Patrick captures $1.35m deal for life story

With lucrative contract comes political risk

Governor Deval Patrick, scoring a coup for an aspiring national political figure, landed a $1.35 million book contract yesterday to tell what his publisher hopes will be an inspiring tale of a boy from Chicago's South Side who rose through elite schools and corporate America before landing in the Massachusetts State House.

But the deal, while personally lucrative, also carries political risk for Patrick. Republicans immediately attacked him for appearing to signal ambitions beyond Massachusetts in only his second year as governor. Even some prominent Democrats privately worried that his new role as political memoirist could give ammunition to his enemies in the State House.

Patrick caused a flap by going to New York last week as his ambitious proposal to license resort casinos was being voted down in the House; that controversy accelerated this week with the disclosure that the reason for the trip was to shop his book proposal.

Patrick signed the deal with Broadway Books, an imprint of Random House, which said Patrick will write the book and that it would hit store shelves in 2010. The publication date coincides with the last year of Patrick's four-year term. Patrick's agent, Todd Shuster, said the governor-author would be earning a $1.35 million advance.

Patrick divulged few details yesterday about the deal or what he specifically planned to write. He told reporters during a brief news conference only that he was "thrilled" to be writing his personal story.

"The book's not about being governor," Patrick said at a press briefing in Waltham yesterday. Smiling, he entered the room calling out, "Auteur! Auteur!"

"The book is about life. And I have a life that did not begin on the day of my inauguration," he said. "I appreciate you being interested in the book. I hope you'll buy a copy."

He said he would write on nights and weekends, building on substantial material he has put on paper in the past decade. He will be working with Stacy Creamer, a Random House editor who has done books with Elizabeth Edwards, Lance Armstrong, and John McEnroe.

The governor attempted to downplay the financial gain from the deal. "That is not the central part of this project for me," Patrick said when asked about the large advance.

"I'm very excited about the project. They are very excited about the project," he added. "There's a catharsis in it, actually, as well, which I am looking forward to."

The governor said he would donate a portion of his royalties and speaking fees to A Better Chance, the organization that awarded him a scholarship that brought him from Chicago to Milton Academy and set him on a course to Harvard. But Patrick and his aides refused requests to disclose how much he would give the nonprofit, saying only that it would be "a portion."

His project is not unprecedented for a Massachusetts governor. William F. Weld wrote a novel while in office, and Mitt Romney penned a book touting his leadership in the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Several in the publishing industry said the advance was unusually high for a politician with a relatively low national profile. Some suggested there could be major revelations in the book. Others speculated that the publishers were making an investment in Patrick, hoping his political star will rise.

"That's a hefty advance," said Sara Nelson, editor of Publishers Weekly. "My guess is that they're doing it so they own the rights to this book so when he becomes a real player on the national stage, they'll own the rights for the next book. It's a flag-planting."

The publishing house said only that the book would be broadly inspirational, using a string of adjectives that could just as well be on the self-help shelf as on politics: self-truth, grace, faith, courage, compassion, forgiveness, optimism, and hope. The themes parallel the inspirational tone set by Patrick's political ally and friend, Senator Barack Obama.

"It must have been a drop-dead proposal, because publishers don't spend that kind of money unless it's going to be a sensational story with lots of details and originality to it and it's going to touch people in a million different ways," said Helen Rees, a Boston-based literary agent.

Patrick and his aides repeatedly rebuffed inquires about the book project and for explanations on how the deal came together with the Random House division, Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group.

His aides rejected a request for an interview with the governor. Instead, they directed reporters to go to Waltham, where Patrick was attending an event at Bentley College and where he was available to answer questions from the handful of reporters there. His aides halted questions after five minutes, and the governor left.

William Thomas, editor in chief at Doubleday Broadway, said the publishers were charmed by Patrick and impressed by the proposal he submitted. "There is a real hunger in the country, certainly among book readers, for inspirational stories that aren't concocted," Thomas said. "There's a real hunger for transformation of civic life."

Todd Shuster, the governor's literary agent, required publishers who met last week with Patrick in New York to sign a confidentiality agreement. Shuster said nine publishers bid on the book in an auction, including four "to a very high level."

"They see him as a visionary leader and somebody who inspires people, especially young people," Shuster said. He compared Patrick's book to President Kennedy's "Profiles in Courage."

But Republicans yesterday pounced on the news that Patrick left the state last week to ink a lucrative book deal.

"Candidate Patrick campaigned on transparency, and he told us that he would be a full-time governor," Rob Willington, executive director of the Massachusetts Republican Party, said in a statement. "At this point, his book should have a whole section on how to run a misleading and disingenuous political campaign."

Many people posting anonymously on the liberal Blue Mass. Group blog criticized the move.

Patrick's Democratic allies were flabbergasted by the size of the contract, but few would criticize the governor publicly.

"I say congratulations - I know how hard it is to get a book published," said Representative Brian P. Wallace, who has tried unsuccessfully to sell the rights to a novel about a kid from South Boston who tries to run a marathon. "If he can get that money for a story, more power to him."

Thomas E. Mann, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank, and a specialist in American politics, said that if the book becomes a bestseller, it could significantly raise Patrick's national profile.

"But what will matter, more than the book, is whether he is successful," Mann said. He said the book project reflects "an ambition to achieve big things in public life and confidence that his record as governor will support that ambition."