Dear Judy,
How difficult is it to get an obit (not the paid kind!!) into the New York Times? My brother, who is a fine writer, is dying of an aggressive prostate cancer. He is the author of two excellent novels, both of which were published many years ago (and not by a vanity press, either: the books were well edited and published, but promoted in a so-so way. They weren’t best-sellers, I’m afraid; in fact the publishing company never made either of its advances back).
Even the reviews weren’t all that great. My brother was really disappointed. He pretty much stopped writing fiction after that.
I know he would dearly love the New York Times kind of send-off — his last stab at fame — and I’d like to be able to promise him it’s a done deal. How do I get this for him, as a final gift?
Gift-Giver
Dear Giver,
I am so sorry your brother is dying. And I’m also sorry you want him to get a New York Times obituary. It is, as I’m sure you’ve discovered, not all that easy to land, given that his novels weren’t best-sellers or well reviewed.
The best way to get into big-time newspaper obits is to be very prominent in some way or other. The good news? The deceased doesn’t have to be prominent in a remotely pleasant way. His kind of prominence can, for instance, include criminal activity (He stabbed his first wife and then fictionalized the incident in a hot book! His company sold sub-prime mortgages that made elderly widows homeless!). This is the stuff all large circulation dailies crave: after all, when the villain is dead they can’t be sued for writing about him in lurid detail. So that’s one way for someone to get memorialized in print.
The other way? To know someone on the New York Times staff who will make an ardent plea on your brother’s behalf.
Since the first method is evidently not an option, may I suggest you dig around among your acquaintances and see if you can grant your brother his final wish by trying the second? Start now. Draw up a list of your brother’s achievements. You’d be amazed how many vaguely known people end up famous for a day this way.
Thank you for writing
Judy
