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> I don't know much about the world of publishing, but can someone give me
> some decent profit ranges for a first time author?
This question is almost impossible to answer. The circumstances vary widely,
and the final accounting on a book can take years. It depends on the type of
book, the demand for it, and the contract you sign.
Even if you're just thinking of the advance, the question gets no easier. To
take just one example, do you have to pay back the balance if your book doesn't
earn out, or is the advance yours to keep so long as you deliver the book?
> My current understanding is that it depends on the number of copies
> printed and sold. Do publishers continue to print as long as their is
> decent demand? Does the author sign to receive X% of the sales? Is there
> money up front from the publisher, then X% of sales? If you sign a
> contract with a publisher for X number of books, does profit increase?
Again, these are complicated questions. Publishers may decide to let a book go
out of print for any number of reasons: for example, even if a book is selling
decently, they may decide to gamble that spending the money on a new title
would be more profitable than reprinting your existing book. Or perhaps a
publisher gets bought out, and the new owner insists on a 20% cut of expenses,
in which case many titles will go out of print simply to save money. Similarly,
writers may receive a flat fee, a percentage, or some combination of the two.
There may or may not be an escalator clause on sales. It all depends what you
or your agent can negotiate.
Finally, multiple book deals are generally more profitable, but only because
they are usually offered only to established writers or to those that look like
a good gamble to start with. If you're a first time writer, publishers are not
going to offer a multi-book deal unless they're convinced that you're really on
to something. However, they may want right of first refusal for a subsequent
work, just in case.
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