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SHOW ME THE MONEY!
by Brenda Hiatt
What do the various romance publishers pay? Here's the best info I've been able to glean from five years of surveying
authors who were generous enough to volunteer their figures. Royalty percentages are based on cover price unless otherwise
noted, and are for U.S. retail sales. (Foreign and book club sales, if any, typically have lower royalty rates.) Earnout
figures (where reported) include all earnings for a book, including the advance and any subsidiary sales. In the interests
of anonymity and accuracy, publishers are only included if I've had at least three responses for that publisher. Similarly,
n/a means that specific information wasn't available. Medians and ranges for advances and earnouts are provided, where appropriate,
to control for the skewing that one or two outliers might cause. In this update I have eliminated all advance data prior to
the year 2000 as well as adding median figures (the midpoint within a range). I make no claim to statistical significance--I
simply present what I've been given, operating on the assumption that some information is far better than none at all.
...............................................................................................................# of titles
included
Avalon..................................................................................................................7
Average advance: $1030
Median advance: $1000
Advance range: $1000 - $1200
Standard royalty percentage: 10%
Average earn-out: $1450 Median: $1375 Range: $1000 - $2100
Avon/HarperCollins ...........................................................................................44
Average advance (first book): $17,000 Median: $7,000
Average advance (subsequent books): $27,000 Median: $13,000
Advance range: $5000 - $100,000
Standard royalty percentage: 8%
Average earn-out: $23,000 Median: $26,500 Range: $12,000 - $35,000
Baker/Revell.........................................................................................................3
Average advance: $10,000
Standard royalty percentage: 8% (of net)
Average earn-out: n/a
Bantam/Dell.........................................................................................................6
Average advance: $15,500 Median: $15,000
Advance range: $7500 - $25,000
Standard royalty percentage: 8%
Average earn-out: n/a
Barbour & Co. (Heartsong Presents).................................................................7
Average advance (first book): $2450 Median: $2500
Average advance (subsequent books): $2750 Median: $2800
Advance range: $2500 - $3000
Standard royalty percentage: 8%
Average earn-out: $3550 Range: $2500 - $3600
Barbour & Co. (Novellas).....................................................................................6
Average advance (first book): $1000 Median: $1000
Average advance (subsequent books): $1000 Median: $1000
Standard royalty percentage: 2.5%
Average earn-out: n/a
Berkley/Jove .......................................................................................................35
Average advance (first book): $7200 Median: $5000
Average advance (subsequent books): $8500 Median: $7000
Advance range: $4000 - $30,000
Standard royalty percentage: 4% - 8%
Average earn-out: $9250 Median: $5000 Range: $4000 - $32,000
Dorchester/Leisure..............................................................................................38
Average advance (first book): $1950 Median: $2000
Average advance (subsequent books): $5900 Median: $2250
Advance range: $1000 - $27,500
Standard royalty percentage: 4% - 8%
Average earn-out: $3100 Median: $2300 Range: $2,000 - $5800
Dutton/Signet/NAL ............................................................................................19
Average advance (first book): $9200 Median: $10,000
Average advance (subsequent books): $30,000 Median: $15,000
Advance range: $7500 - $85,000
Standard royalty percentage: 7.5 - 8%
Average earn-out: n/a
Ellora's Cave .........................................................................................................117
Average advance: none
Standard royalty percentage: 37.5% digital / 7.5% print
Average earn-out: $3050 Median: $2550 Range: $450 - $11,600
Ellora's Cave (anthologies/novellas)...................................................................29
Average advance: none
Standard royalty percentage: varies by number of authors
Average earn-out: $2050 Median: $1700 Range: $400 - $7100
Five Star/Thorndike (hardcover)...........................................................................6
Average advance: $1100 Median: $875
Advance range: $750 - $2000
Standard royalty percentage: 10%
Average earn-out: $1300 Median: $850 Range: $750 - $2700
Grand Central Publishing (Warner)...................................................................48
Average advance (first book): $6500 Median: $6000
Average advance (subsequent books): $13,000 Median: $7500
Advance range: $5000 - $34,000
Standard royalty percentage: 8%
Average earn-out: n/a
Harlequin American..............................................................................................16
Average advance (first book): $4300 Median: $4000
Average advance (subsequent books): $4800 Median: $5000
Advance range: $4000 - $5500
Standard royalty percentage: 6%
Average earn-out: $8150 Median: $7600 Range: $7300 - $10,100
Harlequin Blaze......................................................................................................26
Average advance (first book): $4500 Median: $4500
Average advance (subsequent books): $5700 Median: $5500
Advance range: $4000 - $10,500
Standard royalty percentage: 6%
Average earn-out: $12,500 Median: $12,300 Range: $10,500 - $15,000
Harlequin Historical..............................................................................................38
Average advance (first book): $4300 Median: $5000
Average advance (subsequent books): $6700 Median: $5500
Advance range: $2500 - $15,000
Standard royalty percentage: 6%
Average earn-out: $12,000 Median: $12,000 Range: $6700 - $19,000
Harlequin Intrigue..................................................................................................12
Average advance (first book): $3800 Median: $4000
Average advance (subsequent books): $5800 Median: $6000
Advance range: $3500 - $7500
Standard royalty percentage: 6%
Average earn-out: $18,500 Median: $17,000 Range: $15,000 - $26,000
Harlequin Mills & Boon........................................................................................8
Average advance (first book): $2800 Median: $2500
Average advance (subsequent books): $3000 Median: $2500
Advance range: $2000 - $4000
Standard royalty percentage: 4-6%
Average earn-out: n/a
Harlequin NEXT....................................................................................................3
Average advance (first book): n/a
Average advance (subsequent books): $11,500 Median: $12,000
Standard royalty percentage: 6%
Average earn-out: n/a
Harlequin Romance ...............................................................................................8
Average advance (first book): $2600 Median: $2600
Average advance (subsequent books): $2800 Median: $2600
Advance range: $2600 - $3000
Standard royalty percentage: 6%
Average earn-out: n/a
Harlequin Superromance......................................................................................54
Average advance (first book): $5000 Median: $5000
Average advance (subsequent books): $5700 Median: $5500
Advance range: $5000 - $6000
Standard royalty percentage: 6%
Average earn-out: $20,000 Median: $17,000 Range: $10,000 - $54,000
HQN...........................................................................................................................9
Average advance (first book): $8500 Median: $8500
Average advance (subsequent books): $20,500 Median: $21,000
Advance range: $8500 - $25,000
Standard royalty percentage: 8%
Average earn-out: n/a
Imajinn......................................................................................................................4
Average advance: $25 Median: $25
Standard royalty percentage: 8 -10%
Average earn-out: n/a
Kensington/Zebra..................................................................................................116
Average advance (first book): $3700 Median: $3000
Average advance (subsequent books): $5500 Median: $3500
Advance range: $1750 - $21,000
Standard royalty percentage: 6 - 8.5%
Average earn-out: $5300 Median: $3700 Range: $2500 - $16,000
Kensington (novellas)............................................................................................23
Average advance: $2800 Median: $1000
Advance range: $750 - $9000
Standard royalty percentage: 2 - 2.67%
Average earn-out: n/a
Medallion Press .......................................................................................................5
Average advance: $1200 Median: $1000
Advance range: $1000 - $2000
Standard royalty percentage: 10%
Average earn-out: n/a
Pocket.........................................................................................................................22
Average advance (first book): $12,000 Median: $8500
Average advance (subsequent books): $19,000 Median: $15,000
Advance range: $5000 - $50,000
Standard royalty percentage: 8 - 10%
Average earn-out: n/a
Red Dress Ink.............................................................................................................3
Average advance: $12,000 Median: $15,000
Standard royalty percentage: 7 - 7.5%
Average earn-out: n/a
Red Sage (novellas)......................................................................................................5
Average advance: $500 Median: $500
Advance range: $50 - $1000
Standard royalty percentage: 1.5 - 6%
Average earn-out: $3100 Median: $3100 Range: $1800 - $3550
St. Martin's Press......................................................................................................23
Average advance (first book): $6600 Median: $6750
Average advance (subsequent books): $40,500 Median: $17,500
Advance range: $4500 - $200,000
Standard royalty percentage: 8%
Average earn-out: n/a
Silhouette Desire.......................................................................................................14
Average advance (first book): $4500 Median: $4000
Average advance (subsequent books): $5850 Median: $5750
Advance range: $4000 - $8,000
Standard royalty percentage: 6%
Average earn-out: $16,500 Median: $16,500 Range: $12,000 - $23,000
Silhouette Romantic Suspense (SIM).....................................................................12
Average advance (first book): n/a
Average advance (subsequent books): $5800 Median: $5500
Advance range: $4000 - $7500
Standard royalty percentage: 6%
Average earn-out: $12,000 Median: $12,000 Range: $9500 - $13,500
Silhouette Special Edition....................................................................................23
Average advance (first book): $4000 Median: $4000
Average advance (subsequent books): $8000 Median: $8500
Advance range: $4000 - $13,000
Standard royalty percentage: 6%
Average earn-out: $17,500 Median: $17,000 Range: $12,000 - $23,000
Steeple Hill (Love Inspired)..................................................................................63
Average advance (first book): $4000 Median: $3750
Average advance (subsequent books): $5500 Median: $5000
Advance range: $3500 - $9500
Standard royalty percentage: 6%
Average earn-out: $11,000 Median: $10,500 Range: $6500 - $18,000
Tor/Forge.................................................................................................................20
Average advance (first book): $11,000 Median: $10,000
Average advance (subsequent books): $14,000 Median: $14,000
Advance range: $7500 - $20,000
Standard royalty percentage: 8%
Average earn-out: n/a
NOTE: I'd very much like to keep this information current for future reference. Anyone willing to share their info (anonymously--I
never save names!) please e-mail me at brendahb@aol.com. The latest version of this list is available on my website www.brendahiatt.com.
Thank you again to all of the authors who were willing to share their own, private financial data for the benefit of all
romance writers!!
© 2001 - 2007 by Brenda Hiatt (last update: 11/07)
E-mail Brenda
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