"Joint accounting" in book deals -- is this a thing now?

I've honestly not heard of this before. The only thing that this sounds like to me is when you get a multiple book deal, then yes, you don't start earning royalties because the initial advance covered all the books, not just the first one.

Is this a situation where you get a book deal for one book, and then after the fact get a second book deal and then they say they won't pay you royalties until that second book earns out?

Toothpaste said:

I've honestly not heard of this before. The only thing that this sounds like to me is when you get a multiple book deal, then yes, you don't start earning royalties because the initial advance covered all the books, not just the first one.

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That depends on the contract. I've had multi-book deals where the publisher insisted on joint accounting, but my last two contracts used separate accounting. So it can be negotiated.

Is this a situation where you get a book deal for one book, and then after the fact get a second book deal and then they say they won't pay you royalties until that second book earns out?

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Now that is just plain wrong.

Isn't that basket accounting? It's been around for a long time, IIRC. Definitely something I'd want negotiated out of my contract, but it's certainly not a new practice.

I have heard of it, but I don't think I would call it the norm.

Toothpaste said:

I've honestly not heard of this before. The only thing that this sounds like to me is when you get a multiple book deal, then yes, you don't start earning royalties because the initial advance covered all the books, not just the first one.

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I'd have to get someone to properly parse the legalese, but as I read my three-book contract, royalties are calculated separately for each book, so if the first book ever earns out, I'll see royalties even if the other two don't.

"Joint accounting" is when you have a deal for several books and the advance they give you is counted as a lump sum. If they have offered you a million dollars for two books, you have to earn those million dollars before you start seeing any royalties. "Separate accounting" is when that big advance is actually counted as two (or three, etc) separate advances, one for each book. In this case those million dollars will actually count as two half-millions (or 600,000 and 400,000, or whatever you bargained for), in a two-book deal. So you have to earn a separate amount for each book before royalties for that one start to come in. That's much better since you only have to earn half a mil before you start seeing royalties from the deal. You can negotiate which deal you want but the publisher can say no and they are under no obligation to do it the way you want it. And that's perfectly normal.

+1 to having heard of this in regards to advances over multiple books, but it's a thing most agents worth their salt will fight hard to get taken out of a contract.

Yep. My deal with Audible is for 3 books, and I won't start earning until the entire advance is earned out. My agent actually used the word "basket" when talking about it. I thought he was just using a colloquialism at the time.

Live and learn, I guess.

I never heard of it but I've been out of the trade side of the industry for a few years so...

I've heard of it, but it's not in my contract. Mine specifically states that the accounting for each book is separate.

EMaree said:

+1 to having heard of this in regards to advances over multiple books, but it's a thing most agents worth their salt will fight hard to get taken out of a contract.

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Good on those agents because this type of payment sucks in my opinion. I definitely wouldn't agree to it.

Here is Agent Kristin Nelson's take on joint accounting. She'll walk away from a contract if the publisher won't do separate accounts, and she does some very impressive deals for her authors.

https://nelsonagency.com/2010/06/one-possible-peril-of-a-multi-book-deal/