Literary agent Eleanor Vandenberg chooses the contestants in Arthur Fletch’s salon because they’re “firmly in the midlist” (40), a term for authors whose books are published but who haven’t achieved bestseller status. The precarious financial and professional reality of these writers fuels the novel’s plot, as they’re consistently at risk of having their agents and editors withdraw support if their work isn’t seen as consistently successful. Midlist authors often receive modest advances and minimal marketing support, making it difficult to earn a sustainable living from their work alone, and they all hope for one of their novels to “break out” and provide them with financial and industry support. According to an Authors Guild survey, the median income for full-time writers in 2022 was just $20,000 (“Key Takeaways From the Authors Guild’s 2023 Author Income Survey.” The Authors Guild, 27 Sep. 2023).

This economic instability exists alongside a modern publishing landscape where media coverage of rare seven-figure advances for debut authors and the explosive marketing power of social media create a high-stakes, winner-take-all environment. The rise of “BookTok,” a community on TikTok with billions of views, has become a significant force, capable of catapulting books to the top of bestseller lists and reviving an author’s backlist. This representation of a publishing industry governed by unpredictable successes and the disparity between the majority of authors and those chosen for the big payouts creates immense pressure for authors to become online personalities and content creators to promote their work, a reality reflected in Millie’s anxiety over her “strict regimen of content creation” (44). The $2 million prize and three-book deal offered in the novel represent a coveted escape from the midlist, which the authors consider publishing purgatory, a chance to break free from the pressures and financial instability that define the careers of many contemporary authors. The desperation that this prize inspires among the characters is a direct reflection of real-world industry anxieties, fueled by splashy media coverage of the rare, breakout stars.