Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

| By | | 354 Comments

How Much Money Do You Make When You Write A Book?

Let’s take a second to chat about how the book bid-ness works, at least for us. Sometimes we get hilarious and adorable comments like this: “Holy cow, your book was a New York Times bestseller! Congrats! You must be rich!!” …

Instagram Bestseller

… and it makes us realize that other than fleetingly mentioning how the whole book deal thing works in this blogiversary video (around 17:10 near the end), we haven’t really talked about it at all. So since folks have been requesting more behind the scenes details on the subject (even from as early as September of last year when we did the Q&A video below) this post is well overdue. Let’s dive in and over-share, shall we? Spoiler alert: we’re cheap-os and we know it (please sing that to the tune of “we’re sexy and we know it” out loud in whatever room/office/subway car you’re currently inhabiting).

As we mentioned in the video, this book thing has always been for the fun and the amazement of seeing our names in print. It has never been about money, which is a good thing since that’s not usually what comes a-rollin’ in when you’re a first time author (well, not unless you’re Lena Dunham apparently).

The way that a book usually works is that the author gets a fee for all of the work that they do before the book comes out. This is called an advance. In our case, being first time authors, it was a modest advance. Someone like Stephen King might be able to buy a yacht with his. Ours… no yacht. Actually, if you break our advance down across the time over the past two years that we’ve spent outlining the book, writing the proposal, pitching the book, writing the manuscript, revising the manuscript, doing projects for the book, shooting the book, and editing the book we probably made around five dollars an hour while working on it (we didn’t keep a time log or anything, but that’s our best guess). So yeah, John probably earned more per hour at his high school library job of shelving books than he did writing one (especially since he’s splitting that $5 wage with me – ha!).

ShootDay1 Manuscript Ready

But you won’t see us complaining. It’s an amazing opportunity (one we’d almost be happy to have done for free – just don’t tell our publisher) so that’s why we said “holycowyes!” to a book. If you’re a first time author like us, we actually wouldn’t recommend writing a book for the money (you’d probably be really let down if you were just in it for the dough). Instead, I’d recommend doing it for the experience and the thrill of seeing your words in a bookstore and your book on your mom’s coffee table… that’s a pretty freaking awesome moment.

Book Dummy Closed

The way it works, at least how it worked for us, is that first you get that modest advance (paid out in smaller installments throughout the book-writing process) and then a few years later after the book is out in print (it typically takes around 2-3 years for it to go from concept to being printed) you get into the “book royalty” area. We’ve been told that many authors only earn their advance but never “make it” to receiving royalties, since it necessitates selling enough books for the author to hit their royalty point. See, the publisher actually doesn’t pay us a penny until their book sales earn back all of the advance they paid us plus money they spent on the illustrator, the photographer, etc. So it’s not until they earn all of that book-making money back that we’ll start receiving royalties (which are also pretty modest since we’re first timers).

We’re nowhere close to hitting that royalty point. Maybe in a year or two we’ll get there. Maybe sooner. And maybe never. But assuming our publisher eventually makes all that money back, they’ll start issuing our little royalty checks twice a year. Once we hit that point we’ll make around a dollar or two per book (royalties are a very small percentage of the heavily discounted price that a bookstore pays per book, which is usually around half of the book’s cover price – and it can vary by vendor). But as of today, we haven’t seen a book check since the last installment of our advance came a year ago.

Cincy Sherry Amongst Books

So we thought that was an interesting tidbit to share. We never really knew how it worked, so learning that an author doesn’t get paid when the book comes out or with the sale of each book was enlightening to us. And a year ago if we saw someone get on the NY Times bestseller list, even for just a week, we’d probably assume they no longer use toilet paper and prefer to use hundy dolla bills to wipe their bestselling author buns. It’s so not like that around here. We use gold bars. Just kidding. Those would be cold.

We also always assumed authors got paid when they toured – even just a little bit to offset the work they’re unable to do while on the road (our tour stretches over four months) but that isn’t the case, at least for us it’s not. But they cover the travel expenses and dude, we’ve had the opportunity to meet so many of you! And I’ve achieved my lifelong goal of getting to sign ceramic animals! And that, my friends, is the beauty of book-writing. Plus, you know what they say: Mo money, mo problems ceramic animals and then your husband wants to kill you.

Cincy Signing Greyhound

Another reason we thought this post would be helpful is that we don’t want to embark on any big projects without explaining that we’re paying for them in the same way that we’ve always paid for things (the old penny-saving-over-time method that we know and love). Our book agent actually said it’s somewhat rare for a first time author to make more money on the back end of a book than on the front end (meaning that your modest advance is usually the most any first time author will see from a book) so we’ve known that from day one, which is really nice when it comes to setting expectations and all that good stuff.

As is the case for a lot of other things in our life, we did this for the love. Corny but true. The fact that you guys share photos like this with us? Seriously, it makes our chests all swelly and bursty. Even John’s stony man-heart.

YHL Reader Grid2

Plus when it came to the actual deals that publishers were offering us, we wanted to choose who we worked with based on things other than the money. For example, a few other publishers wanted to create a big $50 coffee table book with us, and we felt a lot less comfortable with that. So one huuuge reason that we went with our publisher (thereby choosing this deal) was because they “got us” and allowed us to be our dorky selves on every page while slapping an approachable price tag on the thing.

Book Us In Door1

So all of this is just to say that we’re more committed than ever to keeping it real, saving cash whenever we can, and squirreling away extra pennies towards future projects, just like we always have. There’s no Rolls Royce and Beverly-Hills-ish plastic surgery in our future but I fantasize about completely different things anyway. Like Clara’s big girl room. Dude, who’s excited about Clara’s big girl room?! $herdog is beside herself (you know she only uses the third person when she’s really hyped). Last night I was making up rap names for the whole family. Burger could be Potato Skinz. And Clara could be Small Fry. Catchy, right? And I tried to change John’s name from J-Boom to Applebeez or Bloomin’ Onion but he wasn’t having it.

Update – Some of the most frequent requests that we get are for info about professionally blogging (how we made our site, how we grew our following, how we make money, etc) so we shared all of the details about how we started a blog, grew our traffic, and turned it into a full time job. 

Comments

  1. Hilary says

    I have always wondered about how making money writing a book actually worked. Thanks for the over-share :) and I am super excited for Clara’s big-girl room. It’s going to be awesome to watch and get ideas for when my little man gets to move into his bog-boy room!

    Reply

  2. Heidi P. says

    Wow, who knew? I just assumed you made royalties right away with every book… like it seems you should…. Why oh why are you selling them for cheaper anywhere?! I feel bad that we all got the pre-order rate! Don’t tell us where and how to get it cheaper! We want you guys to be successful!! I’m about to just send you an extra $10 in the mail to make up for it! Who’s with me??

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, you know we love a deal, and it’s such a small amount that we make that if something’s discounted the difference to us is like 20 cents, and we don’t sweat things like that! Haha. The real dream is for everyone who would like to own and afford the book to be able to have it on their coffee table :)

      xo
      s

  3. Kate says

    I’m excited to see you in Tacoma on Friday! I’m bringing my book and maybe a print I ordered from you two back in your print shop days!
    Oh, I’m also bringing my 4 year old. She just loves the videos of Clara and Burgs! Her name is Carys Kennedy, which I always think sounds so similar to Clara Kenley. She’s awfully disappointed Clara won’t be there, but she’ll settle for meeting her mom and dad. ;)

    Reply

  4. Jennifer Rush says

    Awesome post! Mega congrats on debuting on the NYT list! I’ve been in the industry a very, very long time and debuting on the list hardly ever happens. Clearly shows how much you guys rock!

    Best of luck on future books!

    Reply

  5. Claudia says

    Do you plan to update the “Blogs we love” feature anytime soon? I use itas a jumping off point for many of the blogs I read regularly. However, I’ve noticed some on there where the authors last posted in June or some other month where they clearly are no longer updating. Also, do you have any new recommendations of blogs that inspire you?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, we definitely have meant to update that tab, we’re just juggling a lot of things with the tour (we’ll be traveling for the next three weeks). Maybe when we’re back in the first or second week of February we’ll have time to tackle that! As for new blogs, we’d love to add the ones in our Reader as well as removing the un-updated ones!

      xo
      s

  6. Josh R. says

    Wow! Very interesting… Thanks for sharing! I’m a little late but I plan on buying your book this weekend.. Hope that gets you a little closer to splurging on Clara’s big girl room.. I love your blog and you guys are too freakin cute! Keep up the good work!

    Reply

  7. brooke schaefer says

    I read your blog often but don’t comment much. Just enjoy the scenery. I am so happy for you guys and your success. Its wonderful. You both seem to work so hard and I am glad you got the chance to do this book. Keep up the good work. You “talked me out” of selling my little ranch house long ago. Now I think its time for baby number two :)

    Reply

  10. Geneva says

    You guys are so awesome – and have inspired me, a single mom, in more ways than one. Thank you so much for sharing your lives and your learning and your ideas with us all. You all brighten my day more than you know.

    Geneva

    Reply

  11. Kelly Reber says

    Love how honest you guys are! My bro writes computer books and he isn’t wiping his butt with money either (that made me laugh out loud – you two are very funny indeed).

    Love the rap names! My brothers and I made up names for each other back when we were all in college. I’m Home Sweet Home Girl, and one of my brothers is Co-Chillin’ Bug. My sis in law (maiden last name is Patty) is Pah Tee Melt….

    Reply

  12. Robin from Room Fu says

    Although I don’t blame you one bit for doing it for the thrill of it, this is both disheartening & eye-opening to read. What a reality check! Thanks for softening the blow for aspiring authors like myself…

    Reply

  13. jessie says

    Since you are spilling the beans how does your lighting collection gig work? Is that one lump some or paid by amount sold. For those dreamers out there who wish to do things like tha in the future all info helps =)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That’s a simple commission-based agreement, so if people buy something we get a very very small percentage of the store’s profits. Since they manufacture them, ship them, fill orders, etc – they get the bulk of it, which is totally fair!

      xo
      s

  14. lyndsay says

    you are both so humble and down to earth. it’s a joy to come across people who appreciate the life that they lead and the opportunities that they are given. love your blog and your book. the two of you are in a class all your own!

    Reply

  15. Leah says

    Will the publisher keep you updated on when you would start receiving royalties? Like $2 million in book sales before they break-even? (I’m an accountant so that’s my dorky self talking….)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I wish I knew that! I think it’s written out in words in the contract (like “once the advance and fee for the illustrator and photographer are recouped, etc”) but not in number form.

      xo
      s

  16. Jaime says

    Hi Sherry and John! Long time devotee to YHL and first time poster :)
    First of all congratulations on your blog and book. You continually provide me with inspiration, knowledge, and an extreme love for all things DIY so I genuinely thank you. Your blog is the first thing I look at each day…at work :)I can’t help it, I’m addicted.
    Second, I just bought a copy of your signed book and it arrived yesterday. I squealed with excitement as my boyfriend handed me a package and said “What is Chop Suey?” I can’t wait to crack it open and get to work! Thanks again and keep up the GREAT work.

    Reply

  17. Leah says

    I absolutely ADORE YHL and don’t want to have this sound cruel but I fear what happened to Pioneer Woman is happening here…. More commercialized success and the oldies but goodies of the blog are gone. What about the little project you used to post about that we loved? Remaking awesome thrift stores finds? Unique smaller projects? I miss old YHL : (

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw thanks for adoring us Leah, we adore you right back! Don’t worry, all of that stuff is coming with Clara’s big girl room which we just started on this week! We have tons of thrift store items sitting around waiting to be added in, in fact this morning we mentioned two chairs that we found at a thrift store in West Virginia that we can’t wait to paint (we have a giant pile of things for her big girl room to get to). There are always going to be a nice mishmash of projects, both small and large. That’s what we love most about blogging and we’ll never change that :)

      xo
      s

  18. Erin says

    I just love you guys so much. When success and humility go hand in hand, you can’t lose! Just please, PLEASE come to LA! I have a spray painted bear figurine from the Goodwill that wants to meet you!

    Thank you for always being a bright spot in my Google Reader. :)

    Reply

  19. Yvette says

    I love how honest you both are. I couldn’t have said it better myself. Our cookbook was published in October and we are now going into our second reprint (hooray)! We are really excited about that but still have no idea what to expect with royalties. Everyday we are asked — Soooo, how are book sales? We’d be rich if we were paid on that question. LOL! Love your li’l video and your book. Congrats on being a New York Times bestseller! Not all authors can say that and you should be very proud of yourselves. Best wishes! Salud, to bigger and better things. Abrazos!

    Reply

  20. Anne Taite says

    Hi! My hubby actually wrote a Flash Developer book a few years ago (sexy nerd alert!) and described a similar experience – minus the book tour and ceramic animals, of course. He got an advance up front and then nothing for a long time. The book came out in 2006, but every couple of months, we get a check for @$25. I’ll take it! In our case, the material is pretty outdated since not too many programmers are still using the version of Flash he wrote about, but it was really popular in Poland last year, so hooray!

    Anyway, the royalty checks are nice if they come in, but you have a great attitude about the whole experience, and I wish you the most success!

    P.S. I bought your book locally in Richmond, so double-hooray for supporting local business. :)

    Reply

  22. Hans Weyandt says

    Hey–As a bookseller, I just wanted to clarify a few things as another part of the book pipeline. Stores, very rarely, get 50% discount unless their corporation goes by the name of Amazon. We generally get 41-44% depending on if the book comes direct from the publisher or from a wholesale company.

    When other fees(like credit card transaction, etc) get factored in those #’s, in the end, get cut apart for us as well. As you stated, there are many people in the mix who need to get their cut.

    You did a great job explaining the ins and outs of this particular book deal and how things often are not what they might seem. My wife loves your blog and I was happy to get it for her as a late Christmas present because it was out of stock during much of December. Congrats on your success

    Reply

  23. Allyson M says

    Thanks for sharing that info! I’ve been curious about how the system works! Have you thought about writing a second book in the future? It’d be fun to have a holiday book!! :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Ooh that could be fun! This is a two book deal so we know we’ll be writing another one but we’re not sure what it’ll be about. Still brainstorming…

      xo
      s

  24. Ashley says

    Okay, I am still dying about the “gold bars” comment! You crack me up!!!!
    Thanks for sharing about the book business…so interesting!

    Ohhh!….and by the way, my sweet husband got me an autographed copy of your book for Christmas since I couldn’t go to any of your book tour locations. Major brownie points for him! : ) Love the book!

    Reply

  25. Cheryl says

    You’re getting so famous! Saw a commercial for “the wildly popular” bloggers this morning, picture and all. Thought you’d get a kick. :)

    Reply

  26. Magpie says

    Now that his picture (with your book) been featured TWICE on your blog, I’ve informed my dog Charlie that he is famous on the internet. Probably the second most famous dog with Chihuahua DNA, right behind Burger.

    Reply

  27. Gretchen says

    Hi! I love love your site and your projects, tutorials, ideas, style, sense of humor, etc. Congrats on all of your success. But what I’m dying to know is where did you get those pillows in the first pic after the video above? The teal/white/green ones on the dark blue couch? They are gorgeous!!

    Reply

  28. Rachael says

    Dear god – is that a pile of edited copy with the blue pencil?! It never fails to depress me, as a publisher myself (but academic books) how behind the times trade publishing continues to be on that front. There are so much more efficient processes out there!

    Reply

  29. Jennifer Fogerty-Gibson says

    I thought about your book in the shower this morning. No, not in a creepy way, just in the “I am so excited about seeing John and Sherry on Saturday in Portland that I think about it even in the shower” kind of way. I was thinking about how expensive it is to travel, because I was budgeting hostel vs. hotel for Saturday night in Portland. I’m 130 miles away and feeling like round trip is too much in one day of excitement. Anyhow, I am very glad to hear that your publisher is paying for travel expenses, because homegirl, that can be PRICEY. Or as people say in Oregon, “SPENDY.”

    I am super excited to meet you. I am trying to figure out what creative thing to have you sign, other than your book. I found your blog two years ago when painting concrete in my converted garage, and it’s been love ever since. <3

    Reply

  32. Nicky H says

    Thanks for explaining that advance/royalty thing. I will probably never find out for myself and it’s very interesting to know.

    Reply

  34. Julianne C. says

    Did your publisher tell you how many books need to sell in order for you to get a check?
    It seems like if you made it to the best-seller list that that would be the peak for sales, but if there’s no check coming in due to that, would there ever be one?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We know the amount of money they need to make back by selling the book (to cover their expenses and meet our “royalty point”) and they’re not near that point yet, but many books sell for many years before authors meet their royalty point, so even if there’s a peak of sales and that passes they can still eventually get a check a year or two later if they’re lucky :)

      xo
      s

  35. LaDonna says

    I’m so excited! I’m house hunting now and nothing is available in my dream neighborhood. I’ll just live vicariously through you.

    Reply

  36. Michael says

    That was a very helpful post and a very informative detailed experience!
    thank you for sharing!
    Hope you make it to royalty and earn what you deserve!

    Reply

  37. Renee says

    I gotta say, when I sit down and read your posts straight through, they make me LOL. for realz. i have a 9 month old, so mostly, i’m a skimmer blog reader, but seriously. sooo funny. even when you’re explaining something mundane. Well, not that writing a book is mundane. unless you’re john grisham and you write books like a boss. ANYWAY, all that to say, rock on! or rather, write on! love it!

    Reply

Stuff We Love

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *