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Six thousand dollars shows growth
Paperback originals and advances
The books were the Myron Bolitar mysteries, and the first two were bought together for $10,000, which came to $5,000 each. The author had won the major mystery awards, but he had never come within sniffing distance of the New York Times bestseller list.
The next contract came with a negotiation. His agent got the payments set at $5,000 for one book and $6,000 for the other. When Harlan Coben asked what the difference was besides a later payment, the agent's answer was that it showed growth.
The day job
Each book took several months to a year to write, so for the first eight years out of college Coben kept a full-time job at Club ABC Tours, a family travel agency, and wrote on the side. He helped his grandfather run it.
How do book advances actually work?
A publisher pays an advance up front against the royalties the book is expected to earn. The author keeps the advance even if sales fall short, but earns nothing more until royalties have repaid it. A bigger advance signals how many copies the publisher expects to sell. Payment usually comes in installments tied to milestones such as signing the contract, delivering the manuscript, and publication.
Why did publishers create paperback originals?
Fawcett Publications launched Gold Medal Books in 1950 to publish novels that had never appeared in hardcover. Paperbacks of the time were mostly reprints of hardcover books, so original paperback fiction was a new product. Crime and detective fiction became a staple of the format, and John D. MacDonald got his start there. Low cover prices meant the books depended on volume rather than on a high price per copy.
How is the New York Times bestseller list compiled?
The Times has published a bestseller list since 1931. It is based on sales reports from a selected sample of retailers rather than a count of every copy sold. The newspaper does not publish the full list of stores that report to it.
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