EXPLAINING THE ADVANCE

As with any profession, writing comes with a lot of profession-specific jargon that turns words we’ve always known into strangers. One such term is the advance. This is money an author receives at some point after signing a book contract but before collecting royalties. The advance can be a confusing thing for many writers.

• What exactly is an advance?
• Is it bad for publishing?
• Do you even want one?
• Do you have to pay them back if your book doesn’t do as well as expected?

All of these questions have led to some weird myths about advances.

For help debunking these myths, listen to the full episode.