Gaetz reported that his publishing contract awarded him 60 percent royalties—a share normally reserved for online distributor sales of self-published work, and more than double the typical hardcover royalty rates. House rules require lawmakers to request permission from ethics officials to accept royalties, which can be granted if the publishing deal is under “usual and customary contractual terms.”
Gaetz’s book, Firebrand, went on presale last August and hit bookshelves and online stores in September, after last year’s financial disclosure deadline. The new amended disclosure claims the beleaguered Florida conservative earned exactly $25,000 from book sales last year, after giving 30 percent of his personal profits to his agent, Sergio Gor—a former staffer for Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who also officiated and DJ’ed at Gaetz’s surprise wedding last weekend.
If Gaetz’s $25,000 claim and publishing terms are accurate, the disclosure indicates Firebrand didn’t exactly burn up the charts. His reported profits suggest the memoir brought in a total of about $59,500 between August and December, netting his contracted publisher, Post Hill Press, a little less than $15,000.
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