How Much Do Writers Actually Earn?

It's that time of year when I receive my royalty statements...

This week I received my royalty statement for Somebody I Used to Know, the first book that Wendy Mitchell and I wrote together.

It was the first royalty statement that I have received since her death in February. Usually we’d be excited to see how much of our advance we had paid off, hoping that we have reached the stage where we earnt royalties – and usually being disappointed.

I would always cheer Wendy up when she was sad at how much we still had to pay off.

“Yes but perhaps by this time next year…” I would say, sounding awfully like Delboy talking to Rodney in Only Fools and Horses.

Except Wendy is not here anymore. Another first without her ticked off the list.

For those who don’t know, this is how a publishing deal works, you get paid an advance for your work and this is usually in four parts: the first quarter on signing of the contract; the second quarter on delivery and acceptance of the manuscript; the third on publication in hardback; and, the final part on publication in p…