Your First Sell

Suzy you are probably going to get the very annoying response from most people here that goes: "It depends." But the reason you will get that response, is because it is true! It really really depends. With articles I suppose there could be more of an average, because I am sure that with paying publications there is a narrow range of what they pay. With novels. My word, that could be anything!

As for saying no if it wasn't enough money . . . again it depends. What is enough money? I think if I was really feeling underpaid it would become an issue of respect and faith in my work, so I quite possibly would walk away. But then again . . .

It depends

I think you're writing a romance novel, right?
This link will give you a general idea.

http://www.brendahiatt.com/id2.html

Does a similar listing exist for general fiction or for other genres?

SuzyB said:

I don't know where to put this thread. I looked all over the boards and I came to this one to post it....

For your first sell whether that be a novel, short story, poetry, article, etc....

I'm not greedy, but since this is your first book out there/your voice how much would you get as in money wise for it? If the offer wasn't good, would you decline and send it in elsewhere?

Or does it matter?


...again, I didn't know where else to put this. If it's wrong then you can move it.

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Authors often have to settle for a lower amount than they would like on their very first sold work. How low does it have to be before it is worth it to walk away from it? That amount varies, but it is one reason to have an agent. An agent should have the experience to be able to say whether an amount is not worth it, plus an agent should be able to negotiate a higher amount in many cases.

But perhaps the easiest way to get an amount you'll accept is to only submit to publishers who are likely to pay you that amount or better. Publishers with very low or nonexistent advances, such as many e-publishers, can be simply avoided if you know you won't accept an amount like they typically have.

Moving this to Roundtable, where it seems more appropriate.

- Victoria

SuzyB said:

I think it would depend, too, because if you're writing a novel, and have worked on it for a few years, put your heart and soul in this first book then you would want a good price for it, yeah?

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Unfortunately, as your mom probably told you a million times, we don't always get what we want.

I know writers who slaved over that first book for years before selling, and settled for what amounted to slave wages in order to break into the ranks of the published.

My first advance for a novel was a couple thousand dollars -- and I'd spent more than six months working on the book.

Did I quibble at the offer? Hell, no. I wanted to get published.

Sometimes, the publication credit of that first book is more valuable than the actual chunk of change they float your way. And if it sells well, then more the better. But it really does depend on all sorts of factors. Like so many things in writing, there's just no hard answer for it.

If you have a good agent, they'll have a pretty good sense of what your book is worth. Agents do decline offers from publishers from time to time because they're too low.

Not to put a damper on this topic, but is it really "Your First Sell" or "Your First Sale".

Now post this in grammar for grasshoppers.