I thought I might give my readers some insight into the publishing industry. If you've read a few of my reviews you've probably noticed that I don't always review the latest releases. Don't get me wrong - I love the shiny! new! releases! table at the bookstore as much as the next reader, but I also know that many authors don't make their living off that table.
They make their living off their backlist.
(This book was published in 2015. The author has since published six original novels, making this novel a part of her backlist).
A writer gets paid an advance against sales for each book they sell. If you sold a book for $6,000, you'd probably get half at contract signing and half when you delivered the final edits (and your editor approved them). That's...not a lot of money to live off.
Once an author "earns out" their advance, i.e., makes enough money to pay back the $6,000, they get a percentage of any further sales. As they publish more books (hopefully!), older works become their backlist. Those royalties for older works can keep them afloat between advances for new novels. It's the combination of royalties from their backlist + advances for new works + teaching and speaking fees + whatever side hustle or day job they have that pays most author's bills.
Knowing this, and having several friends who rely on those royalty statements to pay rent, I like to balance my reviews between current/newer titles and older works. It keeps some of my favorite authors cats and dogs in treats, and as a bonus to readers - if you discover a new favorite author now you have a ton of their books to devour!
Whether it's checking out books at the library, placing preorders, reviewing, or buying brand new, there are many ways to support your favorite authors, and buying/reading their backlist is one of them.
Have you read an older book lately (one published more than ten years ago)? And how often do you re-read older favorites?
Dena
Note - support your local book blogger, too! Shopping through my links earns me a commission. Get 10% off the adorable booties I'm wearing up above by using code DENA_M_LANDON10 here.