Books & rights
Publisher advances
Money on signature, recoupable against royalties — the traditional down-payment on a book.
An advance is not a bonus. It is an interest-free loan against future royalties, paid in instalments (typically on signature, on delivery of an acceptable manuscript, and on publication). Most books never earn out. That does not mean the advance was a mistake; it means the advance was the fee.
- Typical pay
- From a few thousand pounds for a first book to six figures for a proven name. The midlist lives in the low-to-mid five figures, when it is lucky.
- Ceiling
- Uncapped
- Speed
- First money in months
- Effort
- A job in itself
- Needs
- No book required
How it works
- 01
A publisher offers a sum, usually split across the life of the book, against a royalty rate set in the contract.
- 02
You (or your agent) negotiate the figure, the instalments, the territories, and which rights are included.
- 03
Royalties are not paid to you until the advance has been 'earned out' — that is, until your share of sales equals the advance.
How to start
- 01
Finish a book that can be sold, or a proposal that can. Unfinished literary novels are a harder sell than a tight non-fiction proposal.
- 02
Decide whether you want an agent. For general trade publishing, you almost always do.
- 03
Treat the advance as the money you will actually see. Do not budget for earn-out.
Watch out
- 01
A large advance that does not earn out can make the next contract harder, not easier.
- 02
Instalments can be years apart. Signature money is not publication money.
- 03
If the publisher takes world rights, they will be the ones selling your translations — sometimes well, sometimes not at all.
I have sat on both sides of this table: as a writer waiting for a cheque, and as a publisher deciding how large a cheque we could survive. The advance is a bet. The publisher is betting that your book will earn more than they are about to hand you. Your job is to make their bet look cheap.