Just Go Ahead & Wire Those Royalties to my Swiss Bank Account...

Yesterday I was sitting in on fellow Caker Doris Fisher's school visit to my youngest daughter’s elementary school.

Doris is a pro at these sort of things, an expert at involving the kids & getting them excited about writing & reading (& even about math, since the 3 of her 4 picture books are math-related).

When the presentation was over, it was question-and-answer time and Doris was pelted with the usual inquiries:

Where do you get your ideas?
How long did it take for your book to come out?
What are you working on now?

But one particular IRS agent in training raised his hand and asked the one question that everyone wishes they could ask but can't (unless they are a precocious 10 year olds) :

How much money do you make?

Doris glanced to where I was sitting in the back of the room. I rolled my eyes & smiled.

Her answer "Not a lot."

Of course– as many of us know, a published author is lucky if they earn enough money to constitute “making a living”. They depend on school visits, speaking engagements & usually another part- or full-time job to make said living.

But don't get totally depressed yet -- because, of course, there are exceptions. I LOVE to hear about those. The every-so-often book deal that literally takes your breath away. Read this story about YA author Josephine Angelini from yesterday's Publisher's Weekly...

That's right -- a SEVEN FIGURE ADVANCE! (And does this series NOT sound fantastic?)

So yeah, it can happen. It does happen.

Now will it happen to one of us? Will it happen to you?

The odds are slim, certainly, and we probably shouldn’t waste too much time planning our big move to that de-luxe apartment in the sky– but we can dream, can’t we?

I mean, seven figures?!

Just think of all the cake that would buy.