Stripper turned Oscar winning Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody–who changed her name from Brook Busey-Hunt after hearing the Duran Duran song El Diablo while driving through Cody, Wyo.—just inked a deal with Gotham Books (PSO) to pen a memoir due to hit shelves in 2009. 

The autobiography will be the 29-year-old Illinois native's second: Gotham published her previous memoir, Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper,  four years before Juno hit theaters. The latest installment is expected to pick up where Candy Girl left off; chronicling her ascension into Hollywood’s A-list territory. In 2005, Cody signed a two-script deal at Warner Bros.(TWX) for mid-six figures, after her screenplay for Juno started generating industry buzz. Cody is far from her days writing Juno while sitting in a Target (TGT) in suburban Minnesota. In addition to finding Hollywood fame, the Oscar winner now has fortune. But can she keep the momentum of her windfall of success? 

A financial windfall can mean major lifestyle upgrades. But before taking care of yourself, you should first put aside some for the IRS. “People often don’t realize there’s a significant amount of tax to be paid,” says Mitchell Freedman, of MFAC Financial Advisors in Sherman Oaks, Calif. “If the windfall is from something like selling a novel or a screenplay, there’s a lot of money coming out for agents and attorneys.” 

Next, experts suggest that you take a percentage of your net windfall after taxes and put it into an investment account. “We tell our clients to put an absolute minimum 10% to savings,” says Freedman, who insists clients in the creative arts put one year’s worth of spending into a safe, liquid account. “Performing and creative artists’ income streams can be very erratic,” he says. “A salaried professional can only put away three months, but for our clients it can be a year or longer between high paid projects.” 

If your income is inconsistent, a windfall can be misleading. “Don’t grow your lifestyle and start living like a billionaire,” says Mark Rosenfeld, a certified public accountant in Scottsdale, Ariz. “Make sure and keep your spending down.” Some financial advisors do not list assets on liquidity statements to encourage clients to act like they do not exist. “Taking it out of the spending regime makes it as if that money isn’t even there for consumption,” says Freedman. “Then they don’t prepare themselves to buy the Bentley or buy the vacation house.” 

A sudden influx of cash can be both exciting and nerve wracking, and you shouldn’t navigate the uncharted territory alone. To keep you on track, hire a financial advisor to oversee your investments and spending. Susan Bradley, author of Sudden Money: Managing a Financial Windfall, believes your team should be even bigger, including an attorney and a therapist to help you stay calm during this potentially overwhelming period. To see how Cody handles her windfalls, we will have to wait for her book.