If you were previously unpublished and have just sold your first YA manuscript, how much should you expect to receive as an advance? Are there guidelines?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Question re: Advances
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Ohh this is a often asked question and there's no actual answer. Bascially, anything from $1000 to $750,000. More likely in the $1000-$20000 range.
Thanks, Chanelley.
It's seems the more I read/learn about publishing, the more I realize how crazy it all is....like those damn queries!!
It's seems the more I read/learn about publishing, the more I realize how crazy it all is....like those damn queries!!
Chanelly's right, there is no way to know what you'll get. The average for a large house is $5-10,000. It's always a per-book figure, so it'll change based on how many books your contract is for (one, two, three, etc...), and the payments are broken up anywhere from two to four installments.
Say your contract is for two books, at $10k each. You'll get a total of $20k out of this contract up front. But if the house has you on a 3-payment schedule (signing, delivery, publication), you get a third of both books ($20k) on signing. Then you get a third of book one on delivery of the final manuscript, and the last third upon publication. Same with book two--you get the last two-thirds of the money at those times.
It's rarely a lot of money, and it's often very spread out. And it varies by house.
Crazy, yep.
Say your contract is for two books, at $10k each. You'll get a total of $20k out of this contract up front. But if the house has you on a 3-payment schedule (signing, delivery, publication), you get a third of both books ($20k) on signing. Then you get a third of book one on delivery of the final manuscript, and the last third upon publication. Same with book two--you get the last two-thirds of the money at those times.
It's rarely a lot of money, and it's often very spread out. And it varies by house.
Crazy, yep.
There was a long thread on this not too long ago. I did a quick search to try and find it, but came up empty. If you're interested, you could spend a little longer and find it I'm sure.
Thanks, Chaos.
So, since it could take a year or more for the book(s) to be published, you could be talking quite a while to receive the entire contracted advance. That's good to know. Thanks again.
So, since it could take a year or more for the book(s) to be published, you could be talking quite a while to receive the entire contracted advance. That's good to know. Thanks again.
Shady - how long ago was it that you sold your first novel?
Danthia - I'll do the search now. Thanks.
You guys at AW are really great.
Danthia - I'll do the search now. Thanks.
You guys at AW are really great.
This July. I recieved my advance check (all at once--they were supposed to send it in two parts, but the first part took so long that they ended up just sending it all together) about a month or a month and a half ago. My book's coming out in August.
Shady - congratulations! Being a total newbie I have a question - what does "sub" mean next to your ms titles? - - 'submission'?
Query writing gets easier. I struggled at first, but I think I know the ins and outs of it now. Also, in terms of advances, Stephenie Meyer got $750,000 for a 3 book deal on Twilight. And an extra $400,000 for Breaking Dawn (I think). JK Rowling only got £1000 and then a little bit on top from organisations.
AKB - Don't forget, an advance is just an advance on future royalties. Once you earn out that money in sales, there is the potential to earn more than the initial sum.
I know a LOT of YA authors and we sometimes "trade" numbers here and there and I can tell you, a GREAT majority of my friends got more than $10,000 (and quite a few MUCH more) for their first book. I know I did.
I haven't seen anything to prove this, but since the average first novel sells for between $5-$10k, I really think that on average, advances for a first YA novel are typically higher than for first adult novels. Since they're shorter, that makes us YA writers a lot smarter than the average writer. Less work, bigger payout. Well, at least this is what I tell people when they ask me "When are you going to write a REAL novel?"
I haven't seen anything to prove this, but since the average first novel sells for between $5-$10k, I really think that on average, advances for a first YA novel are typically higher than for first adult novels. Since they're shorter, that makes us YA writers a lot smarter than the average writer. Less work, bigger payout. Well, at least this is what I tell people when they ask me "When are you going to write a REAL novel?"
I don't think a bigger advance is necessarily better. There's a lot of hype about getting six-figure deals, omg they are so shiny!, but in reality, you have to worry about if you're going to sell the equivalent amount of books. Hopefully you earn out your advance, and hopefully you sell even more books so you're seen as an asset to the publisher. But if you don't...
Getting bigger advances makes that harder.
Getting bigger advances makes that harder.
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Out of curiosity, is that figure ($10k or higher) with/without tax deductions or prices for printing, etc.? Is that whole paycheck yours to keep, or do you have to pay expenses?
Without tax deductions, and without the 15% agent's cut taken out.
However -- YOU don't have to pay for printing or book production costs. That's the publisher's job.
However -- YOU don't have to pay for printing or book production costs. That's the publisher's job.
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I keep hearing the $10k mark (around £6-7k in the UK).
By the way, in my personal view, big advances = big investment from publishers so they are certainly preferable. When I say 'big', I mean of the 100k or so variety. By 'investment', I mean in terms of marketing and time. So don't ever think 'O crikey, I'd rather not get a fab advance' cos a fab advance means the publisher has uber confidence in you.
Of course, this can 'backfire' in that some uber advances don't earn themselves out and this in turn can give you some troubles (eg. 'doh, s/he didn't get enough royalities to cover the advance, should we really invest in his/her next book'?) but hey, what's life without taking a risk or 2? And anyway, you don't need to pay it back in monetary terms, just rep. But tbh, publishers know what they're doing so if they give a fab advance (eg. Meyer, Marr proportions etc), it's a damn good sign the book is gonna be a success. And it usually is.
By the way, in my personal view, big advances = big investment from publishers so they are certainly preferable. When I say 'big', I mean of the 100k or so variety. By 'investment', I mean in terms of marketing and time. So don't ever think 'O crikey, I'd rather not get a fab advance' cos a fab advance means the publisher has uber confidence in you.
Of course, this can 'backfire' in that some uber advances don't earn themselves out and this in turn can give you some troubles (eg. 'doh, s/he didn't get enough royalities to cover the advance, should we really invest in his/her next book'?) but hey, what's life without taking a risk or 2? And anyway, you don't need to pay it back in monetary terms, just rep. But tbh, publishers know what they're doing so if they give a fab advance (eg. Meyer, Marr proportions etc), it's a damn good sign the book is gonna be a success. And it usually is.
With the numbers being discussed, are there certain types of YA books for first timers that get the higher advance or is it strictly based on the story, writing, voice, etc? Or combo?
fantasy probably generally gets a higher advance? but that's just speculation on my part. I'm guessing because they're generally big books and more likely to be in a series (so you're more likely to get a multi-book deal.)
Mine was a slim little realistic thing, so there you go.
Mine was a slim little realistic thing, so there you go.
I've always heard that the average advance was $5000.
FWIW, I don't think that shorter books make for easier writing. Some authors have trouble writing a tight enough novel or keeping it under an agent/publisher's preferred word count. So a shorter book with a certain advance does not mean an easier job than a longer one with the same advance.
FWIW, I don't think that shorter books make for easier writing. Some authors have trouble writing a tight enough novel or keeping it under an agent/publisher's preferred word count. So a shorter book with a certain advance does not mean an easier job than a longer one with the same advance.
For the unpublished author I think the concentration should be getting published, whatever the advance, if any at all. Let your agent deal with the size of any possible advance, bearing in mind that s/he wants the most possible since s/he gets 15% off the bat. In general, I would say $1,000 to $10,000 is logical.
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