Re: Some questions about publishing

[Marcia Coulter <notjust -at- IX -dot- NETCOM -dot- COM>]

David and Susan Suna <suna -at- CNCT -dot- COM> wrote:

>...The publisher has a small press and basically publishes law
>texts that are distributed to paralegal schools, law secretary
>programs and libraries.  It is not distributed to bookstores that
>reach the general public, such as Barnes and Noble. This means that
>the likelihood of royalties is slim to none.

>1.  What is a reasonable amount to expect/request for an advance?

Several years ago I had a book proposal accepted by a small publishing
house. At the time, I talked with several friends who had published and
a lawyer. Their consensus:

*   Advances are pretty much limited to people with a history of
    published books that sold well.

*   You are unlikely to get *any* advance from a small publishing
    house.

*   The payoff from publishing a book is not in the royalties, but in
    the instant credibility it gives you. It can open doors that you
    never knew were there.

Unfortunately, at the time I had to choose between immediate paid work
and an investment in my future. So I didn't get much further into it.

>Any other advice you may have would be greatly appreciated.

Check into your right to update the first book when new versions of
Word Perfect come out. If the book goes through as many versions as the
software, you may get royalties off of later editions with little
additional work invested.

------------------------
Marcia Coulter
notjust -at- ix -dot- netcom -dot- com