A lot of writers don’t really understand how the whole compensation piece works in publishing. A lot of aspiring authors are also convinced they’re going to write a bestseller and make a fortune. Here’s your author profit reality check, along with a few must-know basics.

1. Traditional Publishing: Advances & Royalties

Advances: You usually get a lump sum upfront (paid in stages)—say $5K–$10K for most debuts, though some mid-list authors land $20K–$60K, and bigger auctioned deals can go much higher. To get a deal, however, you usually have to bring along a healthy readership, also known as an author platform.

Royalties: You only earn these once your book has “earned out” the advance.

• Hardbacks: ~10–12.5%
• Paperbacks: ~7.5–10%
• Deep discounts or bulk sales pay even less
• Example: At $25 cover price and a 10 percent royalty, you’ll get $2.50 per book

Author Profit Reality Check: Most debut authors never earn out their advance, meaning they don’t receive ongoing royalties beyond that initial payment.

2. Self-Publishing (Indie / POD—print-on-demand / eBooks)

No Advance: Self-publishing means no upfront checks—you’re funding all of it yourself (editing, cover, formatting, marketing, etc.).

Royalties: Much higher than traditional publishing—typically 40–70 percent depending on format and platform (e.g., 60–70 percent on Amazon KDP; 35–70 percent in general across platforms).

Author Profit Reality Check: Get ready for the bad news.

• Over 90 percent of self-published books sell fewer than 100 copies in their entire lifetime.
• The average self-published author makes less than $500 to $1,000 per year from book sales. Around 20 percent of self-published authors report earning no income at all from their books.
• Those who do make money are typically writing and marketing book series. Once they hook a reader with the first book, they’re likely to get return sales as long as they keep promoting the series.

Success Stories?

Sure. Certain authors hit big—or at least big enough to quit their day jobs, and just write and market their books for a living. For a breakdown of how much money an author makes when they use IngramSpark or KDP (Amazon) to print their books, check out this post by my Incubation Press associate Keri-Rae Barnum.

Of course, some people don’t write with any kind of profit in mind. Publishing a book is simply a bucket list item for them, and while sales would be nice, that isn’t the goal.

For professionals, however, the success inherent in writing and publishing a book doesn’t revolve around the number of copies sold. It can be an unparalleled sales tool that delivers customers to them. And that’s priceless.