Bloghopping Always Gets You Somewhere Interesting

Swiped from BookAngst 101:
"When I speak at conferences and authors bitch and moan about not wanting to be in the 'midlist', it makes me a little nuts. I tell them that 'midlist' applies to the majority of a publisher's list, and that it's not such a bad place to be. For one thing, a 'midlist advance' is usually in the $20,000-$75,000 range. While many authors and agents don't exactly have orgasms over advances of that size, the upside is that those advances are much more likely to earn out. And when the advance earns out, the author has a much better shot at selling his/her next book for a higher advance."

Ok, I don't know what a "midlist" is (yet), but... What! Are you kidding me??? I would *love* to get a 20 grand advance for Tales From A SouthSide Neighborhood. Ye gods! I was hoping for maybe $6,000 and a dribble of royalties. I gotta get me on this "midlist" thing.