to charity, a White House spokesman said that the President has not yet decided.
