Lars Eighner's Homepage Writers' Workshop FAQ: Q. How much does a writer's first novel bring?

Q. How much does a writer's first novel bring?

A. Many imponderables make it impossible to give an absolutely reliable answer to this question, but I think it possible to say something.

An average (whatever that means) first novel should get an advance of $2000-$10,000. There are many reasons this figure might be higher or much higher, but few reasons it should be less.

The $2000 range would be for a first novel to be issued as the cheapest sort of paperback: generic romances, science fiction, erotica. The minimum for a novel issued in hardback should be around $5000. Payment might be $3000-$4000 for a better quality trade paperback. Basically, if the publisher doesn't think a book is worth at least these minimum kind of advances, the publisher shouldn't be considering issuing the book at all.

Reasons that books should have higher (or much higher) advances would include the success of previous books by the author (if the books are of the same kind) which of course won't apply to a first novel, the celebrity of the author (if Kato wrote a novel, he could be expected to receive a substantial advance, and a very hefty one if the novel were about being the houseboy of a person accused of murder), the timeliness of the subject of the novel, and so forth.

Perhaps you have heard of a very large advance being paid to an unknown writer for a first book, but often such stories (like stories about the size of first press runs) are inflated for publicity purposes. The author probably did receive more than the average, but the announced advance--if not an utter fiction--may be base on certain conditions in the contract which are extremely unlikely to be met.

The average novel does not earn back its advance, so the advance is all the author gets. For this reason, the size of the advance is usually the main issue in negotiation of a book contract.