The “Advance” Mystique
As a literary consultant I help authors place books
with a publisher, usually by assisting them in writing a Book Proposal. There are a lot of questions you could ask about putting
a book proposal together but the number one always seems to be, ”How Much Can I Expect in Advance?”
My answer always is. “I
don’t have the slightest idea.” Nobody seems to like that answer. The problem is that advances vary all over the
place. The largest one I have ever gotten for a client is $157, 000. Most are much more modest than that despite the optimism
of the typical client who says, “My book will easily sell 100,000 copies, after all everyone loves it. I should get
at least $50,000.”
Here is what Karen reported this month in Karen’s
Fiction Korner courtesy of the Publisher’s Lunch newsletter. publishersmarketplace@yahoo.com
A ‘nice deal’ is from $1.00 to $49,000 (where most authors fit in)
A ‘very nice deal’ is $50,000 to $99,000
A ‘good deal’ is $100,000 to $250,000
A ‘significant deal is $251,000 to $499,000
A ‘major deal’ is $500,000 and up
I’m afraid that is probably a bit on the high
side for even a’ nice deal.’
“The Advance Formula.” There is, however, a sort of formula for figuring all this out. The publisher will give you, in advance,
the royalty they expect you to earn the first year.
How do you figure that out? Most houses ask their
editors to fill out a form projecting first year sales and other facts about your book. So, you ask your editor how many copies
he or she projected your book to sell the first year? Also ask for the list price of the book.
Say you have a book that will list for $20.00 and your editor says that they expect to sell 10, 000 copies the first
year. That means your book will gross $200,000.
Now if you get 10% of that you should expect to be offered $20,000 in advance.
Wait a minute. Publishers always hold back some money for returns, usually about 25%.
That whacks your advance down to $15, 000 before you start. No, they won’t offer $15,000. But for a first book they might offer $10,000. Can you negotiate? Yes. You should never accept the first
offer, although many beginners do. A savvy author might ask for $13,000 and expect to get about $11,500.
10% of The Net Price: Many publishers,
especially independent publishers, do not offer 10% of the list price. Instead they offer 10% of the net amount. This means
what bookstores actually pay them for your book. Many times this is 50 % of the list price. So if you sign one of these contracts
the maximum amount offered will be $10,000. Take off $2,500 for returns and you are back to $7,500. The actually amount the
publisher will offer is $5,000 or less. Over my years of being a book coach and a literary consultant I have seen many contracts
that offer $1,500.
The Bright Spot. Many bestsellers start with a modest advance from an independent or major publisher and go on you bring
their authors excellent royalties. I have several clients who started with an advance of under $5000 and today, years later,
still collect royalty checks of $20,000 to $60,000 a year. Of course, some don’t. Also if sales go well you can look
forward to the paperback edition and often another advance. There are also foreign sales which bring still more money. We
have just had one of our clients get a $3000 check for a foreign sale.
The Agent’s Advantage Does
an agent’s status and prestige have anything to do with the size of the advance? Of course it does. You find some agents
that never accept anything less that $50,000. This probably means he or she doesn’t accept manuscripts they don’t
think will command that much in advance. The more clout an agent has the bigger the advance. This may be many things, but
often it has to do with the publisher’s track record for that agent’s books. If they do well you can expect a
bigger advance for your book. It also means that you will have a more difficult time getting that agent to take you on. Only
those authors with good book proposals and a super book need apply.
What to Do? As Joe Fobel said in this
month’s Professional Author Newsletter, what you do as soon as you have your book in your hands is to get out
there and promote it aggressively. How?
Compile a mailing list of friends and acquaintances
who have e-mail and send everyone an advance announcement of your book and an order form. Send a news release to all the local
newspapers. You can make this list up from the internet. Call the local TV and radio stations and try to get on the local
newscast and any other shows. Put up your own website to sell your book. Send out an announcement to all local bookstores.
Make up a list of magazines and websites that might review your book. Don’t forget trade shows. A fishing book or a
book about RV ing will sell well at sports shows. We have a client who hits the Rodeo circuit with his book about the adventures
of being a veterinarian. He goes complete with a cowboy hat, cowboy boots and a big silver belt buckle. There are hobby shows
and craft shows, and local and regional celebrations of all kinds where you can sell your book. Joe Fabel has it right. Push
it aggressively and it won’t matter what you get in advance.
Contact Duane Newcomb at dnew@thegrid.net
Karen Newcomb at knew@thegrid.net
Or phone 530-273-7235.
