Unveiling the Mystery: How Do Book Authors Get Paid?

For aspiring authors, the dream of seeing their book on shelves and captivating readers is a powerful motivator. However, the financial realities of authorship can be shrouded in mystery. How exactly do book authors get paid? This comprehensive guide sheds light on the various payment structures in the publishing landscape, empowering you to navigate the world of book deals with a clear understanding of potential income streams.

There are two primary paths an author can take: traditional publishing and self-publishing. Each route offers distinct methods of earning income from your written work.

Traditional Publishing: A Partnership with a Publisher

In traditional publishing, the author enters into a contract with a publishing house. The publisher takes on the responsibility of editing, designing, marketing, and distributing the book. Authors are compensated through two main avenues:

• Advances: This is an upfront payment provided by the publisher against anticipated future royalties. The amount can vary significantly depending on the author’s reputation, the genre of the book, and the publisher’s projections for sales. Advances are not free money. They are recouped by the publisher from book sales before the author starts earning royalties.

• Royalties: Royalties are a percentage of the book’s retail price that the author earns on each copy sold. Royalty rates can differ based on the format (hardcover vs. paperback), sales channel (bookstore vs. online retailer), and the author’s negotiation power. Standard royalty rates for traditionally published books typically fall between 5% and 15% of the retail price.

Additional Considerations:

• Subsidiary Rights: These are rights beyond the physical book itself, such as translation rights, film adaptation rights, or audiobook rights. Authors can negotiate additional income through the sale of these rights.
• Foreign Rights: Publishing houses may also negotiate foreign rights deals with publishers in other countries. Authors may receive royalties on these sales as well.

Benefits of Traditional Publishing:

• Financial Security: Advances provide a guaranteed upfront payment, offering some financial security while the book is being written.
• Publisher Expertise: Traditional publishers bring a wealth of experience in editing, marketing, and distribution, potentially reaching a wider audience than self-publishing authors.
• Credibility and Recognition: Being published by a reputable house can enhance an author’s reputation and career prospects.

Drawbacks of Traditional Publishing:

• Loss of Control: Authors relinquish a significant degree of control over the editorial process, marketing strategies, and book design.
• Competitive Landscape: Securing a traditional publishing deal can be highly competitive, particularly for new authors.
• Lower Royalty Rates: Royalty rates in traditional publishing are typically lower than those earned through self-publishing.

Self-Publishing: Taking the Reins

Self-publishing empowers authors to retain full creative control over their work, from editing and design to marketing and distribution. Here’s how authors earn through self-publishing:

• Direct Sales: Authors receive a higher percentage of the profits when they sell the book directly through their website or online retailers like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) or Apple Books.
• Royalty Sharing Platforms: These platforms like KDP or IngramSpark offer a range of royalty options, allowing authors to choose a higher royalty share in exchange for assuming responsibility for printing and distribution costs.

Benefits of Self-Publishing:

• Creative Control: Authors have complete control over the entire publishing process, allowing them to express their vision fully.
• Higher Profit Potential: Self-published authors can potentially earn a larger share of the profits per book sold.
• Faster Publication Timelines: The self-publishing process can be significantly faster than traditional publishing, allowing authors to get their work out to readers sooner.

Drawbacks of Self-Publishing:

• Financial Investment: Self-publishing often requires upfront investment in editing, design, marketing, and formatting.
• Marketing Challenges: Reaching a broad readership can be challenging for self-published authors without a marketing budget and established network.
• Credibility Concerns: The stigma associated with self-publishing has lessened, but some readers may still perceive traditionally published books as more credible.

Beyond the Basics: Additional Income Streams for Authors

• Adaptations: Authors may receive income if their book is adapted into a film, television series, or stage play.
• Speaking Engagements: Authors can earn income by giving talks, workshops, or presentations related to their book’s subject matter.
• Online Courses: Creating online courses based on the book’s content can be an additional revenue stream.
• Merchandise: Selling branded merchandise related to the book can generate extra income.

In the previous post “academic book publishing process”, it was stated that when the draft of the book is approved, you will enter into a contract with the publisher. That is time to negotiate how you want to get paid as the book author.

The author will sell her rights to the publisher

The author has the right to copywriting. It means no one can copy her work without her permission. In fact, in a contract between a publisher and an author, the author gives the publisher permission to publish her book and gets money in return.

Mostly, the money will be paid in installments. The time and amount of the payments would be based on the agreement between the author and the publisher. So you can choose how it happens.

Usually, an installment will be paid when the contract is signed. It is called “signing advance”. Another installment will be paid when the book is finished off and is ready to be published which is called “publishing advance”.

The publisher may also pay the author after publishing the
book based on the profit made on the sale. The payment made to the writer of a
book depending on how many books are sold is called “royalty”.

There are other rights that a publisher may buy while the
content of the contract is under discussion, e.g. the right to publish your
book in a magazine, the right to publish a translation of your book into a foreign
language, etc.

The book author can decide how to get paid

In the last section, you realized that there are two kinds of payments including “advance payments” and “royalties”.

Advance against royalties

You may choose “advance against royalties” and only get advance payments. The payments will be calculated based on some factors like the author’s reputation, the popularity of the area of the book, etc.

Advance payments

You can also choose to get both royalties and advance payments. In these cases the amount of each installment –in advance payments- and the percentages –in royalty- will be decrease because the whole money should be divided among installments and the percentage of royalty.

Royalties

The other way of payment in book publishing is only getting the royalty. So you as an author will not get paid in advance and logically the percentage of the royalty will be increased to 50-50, 40-60, or everything else that you and the publisher agreed on. In this case, the amount of payments should be calculated on a regular schedule and the publisher should send checks on those times.

Note that you should discuss on the way you want to get paid when you are going to sign the contract.