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

How much should a book advance be? Traditional publishing wisdom states that advances should cover what a book is expected to earn in author royalties for the book’s first year of publication. An example: Let’s say your publisher expects to sell 10,000 copies of your book in a year; book retails at $10; author royalty is 10%. Your advance would be $10,000 then. Right?

Not necessarily — especially when it comes to celebrities such as Laura Bush.

In my last Publishing Monday post, I covered Laura Bush’s $8 million plus advance for her as-yet-to-be-written memoirs. This post provoked a general outcry of disdain over the amount of money involved since (1) it’s unlikely that Laura will earn out and (2) so many authors feel rudely underpaid.

Shari wrote, “Eight million, huh!… It pays to be a celebrity.” Yup, it paid for Laura Bush. But I don’t envy celebrities, though I do envy book advances of that size. In response to my estimate that it would take 2 to 3 million copies sold to make the deal fiscally sound, Christina commented, “I hadn’t even realized they’d need to sell that many copies of Laura’s memoirs to earn out. WOW.”

Yup, book advances, especially celebrity book advances, are a hot button issue. When I first began my publishing career, I truly believed that all book advances would be negotiated in the method described at the start of this post. (For the sake of this post, let’s call this method the TBAC, for Traditional Book Advance Calculation.) But, as I’ve learned, the publishing world often doesn’t work that way. Like any situation where there’s supply and demand, advances can get pushed beyond what they can reasonably earn out — or dive to less than fair.

Overpaying doesn’t just happen with celebrities. Literary world excitement over a new author can also drive up book deals to stratospheric heights, especially if it goes to auction. (Believe it or not, there are benefits for publishers in overpaying an advance, some which I laid out in my previous Publishing Monday.)

And what about the average author? What can they expect for a first book advance?

Like with celebrity book advances, there are no hard and fast rules: they can range from nada to multi-million dollar figures. Much depends on the following:

1. The book’s publisher. A smaller publisher will usually have smaller pockets to pay out from. Smaller pockets = less room to absorb unearned advances. Larger publishers can often afford to be more generous, and have bigger distribution networks to make sure that book becomes profitable.

2. The book’s market. A book skewed toward a specialized (ie: smaller) market is simply going to sell less copies than a book with a larger market potential. Less potential books sold = smaller advance.

3. Author platform. Though it’s not the same thing, platform bears some similarities to market, and a good platform can translate into market. Laura Bush has one heck of a platform, which Scribner is hoping becomes market share. However, the good news is that you don’t have to be First Lady to have a platform (though it does help to be a celebrity). Are you an expert in your field? Sought after as a speaker? Have a syndicated radio or television show? Take into consideration that platforms often come from unexpected venues. For example, humorist Sharon Glassman’s involvement with Operation Santa led to her having a book published about her experience by Warner Books.

Once you have a publisher interested, what’s the best way to negotiate a fair book advance? If you’re unhappy with what they’re offering, use the TBAC as a starting point. To get a basis for your TBAC, read Publishers Weekly, Galleycat, or Publisher’s Lunch to learn what similar books are selling for. Consult the Authors Guild or SCBWI for children’s books. Get feedback from other authors. My experience is that publishers often offer lowball figures to first time authors; they’ll usually negotiate to a certain extent.

Finally, a good literary agent can most likely get you a better deal than you’d obtain on your own. They’re experts in what the market bears, and what a particular publisher will pay. Even if they didn’t place your manuscript with your publisher, this expertise alone is well worth their 15% commission.

Next week on Publishing Monday, I’ll write about other ways authors are making money from publishers outside of the TBAC. Yup, alternative publishing models!

• 4 Responses
• Read comments...
• Comment Feeds