How Much in Royalties Should You Expect From Publishing a Book?

Royalties depend on sales.

Retail Royalties

There are two ways of calculating the royalties you can earn as the author of a book. Your contract with the publisher will specify the type of royalties you can expect. A retail royalty is a simple percentage of the retail price of the book. Retail royalties usually range from 7 to 15 percent, so that with each sale of a book priced at $10, the author will receive a royalty of between 70 cents and $1.50, depending on the terms of the contract.

Net Royalties

Books often sell only a few hundred copies.

Net royalties are similar to retail royalties and may start at a slightly higher percentage rate. The difference is that net royalties are based on the money the publisher makes on each sale after various discounts--for example, discounts to booksellers--are subtracted.

Bottom Line

Whether you contract to earn retail or net royalties, the most important factor is numbers of books sold. Many published books sell less than 1,000 copies. If the cover price was $20, this would earn total retail royalties up to a maximum of about $3,000, and probably much less. A bestseller, of course, can earn an author hundreds of thousands of dollars.

References

• "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published"; Sheree Bykofsky and Jennifer Basye Sander; 2006