Advances + Royalties

Money in books

All About Advances

Let’s talk about advances today. Please keep in mind all of this information is very generalized and won’t accurately describe every situation. First, what’s an “advance” anyway? An advance is a “pre-payment” of the royalties the publisher expects you to earn on your book. Let’s say the publisher has agreed to pay you a royalty…
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Kid counting money

What’s a Typical Advance?

Writers always ask about “average” or typical advances in publishing these days. It’s a fair question—if you’re hoping for some kind of payoff, it’s nice to know what that might look like. But the truth is: There is no typical advance. Actually, it’s misleading and unhelpful to talk about “average” advances, because all that matters…
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heart-money

It’s Not Always About the Money

Negotiating book deals can be rather tricky. Many authors go into it with the mindset of “How big of an advance can I get?” But that is not always the most important question. In the last few months I’ve closed quite a few book deals and one in particular had a lot of publisher interest,…
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money

Author Advances: Is There Such Thing as Too Much?

When an author gets a contract offer from a publisher, the first thing they want to know is, “How much?” And by that they mean, “What is the dollar amount of the advance they’re offering?” Obviously, the standard way to view advances is, the more the better. Right? Well, maybe… maybe not. A large advance…
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youtube

Advances: How Can I Find Who Got What?

Today I debut my video blogging. Please go easy on me – I’ve never done this before! I decided that in my video blogs I’ll answer questions readers have sent me via email, Twitter, my Facebook page, or the blog. So if you have a question you want me to answer in a video, send…
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Is Your Book Worth It?

Yesterday I told you how book royalties work, so today I want to go further and explain a little more about the finances of publishing, this time from the publisher’s perspective. One of the things that’s hard to remember is that the publisher makes a significant financial investment in each writer, with no guarantee that…
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How Book Royalties Work

This is one of those basic topics about which you may be confused if you’re just entering the world of publishing. You’ve heard the terms advance and royalties but you’re not quite sure how it all works. I’ll try to explain as simply as possible. The concept of a royalty is that the author receives…
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More on Advances

Shelli asked: in your experience – what is the average advance $ amount? debuts vs others? I think it’s misleading and unhelpful to talk about “average” advances. All that matters is your advance. If your advance is far below the average, you’ll be bummed and it will take some of the joy away from getting…
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Maybe You Shouldn’t Quit Your Job Just Yet

I’m back from the long holiday & birthday weekend… thanks for all the great birthday comments yesterday and thanks for the 181 responses to my Guest Blog Challenge! It’s going to take some time to get through them, so please be patient. Hope your holiday was terrific! Today I’m going to discuss the cold, hard…
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Advances Part Two

Yesterday we discussed advances and there were several questions, so today we’ll talk about them some more. First, what is an “advance” anyway? An advance is a “pre-payment” of the royalties the publisher expects you to earn on your book. Let’s say the publisher has agreed to pay you a royalty of 8% on the…
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Ask the Agent: Advances

I’d like to know your perspective on advances. What is the average advance, in CBA versus ABA? How are advances paid out? Is an advance negotiable, and if so, to what degree? It’s impossible to give an “average” advance in either CBA or ABA. They’re wildly all over the map depending on so many factors.…
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Getting an Agent… Later in the Game

I’ve just sold my second novel (unagented) to a major publisher, and have signed the contract. Would it be prudent to look for an agent? Do you think the publisher would mind one coming on board at this late stage? Do I need one? Good question. Since there are so many reasons people desire to…
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Earning Out Advances

For any of you hoping for an update on the CCWC, here it is: I went, I taught, I met with writers (including some of my blog regulars which was really fun), found some potential clients, said hi to my industry friends, was forced to eat really bad food, had a fanastic dinner with a…
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