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Making the Right Advances

The Reality of Un-Presidential Publishing Advances

By Nina L. Diamond

While many of you have logically figured that out, you’d be surprised at how many first-time authors – none of them previously published writers – have asked me if I think they can get the kind of advance that our former president got.

“What, are you on drugs?” I’ve responded. Actually, if they were on drugs they might get a larger advance. Those long, torturous, road-to-sobriety memoirs have been all the rage for a while now, and they usually bring in abnormally high advances, even if the author is completely unknown. Not Clinton-sized advances of course (neither Bill’s nor Hillary’s), but often at least in the six figures.

The era of giving out million dollar advances like candy ended with the flood of O.J. books – not the history of orange juice, but the so-called “Trial of the Century” – that an OD’d on O.J. public didn’t buy in the quantities the publishers hoped they would, thus costing the publishers a bundle since they’d shelled out millions in advances for almost every one of those titles. And many of them didn’t earn out those advances.

After that, even people whom you’d think could reel in a million dollar advance were lucky to get $100,000.

In December, rock music bad girl/actress Courtney Love sold her book to a major publisher for a reported $540,000. Peanuts. If this was the pre-O.J. book era, she would’ve gotten a million or two, easily.

Proven big-sellers, like the household name novelists and self-help authors, still get their millions, but those millions would likely be more millions now if the bar hadn’t been lowered by the O.J. book fallout.

And, of course, a few times a year, publishers launch a new author with a million dollar advance, maybe more, because that’s how the game is played, and the big advance is part of the author’s hype. The number of those million dollar babies, though, ain’t what they use to be. Pre-O.J., nearly everyone, it seemed, was getting a million dollars for a book. Not anymore.

WHAT CAN I EXPECT AS AN ADVANCE FROM A MAJOR PUBLISHER? That’s like asking, “How high is up?” Nobody can answer that. Too many variables. But, it’s safe to say that major publishers won’t give less than $20,000 for a book, and if your book is going to be a lead title, you will probably get anywhere from $75,000 on up. Unless they plan to make this a blockbuster, or you’re already an extremely successful household name, don’t count on getting more than $200,000, if even that.

WHAT WILL AN INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER GIVE ME AS AN ADVANCE? That all depends on the size of the publisher and their advance philosophy. It would be rare to get more than $20,000 from an independent publisher. From an average-sized independent, you can get between $2,500 and $10,000. You may get no advance at all from a small publisher, or just a token thousand or two. You also may get no advance from a medium-sized or large independent because some of them just don’t believe in giving advances.

WHAT DOES THE SIZE OF AN ADVANCE MEAN? With a major publisher, the more the advance, the more the publisher has invested, the more they will market and promote the book because they have to recoup their investment. When they give you less than $50,000 for your book, that’s not going to warrant a whole lot of promotion attention from them. They figure they’ll get back their investment with little effort. With an independent publisher, the size of your advance doesn’t have as much bearing on how much promotion the publisher will do, although the publisher will always promote their lead titles more. Few independents do much in the way of promotion, however, even for their lead titles. They don’t have the deep pockets for it, even the large independents, and they leave almost all of the promotion to the author, unless the author is a tremendously successful household name, and then the publisher will market and promote the hell out of it. It makes you wonder if they do this just to say, “We’re independent, but look who we have!”

IS IT EVER BAD TO GET A LARGE ADVANCE? You bet it is. The larger your advance, the more pressure on your to sell books. If you book doesn’t earn out its advance, you’ll find it difficult, if not impossible, to sell your next book to a publisher. You could be severely damaging your career if this happens, and, unfortunately, it happens to many midlist authors and lesser-known lead title authors. Even a few big names have had a second book changed from hardcover to paperback after the first book didn’t earn out its advance. One journalist-turned-novelist had this happen to him, and his publisher cancelled his third book entirely. So, while it’s tempting to say yes to that nice six figure advance, you may want to think twice. Of course, most agents will encourage you to accept it because that means they get a hefty chunk for their 15%, but remember that you’re in charge of deciding whether to accept a publisher’s offer. Your agent works for you, not the other way around. Think long-term, not short term, or you may find yourself with a very short publishing career.

WHEN DO I GET MY ADVANCE? Typically, you’ll receive half of your advance upon signing the contract with your publisher, and the other half when you turn in your completed manuscript and it has been accepted. Million dollar advances, however, are often structured differently. Your agent will negotiate the advance payment schedule on your behalf.

DOES AN AGENT’S STATUS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE SIZE OF AN AUTHOR’S ADVANCE? It has everything to do with the size of an author’s advance. A powerful agent will only take on a book that is likely to bring in a large advance, and editors are always predisposed to automatically offer large advances to authors represented by powerful agents. Rule of thumb: The more clout your agent (or his/her agency) has, the bigger the advance you’ll be offered.

AGENT’S BEST KEPT SECRET: Did you know that your agent’s previous dealings with a particular publishing house may have some bearing on what that publisher will give you as an advance? Publishers take into consideration how much they paid in advance the last time your agent sold them a book, even though that book wasn’t yours. Confused? Shocked? Well, here’s how it works: last year, your agent sold a book to Mr. Editor at Publishing Haus for a $35,000 advance. This year, after pitching your book all over the place, your agent finally receives an offer. It comes from Mr. Editor at Publishing Haus, who wants to give you a $25,000 advance for your book. “But, you gave me $35,000 for the last book you bought that I represented,” your agent says to Mr. Editor. And, so, Mr Editor ups the offer to $35,000. Also because that agent represented a book that brought in a $35,000 advance from that publisher last year, that publisher isn’t likely to offer more than that to your agent for your book. Of course, there are plenty of exceptions to all of these scenarios.

THE GOOD NEWS: Keep in mind that many a bestseller began its life with a modest advance from a major or independent publisher. The size of your advance isn’t a guarantee of success, nor an obstacle to it. Many books have received modest advances, but became great successes, including recent hits The Rules and Tuesdays with Morrie. Like publishers, agents are motivated by love or money or both, and need big books to make big bucks. They really do get excited about their books and authors, according to Michael Larsen, agent and author of Literary Agents: What They Do, How They Do It, and How to Find and Work with the Right One for You (Wiley 1996). “At a time when editors may change jobs and publishers may change hands at any time, your agent may be the only stable element in your career,” he says. “Agents must find new writers to make a living, so they’re looking for writers whose work they can sell.”

If you have a salable novel or a proposal for a nonfiction book, research agents through your professional networks, the Association of Authors Representatives, publishing directories, and online. Contact them in a professional way as their listings in directories recommend.

If you’re still hell-bent on getting the kind of advance Bill Clinton got, now would be a good time to start thinking about running for president in 2008.

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Nina L. Diamond is a journalist, essayist, and the author of Voices of Truth: Conversations with Scientists, Thinkers & Healers. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Omni, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, and The Miami Herald.

Ms. Diamond was a writer and performer on Pandemonium, the National Public Radio (NPR) satirical humor program, for its entire run in Miami and select markets nationwide from 1984-1998. As an editor, she works frequently with other authors and journalists on both fiction and non-fiction.