Is it realistic to expect a substantial advance on a book deal, whether previously published or not? (Non-fiction).
Any comments would be appreciated.
Barbara
Any comments would be appreciated.
Barbara
Literary Agents in General
- Thread starter Bo Sullivan
- Start date
I'm ignorant about the non-fiction trade, but if it's anything like fiction the answer to your question is:
It depends.
Depends on the quality of your book, the tenacity of your agent, what the scouts discover, your platform, and (possibly most important) how your book fits into the existing market. Do you have an interesting story to tell (and I mean story in the most elastic sense of the word) that is at once unique and marketable?
With my novel, I researched as much as I could re: advances. I never asked my agent how much money I could make. I was terrified to say anything about the book because I was afraid I would jinx it.
The night before it went to auction, I found that the average advance for a debut romance novel (I don't write romance, but I found that there's a lot of information about the genre) is about $10,000-$15,000 with the medium-to-large houses.
I've always heard that non-fiction writers make more money, so perhaps you could use that $10K as a base figure?
It depends.
Depends on the quality of your book, the tenacity of your agent, what the scouts discover, your platform, and (possibly most important) how your book fits into the existing market. Do you have an interesting story to tell (and I mean story in the most elastic sense of the word) that is at once unique and marketable?
With my novel, I researched as much as I could re: advances. I never asked my agent how much money I could make. I was terrified to say anything about the book because I was afraid I would jinx it.
The night before it went to auction, I found that the average advance for a debut romance novel (I don't write romance, but I found that there's a lot of information about the genre) is about $10,000-$15,000 with the medium-to-large houses.
I've always heard that non-fiction writers make more money, so perhaps you could use that $10K as a base figure?
Dear Will,
Thank you so much for your reply; it really helps to be given a pointer. I believe my true crime thriller has a strong story-line; I was mesmerised when I read the verbatim account of the murderer's trial at the Old Bailey, which will be included in the book.
Barbara
Thank you so much for your reply; it really helps to be given a pointer. I believe my true crime thriller has a strong story-line; I was mesmerised when I read the verbatim account of the murderer's trial at the Old Bailey, which will be included in the book.
Barbara
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From what I've experienced and heard, let's say your non-fiction book is derived from an article you've just published in Vanity Fair, Esquire, the New Yorker, or the NY Times Magazine, you could easily be looking at a six figure advance.
On the other hand, let's say you've never published so much as an article before, then you might pull down as little as $3000 at a major house, and nothing at all except royalties at a very small publishing company.
If you're track record is somewhere in the middle, I think the middle range would be $10-$40,000, depending on the strength of your proposal and the marketability of your concept.
On the other hand, let's say you've never published so much as an article before, then you might pull down as little as $3000 at a major house, and nothing at all except royalties at a very small publishing company.
If you're track record is somewhere in the middle, I think the middle range would be $10-$40,000, depending on the strength of your proposal and the marketability of your concept.