Writers in the Storm

Susan Spann

“Advances” – technically, advances against royalties, are lump-sum payments some publishers pay to authors “in advance” of publishing the author’s work.

More simply, an “advance” is the money an author receives up front on a publishing deal.

Not all authors receive advances, and not all publishers offer them. Small and micro-publishers often pay smaller advances than larger houses—though this isn’t always true. Let’s take a closer look at what an advance represents and how it should—and shouldn’t—impact an author’s willingness to sign a publishing contract.

Generally, an advance represents an advance payment against the author’s future royalty earnings. This means that after publication of the author’s work, the author will not receive any royalty payments from the publisher until the author’s total share of sales proceeds (“royalties earned on sales”) exceeds the amount of the advance.

To illustrate this, we’re doing math. Stick with me.

If Abby Author receives a $1,000.00 advance on her new novel: MATTHEW THE MANATEE, and the royalty clause in Abby’s contract entitles her to 10% of the publisher’s gross receipts on sales of the work, and the publisher receives $10.00 per copy of MATTHEW THE MANATEE sold (which probably means this book is a hardback selling at $25.00 retail), how many copies of MATTHEW THE MANATEE have to sell before Abby starts receiving additional royalty distributions from the publisher?

With apologies for sneaking a word problem in on you…let’s work this through.

At a 10% royalty rate (and, for the record, that’s high—but I didn’t want to make you do the math with uneven numbers) if the publisher receives $10.00 on every copy of MATTHEW THE MANATEE sold, Abby’s royalty share is $1.00 per copy. (Less returns…but I’m assuming, for the sake of the math, that nobody ever returns this book.)

Given that Abby received a $1,000.00 advance, she won’t receive any additional royalty payments until the 1,001st copy of MATTHEW THE MANATEE is sold.

When that 1,001st copy sells, and Abby starts receiving additional royalties, MATTHEW THE MANATEE has “earned out” its advance.

A book that “earns out” is considered financially successful, at least by one important measure in the publishing industry. (There are other factors that also play a role in determining whether a book is successful, but earning out the advance is a good way to start.)

Publishers don’t offer advances to be nice, and publishers generally don’t offer large advances to first-time authors unless they really believe a book will sell. At least with many publishers, an advance represents a publisher’s guess at the novel’s profitability point. However, a small advance (or no advance) doesn’t necessarily mean the publisher lacks faith in an author’s work. Some publishers don’t pay advances at all. Others have smaller budgets, or simply prefer to offer lower advances.

During negotiations, authors should be aware that sometimes publishers will agree to a higher total royalty rate if the contract contains no advance (or a very small one).

Many authors consider a contract with a small advance, or no advance, a dismal failure. This is misguided thinking. Earning out a small advance is often considered a bigger success than failing to earn out a massive sum.

Instead of focusing on the advance, authors should look at the contract as a whole.

No amount of money makes up for inappropriate contract terms or a publishing house that lacks the professionalism and experience to treat the author and his or her work with industry-standard care and respect. It’s always better to take a lower advance from a better publishing house that offers industry-standard terms (including out-of-print status based on royalty bearing sales, clear author termination rights in the case of publisher breach, and other important legal protections) than to follow the money into a contract you later regret.

Remember: the advance is only one small component (and usually rather small, indeed) of the deal the publisher offers. Protecting your rights requires evaluation of all the relevant terms, and making decisions based on the publisher and the contract as a whole.

Do you have questions about advances? What would mean more to you in a contract than an advance? Do you have other contract questions you'd like Susan to write about?

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About Susan

Susan Spann writes the Hiro Hattori Novels, featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and his Portuguese Jesuit sidekick, Father Mateo. The fourth book in the series, THE NINJA’S DAUGHTER, will release from Seventh Street Books in August 2016. Susan is the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ 2015 Writer of the Year, and a transactional attorney whose practice focuses on publishing and business law.

When not writing or practicing law, she raises seahorses and rare corals in her marine aquarium. Find her online at http://www.SusanSpann.com, on Twitter (@SusanSpann), and on Facebook (SusanSpannAuthor).

“Oh my god, I’m going to burn this manuscript and get a job grooming Guinea Pigs.”

Okay, so maybe you didn’t want to become a Guinea Pig groomer. But I’m guessing all of us, at some point or another, have threatened to make s’mores on a bonfire from the worthless piles of paper we thought would be our published beauties. We’ve all read the blog posts about pushing through writer’s block, romancing your muse, conquering the three-act structure, etc, etc. and thought, “Okay, then, let’s do it,” only to moan into our pillows that we’re doomed to failure.

So sure, I could give you a pep talk, convince you that you can do it, but I won’t. Today, I’m going to give you three solid reasons why quitting this writing gig may, indeed, be the way to go.

1) Writing is hard.

How many times have you encountered a well-meaning friend or stranger who announced, “I’ve always wanted to write a book. You know what, I’m going to do it. You’re doing it, so can I,” and you’ve smiled and politely responded, “Yes, you absolutely should,” instead of telling them that shoeing grasshoppers is easier?

Writing is hard. You’re creating people, worlds, lives out of the chaos in your brain. Those people have to talk to each other, they have to do things, think things, grow and learn from those things. They have to be people that perfect strangers will relate to and cheer for (or collectively hate). Your settings have to be vivid and your action has to be plausible.

And after you’ve written 90-some thousand words, you may have to scrap a few thousand of those painfully bled words. You’ll have to revise then revise again. You’ll find that you’ve used “brilliantly” 243 times in the manuscript and that your character went from brunette to red-head without ever opening a tube of hair color. Or that the perfectly worded, heart-wrenching scene where the main character confesses his deepest, darkest fears to the Guinea Pig just doesn’t work in that story.

2) Writing is heartbreaking.

You’ve put in the hard work, persevered, and you’ve got a shiny beautiful manuscript. You send it to agents and wait. You know at least 124 of the 126 you’ve queried will love it and offer. How could they not love it? Your email pings and it’s one of the agents, your heart does a hippity-skip and you rehearse how you’ll respond to the offer of representation. Except it’s a rejection. And it’s followed by another 147 rejections.

Until one agent loves it and off it goes to editors.  When the "thanks but no thanks" start pouring in all over again, you wonder which one of you – you or your agent – was on antihistamines when you thought the manuscript was ready for prime time.

Until one editor loves it and your baby manuscript is sent out into the real world. The reviews start populating Goodreads and Amazon and Barnes & Noble. And readers point out every flaw you don’t have and accuse your Guinea Pig of being on steroids. Your book should be banned because of all the curse words and they boldly announce that you used “poop bucket” 6 times.

But they’re strangers, what do they matter?! Your neighbor who you walk your Guinea Pigs with every day just finished reading it and you can’t wait to hear how much she loved it. Except she has an awkward grin and mutters something along the lines of “You worked on that book for several years, right? Hmmmm,” and you wish the turkey vulture flying circles above you would hurry up and swoop you away.

3) Writing is expensive.

Have computer, will write. Easy as that.

Not so fast.

There’s software to help you write more efficiently, apps to zap you if you try to get on Facebook during writing time and software to help with keeping your story timeline under control. For some of us, there’s the notebook and pen addiction because each manuscript needs its own notebook to jot down the brilliant ideas and its own pen that you can tuck into the notebook for when those brilliant ideas show up. And if you’re like me, there are the three ring binders and ink cartridges and boxes of paper for printing each draft. And more pens for the revision process because I can’t do the red pen for revision – too cliché (and we all know how important it is to avoid clichés). Anywhoo, a few dollars here and there can quickly add up. And it’s only the beginning!

If you’re serious about your writing, you’re probably attending writing events – conferences, retreats, workshops. The cost on those can quickly add up, especially if they involve travel and hotel stays in addition to registration fees.

‘Scuse me for a sec while I see who’s at the door. Okay, I’m back and with me is the next lesson in “writing can be expensive” … books. In today’s delivery - three books by writer friends. One is a book I’ve already read (received an ARC from the author). Why buy a copy if I already have one? To support the author. And because I loved the book. I’ll use the bought copy as a giveaway at some point.

Notice I said “today’s delivery”? Yup, that’s because it’s the second package this week. I also ordered a book on writing. I have so many of these and I’ll admit that I haven’t read all but I plan to. Really. Just like I will eventually read all of the books on my shelves. Really! Okay, fine. But that doesn’t stop me from buying more. Because I’m a book-a-holic.

Now that I’m preparing for my debut, I’m also starting the hunt for author promos and publicity opportunities. Based on what author friends have done and found successful, I created a wish-list budget. Hubby laughed when I showed it to him (I’m now working on my real-life budget).

But fact is, as an author, you’re going to have to shell out money to promote your book.  You’ll be buying copies of your own baby, printing bookmarks, buying those little somethings that you can use for giveaways. You may be paying a publicist to help spread the word or paying for a launch party.

So not only are you torturing your brain cells to come up with amazing new stories, you’re putting your emotions through the meat grinder, and you’ve boarded the express train to bankruptcy.

Told ya I wasn’t going to give you a pep talk! But here's another cute Guinea Pig to make up for it ...

 

Now that you have a host of excuses to quit, here’s the one reason you shouldn’t …

Writing is the best job ever!

We get to create worlds. And make people (people we don’t have to feed or change or drive all over town at least). And we get to tell stories that will touch others.

My biggest hope (aside from more book contracts, obviously) is to one day hear from a reader that one of my books made them laugh or cry, made them reflect on their own relationships, or just gave them a much needed break from every day stresses. And that hope is what keeps me going when the writing is hard or when the heartbreak feels overwhelming.

Your turn … what’s your reason to keep writing?

About Orly

Orly Konig is an escapee from the corporate world, where she spent roughly sixteen (cough) years working in the space industry. Now she spends her days chatting up imaginary friends, drinking entirely too much coffee, and negotiating writing space around two over-fed cats. She is a co-founder and past president of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and a member of the Tall Poppy Writers. She is rep’d by Marlene Stringer, Stringer Literary Agency LLC.

Orly’s debut, The Memory of Hoofbeats, will be released by Forge in 2017.

You can find her on Twitter at @OrlyKonig, on Facebook at OrlyKonigAuthor, or on her website, www.orlykonig.com.

Penny C. Sansevieri

If you’re an author who just wants to write, you’re not alone. I talk to authors every day who hate the idea of marketing and are not even sure where to begin. I definitely can understand. Marketing is always changing, and it isn’t easy, especially if you still have a full time job and want to focus on writing your next book. However, if you don’t market your existing title(s), no one will ever know what you have written.

Realistically, you can’t just upload your book to Amazon and expect the sales to roll in. That’s not a marketing plan. And, contrary to what your mom, family and friends may think, or perhaps what you’ve been told in your writers group: your book is not the field of dreams. Remember – “If you build it, they will come?” That’s simply not the case with books. The mere act of publishing one won’t bring droves of people beating a path to your door. So, what can you actually do to drive sales? Fortunately for you, it’s deceptively simple! Probably simpler than you thought.

Here are four easy things you can do to give your book it’s best possible start:

1. Start building your fan base

Fans, and Super Fans in particular, will really help you to market your book. Start engaging with people who already like your book; they often help drive sales. Just think for a moment how awesome that is. So how do you build this fan base? One thing I am always saying is that every author should include a letter in the back of every book. Craft something engaging and inviting; you want to encourage readers to contact you. A loyal base is worth its weight in gold, and if you really want to spend as little time as possible marketing your book(s), then it’s critical to invest in the fans that find you organically. If you want to dig into this further, I wrote a more in depth article -- “How to Turn A Freebie Lover into a Super Fan.”

2. Pitch Reviewers

Pitching reviewers can seem tedious, I know. But, if you can commit to pitching five bloggers each week, it will add up fast! I think the biggest thing here is to be consistent. You should always be pitching your book to bloggers, readers, Amazon reviewers, etc. Not sure how to find them.

Check out these links for bloggers you can pitch:

• http://bookblogdirectory.com/
• https://bookbloggerdirectory.wordpress.com/

3. Start Building UP Your Amazon Visibility

On my own blog, I talk about optimizing your presence on Amazon a lot. In fact, I’m such a fan of this that I wrote a book about it. Why? Because, it works! Amazon can really help you market your book, but to make the most of it, your keyword strings and categories must be on point. Replace all of your single keywords with actual keyword strings. If you want to dig deeper here, I have more articles on how you can find keywords.

4. Post on Your Blog & Social Media

Unless you got your start by writing a blog, this is a turn off for most authors. Many of you have already started writing your next book or at least have an idea of it in your head. So you’re concerned that blogging and spending time on social media it will take away from your writing time.

Maybe a little, but don’t overthink this. Blog posts don’t have to be long, and in fact some of the best posts aren’t. But they should be interesting, insightful, even funny if being humorous is your thing. How often do I want you to blog? Once a week or so, which is manageable, right?.

And, in terms of social media, keep in mind that it’s not about being everywhere, but everywhere that matters. If you only have time for one site, then do just one site. Post one piece of content a day, that’s it. It literally takes less than 5 minutes, and it’s free. So spend those five minutes every day engaging with your fans and networking.

Whether you choose all of these things, or even just choose one, be consistent. One blog post every once in a while, one social media update, or one pitch to a blogger will not move the needle but done consistently this will have an effect on your success. All of these things are easy to work into a schedule and some (like the Amazon keywords) only have to be done once, or a couple times a year if you’re in a popular genre. If you wrote a book, you owe it to yourself and your book to do even a few small things to get the word out.

Whatever you do, don’t just throw up your hands and walk away. I see it a lot, but know that your book has so much potential.

When I was first in business I hated a lot about what I was required to do. Taxes and accounting are a great example of that. I did this myself for a while and it wasn’t pretty but I did it and it got me through. When I finally had the means to I outsourced this. I’m glad I didn’t walk away from my business just because I sort of suck at math. Why am I telling you this story? Well, to emphasize the fact that we all have pieces we hate to do but if this journey and your book are important to you, you’ll make time to do them or learn how.

You only fail if you fail to try!

Okay, Writers in the Storm readers, what non-marketing tips do you have to share with us?

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About Penny

Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert and an Adjunct Professor with NYU. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns. She is the author of fourteen books, including How to Sell Books by the Truckload. AME is the first marketing and publicity firm to use Internet promotion to its full impact through online promotion and their signature program called: The Virtual Author Tour™

To learn more about Penny’s books or her promotional services, you can visit her web site at http://www.amarketingexpert.com. To subscribe to her free newsletter, send a blank email to: mailto:subscribe@amarketingexpert.com

Copyright @2016 Penny C. Sansevieri

Top photo credit: JaneB13 - Pixabay