Hi Evelyn, I'm aspiring to be an author and found this section on making money so helpful! I am curious about finding an agent, if you have any tips you could share. Also I cannot wait to read your new book, The Incredible Kindness of Paper! The concept sounds incredible and I'm glad you had faith and pushed for it to become a reality.
Hi Donna! My best advice for finding an agent is to write a killer query letter (my tips here: https://www.creativeinspiredhappy.com/p/how-to-write-a-killer-query-letter-to-hook-agents) and then to subscribe to Publishers Marketplace for a month or two to research their recent book deals in order to make a list of which agents might be a good fit for your work. :)
Wow great job Evelyn! You broke down these nuances in a comprehensive way which truly helps authors to learn about the business side of publishing a book. Thank you! The time it must have taken you to get these details out there is so commendable and appreciated more than you might realize. You have taken the “mystery” out of publishing but left the “magic” of understanding intact.
First of all, I love the sound of your novel! I bought a skort once and pulled out a slip of paper from the pocket which read, "You are a goddess." It made me feel good for a week! Looking forward to reading it.
Second, terrific explanation of how authors make money (if they do). Your hypothetical royalty escalators are pretty horrifying compared to what they were when I was a publisher decades ago! With your permission I will copy that portion of your post, with credit and link of course, in next Saturday's Imaginative Storm newsletter. Let me know if that's OK with you -
thanks! I plan to copy the entire "How authors make money" section. So if the numbers are the same as yesterday, 646 more people will see your super-useful post. I checked to see if your Share buttons still work, and they do - so hopefully more than 646...
Ah, I thought you were sharing just a portion. If you're planning to share the whole post, could you instead please use the "Cross-post" option at the top of my piece? (It's at the top of the post where the ... is). You will be able to add your own writing above it, but then it will have a my full post in a way that links my Substack properly. It will mail out the whole post to your newsletter subscribers in a normal email, as well. Thank you, Allegra.
I don't want to cross-post - fewer people will read it, and I already send out three posts a week. I made a draft and checked to see that the links go straight to your Substack, and they do, including the Share buttons. I honestly think you'll reach more people this way and I don't think there's a downside. But it's your post, your call -
I really appreciate you checking in and honoring my wishes, Allegra. What beautiful integrity, thank you! I do prefer since it is such a long piece and I worked so hard on it, that people come to my Substack and perhaps subscribe, so I'd be comfortable if you copied an excerpt of the first two sections (Advance and Royalties) and then include a link to my post for them to read the rest. Thank you!
Thanks, Evelyn, this is definitely an email to keep as a reference. 😊 Also, I loved The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, too. You're right, the characterization and plotting are outstanding.
This was excellent. Because I'm a numbers geek and former CPA/CFO, I (of course!) had a spreadsheet going--but you filled in some blanks--I was slightly off on royalty rates and did not have an understanding of world, et al rights. Now I do. The part that I've never been able to get a handle on is (and of course it varies--likely by author/genre and other factors) the distribution between hardback/paperback/e and audible.
Thanks for taking the time to do this, and Happy Valentine's!
Advances are upfront payments, royalties/earn-outs are (well) earn-outs, agents are bankers... Sure, some of the scales are a bit different, but this is a great explanation for books—or company M&As!
Hi Evelyn, I'm aspiring to be an author and found this section on making money so helpful! I am curious about finding an agent, if you have any tips you could share. Also I cannot wait to read your new book, The Incredible Kindness of Paper! The concept sounds incredible and I'm glad you had faith and pushed for it to become a reality.
Hi Donna! My best advice for finding an agent is to write a killer query letter (my tips here: https://www.creativeinspiredhappy.com/p/how-to-write-a-killer-query-letter-to-hook-agents) and then to subscribe to Publishers Marketplace for a month or two to research their recent book deals in order to make a list of which agents might be a good fit for your work. :)
Wow great job Evelyn! You broke down these nuances in a comprehensive way which truly helps authors to learn about the business side of publishing a book. Thank you! The time it must have taken you to get these details out there is so commendable and appreciated more than you might realize. You have taken the “mystery” out of publishing but left the “magic” of understanding intact.
Kathy, I’m so so happy this was helpful and that it was easy to understand! That was my goal and I’m glad it came through for you!
Wow thank you for all this information 😊 your new book sounds awesome!
First of all, I love the sound of your novel! I bought a skort once and pulled out a slip of paper from the pocket which read, "You are a goddess." It made me feel good for a week! Looking forward to reading it.
Second, terrific explanation of how authors make money (if they do). Your hypothetical royalty escalators are pretty horrifying compared to what they were when I was a publisher decades ago! With your permission I will copy that portion of your post, with credit and link of course, in next Saturday's Imaginative Storm newsletter. Let me know if that's OK with you -
Allegra, what a delightful real life story about the note in that skort!
And absolutely, please feel free to share any portion of this post. Thank you for linking back to it for those who want the full deep dive. 💛
thanks! I plan to copy the entire "How authors make money" section. So if the numbers are the same as yesterday, 646 more people will see your super-useful post. I checked to see if your Share buttons still work, and they do - so hopefully more than 646...
Ah, I thought you were sharing just a portion. If you're planning to share the whole post, could you instead please use the "Cross-post" option at the top of my piece? (It's at the top of the post where the ... is). You will be able to add your own writing above it, but then it will have a my full post in a way that links my Substack properly. It will mail out the whole post to your newsletter subscribers in a normal email, as well. Thank you, Allegra.
I don't want to cross-post - fewer people will read it, and I already send out three posts a week. I made a draft and checked to see that the links go straight to your Substack, and they do, including the Share buttons. I honestly think you'll reach more people this way and I don't think there's a downside. But it's your post, your call -
I really appreciate you checking in and honoring my wishes, Allegra. What beautiful integrity, thank you! I do prefer since it is such a long piece and I worked so hard on it, that people come to my Substack and perhaps subscribe, so I'd be comfortable if you copied an excerpt of the first two sections (Advance and Royalties) and then include a link to my post for them to read the rest. Thank you!
OK, that is what I will do. If you're subscribed to me, you'll get it Saturday morning, or be able to see it at @imaginativestorm. Thank you!
Thanks, Evelyn, this is definitely an email to keep as a reference. 😊 Also, I loved The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, too. You're right, the characterization and plotting are outstanding.
This was so helpful and clear, thank you Evelyn.
Love this! Thanks for sharing. 🫶🏻
This was excellent. Because I'm a numbers geek and former CPA/CFO, I (of course!) had a spreadsheet going--but you filled in some blanks--I was slightly off on royalty rates and did not have an understanding of world, et al rights. Now I do. The part that I've never been able to get a handle on is (and of course it varies--likely by author/genre and other factors) the distribution between hardback/paperback/e and audible.
Thanks for taking the time to do this, and Happy Valentine's!
Great newsletter, Evelyn! And Happy Valentine's Day!
Hi, 👋 Evelyn! This was wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing all this and making it so clear and easy to understand.
Advances are upfront payments, royalties/earn-outs are (well) earn-outs, agents are bankers... Sure, some of the scales are a bit different, but this is a great explanation for books—or company M&As!
Fascinating! Thank you for the deep dive—especially explaining escalations and the sale of rights. 🧐 So much to consider!
Super helpful!!! I so enjoy your books! And your newsletter :)
This was so good, Evelyn! I'm a published author but have never had an agent, so the info in this article was helpful. Thank you.