Authors generally get an advance (a non-refundable sum), in
expectation of royalties (a percentage of the cover price). A
good agent (or wise author) will try to negotiate an
escalator, so that (loose example), on trade paperback sales
of over 4000 copies the royalty rate rises from 7.5 percent
to 10 percent and over 10000 copies it might rise to 12.5
percent. Some publishers are agreeable to this, and others
aren't. An escalator offsets, slightly, the increasingly
prevalent 'deep discount' clause which overrides previously
agreed royalty rates on occasions where the publisher
supplies books to retail outlets at high discounts (much of
the time in the UK, where book discounting is pernicious). If
the advance is paid back, the authors get cheques twice a
year for any subsequent sales. There are various other
bonuses that can be built in -- again, depending on the
publisher.
In the UK, authors are also compensated by library loans (a
few pence each time a book is borrowed). Authors can also be
compensated by rights sales: audio, film, foreign language,
etc.
It's very hard to say what the average noir/hardboiled author
would earn on a single book, since there are so many
variables. But the average advance for a first novel in the
US is reputed to be around $4K these days. The average
advance paid to authors (new and established) in the UK last
year was £4K (around $8K). Sadly, even with those
unimpressive figures, most advances don't earn out.
Al
----- Original Message ----- From: "mburch5717" <
mburch5717@AOL.com>
> For instance is there any feel for what the average
noir or hardboiled
> author would earn on a book that isn't a
blockbuster? When you do have
> a blockbuster or at least something that sells well,
how is that
> defined in terms of what the author is compensated
and how many books
> are sold? By blockbuster or best-seller I would
assume we're talking
> about an Elmore Leonard or Michael Connelly novel vs
someone who writes
> a good novel but who doesn't have huge
sales?
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