How a Book Advance Gets Paid

The news from the London Book Fair that Irish writer, Kathleen MacMahon has received £500,000 for her first book, This is How It Ends is very cheering for writers and the book trade alike. Little, Brown are clearly madly in love with the book, describing it as ‘literary commercial fiction’, ie a perfect book for book clubs to savour, but also a novel to get lost in on the daily commute. The Help would be ‘literary commercial fiction’ for eg. I would argue that Bridget Jones’s Diary is also ‘literary’ in its own way – an argument for another day.

The book sounds to me like an Irish ‘Bridges of Madison County’, a book (and film) I love. It’s billed as a love story between an American man and an unemployed Irish architect. ‘You close the book, you want to bawl your eyes out, and then you want to tell everyone about it,’ her agent, Marianne Gunn O’Connor told today's The Irish Times - Marianne is also Cecelia Ahern’s agent.

Anyway, I was at a meeting this morning and I was asked how the advance would be paid – would Kathleen be handed a cheque for £500,000 as soon as she signed the contract? Not exactly.

So here’s how it works:

Usually a book contract will say something like ‘The publishers shall pay to the Author as a non-returnable advance on account of all monies that may become due to the Author under this Agreement a sum of – in this case - £500,000, being £250,000 per title, to be accounted separately.’

The money might be split up and paid as follows (ballpark figures only):

A sum on signing the contract – say £100k (£50k per title) (could be slightly more, depending on each publisher – some build it into delivery/publication etc)

A sum on delivery of each work (if book 1 of the contract already written, as in this case, part 1 of this payment would be paid on signing also for the first book) – say £50k

A sum on first UK publication of each title in the contract or eighteen months after delivery of the manuscript (whichever happens first) – say £50k

A sum on first US publication of each title in the contract (in this case, Grand Central in the US). Say £50k

Marianne Gunn O’Connor, Kathleen’s agent will take 15% of the overall deal. This would be the standard rate for a literary agent.

At present, Irish writers can earn e40,000 a year before tax. You do have to pay PRSI however.

The advance is usually non-returnable – which means it’s a gamble for the publisher. If it doesn’t sell, they can lose a lot of money. But publishers are smart and know a good book when they read one, and this one sounds great!

Apparently Kathleen will also earn more if the novel makes the bestseller lists – and obviously if film rights are sold, this will be extra income (film rights I believe are taxable as they are not book royalties as such).

So Kathleen may get a figure of say £150,000 up front – of which Ms Gunn O’Connor will get 15%, and the writer will pay tax on anything over £40k. Which is a fantastic, dream sum for any debut writer, and was the highest advance of the Fair. But also remember that her book may be the product of many years of hard work – plus a lifetime’s worth of reading, and living – you can’t write without a lot of experiences to write about! (Unless you are Emily Dickinson perhaps – again, a subject for another day.) Plus she may only write a book every two or three years – so that may be her book income for several years, not just one year.

Overall, it’s GREAT news for Irish writers – UK and US publishers are actively looking for great books by us. In fact, it’s the best news I’ve heard all week.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

No-one at Home Understands

Does Ben Read Your Books? (Ben being my long suffering partner-type person). I'm often asked this and the answer is no. Ben has read a few of my adult novels – When the Boys are Away for example, mainly because he remains convinced it is about him. Well us really. It’s about Meg and Simon. Simon is a professional sailor and travels a lot, leaving Meg at home keeping things rolling. Which understandably she grows to resent after a while. Ben used to be a professional sailor I should add, before I met him. And after I wrote this book he took 2 years out to do an Olympic campaign. But it really isn’t about him/us!

He’s also read Always the Bridesmaid and the first Ask Amy Green book. He’s a sci fi reader mainly. Sci fi and Jeremy Clarkson books. Oh and popular business books – The Tipping Point, that kind of thing. I write books mainly for myself (now and as a teen), so it’s hardly surprising that he finds them ‘interesting’ (a little baffling).

But here’s the thing – he’s very supportive of my writing. He understands when I switch on the light in the middle of the night and start scribbling into a notebook. He puts up with my questions about men and their ‘feelings’. He doesn’t take offence when I put my hand in the air like a traffic warden and say ‘don’t talk to me, I’m thinking’. So rude, I know! But when I have an idea running in my head, I need to concentrate on it. It happens mainly in the car or out walking. He just lets me think away, sometimes muttering to myself and scribbling on my hand. He goes on research trips with me, lately to Paris and Budapest (he was hardly complaining – but he did have to go to the Hungarian Ballet which was a first for him!).

He rarely complains when I write late at night, again ignoring him. He knows I have to read a lot, go to talks and events, look at art, walk, and generally mooch around to get ideas. Writers must live to have things to write about. They must have space to think and mull things over – which is damn hard for anyone with kids, pets, friends, partners etc. Or a job. Especially a job. At least I get to write full time now.

You need a supportive other half to write. You need someone who understands your creativity and your urge to write.

You need a space to write – and the ‘permission’ to retreat there, ignoring your family.

You need time to write – and this may impact on family time. But I think it’s best to find some low-impact times to write at first – early in the morning, late at night – not during the kids’ bedtime for eg, leaving your other half to do it! Commuting time is also good – when I worked for Eason I used to write on the train a lot.

If your partner is not a book person, find someone who is to share you work with if you feel the urge. I rarely share my work with anyone other than my agent, editor and one close friend, but some writers need feedback.

Show you are serious about your writing. Getting something published helps – then your partner has proof that you are not delusional, that someone professional likes your work too. If you get paid for your work it is no longer a ‘hobby’ (I dislike that word – writing is a way of life, not a hobby!).

I hope you all find the writerly support you need.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX