"Studios are always offering authors take-it-or-leave-it deals, and if they don't get what they want, they're prepared to walk away," she said. "They'll tell you that there are plenty of other good books out there for them to buy, and they're right."
Asked about Gregory's case, longtime industry observers offered differing takes: She was a first-time author who didn't know the ropes when she negotiated her deal. Her attorney had only limited leverage because she was an unknown author. Disney officials grabbed whatever advantage they could, just like any studio. And although it's easy to be bitter about monster profits in hindsight, few could have predicted that the Cheetah Girls would become such a marketing sensation.
Others blame Disney: "What happened to Deborah was unconscionable," said an insider who is familiar with the Cheetah Girls project but asked not to be identified, citing business considerations. "At the very least, they should have cut her in on the revenue from the DVDs and CDs."
Because "net profits" are virtually worthless, many agents seek alternatives: One strategy is to request bonus payments regardless of a film's bottom line. But these are granted mainly to brand-name authors with clout. An even better deal is to win a share of "gross points" from box office revenues.
Yet this is the pot of money used to pay big-ticket actors, directors and other stars, and only the strongest players claim a share. For everyone else, there is a gnawing resentment that they've been excluded from the party.
"I never dreamed things would turn out the way they did," said Gregory, recalling the heady days when she had first written "The Cheetah Girls" and the Disney Channel expressed interest. "I really believed I would be able to share in everything that was created, that I was going to be a participant. Well, honey, that was a sham."
Born in New York, Gregory grew up in the city's foster care system. She never knew her mother or father and was bounced from one home to the next. At an early age, however, she displayed an interest in fashion design and creative writing.
She graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology and began writing freelance stories. By 1990, she had become the fashion and beauty writer at Redbook; she also wrote articles about all-girl groups like Destiny's Child for Essence, Us magazine and other publications. The seeds of what would become her novels took root during her reporting: She went shopping in Houston with members of Destiny's Child at the Galleria, which became the name of one of her characters.
