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The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » The Writing Life » Page 68

The Writing Life

How Authors Make Money

By Bob Hostetleron August 29, 2018
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So, you’ve written a book. Good for you. Now the money will start rolling in, right?

Not exactly.

There are a number of ways authors make money, but writing a book is only one step in a long and arduous journey. And, though the details vary widely from one author to another (and one book to another), there are six basic ways an author makes money.

  1. An advance

When you sign a book contract, the publisher will sometimes (not always) offer an “advance.” Often (not always), half of the advance is paid when the contract is signed and half when the manuscript is received and accepted by the publishing house (some contracts divide the advance into three or even four payments issued at different points, such as when a marketing questionnaire is returned by the author and when the book is released).

How much will your advance be? That depends. On your platform. Genre. Past sales. And more. Also, it depends on the publishing house (some publishers rarely deviate from a certain figure, while others base their offers on formulas involving complicated math and mystical incantations). If more than one publisher wants to acquire your book, they may increase their initial offer.

The advance is—get this—an advance. That means that it is a payment offered in advance (see how that works?), against your future earnings. In theory, the advance was more or less intended to feed and clothe an author while he or she writes the manuscript, but don’t make me laugh.

  1. Royalties

Once a book is released, it begins earning royalties for the author. So, for the sake of illustration, let’s say your contract specified 10% of the hardcover retail price on the first 5,000 copies (rates are often 10% of the hardcover retail price on the first 5,000 copies, 12.5% on the next 5,000, and 15% thereafter; trade paperbacks might be 7.5% of the retail price, and mass market editions still less—and some publishers pay royalties on the “net” (after their expenses), not on the cover price). Let’s say the retail price of your book is set at $20. So, if your book sells those first 5,000 copies in hardcover, you make $10,000 ($20x5000x.10). If your advance was $10,000, then your book has “earned out”—that is, paid back the advance the publisher paid you.

The above is a simplified, streamlined scenario. In most cases, every iteration of your book has its own royalty rate, each of which is defined in the contract, including foreign editions, audio, ebook, etc. The income from each of these categories should be reported in regular royalty statements from the publisher (usually once, twice, or four times a year, depending on the publishing house).

Once a book has earned out—which happens in only 1 out of 4 cases, on average—royalties are paid to the author with the release of each royalty statement. And those checks continue to come as long as the book keeps selling. Or so I’m told.

  1. Speaking engagements

You may not consider yourself a speaker, but as an author you can also generate some income with speaking engagements at churches, conferences, seminars, libraries, schools, etc. You can do all this before your book is released, of course—and you should—but for most people it gets a little easier to book events once you’re a big deal (which all authors are, right?).

  1. Book sales

Authors also benefit from “back of the room” sales of their books at speaking engagements and personal appearances (such as book launch events and book fairs). Your contract may allow you to purchase copies of your books at a discount (40-60%, perhaps), allowing you to gain more readers and make a little money to cover all the free review copies you sent out and maybe even pay for the cab drive home. Maybe.

  1. Article writing

One area of revenue that is often ignored by authors is magazine or newspaper article writing. A book is not the be-all and end-all for a writer. In addition to new content that may ignite the next book idea, some authors create articles based on their books’ content or even excerpt parts of their books and sell them as magazine articles. They also may mention the book title in the “author blurb,” providing additional promotional benefit. Even while your book is awaiting release, you can market articles touting a “new” or “upcoming” release.

  1. Other services

Just because you’re a big, important author doesn’t mean you should neglect to offer or stop offering other services that provide some (usually more regular) income, such as blogging, editing, proofreading, writing for businesses, etc.

These are not the only ways to make money as an author. You can also sell flowers on the interstate off-ramp with some of your poetry attached to each bouquet or sell all of the printouts of your first drafts at the nearest recycling center. But the above are the most common, and should make it clear that few of us big, important authors rely solely on one income stream in the constant task of staving off starvation.

 

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Category: Book Business, Money, The Writing LifeTag: Career, Money, The Writing Life

Embedded Writing

By Dan Balowon August 28, 2018
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During World War II, one of the highest profile journalists who wrote about the war for Americans back at the home front was Ernie Pyle. Ernie was one of the first “embedded” journalists in wartime and he lived and wrote while among the soldiers. He focused his stories on individual soldiers and their daily struggles. The troops loved him because he “got it.” The generals and politicians weren’t …

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Category: The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: The Writing Life, Writing Craft

Four Myths about Fame

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon August 23, 2018
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Being rich and famous solves every problem, right? Let’s give that some thought. 1)  Once I have my first book published, I’ll be famous and the journey will be downhill from there. We’re tackling two myths here. One, once you are published, it’s not likely you’ll be famous, at least not Billy Graham famous. But as a Christian writer, you may become well known and loved in Christian circles. And …

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Category: Awards, Career, The Writing LifeTag: Career, Fame, The Writing Life

The Author’s Life in 39 Easy Steps

By Bob Hostetleron August 22, 2018
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Someday I ought to write a book. Woohoo! I’ve just started writing a book! I deserve some ice cream. I’m so excited, things are going great. Writing is hard. No, writing is cool. I’m having the time of my life. Writing is hard. I should just give up. I’m almost done with my first book. Writing is so fun. I have written 4,000 words! I deserve some ice cream. I just found out …

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Category: Humor, The Writing LifeTag: Humor, The Writing Life

So You Want to Be In Pictures? (The Sequel)

By Dan Balowon August 21, 2018
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To simulate how the book-to-film process really works, I waited five years to write this sequel to my original post on books and films. Experiences with book-to-film connections are a very real box of chocolates for authors ever since the opportunity to connect the two media debuted a hundred years ago. Authors never know what they are going to get. The experience can leave either a good or bad …

Read moreSo You Want to Be In Pictures? (The Sequel)
Category: Book Business, The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: Book Business, movies

The Automatic Writer

By Bob Hostetleron August 15, 2018
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My coffee maker is on a timer. My thermostat is programmed to different temperatures at night and by day. My computer screen even dims to a softer hue as the day progresses. I try to automate everything I can, believing that the fewer tasks I have to remember every day, the more I can focus and achieve. That may or may not be true, but I’m convinced that automation has helped me—and many of my …

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Category: Social Media, Technology, The Writing Life, TrendsTag: Technology, The Writing Life, Time Management

Same Message, Different Reader

By Dan Balowon August 7, 2018
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When a published book is successful (sells well), the publisher and author begin pondering how to be successful again with the next book. Often times, the solution to the repeat-success puzzle in non-fiction is having a similar message but aimed at a different audience. You’ve seen it happen many times, whether you realized it was intentional or not. Examples of branded book lines which have been …

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Category: Book Business, Creativity, The Writing LifeTag: Book Business, Book Sales, Career, Creativity, Nonfiction, The Writing Life

How Much Time Should I Budget to Write My Book?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon July 26, 2018
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New authors have a distinct advantage over established authors under deadline: no deadline. As a new author, you may have fiddled with your novel for years. Perhaps you’ve entered contests and incorporated feedback. Maybe you’ve read books about writing and attended conferences. After all this effort, you landed a contract. Congratulations! Now you may have another happy problem: estimating how …

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Category: Career, The Writing LifeTag: Career, Deadlines, The Writing Life, Time Management

Two Ways to Think About Your Book

By Dan Balowon July 24, 2018
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Two of the many complexities within book publishing are how often the book buyer and the book reader are different people and how books may sell only in limited locations. Some people read only what someone else buys for them. Some books sell primarily in one city at one retail location. Adults will always be the ones to buy a book for a small child. (A child might latch onto a certain book while …

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Category: Book Business, Marketing, Reading, The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: Book Business, Marketing, The Publishing Life

Problem Solved! — NOT!

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon July 19, 2018
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Sometimes my office receives submissions for books that claim to solve a problem or provide the answer to a question that has been plaguing mankind since it was known to be an issue. To wit: Why the death penalty is Biblical. Why the death penalty is not Biblical. Why there is climate change. Why there is not climate change. Why Dispensationalism (or another Bible interpretation) is right. Why …

Read moreProblem Solved! — NOT!
Category: The Writing Life, TheologyTag: The Writing Life, Theology
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