Young Writers Society

Used to do this a lot. What I do is give you a hypothetical outlining an ethical situation, and you answer how you'd respond if confronted with the decision. The situations always involve writing in some way, and there is no right answer. These questions are meant to dwell in that grey area between right and wrong.


Lets say you are a published author with one book on your belt that made it onto the bestselling list. Thus. you're known, but not well-known.

While you're writing the outline for your next novel, which is expected to sell 10,000 to 30,000 copies (a very good number), you are approached by the Coca-Cola corporation. In exchange for either using coke products or water whenever your characters drink something, they'll pay you $100,000. Additionally, you have to mention a coke product every 5,000 words, on average. Your book is set in your present-day hometown, and it would not be hard to mention only coke products or water.

Do you accept the offer?

Here are some other questions if you have time to answer them: Do you change your mind if the book you're writing is for kids younger than 13? What if your book is fantasy or sci-fi? Does it matter if the book is set in the northeast, where Pepsi is king, or in the southeast, where Coke is king?

Because the story is set in my hometown, as it says, using Coke, Dr. Pepper, ect. wouldn't be hard, as I live where the two are about equal.

If it were fantasy or sci-fi, it wouldn't really make any sense to include coke because it wouldn't exist.

If it were where Pepsi is what is usually prefered, I wouldn't do it because it would take away from the story.

Age would not factor into my descision.

No all the way. Not only are most of my stories in the past, but randomly saying, "He was drinking coke!" is bad writing. Unless they're getting drunk, or the drink is important to the plot, I don't even mention it.

Not to mention money doesn't matter for me. I'd rather be known and liked by a small group, than crazy rich. I'm also not much for selling my soul. I bet I'd loose fans for it.

While you're writing the outline for your next novel, which is expected to sell 10,000 to 30,000 copies (a very good number), you are approached by the Coca-Cola corporation. In exchange for either using coke products or water whenever your characters drink something, they'll pay you $100,000. Additionally, you have to mention a coke product every 5,000 words, on average. Your book is set in your present-day hometown, and it would not be hard to mention only coke products or water.

I'd say yes, because it would be easy to do. I mean, I'm a Dr. Pepper addict, and so I think that one of my characters could resemble me. >.< I don't know where I'm going with this. Er... Elephants!

>.>

Here are some other questions if you have time to answer them: Do you change your mind if the book you're writing is for kids younger than 13? What if your book is fantasy or sci-fi? Does it matter if the book is set in the northeast, where Pepsi is king, or in the southeast, where Coke is king?

I don't understand the bolded section.

-Jared

BBB - Probably because kids are more susceptible to advertising.

I would do it, as long as it makes sense to the story, though mentioning Coke every 5,000 words seems a little excessive.

Every 5,000 words would be weird. I think I'd probably do it, and just create a random sidekick or minor character who was a Coke addict.

I'd like to say that I wouldn't accept the offer for two simple reasons:

1. Every 5000 words would probably come across as too obvious, unless, as TL G-Wooster said, you have a character who loves Coke.

2. I'm from Scotland, so to mention only Coca Cola or water should be criminal! If it was Irn Bru on the other hand...

I don't think it would change my mind if the book was for younger readers. Perhaps authors writing for children do think about the example they're setting in the book, but the fact is that not every character would avoid fizzy drinks because they're bad for you, just like people don't.

If the book was fantasy then I don't think it would fit. Sci-fi could possibly get away with it.

The money would definitely be tempting, no doubt about it, but I don't think I would accept the offer if it didn't make sense in the story.

Yeah I'd do it for that kind of money, unless the world didn't include coke. It would be fairly easy to make passing references to coke vending machines, or a character sat in a diner having a coke, etc. Every 5,000 words might only be a mention 20 times.

Let's see. For a modern book, sure, yes, I'd use Coke. I tend to buy a lot of Coke merchandise anyway. If you'd said Pepsi, the answer would have been a screaming NO!, but I love Coke and most Coke products. *nodnod* I would not change my decision for kids under 13. In a fantasy novel, I would not do this, because there would not be Coke in the world. For a sci-fi, though, it would be easy to make Coke a dominant corporation so that almost any type of drink your character could buy would be a product of Coca-Cola. In fact, that almost sounds fun! I'd do it.

haha, I agree with PR on the sci-fi thing. Part of what drove me to come up with this example is a scene in Michael Chricton's "The Sphere" where they are excavating a ship that is actually from the future. While opening up a fridge on the ship, a character finds Coke. Then you've got "The Fifth Element," where McDonalds is clearly noticeable. Yet, it felt completely natural, and somewhat reassuringly familiar.

Anyhow... I'd do it. A good royalty for an author to earn per hardcover book is $3.75, so the maximum you'd earn in the example is $112,500. Since that isn't stable income, $112,500 really isn't that much. If you write full time, then that only gives you two years at most to come out with another bestselling book, which is a gamble. And as anyone will tell you, living on $56,250 a year is definitely doable, but not preferable (and this is all before taxes).

Having another $100,000 would give me a very good cushion to protect against future risk. And what I have to do in order to secure that $100,000 seems very small. As Jack mentioned, saying Coke every 5,000 words would be only 20 mentions in the whole book. Mentioning one word 20 times in a 100,000 word novel in exchange for $100,000? Heck yeah!

However, when it comes to kids, I do change my mind somewhat. I'd still take the money, but instead of mentioning Coca-Cola, I'd mention Gatorade or Minute-Maid, which are both Coca-Cola products.

Fantasy, though, would ruin it, as everyone else has said. Frodo and the gang enjoy a refreshing glass of coca-cola after taking on the dark lord? Yeah... it doesn't seem to fit.

As far as geographical location, I wouldn't care.

I might do it, I probably do already in a lot of my stuff (only with cigarettes and alcohol rather than coke or water products). I like money =] I want an easy life, it's important to me! Once every 5000 words is hardly all that often. I think something like coke is actually a pretty normal thing to say anyway.

A really nasty example of this is something like in James Bond (the first one with Daniel Craig) when he opens the drawer to get his gun right at the start, that random iPod is sitting there, sticking out like a sore thumb. It makes no sense and it's really bright and white, you can't not notice it. It's stuck in so badly.

Any way =D that's like 50,000 quid and that'd do me a whole year alone!

I wouldn't do it.
In my hometown Pepsi just isn't that huge and even if I made it a staple of a character that's just too much mention of the drink.
And if it's sci/fi or fantasy it would kill the story, I'd rather try and make it on my own.
It just wouldn't work for me.
But I'd be willing to compromise!

PSHH. For 100,000? Heck yes. I'd make it fit in nicely.

And I don't do fantasy, so that wouldn't be a problem. xD

~JFW1415

Well, if I'm going to write full-time, it's either 1) marry rich or 2) this.

But I don't write prose anyway. Mine's all terrible.

Yeah, I'm a total golddigger like Cade, XD.

I'd sell my soul for a big mac, if it came down to that, haha.

Unfortunately, I predominantly write fantasy.

*sigh*