Joan Rowling earned $1.5 billion from the Harry Potter books. Of course, our compatriots can only dream of such sums.
And how much do lesser-known authors and newcomers make? That’s what I want to talk about.
Of what is the earnings of the writer
Before we talk about the amounts, we should first understand what a writer’s earnings depend on. For some reason, some people think it’s enough to write a book, sell it to a publisher and get a tidy sum right away.
No, it’s more complicated than that. Even Joan Rowling was rejected 12 times before her first book was published.
And even though popular writers have a few advantages over newcomers, that shouldn’t stop anyone. Real publishers know not to offer readers the same names all the time. The public is hungry for something fresh.
So beginning authors really have a chance to get on a decent income. And he will add up to several elements.
Advance
This is the money that the publisher pays the author before he starts writing the book. And the author is obliged to provide his creation within a strictly specified period of time. In Russia the advance payment is much less than in Western countries.
- The publisher itself;
- Direction (fiction or not);
- The demand for the subject.
Advance payment is most often a percentage of the total payment. Although it may be divided into three parts. Some publishers offer a higher royalty, but do not pay an advance at all. You should treat them with extreme caution. Otherwise, there is a high probability that the writer will simply get screwed.
Fee
The first works are unlikely to cause a stir among readers. And hence the high income is not worth it to count. The advantage here is that the writer, in any case, makes a profit from the book. Even if no one copy is sold. All costs are borne by the publisher.
Royalty
And here the payments can vary greatly. They depend on the circulation and number of books sold. Usually a publisher offers to choose one or the other: either a royalty or a fee.
Although popular authors may be offered both. The percentage also varies and is discussed in advance. On average it is 10-15% of each sale.
This approach seems more profitable than a royalty. After all, you can make a profit for a long time. But here again it all rests on the popularity of the author.
For beginners circulation will be small, and therefore will not be able to earn much. In addition, taking into account the percentage is not from the retail price, but from the wholesale price. And it’s much lower.
On the other hand, if you achieve a certain popularity, the picture really looks great:
Instead of 3,000 copies, they’ll put out 10,000;
Instead of 10%, they’ll put out 25%;
Yes, and the previous works will also bring in revenue.
Reissue
Sometimes a book’s popularity exceeds the publisher’s expectations. That’s when an additional print run is required. This is the best-case scenario for writers.
First, he will continue to get money for his book. Second, he won’t even have to do anything. Of course, in this case the percentage is usually reduced. But after all, all the work is taken care of by the publisher, and the author only gets a percentage.
In some cases, the book may be republished several times. But it must be a real masterpiece, which will please many readers. And while they will be busy with this book, the writer can publish others.
Popularity will begin to grow as people themselves will want to seek out new works by a beloved author.
Other ways
Another way to make money from a book is to translate it into foreign languages. Usually only the most popular books are sent abroad. And here it is very difficult to predict even an approximate income. But in any case, this method allows the writer to earn more than 1,000 dollars or euros.
There are other ways to earn a book, which exclude cooperation with the publisher. But I will talk about them a little later, because the principle of work there is very different.
