| I have written some tech books, one of them best-selling, tech edited others, and written a preface for one. I am also the author of published novels. The amount of money and contract terms vary widely with the publisher. This is where a contract with one of the big publishers is in your favor. You can also consider self-publishing, but that is a different business model, which I will not cover here. Don't be afraid to ask for different terms. In particular: - You can negotiate for an escalator clause on the royalties. This means that the more books you sell, the higher your rate. - You can ask for a higher advance or a lower advance and higher royalty rate. You can ask for the advance to be split differently (on contract, 25%, 50%, full MS, final acceptance, etc). - You should negotiate the option clause. This is the clause that says they get the first option on your next book. Specific terms to negotiate include limiting the scope - not "next book" but "next book on the topic of game development with Python". Also make sure they have a limited time to consider your proposal before deciding to buy it or not. 60 days seems to be a common number, but you can probably negotiate that down. - Strike any non-compete clauses (that you will not write a book on this topic for anyone else or self publish one). - Strike any cross-accounting clause. This is where you must earn out the advance on every book you have for a publisher before you can receive royalties on any book (and royalties for book 2 can be counted against the advance for book 1, and so on). Some publishers pay monthly, some pay quarterly, some bi-annually. Take this into account. Ask your publisher what their marketing and promotion plan will be for the book. How much support are they putting into it? Earnings vary a great deal, but I have been very happy over the years, and book earnings have paid large chunks of my mortgage. How much you make depends a lot on the size of the audience, what other books are in the market, the timeliness of the book, and the publisher's approach to distribution and marketing. It tends to be on the small side and I realize my experiences are not typical. It has opened doors for me and my co-author. We've been offered jobs, contracts, writing opportunities, and speaking opportunities. I would say this was the best career decision I ever made. It's also draining and time-consuming, so be aware it's a large project. Good luck! |