Dear Reader,
Today's guest author, Christi Daugherty, was 22 years old when she first began covering murders as a crime reporter for newspapers in Savannah, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans. Her series, The Echo Killing, is about a Savannah-based crime reporter named Harper McClain. Revolver Road, the third book in the series was just released. Christi is also the author of a young adult series, Night School, which has recently been optioned for television.
Please welcome Christi Daugherty to the book club. Say hello here.
5 Things Nobody Tells You About Being an Author
Recently I was asked to reveal the thing that surprised me the most about becoming an author. That got me thinking. I came into fiction publishing blind--a true know nothing. Many things took me by surprise. Here are a few of the things I didn't expect.
1. Authors get less from the sale of a book than anyone else involved. When I want to horrify school children on book tours I tell them the truth about how much authors make. So, go on. Guess. What percentage of the sale price of a book do you think authors get. 80%? Nope. 60%? No way, my friends. Try 8%. Yes, you read that right. The average author gets 8% of the paperback price as royalties. That percentage has been shrinking for decades. It's even gone down in the 9 years I've been an author. In 2010, 9% was routine.
2. Everyone wants to take your picture. This may not sound like much, but it took me years to get used to the fact that strangers suddenly wanted my picture. I am not at all famous but at book fairs I've found myself surrounded by cameras. In France, I was once besieged by actual paparazzi and I've never quite recovered. I used to hate having my picture taken, but the only way to survive in this business as far as I can tell is to find your best angle and SMILE.
3. Everything moves slowly in fiction. From the time you finish writing your book, even if you have a book contract, it takes at least two years to be published. Publishers have long lead-in times and your book has to get into line. I'm used to it now but with my first book it really shocked me. I was writing my third novel when my first finally came out.
4. It's a lonely business. Writers spend a lot of time alone. I am an introvert and a separatist and yet I find myself missing humans, and having long, philosophical conversations with my cat. You need tools to handle the isolation. A coffee shop to write in, or friends to work with. Anything that involves social interaction.
5. You never get over seeing your book in shops. It's the best part of this business. All that hard work, all that worry. And then there your book is, sitting right where Dorothy Parker's books sat. It almost makes up for the 8%. Almost.
--Christi Daugherty
Drop Christi a note and welcome her to the book club.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
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* This month's Penguin Classics book is The Awakening, by Kate Chopin. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.
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