13 ms·

I'm almost afraid to ask, but what happens if the sales don't cover the advance?

• petercooper 17y ago
  With most publishing contracts I'm aware of, nothing. From what I understand, this is in stark contrast to the music industry where artists can need to pay back certain expenses. In terms of Apress (and, I believe most non-fiction publishers), the money you get in advance is, I believe, non returnable. That's why the advances aren't that generous.
  • percept 17y ago
    IIRC most of the authors used to view the advance as the only real money. Any royalties that might appear were like manna from heaven. I hope everybody doesn't mind me brain-dumping in this thread--it's the only place this stuff can go.
• tptacek 17y ago
  In the circumstances I'm familiar with, the advance is yours. Who cares, though? Everyone who has ever written a technical book --- with the possible exception of Graham, who is a different kind of writer --- will tell you that finishing a book is far more difficult than they thought it would be at first, and most people allocate multiple months to their original estimate. Against your lowest conceivable contracting rate, you will never come within radio telescope detectability of breaking even by writing a book for a major publisher. Publishers know you know that, so their entire pitch will be, "authoring a book will be excellent for your reputation and career". This is true in the same sense as getting a Microsoft MVP merit badge is good for your career; look at some of the people who write books, present company excepted.