The Truth About Six-Figure Book Deals

Welcome to Five On Fridays, my weekly straight-no-chaser newsletter where I help demystify the publishing industry for new writers and early-career authors. Let’s jump right in.

Let’s face it, if you’re a writer who’s always wanted to be traditionally published, getting a six-figure book deal (and announcing it) sounds like the ultimate icing on the cake. These deals can be life-changing after all, allowing authors to devote more time to writing and less time to *gesticulates wildly* everything else. But getting a six-figure book deal is harder than some would have you believe, and even if you do get one, it might not be the life-changing event it’s often portrayed as. So, here are five things writers need to know about six-figure book deals.

How rare they are

Despite the media’s adoration for featuring authors who’ve received six-figure book deals, particularly when they’re debut authors, the truth is, these deals are incredibly rare. In its year-end deals report, Publishers Lunch noted that there were upwards of 600, six-figure deals reported in 2024.  Figures vary widely across the internet about how many books are published in a given year, but considering some estimate a range from six hundred thousand to one million and taking into account that Publishers Marketplace announces about fourteen thousand deals annually, six hundred is a very small number. The fact is, debut authors can, on average, expect to receive advances between one and ten thousand dollars. And authors from historically marginalized communities report much lower advances, figures that were exposed during 2020’s #PublishingPaidMe campaign.

Who and what determines who gets a six-figure deal

What publishers decide to pay for a title is a mix of sales expectations (why we’re told comps are so important), competition for a title, and lots of subjectivity. “The size of deals is often not representative of the quality of the book,” says one editor interviewed in this Airmail article. Rather, they’re “more a sort of game-theory manipulation between the agent and different editors who are competing and trying to speculate about what everyone else is going to do.” Another thing some writers don’t realize about six-figure deals is that the deals are often for multiple books. So that $100K deal, for example, might be for a duology.

Politicians, celebrities, influencers, and the like lead the pack when it comes to snagging six-figure deals because they bring an existing platform and large fan base to the table. Seasoned authors who’ve proven their names and stories can sell books, also draw six- and seven-figure deals time and time again. And high-concept stories that can easily be translated into film or TV can also draw large deals. On the opposite end of the scale, despite being the engine that drives the publishing industry, traditional romance titles tend to get lower advances, though the romantasy trend is bucking that, of late. And children’s and middle-grade titles typically also receive smaller advances. 

If most authors don’t earn out, why do these deals keep happening?

Even with large advances, sales aren’t guaranteed. Publishing industry analyst, Kristen McLean, reports that two-thirds of the books released by the top-ten trade publishers sell fewer than a thousand copies. And during the merger trial between Penguin Random House (PRH) and Simon & Schuster, the head of Penguin Random House, revealed that just 35 percent of books published by the house were profitable, and that of the profitable titles, just 4 percent accounted for 60 percent of the profits. I think the article in Airmail answers the question best. “Publishers continue to spend on big advances because, given that everyone now buys the same few books, if you win, you win big.” The agent-editor combination that finds the next Colleen Hoover, the next Hunger Games franchise, or the next Sarah J. Maas, will be golden in an industry known for its volatility and high turnover.   

You don’t get one of those big game-show checks

Okay, so I don’t think any writer really thinks you get an oversized game-show check made out for thousands of dollars when you sign a six-figure deal. But many writers don’t really understand how advances work. Years ago, authors typically received their advances in two payments, half upon signing the contract and the other half upon delivery and acceptance of the manuscript. That gradually shifted to three payments, with the author receiving the third payment upon publication. Now, many publishers have split payments into four parts, the fourth being made a year after publication or on paperback publication. Some quick, crude math to help you visualize: A $100K advance, split across four payments over what could be four years, amounts to $25K per year, and that’s before agent commission, taxes, and any marketing and PR expenses an author incurs. No wonder the Authors Guild notes that this shift in payment has resulted in many authors, even those who received six-figure deals, having to “find other ways to support themselves while writing.”

The good news is you don’t need a six-figure deal to have a successful career as an author, and sometimes smaller deals are even better

One of the drawbacks to a six-figure advance is the pressure to earn out. An author earns out when their percentage of book sales exceeds their total advance. Most books don’t earn out their advances, therefore authors never receive royalties on those books. But royalties can be an author’s best friend. Royalties generate income in the middle of the night while you’re fast asleep. Royalties are a step toward making a sustainable income in writing. While earning out a small advance isn’t guaranteed, it’s more likely to happen than earning out a huge one. Furthermore, fizzling out after earning a six-figure deal, could also make it harder to get your next deal. So, while six-figure deals can be great, they’re absolutely not necessary to launch and sustain a career as a writer.

That wraps up this week’s Five On Fridays. Thank you for subscribing and reading. If you found this newsletter helpful, please share it on social media and forward it to your writer friends. Happy writing!

-Grace