Monday, September 16, 2013

11 Frequently Asked Questions About Book Royalties, Advances and Money



By Chuck Sambuchino

medium_2699296069If you’re going to wheel and deal with literary agents and editors, you’ll end up spending more time than you’d like discussing rights, contracts, advances, royalties and a whole lot of other important stuff. That said, I want to address the most common questions regarding how advances and royalties work. In other words, how does the payment process work when you sell a book?

Here are some FAQs:


1. How do writers make money?
You sign a contract with a publisher. In exchange for signing over the North American and English language print rights to your book and possibly other rights, as well, you are paid one of three ways:
  • flat fee: a set amount of money upfront that’s yours to keep. The amount does not change no matter how well the book sells. For example, if your flat fee is $10,000, the amount remains the same no matter if the book sells 10 copies or 10 million.
  • royalties: a small amount paid to you for every book sold.
  • advance against royalties: a sum of money upfront to you with the promise of more (royalties) should the book sell well.

No comments: