Olympic swimming champ Michael Phelps, winner of eight gold medals in Beijing, has scored an estimated $1.6 million advance for his latest book "Built to Suceed" which is being published by the Free Press imprint of Simon & Schuster. The deal was brokered by Waxman Literary Agency and Phelps' long-time talent manager, Peter Carlisle of Octogon.

The minimum price tag just to start dealing was $1 million, which went up after half a dozen major publishers took a look at it. Dominik Anfuso of Free Press ultimately landed the deal.

The book is being dubbed an "inspirational memoir", and according to the publisher Phelps will reveal secrets of his success, as well as give a behind-the-scenes look at his approach to training, competition, and winning. The narrative thread is expected to be the eight final swims of the 2008 games, where Phelps earned his record-breaking 8 gold medals. The book is expected to hit bookshelves by December.

Phelps has one other book under his belt, "Michael Phelps: Beneath the Surface." This book was penned after the 2004 Athens games, in which Phelps won six gold medals and two bronze. The book hardly sold any copies, so with a $1.6 million advance, Free Press must be pretty confident that his second book will do much better.