how much do authors make?

answers1: That would depend on the kind of deal or contract they made
when they published the book. Most authors usually get some kind of
percentage of every book they sell, so the more they sell, the more
they make. If a book sells for $10 and the author gets $1 for each
copy sold, then if a million copies sell, the author just made a
million dollars. Of course that is a very simple example and the
actual percentages are probably a lot different, but most really good
authors are very well off.
answers2: I did not actually write this, but it is helpful information. <br>
<br>
Technically speaking, authors are only payed a percentage of the
profits of the book when it's sold. This is why the money an author
receives prior to publication is called an "advance." It is a flat
amount that the publishing house gives to the author no matter how
well or how poorly the book sells. (It's usually in installments--a
bit on signing the contract, on turning in a draft that is accepted by
the editors as ready to go into the copy editing process, and a chunk
on publication.) <br>
<br>
An author-publisher contract will outline what percentage of the book
price belongs to the author. For authors just starting out the
percentage begins around 10% of each book sold, but can begin at up to
25% or more for more bankable proven authors. I say "begins" because
this percentage is often on a sliding scale. The percentage of the
book price an author receives usually increases with the numbers of
books sold. <br>
<br>
For example, an author may receive 7% of the sales from 1 to 10,000
books, 15% from 10,000 to 30,000 books sold, and 25% on books sold
from 30,000 copies and beyond. <br>
<br>
So, an advance is really just a bit of the projected profits that the
publishing house is willing to pay upfront, a bit that they cannot
take back no matter how few books are sold. That said, future payments
or "royalties" are only payed to the author when the publishing house
has recovered that advance. They calculate the author's percentage of
every book sold and apply that bit to the amount they've already paid
out. <br>
<br>
For first time authors, the publishing house will often make the first
print run of the book a "break even print" this means that if all the
books printed sell, the author's advance will be recovered by the
publishing house, but royalties for the author above that amount will
be impossible unless the book goes into another print run. <br>
<br>
To make this a little less confusing, I'll outline the math with an
example... <br>
<br>
- The author gets word from her agent that the publishing house wants
to give her a $33,000 advance! (Woo hoo!) <br>
- She signs an author-publisher contract with the following parameters: <br>
7% on books 1-10,000 <br>
15% on books 10,000-30,000 <br>
25% on books 30,000 and beyond <br>
- The publishing house pays the author $15,000 of her advance on
signing the contract. <br>
- The publishing house pays her $10,000 of her advance when she hands
in a manuscript that the editors are happy with. <br>
- The publishing house decides to print 20,000 copies of a book that
will cost $15.00. <br>
- The publishing house pays her $8,000 when the book hits bookstores. <br>
- The book "sells through," meaning it sells out of all printed
copies. But the publishing house decides not to print any more. <br>
- The book has sold 20,000 copies. The author's percentage would be
$10,500 for the first 10,000 books, and $22,500 on the second 10,000
books. That means that the publishing house has recouped their $33,000
advance to the author, and banked $267,000 (less production costs).
<br>
<br>
Now, a word on agents. Our intrepid author would never have made
contact with the publishing house if it hadn't been for her agent. Her
agent receives 15% of everything the author receives (some more
established authors negotiate an agent percentage closer to 5 to 7%).
In fact, the publishing house sends the money to the agent. The agent
takes his percentage and then sends a check to the author. <br>
<br>
Meaning, when all is said and done the author actually receives
$28,050 before taxes. <br>
<br>
I know all this because I am a published author, with several agents,
publishers--and books sold. Hope it helps!
answers3: JK Rowling is richer than the Queen (for real!) but she is
absolutely the exception and most authors will never make enough to
live on, even if they are lucky enough to be published. <br>
<br>
From personal experience, I know one children's author who has sold
10,000 books but has still not received any more than the £4000
advance she was paid. <br>
<br>
On the other hand, my first book has attracted quite high advances
from about eight countries so far, meaning that by the time it is
published next year, I will have been paid about £250,000 without a
copy being sold. But of course, it will have to sell an awful lot of
copies for me to start getting paid any more than that! And taxes and
agency fees have to be paid from that too.
answers4: Depending on how big a hit the book is, i believe.
answers5: Anything less than 10-million. <br>
(I asked this question before, using Stephenie Meyer as the sample-subject.)