Money Taboos in Publishing & Deal Terms to Know [MONEY MONTH]
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ก.ย. 2017
- Let's talk some more about MONEY in publishing! First, why is it so taboo to talk about money in publishing? Well, generally it's simply tacky to talk about money! But I'm digging into it a bit.
Have you seen the terms "good deal" or "major deal" and wondered what the heck they mean? I'm going over common deal terms, which help you know the ballpark range of what authors get for their book deals.
And finally, I've got advice for how to get on more even footing, re: money in publishing, despite the closed-lip atmosphere.
This video is part of Money Month, where I'm posting videos all month about money in publishing. If you have questions or requests for topics, drop them down in the comments!
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People are strongly discouraged from talking about money because this gives all the leverage to the employer -- or the publisher. We need to break that taboo. Power to the people!
Viva Revoluccion!!!!!!
Nooooo, no it's because people get jelly and greedy af and sabotage others.
It's only tacky outside the business sphere, but when you're negotiating a product it is critical. The "taboo" benefits the publishers.
Your videos are very engaging and I’ve learned a lot. I love your personality! 👍🏿👍🏿
Money isn't tacky to talk about. I am an electrician, in my non-author time, and in the beginning, I used to get bamboozled all the time by clients because I was afraid to lose customers. Now I know how much I SHOULD be making. I know which clients to avoid because they super low ball. Money is important to talk about. Now I have contracts with major companies where I make more than the average because I knew how high I could go and refused to accept their first few offers.
I discovered your videos last night and have been devouring your content. Thank you for posting all of this useful info. I’ve been so curious about trad publishing info and you’ve answered so many of my questions. 💕📚
Hmmm...Out of curiosity I'd like a video on what exactly influences how much an author gets paid for an advance. When do authors start getting paid these things called royalties and how advances and everything ties in with book sales.
Because I was curious I actually googled some of these things but the internet didn't give a detailed enough account of how exactly it works and I'd like a first person account from someone in the industry on how exactly all of this works...😂
Your comments about the importance of salary transparency re: gender and age are SPOT. ON. Keep it up!
Question!! And if you answered this in another video, please let me know which one!
How did you go about making friends that are also authors and in your genre? I'm not even on the querying stage, but I kind of want to know what I can expect and then proceed to do my best in that field. Did you meet a lot of people after the deal? Or through the agent? Or social media, etc.?
That is a really good question, and one I haven't done a video on, but should. So my first recommendation is to check out www.reddit.com/r/YAwriters/. This is the sub-reddit I mod and I made some friends (and found some CPs) there. It's not as lively as it was a few years ago but there are some good people there.
Next, I recommend jumping into the community on Twitter. One I can recommend, just because I know it's about to be super active, is the AMM (Author Mentor Match) mentee community. Even though you're not at querying stages, join the mentee hopefuls! There will be a Twitter party under the hashtag #AMMParty starting September 19, which will be a "getting to know you/sharing" thing. There is also a mentee hopeful Facebook page: facebook.com/groups/198621057266616/. This will be a great space to connect with people in a similar boat and find friends.
Generally, how most of my early author friendships started was through CPing--being a critique partner. So part of it is putting yourself out there, offering to read others' books, getting them to read yours, etc. I'm really comfortable with internet friendships, so I can be pretty bold--I have Twitter DMed someone because I saw their pitch on Twitter and was either like "do you need a CP?" or "you are clearly cool, let's be friends." Sometimes that works haha.
So personally, I made a lot of friends through CPing, contests, and through working at/attending conventions--that was all pre-book deal. Post-book deal my number of author friends has quaddrupled, so yeah there are a LOT of new friendships to be forged at that point. But where you are, you definitely can! If it is in your budget/interest, attending conferences could be great. I made some good friends just from showing up at the bar for the SCBWI Los Angeles conference haha. I also made friends going to book launch parties in my area and being brave enough to talk to a stranger :)
Alexa Donne Ah, I see!! Thanks for your reply! I saw your video on AMM, and would totally join, but my genre hits more of an adult fantasy audience rather than YA. I find a lot of your advice really interesting and eye-opening though.
I think my biggest obstacle may be that I'm living and working in Japan, haha! Hoping to head back to America in March though. I've tried a fee online partners, but something always fell apart. But I think it is a really good idea, so I'll keep at it! Same for conventions; it's a little difficult to jump to those, but that's a really good idea!
I just started Twitter! Once I figure out what's interesting enough to post, I'm hoping to be more active on that!
Thanks again for your response!
I'm finding the exact same problem! My audience seems to be more adult fantasy than YA as well, and I've been tempted to change my writing just so I can fit into the "YA" category because it almost seems like it's easier to connect with other authors/find mentors that way. Seems like finding a good CP/writing buddy is harder than the actual writing itself. Blah :/
There is a website called Critique Circle that might be of interest to you, where you read and critique other writers' work and, in turn, submit your own manuscript for critique. That might be a way to find others who write in a similar vein. This is such a difficult process!
Thank you so much for this information I appreciate your honesty
Hey kaila,
I’m also inetrested in fantasy , i’ve already finished my first draft and i would be happy to have a contact with you for exchange of experiences
My facebook account is
facebook.com/profile.php?id=100021116492967
Looking forward to speak with you 😊
Really enjoying all of your videos - You give so much insightful information! I have just started my own channel so i know how much effort goes into making weekly videos. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing the wisdom!
“Make friends and don’t be a gossip” is just good advice for any industry or life stage.
Thanks for making this! It's so interesting. I have a question. In your "How I Got My Book Deal" video, you said that a publishing house has an acquisitons meeting before choosing to offer on a book. If the author's agent comes back with a different number in mind, does the publishing house have another meeting to talk about the new possible terms?
Is it me, or does it seem like creative jobs don't pay much but have potential to of being more.
Loving your channel!! I have like a million questions. I'm talking to a "big 5" company in the gamer world about my debut book series but I don't have an agent. (I'm a writer/creative director from LA so my network of entertainment friends is pretty neat.) BUT! In the lit world, I am new and I'm still getting all my info from you and from online research. I talked to two big agents that loved my book but it's MG Fantasy and they rep risque celeb stuff so the fit doesn't work. So, now I'm about to try and negotiate a pub deal alone and I'm sweating. lol. All I know is that I need to negotiate a separate deal for my IP, possibly create an influencer marketing strategy with my network of clients, and hope that they give me more than 36 dollars (haha
To be honest, and in my opinion, not knowing what is what in regards to money is how we remain distant to one another and partially fractured. What other's make should be freely talked about among those who are a part of the work force. The employer has all the power and knows who is getting what, but the workers are left in the dark especially when you look at none unionized workers; where do the checks and balances come in then? We are to assume employers know the value every single individual worker has? Like I understand the uncomfortable nature discussing money has become, but that's because we believe we're in competition with each other, and we're not. Thinking we are is how we perpetuate these cycles of taboos over money and the like. I greatly appreciate your candid response greatly Alexa, Thank You.
"100,000 dollars isnt quit your day job money". In rural minnestoa where i am, that could support like a family of 4 for like a year and a half... Sounds like quit your day job money to me...
The issue is that 100K isn't 100K in publishing. 100K is about 52K, paid out in installments over 3 years, post agent fees and taxes. Taxes are 40%, dropping down a healthy payment to not enough to live on. On my advances video I have a spreadsheet that breaks down a 100K advance that has the exact math.
@@AlexaDonne that would indeed change things. Then it would take more that 100k.
Hell give me five thousand, I don't care. If my book goes viral I'm happy that means next book I can get more.
Question! This may be a stupid question, but if I don't earn up to the advance I get, will I be expected to pay it back? Obviously, I hope it doesn't come to that, but I've always wondered. The term "advance" reminds me of a payday advance. Thanks so much for talking about money! It's really been so informative.
Nope! If you as the author deliver all of your pieces (a publishable book, etc.), you get to keep your advance regardless of how the book does!
Depends on your contract. I've been offered at least one contract where the small print says "refundable advance" for various reasons subject to "the publisher's sole discretion." Make sure your agent, or you, get rid of this small print before you sign.
haha get yoself those dollars!
Where do you look up what the is normal advance range for your particular genre?
You can follow Publisher's Marketplace announcements, which often give an indication of deal size (but not always). PM costs money, but as you make friends with other authors, you may find people with subscriptions. You can also get a sense by talking to as many authors as you can--I've gotten my best information just from candid conversations with authors. Also, I've asked my agent about what is normal/can be expected. It's definitely not easy to figure out, I'll admit! (which is one of the reasons I'm sharing as much information as I can in my videos)
Alexa Donne Thanks so much for all you do. I so grateful for every bit of information that I can get my hands on. Love love love Brightly Burning!
When Alexa said she got a "good deal" my brain was like so $100,000 to $250,000??
😂😂😂If I'm right then guuuurl that is a shit load of money. Go get those dollars Alexa!!!🙌🙌🙌🎆
It’s not ironic that in capitalist societies you are discouraged from talking about money, it makes it a lot easier for those who have it to exploit those who don’t. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.
I’ve been really enjoying your videos. I do want to say that it’s okay not reveal specifics about your money, but talking about money really isn’t “tacky”. I know a lot of us were brought up to feel that way, but it’s also one of the reasons why so many of us are being underpaid. More honest conversations should be encouraged as much as possible. Maybe try to mentally reframe it as brave instead of tacky.
It's not just tacky to talk about money, some contracts specify that you are not allowed to discuss your deal. Make sure that isn't in your signed contract before you get too transparent, especially publicly.
Do you have to pay an agent out of pocket yourself? Nothing I've found has really cleared this up for me.
You should actually never pay an agent out of pocket! An agent only gets paid if you do. Money should always flow to the author. If an agent asks you for money, it's a scam and you should run!
Should you worry that they will negotiate strictly in their favor rather than yours?
Your agent relationship is a business partnership--they don't get paid unless you do, so it is in their best interest to negotiate the best possible deal for both of your benefits. The cornerstone of an agent relationship is trust, so if you're worried, then you should only query agents you would trust 100%.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate the help. I will probably bombard you with questions in the future when I get closer to actually QUERYING (I'm polishing my final draft now), but you've been supremely helpful.
I highly recommend you join www.reddit.com/r/YAwriting and www.reddit.com/r/pubtips--both are great subs I'm involved in with people who can answers questions, and also critique your query!
It isn't ironic that we don't talk about money, specifically because of capitalism. We are socialized to see our worth in our salary. And unfortunately instead of turning negative feelings about wealth or income inequality towards the institutions that don't actually pay people their "worth" it gets turned on each other. Talking about money isn't tacky, and not talking about money makes it harder for people to fight back when they aren't receiving their due.
_Dollar dollar bills y'all_
I feel like it being tacky isn’t a good reason. Why is it tacky? Tacky is just about social propriety and I think we need to question anything that people just consider “improper” for no actual identifiable reason. Because people consider it tacky, there are practical reasons to not talk about it to avoid the social repercussions, but in of itself I think it benefits people (ie the party with less power, like the author) to know what books are being signed and for how much and for what reasons so they can protect themselves and their work.
It's not tacky to talk about money, that myth needs to go in the bin. That's why "publishing paid me" (which may have been after this video was made) was so important. Having this information hidden hurts authors, especially those that are marginalised or underrepresented in the industry. If your mother told you that it's tacky, well its time to move on, transparency is the best way forward. Also jealous people will always find a reason to be jealous if your book does well. If it's not advance size it might be what lists it's on or what prizes it's won or whatever. It's not a reason to hide the numbers
Thumbs up for joke in intro.
$100.000 is over double what i make at my day job in a year. and that's not "quit your day job money"?
It's about 52K total after agent commission and taxes, paid out over 3-4 years in installments. So, no. In a given year that can mean less than 12K take home (from approximately a 16K payment) or a year making 0. I made $0 from publishing in 2019 b/c I had no books turned in OR published. Publishing money is far too unstable to quit your job living in most markets, let alone the fact you get no health insurance (and in the US that's a big factor).