From: Norma Jean <nsawicki>
Date: Fri, 08 Jun 2007 08:04:31 -0400

A quick thought and fyi.....

For those who are not familiar with publishing contracts...an advance is not a flat fee...it is an advance against royalties. For example...if a writer receives an advance of $1,000 against a 10% royalty on the list price of a book that retails for $10.00, the author would begin to earn royalties of
$1.00 per book after 1000 books have been sold; traditionally royalties are paid to the writer two times a year ( or whatever is stated in the contract).

Many writers want to receive as large an advance as possible ( for a variety of reasons) but even if an advance is miniscule, if a book sells well, the author benefits.

Without knowing contractural details, one cannot assume all celebrities ask for an advance, nor can one assume the advance would fall under the heading of big bucks. And contrary to what has been implied, many many writers of children's books who are not celebrities receive advances of $100,000 and more.

Also...given the nature of the creative process, the length of time it takes a writer to complete a work has little to do with time. Writers work/think differently. And too, many writers have a schedule...they work x number of hours a day...some writers may focus on a single work, others, multiple works. A well known/gifted writer often writes a picture book in a single day ( revisions are minor).. time is spent thinking. Some writers have been known to say a novel, etc., was written in six weeks ( or whatever), it
"wrote itself." For that same writer, a different novel can take longer...it varies.

More another time on this interesting, and complicated subject. Norma Jean
Received on Fri 08 Jun 2007 07:04:31 AM CDT