Publishing: Execs to Monica: No Big Book Deal Awaits

Will MONICA LEWINSKY get big bucks for her story? Many publishing-industry insiders say no. Too many big-ticket books, like DICK MORRIS’ $2.5 million memoir, have bombed, and Lewinsky may spill most of her beans in public. On the high side, publisher JUDITH REGAN estimates that Monica’s story is worth “maybe as much as a million,” while ROBERT GOTTLIEB of the William Morris Agency puts the number in the low six figures. LARRY KIRSHBAUM of Time Warner Trade Publishing is closefisted, saying, “I think we’re all bimboed out.” The supermarket tabloids are similarly split. The Star’s PHIL BUNTON has a standing offer of $1 million to hear Lewinsky’s story, while the Globe’s TONY FROST has “scant interest.” Meanwhile, right-wing publisher Regnery next week becomes the first with a proimpeachment book, this one by commentator ANN COULTER.

–By Andrea Sachs/New York