Lars Eighner's Homepage Writers' Workshop FAQ: Q. How long does it take to get paid?

Q. How long does it take to get paid?

A. The times when one may receive parts of an advance on a book usually are:

on signing the publishing contract,
on delivery of an acceptable manuscript,
on publication, and
90 days after publication.

Generally the whole advance ought to be paid upon delivery of an acceptable manuscript, but sometimes larger advances are divided into several payments. Typically for a first book, the manuscript is acceptable or the contract would not be offered so the part of the advance payable on signing should come with a month of the signed contract being returned and the part payable on delivery of an acceptable manuscript comes that month or the month following. Publication typically occurs within a year of signing, so parts of the advance (if any) that are payable on publication should be received about a year after the contract is signed.

Many houses pay royalties annually or semiannually. Even if a book does well, earns back its advance and goes on to make more money, the author might receive nothing beyond the advance until a year after publication, which may be two years after signing (or more).