Hard Facts for First Novelists
by Crawford KillianUnpublished writers probably take too much encouragement from the capsule success stories of those writers who have broken into print, especially of those writing genre novels for the mass market, where everyone seems to be making a fortune overnight. Suppose that, like me, your preferred genre is science fiction or fantasy; the reality is far different. Here's the life cycle of your first novel, from inspiration to final royalty check; if you are the luckiest writer in North America.
One October day you get a brilliant idea for a novel and begin writing at the rate of 1,000 finished words a day (about four double-spaced manuscript pages). You call the novel Dragonstar. In 90 days you have a finished manuscript, and after a week of careful proofreading you send it off to a big publishing house.
Dragonstar arrives at the publisher's and happens to catch the eye of a senior editor as she passes the slush pile, where unsolicited manuscripts usually await scanning and rejection by a junior editor. Your first page hooks her; she drops her other projects and takes your manuscript home with the editor Two days later, she phones you. says she loves Dragonstar wants to publish the book, and will send you a confirming letter.
The letter and contract arrive by courier. The letter is flattering but lists a lot of changes you should make to the manuscript The offer is an advance of $5,000 against royalties based on 10% of the list price of hardback and a 50-50 split on sale of paperback rights (if any). You read, sign, and return the contract by courier the same day. Then you revise Dragonstar according to the editor's requests and courier the revised manuscript back to her.
Alas, your manuscript is too late for the Christmas market. Your publisher postpones its publication to the following fall, meanwhile trying to sell the paperback rights. So far, no takers.
In October, two years after you got your idea, Dragonstar is published. The following spring, you get your first royalty statement: between October 1 and December31, Dragonstar has sold 300 copies at $30 each Your royalty is $900, applied against your advance. Six months later, your novel has sold another 2,200 copies. Your total royalty so far is $7,500; you receive a check for $2,500. Congratulations! You have not only earned out your advance, you have made additional money - a remarkable achievement for a first novelist, in any genre. More good news! A paperback house offers
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