3 ms·
got lost in all the "quotes" I think the main takeaway here is publishing a book isn't the road to riches, though nor has it ever been
by k_roy 2y ago
got lost in all the "quotes"
I think the main takeaway here is publishing a book isn't the road to riches, though nor has it ever been
- ghaff 2y agoMy anecdote is that I sold a somewhat technical book through one of the big publishers, then got a second edition, earned out my advances but basically earned beer money. I'm guessing that's not unusual. (Was still great as a career move but made very little direct money.)
- Qworg 2y agoAnother anecdote - I sold a technical book through one of the big publishers, never heard back post advances, and found out that the international edition wasn't considered to be part of my royalty agreement. This was bad for my coauthors and I as the international edition became part of the curriculum for several universities for several years. Live and learn.
- bombcar 2y agoI suspect that certain classes of books (technical books being one of them) have much more predictable markets (and so if you polled tech writers, you'd find many who earn out their advance but not much beyond).
- ghaff 2y agoYeah, and I suspect at least a modest amount of my earnings came about because I got organizations I knew to organize book signings that they purchased books for.
- bombcar 2y agoOne advantage of self-publishing (even on Amazon where you can order "author's copies" - https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G7BBN68RYX5UMDZF https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G7BBN68RYX5UMDZF ) is that you can get the "whole enchilada" if you do the footwork at conventions, speaking slots, etc. And anyone who is already doing those kinds of things, should consider writing a book to go along with it, even if self-published. The sales can add up over time.
- ghaff 2y agoHaving a "real" publisher still carries a lot of cred whether it should or not.