A few years ago I made a promise to my writer friends that if I ever had a novel hit the top twenty of the New York Times mass market bestseller list that I would share all the information I was given about the book so writers could really see what it takes to get there. Today I’m going to keep that promise and give you the stats on my sixth Darkyn novel, Twilight Fall.
We’ve all been told a lot of myths about what it takes to reach the top twenty list of the NYT BSL. What I was told: you have to have an initial print run of 100-150K, you have to go to all the writer and reader conferences to pimp the book, you can’t make it unless you go to certain bookstores during release week and have a mass signing or somehow arrange for a lot of copies to be sold there; the list is fixed, etc.
I’ve never had a 100K first print run. I don’t do book signings and I don’t order massive amounts of my own books from certain bookstores (I don’t even know which bookstores are the magic ones from whom the Times gets their sales data.) I do very little in the way of promotions for my books; for this one I gave away some ARCs, sent some author copies to readers and reviewers, and that was about it. I haven’t attended any conference since 2003. To my knowledge there was no marketing campaign for this book; I was never informed of what the publisher was going to do for it (as a high midlist author I probably don’t rate a marketing campaign yet.) I know they did some blog ads for the previous book in the series, but I never saw anything online about this particular book. No one offered to get me on the Times list, either, but then I was never told who to bribe, beg or otherwise convince to fix the list (I don’t think there is anyone who really does that, but you never know.)
Despite my lack of secret handshakes and massive first print runs, in July 2008 my novel Twilight Fall debuted on the Times mm list at #19. I’ll tell you exactly why it got there: my readers put it there. But it wasn’t until last week that I received the first royalty statement (Publishing is unbelievably slow in this department) so I just now put together all the actual figures on how well the book did.
To give you some background info, Twilight Fall had an initial print run of 88.5K, and an initial ship of 69K. Most readers, retailers and buyers that I keep in touch with e-mailed me to let me know that the book shipped late because of the July 4th holiday weekend. Another 4K was shipped out two to four weeks after the lay-down date, for a total of 73K, which means there were 15.5K held in reserve in the warehouse in July 2008.
Here is the first royalty statement for Twilight Fall, on which I’ve only blanked out Penguin Group’s address. Everything else is exactly as I’ve listed it. To give you a condensed version of what all those figures mean, for the sale period of July through November 30, 2008. my publisher reports sales of 64,925 books, for which my royalties were $40,484.00. I didn’t get credit for all those sales, as 21,140 book credits were held back as a reserve against possible future returns, for which they subtracted $13,512.69 (these are not lost sales; I’m simply not given credit for them until the publisher decides to release them, which takes anywhere from one to three years.)
My net earnings on this statement was $27,721.31, which was deducted from my advance. My actual earnings from this statement was $0.
My advance for Twilight Fall was $50,000.00, a third of which I did not get paid until the book physically hit the shelf — this is now a common practice by publishers, to withhold a portion of the advance until date of publication. Of that $50K, my agent received $7,500.00 as her 15% (which she earns, believe me) the goverment received roughly $15,000.00, and $1594.27 went to cover my expenses (office supplies, blog giveaways, shipping, promotion, etc.) After expenses and everyone else was paid, I netted about $26K of my $50K advance for this book, which is believe it or not very good — most authors are lucky if they can make 10% profit on any book. This should also shut up everyone who says all bestselling authors make millions — most of us don’t.
My next royalty statement for Twilight Fall probably won’t come until October or November 2009, but when it does I’ll post copies of it so you can see what a top twenty Times bestseller does in the first year after it’s released.
In Publishing telling the truth about earnings smashes the illusions publishers and writers want you to believe and, like breaking mirrors, it never brings you good luck. Thing is, when I was a rookie I wanted to know exactly what it took to have a top twenty Times bestselling novel, because that was such a big deal to writers. Everyone I asked gave me a different answer, told me a bunch of nonsense, or couldn’t/wouldn’t tell me at all. For that reason I want you to see the hard figures, and know the reality, and the next time someone asks you what it takes, you can tell them the truth.
Just a Heads up: the comments for the post will be turned off on Monday Night (April 27) Thank you so much for all the interest, information and feedback – and keep an eye out for more straight up truth on the reality of this business here at Genreality.
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Wow, great article and much appreciated info. You really have inspired me to see the real truth in being a writer. I now feel so much wiser. Thanks so much!
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There’s so much great information on the internet now, A., and I envy you — I wish I’d had access to it when I was pursuing publication.
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Hiya, Lynn–
Came across this, and I just wanted to let you know how fascinating it is, and how much I learned from your post. Wanna come do a tutorial here? LOL.
Beth
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Oh, you’re funny.
(The lovely Beth is the lady who sends me my royalty statements, btw. She also listens to my babbling, puts up with my nonsense, and finds my agent for me whenever things go boom.)
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Kudos to you for both making it on the NYT bestsellers list and for generating income from your passion – both things to celebrate!
I hope you don’t mind me playing devils advocate for a moment, but don’t you think it’s a possibility that with the addition of marketing campaigns, book tours, and other creative marketing avenues that the revenue number could increase? The fine line is of course ensuring that the costs of those marketing efforts are kept in balance so that profit is made.
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You ask a good question, Michelle.
Over the years I’ve done marketing campaigns, expensive web sites, signings, conferences, and just about everything except a book tour (I was offered a mini-tour once, but I politely refused because I was a rookie and utterly terrified of the prospect.) None of it worked for me and unfortunately a lot of it worked against me. It cost a huge amount of time, money and effort, and returned little to nothing. It made me miserable. The only measurable success I’ve had is through free and low-cost stuff I’ve tried on my own — my little freebie weblog, my free stories and e-books, and my book giveaways.
I would love to get more support from my publishers, but I understand they need to use their marketing budgets wisely, and I’m an established author with a pretty decent following. If they’re spending the majority of their available funds on newer authors who need the marketing more than I do to get their careers off the ground, I really can’t complain about the lack of support. Those writers need it more than I do. I just hope that’s who they’re spending it on.
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Unfortunately, I’m not sure that they are spending their budgets on new authors. New authors with six-figure advances–perhaps. But the authors I know do a great deal of their own promotion.
I’ve often wondered how much good it’s actually doing. I think it’s important to promote your work, but pick and choose your methods wisely. You have to get it out there somehow for people to notice it. Once they notice it, with any luck, they’ll tell others. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend. Better than expensive bookmarks and post cards (which just get thrown away).
As in any other business, a satisfied customer (in this case, reader) is the best form of advertising.
One other point: there are a few self-published authors–a tiny minority–who manage to hit it bit by promoting themselves (or hiring a publicist). So I guess promotion must pay off in some ways. The question is, how much money and effort do you throw into it? On the whole, not too different from gambling.
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I know many authors often work without a promo budget, and that’s where I think you can get into real financial trouble. I’ve always worked with a budget by earmarking in advance a certain percentage of my advance toward promotional expenses, traveling, conferences, web site fees and so on. I never spend more than I budget myself, which limits me on promo but also protects me. I also created a rainy-day fund and put a portion of my royalties in it to save for a day when I wanted to spend over budget for a book I thought was worth a little extra investment.
Unless you’re an overnight success, it’s simply impossible for an author to afford to do much in the way of expensive self-promotion. Publicists can be very costly, too, from what I understand (I’ve never gone shopping for one personally.) I know writers who have taken out a second mortgage or gotten a sizeable loan in order to finance promo for a book they wanted to make a big splash with, and the book still failed, and they’re now in a huge amount of debt. You never want to do that to yourself — you have to work within your means.
While I’m sure pricey promo can sometimes help a book sell better, there are no guarantees and no one ever provides hard statistics — another reason I don’t trust the people who hype it. You could end up easily spending $50K on a novel that only earns you $5K. I’ve seen that happen.
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I wanted to let you know that I referenced your blog in my blog.
http://michellereynoso.blogspot.com/2009/04/reality-of-writing-as-business.html
Michelle Reynoso
writing and photography
http://www.MichelleReynoso.com
http://www.michellereynoso.blogstpot.com
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Brutal honesty – I love it! Congratulations on your NYT Bestseller… it’s really too bad authors get left out in the cold when it comes to rev gen.
To be honest, your article makes me wonder why we invest our time and engergy – not to mention our heart and soul for a “future” pay-day that never really exist.
I’m a totally un-known writer (my first book to be published in Sept 09) and I thank my lucky stars I have a day job, and that I’m not doing it for the money! But still… ROI would be nice!!
)
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I’ll do a lot for money, Shawn, but my heart and soul belongs to the readers.
Congratulations on your upcoming debut — I hope it makes at least some of your dreams come true.
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Also, just FYI Shawn — your comment posted three times, so I deleted two of the duplicates.
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Kudos to you for posting some realistic facts for everyone to see. I can tell you that these facts, are identical to what happens for songwriters and recording artists.
Your royalty reporting time is exactly the same. If a record hit the stores last July and was on the radio, a royalty report would not gather until the end of Dec 08, with the first statement and check going out after close of 1st quarter (mar 09).
What I found more astounding here was that a writer is only seeming to get about 63 cents per copy of a book sold. I would think that an author is the sole creative entity and would get a bit more compared to the retail list price of a book.
A songwriter only gets 4.5 cents per sale of a song maximum (if he’s the sole writer.)
Happily you’re not contending with free downloads and streaming of your books! (yet)
Anyway, I think it is highly constructive for writers and creators to be able to really see what it takes to get something published to chart and what you actually gain in revenue, so you can have a realistic expectation of what you’re trying to achieve.
Thank you!!!
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I would not want to be in the music biz, D. I think it has to be three times as tough as Publishing is.
Modern professional writers have never been particularly well-paid, unless they rocket to superstardom (and stay there.) When you consider that without us there wouldn’t a Publishing industry, that’s a little depressing. But without publishers, we’d still be writing our work by hand on scraped parchment (or the modern equivalent thereof) so we really have no choice but to agree to their terms. If it weren’t for the agents who look out for us, the percentage would probably be a lot lower than it is.
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Believe me, you could truly simply interchange the words “songwriter” for “writer” and this is exactly what happens in music.
Without songwriters, there’d be no song (LOL!) just as without an author there’d be no book! Although I should think that waaay more work goes into conceiving, writing and finessing a finished book or even short story than goes into writing a song.
But what you describe regarding promotion & marketing demands, returns, etc., is identical.
I think one of the most frustrating facts of the current state of things in general is that our world has become consumed with marketing, promo & spin over all substance, so its making it almost impossible for creative people to succeed if their personalities are such that they do not love to be a party machine.
In today’s world someone like Bob Dylan, Neil Young or Joni Mitchell would have never been given a chance.
If I’m hearing you correctly it sounds as if this has become true for authors as well – which is even more ridiculous since the act of reading is a private, cerebral consumption & enjoyment. How crazy that an author now has to be the life of the party to get stores to rack his book! ARGH!
You have my deepest respect.
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I find the parallels between book writing and songwriting fascinating. In both cases, the world perceives the artist as making a financial killing, when we both know the reality is a bit much humble than that.
As for free downloads, while it’s not as common as free music online, they are happening now. Authors are posting whole novels online for free. I think they may be books from their backlist, rather than new ones. But with the growing popularity of ebooks, who knows where things are headed.
I’ve also heard that, in some cases, providing free books online has not affected sales. I think this was true for a book by Suze Orman. Interesting.
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When Oprah gives away your book for free for 24hours, I think you can pretty much write in the amount on your own advance check.
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First, congratulations on making the NYT!!! It shows how much your readers love your work. The credit is truly yours as a writer and doesn’t belong to some marketing person. I’m glad you recognize that.
I really have to give you kudos for having the guts to share that information. The publishing industry functions the way it does in part because there’s so much secrecy — even between publishing houses and their authors. I have one publisher that gives me very clear royalty statements and another that gives me statements that tell me nothing.
I’ve gotten the skinny from other NYT bestsellers who tell similar stories. We all think that hitting the NYT is reaching author nirvana, but, just as selling a book doesn’t mean you’re “there,” hitting these lists doesn’t mean you’re “there” either.
I guess the bottom line for us authors is to keep writing stories we love because nothing is guaranteed in this industry.
Thanks again for your honest! I may have to make a vow to do the same thing.
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Pamela, I wish I had a marketing person. I think I did once, for about ten seconds, until I finally agreed to sign that contract, and then poof! She vanished.
If the response to this post is anything to go by, we writers need to share more info. I’m not saying everyone should post their royalty statements online, but any light we can shed on the reality versus the illusions will help the next generation of writers.
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This is a wonderful post, and I’m so very grateful for it. I’ve got a blog post about it due to appear tomorrow morning, and know that it’ll fascinate my readers. Thank you!
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Thanks in advance for the post, Jane. I really appreciate all the writers, agents and other folks in the industry who have helped pass along the info.
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Thanks for posting this. It’s very interesting, and what you said about marketing within your means is great advice.
I’m going to link to this from my blog too. It’s a must-read for any writer.
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I appreciate the link, Samantha, and thanks for the kind words.
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Thanks for sharing this. As an author with a debut novel coming out this year these types of facts are very helpful
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I’m really glad to see so many new authors stop by the blog — congratulations on the debut, and may it bring many royalty statements to your mailbox.
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just wanted to let you know that I’ve linked to this from my blog as well, Lynn — as Samantha says, it’s a must-read for all of us!
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Thanks, Linda. Glad to be of help.
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A highly informative and useful entry specially for aspiring authors. Thanks a million for posting it!
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No problem, Caleb.
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As a writer for my job, and an aspiring novelst, thanks for the post. I really appreciate seeing these types of numbers and understanding more about the business.
I’m not really a fan of the genre, but I grabbed the Kindle version of your book as thanks for the post.
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I appreciate the purchase, Steve, especially as it’s not your cup of tea. When I can return the favor, let me know.
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Lynn – Brilliant article! Thank you for sharing so fearlessly. The truth about publishing realities has been some crazy sacred cow for far too long. Your article will definitely help a lot of writers see the path ahead more clearly.
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I like most cows, Fran, but not the sacred ones. Thanks.
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Lynn wrote, “I’m not saying everyone should post their royalty statements online, but any light we can shed on the reality versus the illusions will help the next generation of writers.”
That’s precisely why I blog as How Publishing Really Works: I find it so distressing to read of novice writers shooting themselves in both feet because they just don’t understand the business. And this blog post of yours is exactly what we need more of: open, honest information without a hidden agenda.
Here’s a direct link to my blog post about this: it’s had a very good reaction already, and I’m pleased. Thank you so much!
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Thanks for sharing this great piece of information for which am very delighted. It could be disappointing if I weren’t an optimist. But lit with positivity, my goal is to submit the greatest read and draw the biggest sales when my book hit the market. I feel this way because I am in it for two things. First, to produce a great read to intrigue my readers and build an enormous clan of readership on the international floor. Next, I intend to put a product of excellence on the market to sell more than hot bread because am in writing to give the people their money’s worth and to make money-money=money!!! Money more than six figures. Believe me, am a writer from conception, but am just putting my first manuscript together to be ready for submission soon/in the next two to three months, but I have no doubt it is going to fly off the shelves in a record breaking time and not be a shelf cushion. My thoughts may be too powerful for an unknown author, but frankly, this is how strong I feel about my work. It’s coming to roll the humor between the teeth; and leap up on the big screen, playing held over in the cinemas long; infesting the world with a contagious laughing allergy. Any publisher who rejects it will regret it when they see the income potential it carries for the accepted publisher. Look out, my friend ,the “Con…tion” is coming fast fast. Cheers and LOL loud loud!!!
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Jonis, I admire your enthusiasm and determination. I sincerely hope all your dreams do come true. In this business, someone’s should.
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Thank you for posting this. As an aspiring writer with a decent day job, this makes me appreciate the stability of said day job a lot more. I’m still going to get published one day, and hopefully make the NT Times bestseller list, but I have a realistic perspective for what happens when I get there.
I guess I need to return that boat.
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My guy would love to have a boat, too, Rick, but we decided to save and invest most of my writing income to put it toward our home and the kids’ college tuition. We don’t live in a mansion, but we paid off our mortgage nine years early, and our kids won’t have to take out student loans when they go to college.
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Great post! Do the sales figures reflect the selling price to the bookstores or the selling price from the bookstores to the consumer?
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Good question, David. The prices listed are retail, which would be the selling price from the bookstore to the consumer.
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Thx for sharing the info
Pls try Amazon for publishing next time.
They are excellent, quick & professional
and paying a very high ( Royalty of
USD 7.09 on a list price of USD 16.90 )
which is 42% to a newcomer author like me
for my first Book ISBN 1440493332
“The Project Management Time Cycle”
which is neither a fiction nor a NY
bestseller. Only problem is that they
don’t have the distribution set up that
the big publishers do. However established
authors like you don’t need the publisher
push and I feel you must try them out.
Also they pay on time. Though I am living
in India & not in US I have already recieved
the cheque for Feb sales.
Incidentally I have been offered only 10 %
on net price after discount by the top most traditional publishers which works to approx
5 % after deducting the distributors discount.
However there is a big relationship between
publishers and the media, which you will find
if you go direct. I have had LA Times turn down
my request to get the book reviewed as it is not
published through a publisher on their list.
However as you are a best selling author today
perhaps they will bend the rules for you
So I hope you try out Amazon next time for
publishing your next bestseller and give
boost to the “author to retailer” channel.
Thx & Regards
Sandip Sen
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Thanks for sharing your numbers, Sandip. I appreciate the advice, too.
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God bless you for sharing this information, just so that we can understand! It’s probably hard for those who don’t love writing to understand how you could possibly work so hard for so little (monetary) return.
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For those of us who aren’t in it solely for the money (which is just about every working writer out there, I think) it’s a combination of dream and reality. Whether writing chooses you or you choose writing, it’s a privilege to have a job doing something you love and the opportunity to share it with others. The industry is tough, highly competitive and unforgiving, so there’s little to no job security, but if you develop the right attitude I think that can make you a better writer.
It would help if writers were better-paid, but I think that’s true in every industry.
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Wow, you are wonderful for sharing this. Thank you!!
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You’re welcome, ma’am.
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Unbelievable. A writer that not only shares information about their publishing, but a writer that actually responds to comments in a blog! Thank you for both things, for sharing and for responding to people here, I have no idea what you write but I am not surprised that you have a following based on nothing more than your generosity and willingness to interact. If you’re a good writer, may it pay off tenfold in the future.
All hopeful writers reading this should take notes on this in my opinion.
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I’m a little late responding to these last comments (I had a deadline to slay this week) but I’m always happy to talk shop.
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May your books sell by the millions and your readers rise up and pronounce blessings upon your name each morning. You’re a gem.
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I’ll settle for earning back all my advances, Sally.
Thanks.
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First of all, congratulations on your writing achievements.
Thank you for the articulate way you shared this information. There is a perception out there that NY BS authors make millions upon millions, and that authors who don’t reach that status still make a ton of money.
I think this craft is similar to very good hockey players or football players actually making it in the big league. There are very few Nora Roberts, Janet Evanovich and Stephen King type writers who do make a ton of money, but they still have to work hard to stay on top.
A lot of blogs and internet discussions emphasize the Stephanie Meyer phenomena, who has rocketed up to NY BS lists and other lists, products with her series on them, CD’s, DVD’s, Tshirts, etc. etc. Again, this is not the norm and I don’t know much about Ms Meyer, but I would venture to guess she put a lot of work and effort into promotion.
I love a quote from Elmore Leondard’s quote when I read his bio.
“It took me 30 years to become an overnight success.”
Good luck to you and I wish you many more best selling novels and much success. You’re an inspiration and a true gem to share your experience with us all.
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I’ve seen what the Stephen Kings and Stephenie Meyers have to do to stay on top of the lists, and to be honest I wouldn’t want to trade places. The millions must be very nice, but they come with a hefty price tag of their own.
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Could you expand on this? What is it these top of the food chain writers must do that is onerous?
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I think when you reach the top of the food chain you cease being regarded as an author and become instead public property. You’re a walking target for the stalkers, gawkers and malcontents out there who are looking to make you their fame vehicle.
You also become a money-maker, and the people who want to ally themselves with someone with that kind of influence start seriously kissing your ass. You gather an entire army of camp followers and fangirls, and we’ve seen how destructive they can be online. You no longer have friends (or most of your friendships don’t survive your superstardom), and I imagine you can no longer trust anyone new who offers friendship. It must look like everyone has a hidden agenda or wants to use you.
On the professional side, you don’t get feedback from your editors, you get carte blanche. Think of all the big name writers who no longer permit their books to be edited. I’m not going to point fingers, but I can think of two whom I loved when they were nobodies and subsequently lost interest in after they became superstars because the quality of their work went south. And it went south because they stopped allowing the editorial process to happen. While some people think this is a great thing, I think it ruins a writer.
Finally, no one stays at the top forever. There is always someone younger, prettier, faster, more talented and with fresher material waiting to take your place. And they will do whatever they must to take it while you do whatever you have to in order to defend it. I was a witness to one of these clash of the titans type situations at a national conference once, and it was utterly appalling. It destroyed any desire I might have had to go into that stratosphere.
Comment · April 24th, 2009 at 5:08 pm · Link
That is interesting, because I’ve been wondering if some authors get published without any editing on their books. I won’t name names either, but there are four authors that I’ve read for over 10 years, and have stopped reading once they reached superstardom status, as I found their writing was lacking. I thought perhaps, they had ghost writers now that they have reached that level, because their writing wasn’t tight any longer, sloppy and definitely not fresh.
My attitude has been that I would write these stories whether or not they ever got published. I have an agent now, after numerous rejections and a lot of rewrites, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed, and reading these types of blogs is very helpful for writers like me just starting out.
Thanks again.
Comment · April 25th, 2009 at 7:19 am · Link
The editorial process is important, and if you’re fortunate enough to be paired with an editor who “gets” you and is a good match, it will make you a better writer.
A writer who is no longer allowing their books to be edited has cheated themselves and their readers, but I guess all that lovely money makes them forget how necessary good editing is.
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Thanks so much for sharing, congrats on your success, and may your positive karma knock your socks off.
People with your generosity and openness make the world (especially the small part of it writers occupy) a better place. Thanks.
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Anytime, Jennifer.
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Wow. I am SO impressed by this. My debut novel comes out in June, so I’ve never seen a royalty statement. This is wonderful to see!
It’s maddening that there isn’t more information out there like this, so we know what we’re getting into.
When I got my deal, i went back into my blog and unlocked dozens of entries dealing with rejection, becuase I think its wondeful when people open up on their blogs about ALL sides of their path to publication.
Thank you so much for sharing!
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It’s good to discuss rejection with other writers because it is such a tough subject to be public about, and I applaud you for making the bumps along your journey accessible. I got bounced four times last week, so it never ends, no matter where you are in your career.
Good luck with the debut — may it end up in every teenage girl’s backpack.
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Mandy, I’ve been collecting anonymous figures from romance (mostly) authors for several years now and have the results at my website (the Money link). Not nearly as detailed as what Lynn’s royalty statement shows, of course. I warn you, it’s rather sobering stuff.
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Brenda, i’ve been a fan of your “show me the money” survey for years!! I’m so glad you were able to get people to share the info…it’s really helpful.
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I’ve had a couple of people ask me for links to Brenda’s survey, so here’s the URL:
http://www.brendahiatt.com/id2.html
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Your observations about bestselling author/celebrities are right on the mark. At some point, the author becomes a public figure, so they’ve essentially lost their privacy rights. Not a situation I’d be happy with.
Plus, it’s true that a lot of bestselling authors’ work deteriorates as their careers proceed, due to lack of editorial guidance (and probably the fact that they’re “phoning it in” after a while).
I think the clash of the titans scenario you presented is just sad. I never want to be a super-star for that very reason. It sounds like a dreadful way to live.
I just want to write and would love to make a decent living at it. Not filthy rich–just decent! I don’t ask for much.
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Debbi, your goals are realistic and attainable; after watching how the titans fight for the top spots I decided it wasn’t for me. This is assuming I could even make it to that level.
Fcusing on the work and having a quality writing life versus getting into the top of the food chain will make you a lot happier in the long term. I speak from happy experience.
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Thanks for your generosity in sharing this! It takes some of the butterflies out of my stomach.
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No problem, Cindi.
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Lynn,
Great stuff and a good service to writers, especially new to the business.
The thing in your story that rubs me the wrong way is the publisher holding that reserve on potential returns. The returns policy rubs me the wrong way. I know its origin, but it no longer applies as it did then.
Publishing may be the only business that sells something at wholesale and then reduces the incentive for the retailer to sell the product by guaranteeing there is no need to sell it at all.
I put that policy right up there with the publishers’ policy of selling books through distributors that go only to bookstores. For a nonfiction writer, like I, the subject usually exceeds an audience at bookstores–for a publisher, that’s an alien possibility.
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The music business also has the same hold back for returns. I honestly do not know if other businesses do this with their products. I suppose they do. Distributors likely take back returns on anything that doesn’t sell through. For instance, if Home Depot doesn’t sell off the 100,000 new wonder hammer, they likely return the excess stock to whence it came.
It would be way worse if they paid you a royalty as if the sales happened and then had to come back to you months later and demand the money back.
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Reserves against returns is not one of my favorite publisher policies, Thomas, but I could live with it if reserves were held only until the first year after publication. I think holding them for two or three years is a little unreasonable, especially for a genre like mine where a novel’s average shelf life is six months at best. I also don’t think a book that has earned out and is generating royalties for me should have second reserves taken because the publisher has decided demand for it justifies a massive reprint. But they don’t let me run publishing, or things would be different.
I’d like to see publishers overhaul the distribution and sales systems currently in place to address today’s market. I don’t think they can continue the way they’re doing business across the board, not if they want to survive.
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Wikipedia says that Piers Anthony has sued publishers for accounting malfeasance and won judgments in his favor.
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From my experience as an editor, it’s a complete myth that the superstars of writing no longer allow editors to touch their work. Big name writers always get big name editors, the best the publisher has, and these editor have big names because they’re good at what they do.
I know of only one big name writer who doesn’t allow her work to be touched by an editor, but she never allowed her work to be edited, even when she was an unknown, struggling writer.
When someone does fall down on the job, it’s almost always the editor, rather than the superstar writer. Editors are extremely busy, and sometimes one will get the idea that the superstar writer doesn’t need his help. Superstar writers generally believe the opposite, and I’ve known several editors to be fired, and others more or less demoted, because the superstar writer realized the editor was no longer doing his job and demanded a change.
Even Stephen King asked for and received a new editor a few years back, solely because he realized the editor hadn’t touched his latest novel.
Nor do I think many superstars ever “phone it in.” Most are trying harder than ever to be good, to do the best possible work. What usually happens is not that the writer has gone downhill, but that the long term reader’s taste has changed. The writer’s books and style no longer excite him, and he blames it on the writer.
New fans of this writer usually love him just as much as the old fan did back in the beginning.
Though I would also add that it’s not an editor’s job to rewrite, revise, or change a writer’s style. We can ask the writer for a revision, for a rewrite, but the truth is that we’re often wrong, and the writer was right.
And in reality, when hundreds of thousands to millions of readers are still buying a writer’s books, it’s real hard to argue that he’s doing much wrong.
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James, thank you for clearing some misconceptions up.
I have a question, if you don’t mind.
If you are contracted with a large NY publisher and assigned an editor, and a debut author. If the editor suggests a major revision in the plot, or a scene, does the author have to do it? Or can she discuss it and say it doesn’t feel right to make a huge change? I think many of us just beginning are intimidated by editors at first. We also feel we have to do EXACTLY what they suggest?
I also feel that way with agents, when one is a beginner and forget, the agent works for the author not the other way around.
It is a confusing and intimidating business when one is starting out, because there are so many misconceptions, misinformation out there on the net.
I feel that one can only write the very best story one can write, and hope the professionals behind the work know what they are doing.
Also, how does a book get to be a NY Times Best seller? Do you have an insight how a book gets to that level?
Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on these questions.
I also want to thank everyone for sharing their opinions and experiences. Wonderful blog!
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I’ll have to disagree with you, James. Both authors I mentioned have been public about their refusal to allow their work to be edited, so that’s not any big secret or myth there. As for blaming the editors for the majority of the problems, I think that’s like a bunch of editors getting together and blaming authors for everything — unrealistic and unfair to place all the burden on one side of the equation.
I think the match of editor to writer is what makes the process work or not. I’ve worked with about a dozen editors now, and I know that an editor who is a good match is going to help me a lot. A bad match isn’t, but I tend to police myself a little more when I’m working with an editor who doesn’t fit me. But to point the finger at all editors and say it’s their fault 99% of the time is excluding the responsibility of the writer to be one-half of an important partnership.
As for “phoning it in”, when a quality author begins producing lacklustre books that are rushed out to take advantage of a surge in popularity, such as putting into print that which basically consists of the contents of their web site and message boards, and expecting readers to pay top dollar for it, what else can you really call it?
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James, I also meant to ask, where have you worked as an editor? All the info I’ve found about you online is a blog and some entries on a mystery discussion board, and I’m not even sure that’s you.
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Interesting, after I posted my questions to James I also used Google to see which house he edited for, but didn’t find anything except for some blogs.
Whoever James is, I found his response gave another dimension to this discussion, but like everything else, everyone will have their own perception of their own experiences.
Lynn, I find your answers and information enlightening, knowledgable and refreshing as you are shooting straight from the hip and you have an awesome attitude when it comes to your writing.
I totally agree with you, that a writer has to find that happy place and stick to writing the best she can instead of aiming for lists or trying to topple over the stars.
I can’t even imagine the pressure some of the top authors must be under to not only keep producing, but to stay on top of the lists. I also appreciate you expelling a lot of myths about the financial picture when it comes to writing.
I still don’t know how some top writers do it. They turn out best sellers every year, they maintain facebook, myspace, blogs, interviews, interact with readers, have families, etc. I admire their energy! It takes a lot of energy to focus just on writing well, the promotion side of things daunts me and sounds like a lot of work, but I guess it’s necessary work.
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From my experience as an editor, it’s a complete myth that the superstars of writing no longer allow editors to touch their work.
You may not be familiar with many romance authors, James, but there is a particular NYT author who is well known by many authors for refusing to be edited.
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Yes, there’s always one or two or five in any large group that give all the others a bad name. The problem is that we find one or two big name writers who refuse to be edited, and we then apply this to the group as a whole. There have been thousands of bestselling writers over the years, and almost all work as hard as they can, try as hard as they can, accept all the help they can get.
And refusing editing is not always a bad thing. An editor offers suggestions, which may be right or wrong, an editor tightens a bit, does his best to get the grammar and punctuation right, etc., but it’s the writer’s book, and any writer, new, mid-list, bestselling, etc., must do whatever he thinks is best for that book.
I’ve been told by one of her editors that Anne Rice has never allowed any editing on her books. Ever. Now, it may well be that some editing would have helped, but it’s awfully difficult to argue with the success of her novels, in sales numbers, and in how incredibly enthusiastic her fans are about those books.
When writers blindly follow an editor, well, it doesn’t always work. Editors can make books worse, just as they can make books better. Darned few editors have any special insight above and beyond what the bestselling writer has.
New writers usually have to make whatever changes an editor wants or the book won’t sell, but bestselling writers have, and deserve, more power to say no. This isn’t a bad thing. When an editor harms a book, the writer gets the blame, not the editor, so when a writer believes his way is best, he’d be a fool to make changes.
Readers ultimately make the decision, and most complaints come not from readers, but from other writers and critics.
Anyway, my suggestion is to visit the websites/blogs of bestselling writers and ask about editors. Most will tell you they love their editors, value the editor’s input, and take advice readily.
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I think you’re right, James . . . about not painting all bestselling authors with the same broad brush. (I feel the same way about self-published authors and self-publishing in general, but that’s a whole ‘nuther topic . . . and let’s not go there, please . . .)
A few (or even several) bad apples doesn’t spoil the whole bunch. I know there are multi-published bestselling authors who are still working hard to keep their series’ fresh. (I’d say Sue Grafton is one of them.) It’s just a drag when you see certain people who used to be great doing less than stellar work, simply because they can get away with it. If anything, it makes me wonder about the taste of the people reading their books. I can only assume it’s simply because that author’s name is on the cover.
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Your comments had me rereading back over all the comments your statements could be applied to, and I don’t see where anyone has applied the generalization you keep mentioning. I cited two authors who have been public about their refusal to be edited, which I don’t consider a sweeping condemnation of all bestselling authors. Possibly you’ve misinterpreted my meaning; I’m not sure, but I apologize for an offense I may have inadvertantly caused.
I’m sorry you didn’t respond to my question about where you’ve worked as an editor, too. You speak like someone with a lot of experience, and commenters who are professionals (past or present) always contribute a great deal of validity to any discussion.
In any case, thanks for your observations.
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This makes me kind of glad I have such a low-paying job right now, because the prospect of earning $26,000 still sounds pretty good to me!! Hmm. Or maybe this means I need a better job. At any rate, thanks SO much for sharing this, and congratulations for hitting this milestone. I have to confess that I’m more likely to buy books that say “NY Times Bestseller” on the cover (partly because I know I have something to learn from them as a writer), so I hope this continues to reap dividends for you in the future!
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My pleasure, Maya. Btw, I really enjoyed visiting your blog, and I’m going to try your recipe for homemade hummus — I don’t like the storebought variety, which has way too much salt and preservatives in it. Thanks!