What is the value in monetary terms of a book

[Gene]

I have been reading a book again which was on the New York Times best seller list, actually I believe it was number one for some time. I am curious about how much an author like Eckhart Tolle would earn from a book like "The Power of Now."

Would anyone with care to guess how much such a book might earn for an author?

[Buddy]

I have to think that unless you write a runaway best seller, books are best used as business cards for speakers, trainers, seminar types, etc. My former kung fu teacher wrote several and while they greatly improved his retreat business I don't think he made any money from them.

[Gene]

Originally Posted by Buddy

I have to think that unless you write a runaway best seller, books are best used as business cards for speakers, trainers, seminar types, etc. My former kung fu teacher wrote several and while they greatly improved his retreat business I don't think he made any money from them.

I agree with you buddy that most books never make the author a lot of money. I was in this post asking specifically what a book like "The Power of Now" which was on the New York Times bestseller list for a long time would earn the author for the sales of the book to include the audio book income.

Would you or anyone else care to take a guess?

[Steve Pavlina]

For a successful book like that, the author's gross earnings should be well into the six-figure range, if not seven figures.

Most published books, however, don't sell more than 5K copies total, so receiving substantial royalties is the exception, not the rule.

How much the author actually earns from book sales depends on so many factors. Royalty rates in book publishing are fairly standard, although there's a little room to negotiate. For a paperback self-help book that retails for $15, the author probably receives about $1 per copy sold, but it could be more or less depending on the particular channel (publisher's website, book clubs, Amazon sales, traditional bookstores, etc). For a $25 hardcover, the author may be getting around $3 per copy. Then there are different royalty rates for audio versions, ebooks, and translations.

I expect to earn at least six-figures from my upcoming book, if for no other reason than the fact that I own a decent long-term marketing outlet for it. The advance I'm getting is big enough to make it tolerable for me even if I don't get any additional royalties though. I'd probably make a lot more money if I self-published, but I think Hay House can do a much better job of getting the book into people's hands that I wouldn't be able to reach on my own.

[Dan.Linehan]

It must have been hard to pass up that self-publishing route. Especially since you didn't really need the advance like most authors would.

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Dan.Linehan

It must have been hard to pass up that self-publishing route. Especially since you didn't really need the advance like most authors would.

Not really. Money has never been a strong motivator for me. I don't know exactly why -- that's just how I am. I think of money sort of like a character's gold in a video game. Most games go stale if you assume the point is to acquire gold instead of playing for fun. The game of real life is no different. Right now I happen to be playing a character who seems to have enough gold, so it's more fun to focus on things that are more interesting than gold... like saving a few princesses.

The opportunity to go with a publisher came at a good time, so I went for it. I can always self-publish other products down the road, so going with a publisher isn't an either-or situation.

[bigadam]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Not really. Money has never been a strong motivator for me. I don't know exactly why -- that's just how I am. I think of money sort of like a character's gold in a video game. Most games go stale if you assume the point is to acquire gold instead of playing for fun. The game of real life is no different. Right now I happen to be playing a character who seems to have enough gold, so it's more fun to focus on things that are more interesting than gold... like saving a few princesses.

The opportunity to go with a publisher came at a good time, so I went for it. I can always self-publish other products down the road, so going with a publisher isn't an either-or situation.

So, Steve, to stretch this a bit further, what are you...a level 40 hunter, level 30 rogue? I would classify you as a level 40 to 50 paladin...a combination of healing and strength. You still have quite a few levels to go before you're capped and ready for the high end instances .

You know, someone could do an entire blog post about the parallels (sp?) between leveling character classes in a MMORPG and leveling in real life. Factor in the act of leveling, classes, Horde versus Alliance, the different leveling trees (builds), etc and it could be an entire series for the right audience.

[Steve Pavlina]

I think I'm more of a fighter. I enjoy going into caves and torching the monsters.

Whenever I played RPGs, I always picked the character class that did the most damage.