money - How Much Can You Make From Writing a Book?

Obviously this question has a lot of different answers. I'm interested in the typical total profit that a writer might expect to see from:

1. A NYT Bestseller


2. A diet or self-help book that sells 100,000 copies


3. A romance novel that sells 10,000 copies


4. A self-published novel that sells 5,000 copies

What are the typical rev shares for new authors? How are the deals structured? Do you always get royalties, or is flat fee more typical?

Answer

A NYT Bestseller

Probably you'll make a good bit here, but generally, if you make it this far, it's not going to be your first book, and you're going to have worked it out contractually before hand. Mind you, you can be on the list for selling ~5000(hardcover) copies a week. If you write something that makes the list, you'll probably bring down $50,000+, but the numbers vary wildly depending on what rights you sold the publisher, what your contract stipulates, etc, etc.

A diet or self-help book that sells 100,000 copies

In what time period, in how many printings, etc, etc? Is it hardcover or paperback? This is pretty hard to judge. For books that aren't pegged on religion, fad diets, or new age mysticism, 10,000 copies would be considered a great run for this kind of book. 100,000 is pretty rare.

A romance novel that sells 10,000 copies

Chances are, you'll make the same for selling 1 copy as for 1 million copies. Romance novels are almost all commissioned. The company sends you the exact outline, and you write it to their spec, for a flat fee. You probably don't get to put your name on it, but why would you want to? Now, if you're writing your own novel, it'll make the same as any other type of book, depending on your contract.

A self-published novel that sells 5,000 copies

Well, you'll make like 10 bucks a book, but on the other hand, you'll have to spend your life wandering from bookstore to bookstore trying to get them to buy 5 copies at a time. So in terms of hourly wage, eh.