

Ask HN: How much is a typical publishing deal worth? - kilomanamolik

I know this is likely unrelated to HN directly, but it's something that's alway fascinated me.  How much is an average publishing deal worth for a work of fiction?  Let's say a (new) author has written a novel, and is selling it around.  Let's say the novel is around 500 pages, and for some reason one of the publishers likes it and decides to take a stab and publish it.  How much would said author expect to earn on something like this?<p>I've been curious about this ever since that Twilight author sold her first book.  I'm not a writer by any stretch, but am interested in how much aspiring novelists make as compensation for a 500pg book.
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patio11
Ms. Meyer is very atypical.

Do you understand the economics of book publishing? They have nothing to do
with page count. Typically, an author will be awarded an advance on signing
their contract with the publisher. For a first time fiction author, that would
be about $5,000. They are then given a percentage of sales of hardcover, trade
paperback, and various other channels, with the first $N of those royalties
kept by the publisher until the advance is "earned out", after which the
author actually receives royalties.

Because publishing is a hit-centric industry, _most first-time authors will
not earn out their advances_ , so the total compensation for their first novel
will be $5,000 (plus, more likely if they're successful, money for the sale of
ancillary rights, such as foreign publication rights, etc). If it goes on to
be a mega-blockbuster, the sky is the limit. J.K. Rowlings' revenues
attributable just to the first Harry Potter book are in the hundreds of
millions -- _most for the movie rights_.

For more on the economics of authordom, I highly recommend reading
jakonrath.blogspot.com

