Humorist David Sedaris, a man so rich he and his “boyfriend” lived in the south of France, enjoys his book tours more than most celebrity authors. And also unlike his A-list counterparts, Sedaris used to put out a “tip jar” that raked in four grand. Here again, money failed to buy happiness.
A couple of books ago, I put a tip jar on my signing table and I made over $4,000 on my tour. The problem was then I started hating people who didn’t tip me. I didn’t say anything to them, but I would just sit there thinking, “You cheap son of a bitch. I just signed four books and you can’t even give me a dollar?” And why should they? But I just got so involved in it. I had to stop doing it.
I told people it was all for me to spend on candy. They were delighted because it’s funny to give money to someone who doesn’t need it. If there had been a beggar outside the bookstore, at the end of the evening, he might have had 75¢, whereas at the end of my best evening, in Dallas, [I had] $530 in tips.