Ebooks: expect bigger paydays

If you’re writing a book, here’s a secret: editors at large publishing houses usually have a discretionary limit when it comes to the advance they can offer you for your book. It’s around $20,000.

So, if you’re being offered that, it’s an average advance. (For more on book publishing, read my Just Write A Book Blog.)

Why am I telling you this if you’re writing ebooks? You could care less, right?

OK, here’s the thing: writers are getting paid more to write ebooks these days.

A colleague just told me she’s being paid $25,000 to write an ebook. Yes, admittedly she’s selling all rights to the ebook, but if you know anything about publishing, you know that most print books never “earn out” — that is, the advance payment is all you get, these books never make more money than the publisher paid as an advance.

I’m tickled abut the $25,000 payment, because it’s a sign of things to come. When people want information, they want it NOW. So, as popular as ebooks are, they’ll be even more popular in the future, and if you’re already writing ebooks, you can look forward to some excellent paydays.

(If you’re not writing ebooks, and you’re an established writer, you should be.)

As I wrote in Ebooks are Hot – the Perfect Home Business | Writing Hacker by Angela Booth:

“Ebooks are HOT: if you can write ebooks, not only will you find a ready supply of buyers and people who will commission you to write, but you can also create your own ebooks and sell them online.”

Apropos ebooks, watch for Tuesday’s issue of Fab Freelance Writing Ezine. The theme is “Write an Ebook in a Week.”