How much money does the average author make per novel?

Question

I'm talking authors who have maybe one or two books out not like Stephen King

Answer 1

WOW you picked a subject that is really all over the board. We really only hear of the big paydays for ANN Rice or for the Harry Potter books but it really goes from where the author loses money by publishing his own books to the millions for s top best seller. I have published some stuff but have always been in the red. I have talked to publishing companies but its like record contracts I wouldnt see a dime till after the first 300,00 are sold. I have a friend who writes those supermarket books you see at the checkouts IE: horescopes , weight loss, true love etc. but he only makes a few hundred for each one ( although he can knock one out in a night) so really there is no definate answer for your question it depends on subject , how large the target readership is , how badly a company wants it, your track record ( how meny top sellers you have had in the past) etc.
anyway great luck
Mike

Answer 2

A good way to think about it is $1 or $2 per book. Most books don't sell all that well, but something like Dan Brown, James Patterson, or John Grishom make millions...and then there are the movie rights.

The odds of having a hit are very slim....

Answer 3

Authors usually get royalties, a percentage of the actual book sales, which typically is 6%-12%. It varies between trade and scholarly publishing.