Here’s the post where I lay out everything I earned from publishing in 2022 with enough explanation to make sense of it.

I did a money post at this time last year as well, which you can see here, that talks a little bit about how year to year income isn’t always the best indicator of how you’re doing because of the odd nature of how we get paid in publishing.

This year, I’m going to lay out the specific numbers. I fully expect more people to look at this post than any other post that I write this year. Why? I don’t know…a morbid curiosity about how much other people make? Or maybe the fact that there’s just so little real information about publishing and what it pays.

Why am I doing this?

First, because I can. I think there are a lot of reasons why people don’t share this kind of thing. Embarrassment, perhaps, if someone thinks they make less than people think or if they’re trying to project an image of success for any number of valid reasons. As it happens, I have a healthy amount of don’t-give-a-shit-about-what-people-think-of-me and a fair amount of privilege in that I’m not going to get flak that I can’t handle. I blame nobody who doesn’t share info. Not everybody is in my position. But I can, and so I’m going to.

Second, because I’ve always appreciated it when others have shared. Kameron Hurley and Jim C. Hines have regularly shared their writing income, and I’ve found it helpful. So I’m following their lead.

Third, because publishing hides this stuff. Most industries do, probably, but this one is more confusing than most I think. That benefits publishers, not authors. I like authors about 41 1/2 times more than I like publishers. You know…except my publisher. You guys are great.

Fourth…as I mentioned above, I expect to more people to see this post than any other post I write this year. And I’m absolutely going to advertise my books throughout.

In fact, let’s get started with that right now.

The Weight of Command is now available in all formats (it was originally audio only).

Lieutenant Kiera Markov is a scout platoon leader for a peacekeeping force on the remote planet of Tanara, where little has happened for decades, and the only mission is to keep the lithium flowing up the space elevator to feed the galaxy’s incessant demand. But when an unprecedented attack kills the entirety of the brigade’s leadership, the untested lieutenant suddenly finds herself in command.

A little background for those of you who don’t know me: I’m a full time writer and a retired army officer. That second part is pretty key to the first part because I’m American, and my military retirement gives me healthcare, which is a huge barrier to being a full-time writer. But I digress.

And a quick caveat. I’m presenting numbers. I’m not presenting editorials about those numbers. These are the numbers on my tax form. I’m not suggesting that it’s a lot or a little or that I’m worth more or less. So if you find yourself reading that into anything, I would offer that that’s you, not me. (Can you tell I’m a little nervous about laying all this out there?)

In 2022, I made $49,500 before agent commissions and taxes. I’m going to break that down in a minute, but first, for comparison, in 2021, I made $40,700. In 2020 I made $58,700. In 2019 I made $17,000. In 2018, the year my first novel came out, I made $7500. I think that’s far enough back.

If I was talented, I’d put that in a graph or something. But I’m a writer, not an accountant. Again, all those numbers are what publishers paid me before my agent takes her well-earned 15% and self-employment tax takes significantly more.

Why did I make more in 2020 than 2021 or 2022? I wrote about that last year in detail, but the tl;dr of it is that I signed more contracts in 2020 so I got more advances. That’s the same reason I made more in 2022 than 2021, which I’ll lay out in a minute.

But first, did you know that I have a new book coming out this October?

In 2108, Colony Ship Voyager departed Earth for the planet of Promissa with 18,000 of the world’s best and brightest on board. 250 years and 27 light years later, an arrival is imminent.

But all is not well.

You can pre-order Generation Ship now.

Don’t you just hate ads? Still. Buy my book.

Here’s the breakdown of the money I received from writing in 2022:
Advances: $25,000
Royalties: $22,500
Foreign: $2,000

For advances, it worked out so I signed contracts for Generation Ship and Planetside 4 (coming in 2024) in the same calendar year–one in February and the other in December. Both deals were $25,000 advances, and I have a very nice advance structure where I get half the money on signing and half upon delivery and acceptance. So I got half of two different advances.

Editorial note (sorry, I can’t help myself): Two part splits on advances should be industry standard. Most of my friends get their advances in thirds or even fourths, which delays their money so that the publisher can earn a tiny bit of interest. It’s wrong, but increasingly more the norm. It should stop. End of rant.

And that’s why I made more than I did in 2021. Because I signed two contracts during the calendar. In 2023, I’m unlikely to sign any contracts, which means I’ll make less than I did last year. I’ll get the second half of the advance for Generation Ship, but the second half of Planetside 4’s advance is likely to come in February of 2024. Unless anybody wants to give me a new contract for a book in 2025. Anybody? No? Okay, well my agent is ready to take your call if you change your mind. I have several ideas for books and a very unrestrictive option clause (just another way my agent is worth every bit of her 15%).

Royalties for me come from my first three books, all of which have earned out their advances. For those not familiar with the way publishing works, all of your royalties go back to the publisher until you recoup the advance. Once that happens, the author (that’s me!) gets paid for each additional copy sold. The publisher keeps track of that and pays me every six months. Having predictable income as a writer is great, because as you can see, a lot of what we make is unpredictable and based on when you sign contracts or get books accepted or publishing dates, which change.

You’ll note that I said my first three books have earned out. My 4th hasn’t.

That book is The Misfit Soldier, which is a heist novel set in a military SF world. Think Oceans Eleven Meets Halo with a cast of rejects and mal-contents right out of Kelly’s Heroes, which is, granted, a really outdated reference, but still the most accurate war movie ever made. If you know, you know. Seriously…check it out.

You know what would make it earn out? If everyone reading this post bought…I don’t know…like maybe 10 copies? You can give them as gifts. Use them as coasters. Throw them into windows of passing cars. Okay, so you don’t need ten copies. But one…

Foreign looks like a nice round number at $2000, but it’s not. In truth, that the sum of a bunch of different smaller contracts with publishers in Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. There may be more. If I’m being honest, my foreign rights agent sends me stuff and I sign it and sometimes they send me money. Foreign rights are what we in the business like to call “free money.” Okay, maybe that’s just me. But either way, the translators do all the work and someone sends me a check.

Looking at this post, I’m not sure how helpful it is. I’m looking at it and it doesn’t feel particularly helpful. I guess we’ll see.

Things I’d Tweet if Twitter Was Still a Viable Platform:

Season 3 of Ted Lasso comes out on March 5th, and I haven’t been this excited for a season 3 in a long time.

I’m leading a writer’s conference at Atomacon in Charleston, SC, in May. You can get personal feedback on your writing from me and ask anything you want about publishing. As you can see from this post, pretty much nothing is off limits. Hope to see you there.