Money for Books (Part 2 of 3)

How Do Publishers Decide on the Royalty They Offer?

The easy answer is that publishers estimate the number of copies the book will sell the first year. They take into account the author's experience, the subject matter, and the likely audience. They compare the acquisition to other books of that type and also the timing. A book, for example on physical fitness may be well written and carefully researched but others have written on the topic in recent years. They'll probably know about the book's competition and compare it with what other publishers have done. They'll either know or guess what other publishers paid for similar projects and how their sales went.

Publishing houses already have a pro-forma analysis program that calculates

• the costs involved in the editorial work. What level of editing does the book need? Some books have excellent content but need a virtual rewrite. Others need someone to add more substance.

• the costs of producing the book, which includes the format, trim size, paper costs, number of copies they'll do for their first print run. This includes the royalty scale.

The amount of advance royalty is a good indicator
of the publisher's expectation for your book.

Money for Books (Part 1 of 3)

Most of us think of receiving royalties (money) for books we write, and that is the usual method. We call the other method work for hire or sometimes a flat rate.

It's probably obvious but the second term means the writer receives a specific amount of money for writing the book and a publisher makes that clear in the contract. For example, if the writer received $30,000 and the book sells a million copies, she still doesn't earn more. That's the risk. Or the book may have sold only 2,500 copies and the writer comes out ahead.

Work-for-hire contracts are easier for publishers because they don't have to figure out royalty payments. Sometimes it's to a writer's advantage, but usually not. I did one deal where I received a flat fee and something like 3 percent royalty after the book had sold 100,000. The book was about 20,000 short of that goal, so I received no extra money.

For me, editorial rights are as important as the money issue. Generally, when a writer receives a flat fee, that person has no editor input. I don't like my name on books where copyeditors can change things I've written without consulting me. The publisher may invite the writer into the editing process, but that's not a guarantee. Of the many work-for-hire arrangements I did early in my career, only twice was I invited to participate.

Most publishers have a good idea how many copies they can expect to sell; work-for-hire arrangements are usually a disadvantage to the writer.

“How Do You Make a Living at Writing?” (Part 6 of 6)

(By Chip MacGregor, President, MacGregor Literary, Inc.)

Many novelists take eight months to write a book. But at that rate, even a healthy $16,000 advance (which is pretty good for any novelist these days) means you're getting by on $2,000 a month. If you take that part-time job to make ends meet, you now find you have less time to work on your novel, so it takes you a year to complete. You don't want to hurry it, because you won't write as good of a story, and writing a lousy book is sure to kill your career.

This is why I always remind authors how tough it is to make a living at writing. You need to have books that are already out there earning you money, so that you know you have income from projects you are no longer working on.

You also need to have signed contracts that will earn you more money. And that money is easy to track, because you know when and how much you'll be paid. And you need a plan for how you'll move forward.

Let's be honest: The first rule of writing is "Don't quit your day job." Stop acting as if writing full time is some sort of God-given right. If you had chosen painting or sculpture or singing or dancing or any other art, you'd probably be facing even longer odds at making a living at your craft. The fact is, most artists struggle financially. That's why most writers have other sources of income. Either they work full or part time, or they have a job related to the industry (editor, reporter, or book salesperson), or they're married to somebody who has a real job that pays the bills. Don't lose sight of the fact that it takes most people years to get to the place where they are writing full time—if they ever get there.

It's easy to hang out at a writing conference and assume that "Everybody else in writing is making a living at this except me." But it’s not true. Many of these folks are doing something to pay the bills. I'm not trying to dissuade you, but trying to help you gain a realistic picture of what it takes to make a living in this business.