It's difficult to explain to people how the Book publishing world works.

A LOT of my parent's friends, for some reason, are very interested in how I get paid.

They always seem to think that I get paid "royalties" for each book sold. (Which is ironic because a lot of them go to the library to pick up one of my books for free....anyway...)

The first miracle that happened this week you can read in the previous post (I'm still in shock!)

The SECOND miracle that happened was that I actually received, out of the blue, a fairly nice size cheque yesterday in the mail.

It was a....ROYALTY cheque.

The cheque was from my first book, Knocked Up. I actually earned out my advance, and then some, from my US publishers.

Let me explain. Publishers pay you an advance to write the book. The larger the amount they pay you in advance, the harder it becomes to "earn" back your advance.

Meaning - and I'm just throwing out a number here - if they pay you a $30,000 advance, enough people will have to buy your book to give back the publishers the $30,000 they paid out in your advance. I can't do math, so I have no idea how many books would have to be bought to make up what my advance was.

But, only after that, do you get royalties.

Knocked Up was published in 2004 in the States, so it's taken four years for me to earn back my advance, and now get royalties. This, in itself, is a miracle.

But totally fun too. I mean, how often does a cheque just show up in your mail box? (I'd like to say as often as your child goes to bed on their own....see previous post!)

The good news is that people are always getting pregnant, and, of course, being the author of Knocked Up, I think everyone who finds themselves with a bun in the oven, or who has a friend with a bun in the oven, should buy Knocked Up....And then the follow up, Wiped! Life with a Pint-Size Dictator, and then, the follow-up follow-up Toddlers Gone Wild.

And even Rotten Apple, if you have a pre-teen in your house.

After all, maybe in another four years I'll get another surprise in the mail!

But, mostly, this post is a BIG thank you to all those who bought Knocked Up, Wiped, Toddlers Gone Wild, and Rotten Apple.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

xoxo
R.

PS. Go to sweetmama.ca to look for more of my blog posts!