Publishing Monday: Book advances — what’s the deal?

Blogging everyday for January has been an interesting process. For starters, it’s forced me to scoop out latent posts from my brain, some which have been incubating for a very long time. Another reason I decided to do this post-a-day challenge was to force me to focus my blog. I tend to ping pong between posts about friends, my publications, my life, upcoming events, inspirations, and the publishing industry. All this is fine — but if you only post once a week, I suspect this blog can seem a bit schizophrenic of tone.

Anyway, a more experienced blogger suggested that I use the days of the week to present different topics. Without further ado, may I present my first Publishing Monday?

On Publishing Monday, I’ll utilize my twenty-plus years in publishing to cover topics that’ll be of interest to writers, illustrators and others who work in, or want to break into, that esteemed industry. Some of these topics may fall under my Publishing 101 category; others may be of more interest to those who already cast a jaundiced eye. In either case, I’ll do my best to make things accessible and, most importantly, full of information that only a publishing veteran can offer.

Today’s topic is book advances. Of all the publishing-related questions I’m asked, “How much money can I expect when I sell my book?” is the most popular after “How do I get published?” This topic is especially weighty in the news these days because Laura Bush’s unwritten memoir generated a $8 million-plus advance from Scribner. Many in the industry are scratching their heads in puzzlement — one such response is here — especially since rumors are rife that the almost-former First Lady wasn’t terribly forthcoming with the deets regarding what her book would include.

How can Laura Bush possibly earn out such an oversize advance? Is it even possible? For those of you who don’t work in publishing, generally speaking book advances are supposed to be calculated based on what a book’s expected profits will be. Each book pays a royalty on its sale, which is held against the advance paid out; the more books you sell, the less money owed on the advance. In a best case scenario, If you sell enough books, you’ll actually be paid additional moneys from your publisher beyond the book advance. In other words, you’ll “earn out.” Yay team!

My very rough calculation: Scribner would have to sell a minimum of two to three million books to make Laura’s book advance earn out — probably more, considering that book clubs buy books at lower royalty rates (especially since book club sales usually don’t include a return policy, the scourge of the publishing world).

That written, I don’t know what subsidiary book rights the Scribner deal included beyond the actual book itself. For example, if the publisher was granted movie or television rights, then Laura Bush’s memoir could indeed be a very valuable property: Lifetime miniseries anyone? However, this is doubtful. When you get to this level of publishing, sub rights are usually held onto by the author as the precious jewels they are.

The bottom line is that Laura Bush’s book advance is out of the ordinary, even for a long established best-selling author. Regardless, the publisher may still receive intangible benefits, even if her book doesn’t earn out:

1. Scribner just sent a message to literary agents everywhere: If you want to place an important book, we’re players. Hello, branding!

2. Scribner did buy world rights. Like many a blockbuster movie that goes limp in the United States but goes gangbusters in France, Laura Bush’s memoir may do well enough in other countries for Scribner to mitigate their losses.

3. Perhaps most importantly, Scribner just got a lot of attention for the deal. Publicity = money. Everyone will be watching to see how well the book sells — and perhaps even buy a copy to see what the hoopla is about.

And what about the average author? What can they expect for their book advance — especially if they’ve just sold their first book? What’s the best way to negotiate to get a fair book advance? That’s a complex subject for another post, which I’ll delve into on my next Publishing Monday.

In closing, what are your thoughts on the Laura Bush advance? If you’re a published author, what was your experience negotiating book advances? (No financial details necessary!) Do you have any advice for other authors and illustrators on how to navigate the rocky shores of book advance negotiation?

I hope you’ll take a moment to comment, so I can include your wisdom in my next Publishing Monday.

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ETA: not sure why, but my comment button is not appearing beneath my posts today. (Mercury retrograde, so no surprise.) However, you can comment by clicking on the response link for this post or here.

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