$$$

[tlm]

I am just curious. I know a contract for a first book does not include a huge advance or great royalties, but I (and probably others) am curious. What would an author expect to be offered from a small, average, or big time publisher?

I am not necessarily asking those of you with experience to actually share your royalty amounts. You may if you like, but some of you have probably read what to expect. Others also have some links to share.

One publisher brags about offering $1.00.:eek: Maybe others won't fall for that if they read what they should really expect.

Thanks, in advance!

[DraperJC]

I've read that large, traditional publishers will offer a first time novelist less than $5000 for an advance. Royalties are a murky stew of legalese with timelines and benchmarks and returns and remainders. Oy, don't even think about royalties before the book is sold.

[AnnieJ]

Check here, there are Christian houses included, keeping in mind this is a survey, and numbers are averaged, but it's one of the best resources our there because Brenda keeps up with the industry and has good cooperation from romance and women's fiction authors.


http://www.brendahiatt.com/id2.html

Annie Jones (Sadie in Waiting - reprint out now)

[tlm]

http://www.brendahiatt.com/id2.html

That was a real help.

[kriswrite]

Honestly, it varies so much it's almost impossible to give accurate numbers. It depends on who you are (Are you - or someone you are writing with or ghostwriting for - well known? Do you have an established platform?), your topic (It is an obscure one or very much a "general interest" thing?), and the size of your audience (How many books does the publisher realistically expect to sell?) If the publisher will have to hire an artist to do a lot of work for the book, that will decrease your advance, most probably. And while you may think that a large, well known house may be more likely to offer a bigger advance, my experience tells me that's not always the case.

Kristina

[Ransom v. Unman]

I've read that large, traditional publishers will offer a first time novelist less than $5000 for an advance. Royalties are a murky stew of legalese with timelines and benchmarks and returns and remainders. Oy, don't even think about royalties before the book is sold.

I work in the royalties department of Warner Music right now. Let me also echo Draper's voice here and say, royalties are a mind-numbing headache for which the task of figuring them out will most certainly be meted as punishment to condemned souls in the very bowels of damnation.

Royalties are about the most frightening thing to me (now) that I let my mind wander across as I consider in my wildest dreams the possibility of getting published.