Indian Writers - Underpaid ?

Question

1 : In an article I read that an average Indian writer does not get an advance of more than $300!
Is it true?
Other Indian writers, who got their book published in Britain, such as Vikram Seth and Arundhati Roy got 1million $ advance!!

2 : If a person gets an advance of one million $ then how much can he expect to earn on his book in . . . say 5 years ?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

I don't know if that's true, but it sounds plausible.

Comparing the 'average' of Indian writers to the best-sellers overseas isn't quite fair, though. Seth and Roy (who is so over-rated IMHO!) make quite a bit of money for their publishers, so of course they will get huge advances. It would be more fair to compare Seth and Roy to writers of similiar status in India.

And the amount of $300--I assume that is USD? If so, that comes out to more than 12,000 rupees, which goes much further in India than it would in the UK.

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Answer 2

I am not Indian, but I do get a royalty check for approx $2 every three months on my book. I did not get an advance.