Let’s take a moment to explain how the book business worked for us. Every so often we get charming and funny messages like: “Holy cow, your book was a New York Times bestseller! Congrats! You must be rich!!” Those comments are flattering, but they also reveal that the publishing world is mysterious to many readers—so here’s a clear, straightforward behind-the-scenes look at how our book deal actually worked.
When you sign with a traditional publisher, the most common payment structure is an advance. An advance is a lump sum paid to the author before the book earns any money in the marketplace. For first-time authors, advances are typically modest. In our case, the advance covered the years we spent developing the book—outlining, writing the proposal, pitching, writing and revising the manuscript, creating projects, shooting photos, and working through edits. When you divide that advance by the hours we invested, it didn’t add up to much per hour. In short: no yacht purchases here.
That initial advance is often distributed in installments throughout the book production process, and after that there’s a waiting period before royalties kick in. Royalties are the ongoing payments authors receive once a book has sold enough copies that the publisher has recouped the advance and other production costs (photography, design, printing, marketing, etc.). Many authors never pass that threshold. It’s common for first-time authors to earn most—or all—of what they’ll make from the advance alone and never reach the point of regular royalty checks.
We’re not complaining. Writing a book was an incredible opportunity, and we said “yes!” because we wanted the experience: seeing our work in bookstores, holding a finished copy, and sharing it with family and readers. If you’re a new author, my honest advice is to write a book for the experience and creative fulfillment rather than the money. Financial returns for first books are rarely substantial.
As for timing, publishing a book typically takes two to three years from concept to physical book. Only after the publisher’s sales have earned back the advance and production costs will royalties start. When that happens, royalties for first-time authors tend to be modest—often a dollar or two per unit sold, depending on the contract and how deeply retailers discount the cover price. We haven’t received royalty checks yet; we’ve only received the final installment of our advance so far.
Another common assumption is that authors are paid for touring. For our experience, that wasn’t the case. The publisher covered travel expenses, but we did not receive a separate fee for time spent on the road. What we did get from the tour was priceless: the chance to meet readers, sign copies, and share stories. Those bookstore events and meetups are highlights for us, and they reinforce why we did this in the first place.
When evaluating offers from publishers, we purposely prioritized partnership and creative fit over the highest advance. Some publishers proposed a large, expensive coffee-table treatment that would have driven the price up significantly. We chose a publisher that understood our voice and allowed us to keep the book approachable and true to who we are while keeping the retail price accessible. That decision aligned with our values and the long-term goals we had for the book.
We also want to be transparent about how we fund projects. We continue to use the same budgeting habits we always have—saving over time and making choices that align with our priorities. Our agent reminded us that it’s uncommon for first-time authors to earn more in royalties than they receive in their initial advance, which helped us set realistic expectations from the start. That clarity made it easy to focus on the creative side instead of counting on a financial windfall.
All of this boils down to one central point: we did this for the love of creating something tangible and shared. Seeing your photos, hearing your stories about the book on your coffee table, and connecting at events—that’s what makes the whole process worth it. We haven’t changed our approach to money or projects; we’ll keep saving, prioritizing, and planning for future ideas just like before.
Update — Many readers ask about blogging professionally and how we turned our site into a full-time job. We shared a detailed guide on how we started a blog, grew traffic, and monetized our work in a post titled “how to start a blog, grow your traffic, and turn it into a full-time job.”