A Writer's Tale

When you finally hear that a publisher has made an offer to buy your novel, celebrate! No matter what the publisher intends to pay you, this is one of the great moments of your life.

Your book has sold! Almost everyone dreams of selling a novel, but you now stand among the select who have done it. Enjoy your triumph. You deserve it. Scream and dance. Call everyone you know and blurt out the news. Break out the adult beverage of your choice. Go to a fine restaurant if you can afford it.

But don’t quit your job.

You’ll want to.

Oh, boy, will you want to!

In the euphoria of your first novel sale, you’ll have an overwhelming urge to quit your job and write full time.

Resist it.

Here’s why.

For one thing, the publisher probably won’t let you have the full amount of the advance all at once. Depending on your contract, you may get half the money when you sign the contract (known as “on-sign” money) and the other half upon publication of the book.

That second half can be elusive. They probably won’t publish the book for at least a year.

Maybe not for a year and a half. After the book is published, you’ll have to wait two or three months longer before you actually receive the payment.

As for the “on-sign” money you probably won’t see a penny of it for four to six months.

A couple of months might pass before the contract is even finalized. After that, most publishers will keep the on-sign money for at least two more months before sending it to your agent. Only the very best agents will then send the payment to you immediately.

They have clerical work to do such as removing their 15% (very few agents take only 10%). Like the publishers, many agents will take their time about sending your money to you. (It appears that they have other uses for it.)

The upshot is, don’t expect to see your on-sign money any time soon. My advice: after a month has gone by, start bugging your agent. Ask where the money is. You might get it faster particularly if your agent isn’t naturally aggressive if you pester him a bit. (The squeaky wheel gets the oil.) Encourage him to pester the publisher.

In my own situation, I had an excellent agent named Ralph Vicinanza who was very diligent about getting money from publishers. After a reasonable amount of time had gone by, he would start phoning the publisher daily to ask about the missing payment. My current agent, Bob Tanner, does a great job of getting the money and sending it to me as fast as possible.

If you have an agent who isn’t aggressive about obtaining your money or who doesn’t forward it to you promptly find a new agent. Find one who cares about you, who realizes you need that money, sometimes desperately.

Let’s move on.

You finally receive the on-sign payment for your first novel less your agent’s fee.

Look at the check.

How long will you be able to live off it?

At the lower end of the scale, you might get only $1,500 to $2,000 for a first novel, especially if it’s to be published as a paperback original. Somewhat better houses might offer you $5,000. You’d be lucky to get an advance of more than $5,000 from a U.S. publisher for a first novel.

At that rate, how many novels would it take to earn a good annual income?

If you wrote four books in a year, they all sold and you got the entire amount on each acceptance you would be up to a grand total of $20,000 for a year of writing. ($17,000 after the agent has taken his fee.)

Not exactly a fortune, is it?

And I hate to write this but your next novel might not sell. Mine sure didn’t.

After your first sale, your publisher will have an option to buy your next work. But they don’t have to buy it. And for any number of reasons, they might not. You can then try to sell it to a different publisher, but that might not be easy.

The advance money from your first sale could very well be the only writing income you’ll get for a whole year or longer.

How far can you stretch $2,000 or even $5,000?

Of course, your advance might be higher. Sometimes, a writer really gets lucky comes up with the right book at the right time and gets it to the right editor and your advance might be astronomical. If that happens, you’re in a different realm. You can probably do without most of my advice. Enjoy!

The fact is, however, a first novel makes an author rich so rarely that you don’t really need to bother your head about it.

Let’s talk about more likely sceneries.

Your first novel is bought for $5,000 or less. About a year later, it is published. Suppose it does really well? That can happen. It happened to me with The Cellar.

Your initial $5,000 is an advance against royalties. You might be entitled to 8% of the book’s cover price, meaning you get eight cents for each dollar. If the eight cents add up to more than $5,000, you have earned back your advance and you will be owed additional money.