Understanding Royalties: How Children's Book Authors Make Money

There’s that dream. You know it well. Sitting in the back of your mind for a while, maybe even years. We dream of the moment we’ve written that book and you can actually find it on the shelf. 

But then it feels like there’s a mountain of roadblocks before it. Especially money. How does publishing a book translate into an income? What does it look like? Is it reliable? Feasible?  

When we’re thinking about money from our published books, it’s important to break down how exactly that works. All earnings come through royalties. But what is that? Well, it’s a percentage of a book’s sales revenue paid to the author for the right to use intellectual property. It’s not always so straightforward, however. Different types of publishing provide different types of royalties, and some platforms take royalties too, not give them out. 

So how in the world are we supposed to navigate that? In this blog I’ll give you a guide that breaks down the financial differences between publishers, clarifies hidden costs, and determines how to truly make money. 

Royalties Explained 

In the financial world receiving royalties doesn’t mean you’re made into a Queen or King or joined the monarchy (but I still think you’re worthy material!). Instead, like I mentioned it before, it means earning a percentage of sales revenue after publishing, but depending on the style of publishing this will look very different. 

Traditional Publishing 

Under a traditional publisher, royalties are a low percentage for a low risk. The publisher gives you a percentage of sales from your work, but does so for the rights to own your intellectual property, that is, your book! So while you aren’t putting your finances on the line, you are putting your ownership on the line.  

For that, the usual rate is anywhere from 5% - 15% of a book’s net price, or, its list price. Sometimes, there is also an advance — money paid up front that you keep. But an advance is taken from the first expected batch of royalties, so that means you won’t earn royalties until that advance is “earned out”. 

Self Publishing

The only catch is that there might be platform fees, that is the platforms on which you might self-publish might take a royalty to sell and distribute your book as widely accessible. One notable example is KDP, Amazon’s self-publishing platform, or IngramSpark. The average fee might be around 30% for print and distribution, or 70% for ebooks, but it does ultimately depend on book price, distribution options, and territory. 

That still means your overall profit for print is 70% earnings from each title - that’s about 65% more than traditional publishing! 

Author Costs 

If you do go the self-publishing route, there is much potential for reward. The path to get there however, requires you to act as publisher and cover all operating costs before you see the profit. You are responsible for all costs, but they should be viewed as investments for your final product, that is, the realization of your dream. 

These costs can be summarized in the “big three”. They are essential non-negotiable professional services for a book’s production you must pay for. If they are not professionally done you risk great loss of quality and low reward. They are: 

1. An Editor: professional line editing and copyediting are crucial for quality; and is highly recommended for structural edits too. The prices of this can vary from $500 USD - $1,000, but many freelancers have different methods of charge: some by word, some by page, others by hour. 
2. An Illustrator: this is unavoidable for picture books, unless you are a highly trained professional yourself. This tends to be the most significant expense ranging from $2,000 USD - $10,000, but more than likely you shouldn’t pay on the higher end. Often you can also find cheaper rates if you check out newly trained individuals, like graduates from local colleges or universities. 
3. A Designer: necessary for creating print-ready interior layouts and cover files.

Figuring out all of these costs and how to manage other people can be very overwhelming. That’s why it’s good to understand there is a third option. This is known as Hybrid Publishing, in which all of these services are concentrated and organized for you, so all you have to do is submit your work and cover the costs and not worry about all the in between. 

Here at Miriam Laundry Publishing we offer professional support through Publishing Mastermind. Authors that are a part of our program Publishing Mastermind receive direct step-by-step guidance through writing, publishing, and launching a picture book.. 

Making Your Profit 

While putting your money out there is intimidating, keep in mind these are investments and there are very much tried and true methods to gain those funds back. 

Marketing as Key

The number one way to keep selling your work is to market it. Constantly. Ceaselessly. Incessantly. No one will know you are out there and your book is worth buying if they don’t know you’re there at all! 

To make that happen you need to have a consistent online presence. That can mean being present on social media as well as alternatives like keeping a blog or email newsletter.  But it’s important to realize the less active you are on social media, the less the platform will suggest you and your posts to other people. 

It also needs to be a constant effort: to consistently sell, you need to constantly market. That means posting, engaging with others online, running promotions, etc. The goal is to try to get your book in front of new viewers and audiences so that they can tell their friends and they can in turn tell their friends. But don’t stress too much! If you create a simple schedule and break down the upkeep into smaller bits, marketing can stay very manageable. An example might be every Monday make a post, every Wednesday post a story, and everyday take 15 minutes to respond to comments or write your own!

You CAN get your name out there!

Other Revenue Streams

If social media is not your jam, making sure to curate other support income streams is very important. You can use your expertise and your book’s intellectual property to generate income that isn’t dependent on royalties. How does that happen? 

1. School visits & speaking engagements: being a picture book writer creates a unique opportunity for you that you should absolutely capitalize on. You can conduct school visits to present your work and teach children either about a special topic relevant to your book, or about publishing books itself. Many schools will pay for these visits.
2. Selling merchandise: everything you’ve written in that book is YOURS. That means if you stick with self-publishing you can create a whole host of other items and merch for the book because it’s all your intellectual property. A good example is a stuffy based on the book character. Especially for picture books, these kinds of items are great extras for kids to buy!
3. Visiting book fairs and conferences: Now that you have your story as a sellable product, it’s great to take it to a place where people specifically come to look for books like yours. Doing some quick research will tell you what local conferences or book fairs are near you and how you can get in! .

So as you start your publishing journey, it’s good to remember what royalties really are, the big differences between publishers, and what that means for you. Children’s picture book authors have lots of opportunities to make a profit - now’s the time to start yours!

And you can take the first step by discovering what makes readers want to buy your book in the first place. Download my Children's Book Blueprint and discover what to start thinking about as you write so your readers are hooked right from the first page - and want to read it again and again!