Ok, Show me the Friggin Money
I have discovered some troubling things while researching how to become a successful, published novelist.
Here are some staggering statistics; there are almost 200,000 books published in the United States every year, and of those approximately 10,000 are novels.
What do these numbers mean to a Novelist?
Competition.
Competition to be published, competition for a published book to be purchased, and competition to continue to be published.
As in most industries, in the past ten years, the publishing and book selling industries have undergone a massive consolidation. This has left the market with about six large publishing houses and many, many, smaller niche publishers.
Publishers now expect all pubished books to "earn out" or breakeven. For new authors this is extremely difficult. New authors have little or no fan base and have difficulty getting publicity in the crowded market place. Most larger publishers no longer seem willing to carry and support an author as he or she establishes themselves in the market place.
Smaller publishers have appeared to fill the void but with smaller budgets and less ability to significantly penetrate the market place. These niche publishers are growing in popularity and success but good books are still crowded out of the market place by the constant search by larger publishers for the breakout bestseller.
Rapid changes in book distribution channels have also occured in the last ten years. Mega bookstore chains like Barnes & Noble, and on-line booksellers like Amazon have encroached on traditional book distributers, local, and independent bookstores. These changes have greatly influenced publishers and book buyers in what I percieve as negative ways.
In the good old days, most book buyers went to thier local independent book stores and found well informed helpful booksellers that would and could suggest good books by new, lesser know authors. This still happens, of course, but unfortunately, in fewer and fewer numbers. Now, the book buying public typically hops on line to Amazon.com or drives down to the local Barnes & Noble for a cup of Starbuck's coffee and a book.
If you go to a Mega Bookstore and take a hard look, you will find a theme, and if you look very hard you"ll see a gaping hole on the shelves. The theme is bestsellers and bestselling authors. The gaping hole is new authors. Yes, there are a few new authors from large publishing houses and a few from smaller houses, but if they don't sell, they disappear quickly, unless they are coop'ed. (publisher's ad money to booksellers).
Now a little about the money. Authors are paid an advance and receive a royalty on books sold. There are also subsidiary rights which I will not cover here because unless a book sells well or breaks out they are relatively insignificant in the scheme of things.
Typical new authors get an advance of between $1,000 and $35,000. Royalties run anywhere from 5 to 15% on the cover price. There is a royalty dynamic for hardcovers, trade paperbacks, and mass market paperbacks that I have yet to grasp but it exists.
It appears that publisher's first print run is between 7,500 and 25,000 hardcover books for a new author. Few new authors breakeven i.e. make the original investment back for a publishing house. Ergo, publishers are reluctant to republish a non-earning author.
I have yet to find good data on the mystery genre's advances and royalties but Romance Novelist Karen Fox has an excellent chart for the Romance genre.
Here is a sample:
Avalon
number of titles included: 17
Average advance (first book):$1,000
Average advance (subsequent books):$1,000
Advance range: $1,000 - $1,2000
Standard royalty percentage: 10%
Average earn-out $1,200
Range: $1,000 - $2,100
Avon/Harper Collins
number of titles included: 55
Average advance (first book): $13,500
Average advance (subsequent books): $26,5000
Advance range: $3,500 - $100,000
Standard royalty percentage: 8%
Average earn-out $26,000
Range: $7,000 - $100,000
Ok, I've probably bored you with the numbers. What does this mean for the struggling mystery writer to get published, stay being published, and live in the lifestyle for which I have become accustomed?
-Good writing. A good book must be written. More then a good book, it must be exceptional and different than what is currently being published.
-Marketing. I must become a marketing juggernaught. Build the brand. Build name recognition. Build a fan base. Build, build, build.
-Find a publisher. I must find a publisher that will team with me long term to be able to build name recognition, brand, and a body of work that sells.
-Write, write, write. Sell, sell, sell.
It has now fallen on the shoulders of the author to ensure that his or her novels are successful in today's marketplace.
Last thought; go buy a book. A new author from an independant bookstore. They need your help, and so do I. . .
