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November 22, 2009
How much money can a writer make on their first novel?
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Category: Writing for Money Help
What about for a screenwriter on their 1st screenplay?
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Anything from nothing to millions. It depends on the publisher, the quality of the work, the amount of promotion, current demand, etc.
it kind of depends how good it is. more the book sells the more u get.
That all depends on how it is published, and if anyone buys it. It has to be a really good book to make really good money.
depends how well it sells and sometimes u have to write a novel or play that people can relate to to make it sell well.
A friend of mine submitted her work and because the market was wide open for young peoples’ stories, her book was caught up immediately and became a “Best Seller”. Schools across the Nation have included her work in their school media centers and libraries. In fact, many of us (teachers) include her work in our curriculum and there is study material on her. She has made $450,000 so far….and the money continue to come in. The thing I love about her is she has committed to $25000 of it to her former high school to encourage readers, etc and provide resources for that school. She is also contributing more of her monies to children who are poor and have very little access to books (other countries – AND the US)
it will all depend on sales. could be nothing at all if it doesn’t sell, to millions if by chance it should catch on and become a hit.
Although every writer can negotiate with a publisher, typical royalties for an unknown author might be:
Hardcover royalties of 10% on the first 5000 units sold; 12 ½% on the next 5000 units and 15% thereafter.
Trade paperback royalties are 7 ½%
Mass market royalties are for 8% for the first 150,000 units sold and 10% thereafter.
First printings for the unknown author lucky enough to get hardbound are typically 5,000 units. Say it sells for $25 (because we sure like our round numbers) and it sells through–all 5,000 copies sell.
$25 x 10% = $2.50 per book in royalties
$2.50 x 5,000 = $12,500–not much considering that it probably took a year to research and write the book, and quite possibly longer.
Of course, if you happen to write the huge novel of the moment, maybe you sell a half million copies instead.
Of maybe you only sell 3500.
I know several authors online and a handful in meatspace, and only three derive all their income from their fiction. Most either keep their day jobs or have another source of income, like a working spouse or savings.