What amount of money should you ask for when your first novel is published?

Question

Only serious answers please. Don't say millions. It has to be believable as a first time author. What should you get?

Answer 1

I disagree with the first answer here. You shouldn't sell yourself short. As a new writer, you're actually EASIER for the publisher to promote. Think about how many books are promoted because they have some hot, young debut author. And the publisher wouldn't have offered to buy your manuscript unless they'd crunched the numbers and concluded that they'd make a profit.

It is true that the publisher's committment to promote your novel can be just as important, or even more important, than the advance. You might choose a publisher who is offering less money but will make promoting your book a top priority over one that offers more money but seems lukewarm on you. But that doesn't mean you have to settle for NO money!

The reality is that most novels do not sell enough for the writer to live off the royalties, so that advance is the only significant money you're likely to see from the book. My advice is to get an agent who will secure a meaningful advance. And if they want to lower the advance, then they need to compensate for that by bettering the royalty rate or the escalation points of the royalty scheme. (Most contracts pay a higher royalty rate after a certain number of copies have been sold.)

There are a lot of other variables like paperback rights, foreign rights, film rights, multi-book deals, straight-to-paperback publishing, etc. If you insist on hanging on to those, then the publisher will ask for some concession in return -- i.e., a lower advance. That's just the nature of negotiation.

As far as an actual figure goes, I think anything over a $50,000 for one book would be considered a success. Of course, the main thing to keep in mind is that getting your book published is nearly impossible.

Answer 2

First-time authors tend to get what the publisher offers -- it's not a matter of "asking." Now, if you're an aging celebrity acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and you're writing about how you would have done it if you HAD murdered them, you may have some leverage. But if you're just a "regular" author, they'll base the advance on how much they expect the book will sell, and they are actually pretty good at figuring this out. Their contract with you will spell this all out -- royalties, advances, etc.

The first step you should take, if you're serious about having a book published, is to acquire an agent. Don't go all cheap about their commission -- especially as a first-timer, you REALLY need the advice, experience, business acumen and relationship network that an agent will provide you.

Note also that "real" agents don't ask for money up front -- they work essentially on speculation, submitting your manuscript to publishers they feel would be a good match for your book based on their experience. When the publisher buys it, they may actually pay the agency, who then writes you a check for the balance. (That's how it worked for me, but this was ten years ago and in the non-fiction field; my agent worked for the largest agency in the technical/non-fiction side of the business. She was good at getting me new work and the agency paid VERY promptly. It was a poor living but a great life. :-)

Oh, one thing that stung me at first -- remember when you get your advance check that you WILL have to pay taxes on it; at least when I was working, taxes were NOT withheld. (That may change; the IRS has a way of making things work to their advantage.) That was always an unpleasant shock on April 15th. The only thing that made it bearable was how small the taxable amounts were... see earlier comment about "poor living."

Answer 3

if it's your first novel, you shouldn't ask for anything but controlling rights. you should be glad to get published and hope you get published by a house that knows how to promote because no matter how good or bad the book is, no one will read it if it isn't promoted.
you shouldn't expect to receive anything monetarily for your first novel up front because you are a risk to the house, but you should have a contract which gives you access to money should your book sell well, and you should have rights to the material so you can change publishing houses in the future and take your work with you/profits

Answer 4

Your agent if he/she is reputable will figure that out at the time of the book signing with the publisher.

Answer 5

it's not much. buy a writer's guide and see the amount they say is normal. they pretty much all agree on it. for sure most author's do not make a living from writing, but you never know.