I WAS WONDERING ABOUT THAT
The publisher was offering me a ridiculously low flat fee -- a work-for-hire payment that included no royalties. Typically writers of tie-ins, which are original novels based on a TV series, get an advance plus a 2-3% royalty. Novelization writers often get a flat, work-for-hire fee, which makes sense since the story, characters and dialogue are being handed to them. This deal required me to write an original novel and not share in any of the proceeds it might generate. -- Lee Goldberg, in his blog A Writer's Life
I've wondered about that. I'm trying to hold onto the novelization rights to the various series I'm pitching to producers. If the shows go, I'd like to hire some novel-writing friends (you know who you are) so we can work up some more stories based on the characters and worlds I've been creating -- especially stories that can't be done on a TV budget. I've always wondered what would be fair to offer them. Thanks, Lee.