Can regular people “pitch” book ideas to publishers and get adavances? Or on a different tack, ifyou want to write a non-fiction book, but it will require money for research (and living) are there ways to go about funding somehing like that?
I was a “regular person” when I pitched my first book idea, and got a nice advance—but I was amazingly, ludicrously lucky, and since then I just work for 10% of the take. I also did my first book through an agent; since then, I have hooked up with University Presses.
Funding for research? Ha. Might as well flap your arms and fly to the moon. I spend several thousand bucks on each book for photo reproduction rights, documents, books, etc., and it’s two years before I see a cent of that back in royalties.
My experiences are almost a duplicate of Eve’s.
You don’t pitch “ideas” to a publisher. You put together a formal proposal that covers what you want to do in the book, why existing books don’t already cover the subject adequately, a chapter-by-chapter listing, your credentials for writing the book, and more. There are a number of books available at any library or bookstore that will guide you through this.
With great luck and good fortune, a publisher might give you minimum wage as an advance.
Then you have your spouse support you. 
There is one alternative, a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship.
No idea if you would qualify for this.
Hoo-ha—I’m goin’ for one of those fellowships! And with any luck, that guy I held the door open for will be on the MacArthur Foundation, too . . .
I’m sure this isn’t what you’re looking for, but I used to work at Barnes and Noble, and I remember two alternative options. Number 1, there are certain publishing companies (I’ll try to find out who, and post later) who let you pay to be published… I know you’re looking to make money, not spend it, but we saw a few local authors who really believed in their books and made money through the 2nd publishing with another company. 2nd, and again I apologize for the fuzziness of my memory here, is that B&N bought their own publishing company and were looking for employees, friends of employees, and local authors to publish. They were bringing some obscure titles back from the dead just to have books to sell. It may be worth it to see if their still running that program. And again, I’m really not 100% on the details of that, as I never had reason to chase it down. Just thought they might be avenues for you to explore, anyway, if all else fails.
Good Luck.
I wrote their instead of they’re, so you see how much my info on authoring is probably worth… sigh
It hit me like the proverbial bolt from the blue after I posted in jest to Gangster Octopus:
My current project is absolutely utterly perfect for an NEH grant! And the deadline for application is two weeks off.
All I need to do is find two people to write referral letters.
Hey, Eve, I’ll show you, er, I’ll write yours if you write mine.
P.S. The_LlamaNever pay to get published. Never pay to get published. Never pay to get published. Never pay to get published. Never pay to get published. Never pay to get published. Never pay to get published. Never pay to get published. Never pay to get published. Never pay to get published. Never pay to get published. Never pay to get published. Never pay to get published. Never pay to get published. Never pay to get published. Never pay to get published.
So, what I’m getting here is… something sorta like… you think it’s a poor idea to pay for publishing? I wish you’d be a little clearer.
hehe, i’m a math/computer guy… I just remembered it being spoken about. All options should be presented, even if apparently moronic. I mean, I can’t even get the their/they’re/there correct. Next week I work on it’s/its/its’.
Dear Mr. National Endowment for the Humanities,
I am a sweet little girl of 47. I have a great idea for a book. Please send me $40,000, and I will be the Happiest Little Girl in All of Toyland.
Love,
Eve
This helps, I found this guy in an alley who says if I give a grand he will help me publish my book. Cool. 
seriously though, thsi al helps, thanks esp. Eve and Exapno. ANother question: Is there any concern about pitching an idea and someone stealing it?
None whatsover.
Execution, execution, execution. That’s all that counts.
Exapno understates this. It should have all been in bold caps.
Hey Eve:
How often are you paid royalties?
Once a month? Year? Do they just send you a check or what?
The standard for publishers is to pay royalties twice a year. They calculate sales, subtract returns, add on any new money coming in (foreign sale rights, e.g.) and send off a check. (Once you have made back your advance, of course. Which doesn’t always happen. Or even often happen.) If you have an agent, the check goes to the agent, who deducts his or her percentage, and then cuts a new check for you. At the end of the year either the publisher or the agent sends a 1099 form for tax purposes. This continues until the book is officially declared out of print.
Per my contract I got paid for research expenses for writing a book for JP Wiley. The book was on an internet topic, and I was allowed to bill JP for all the ISP’s and BBS’es I subscribed to while gathering material.
Seriously, I have that Endowments site bookmarked. Can I still keep my nine-to-five job, or would I have to quit that (and lose my benefits!) to qualify for the 40 big ones?
Eve, please explain. The second paragraph sounds like a total contradiction to the first. First, you say you got an advance…and then down the road, I guess, you got 10% royalties. But, then you say it took two years to see any of that???
Also, I am trying to understand this from what I hear: If you get an advance, then the early royalties go towards paying back the publisher for the advanced amount, correct? So, you wouldn’t see any royalties right away, correct? - Jinx 
First Book: I was lucky enough (as a first-time writer, no less!) to get a contract (with an agent) with a large book publisher. I got a decent advance, and no money thereafter, as the book never over-sold the advance. This almost never happens.
All Books Since: I send a proposal to a University Press and, if they accept it, I get a contract giving me ten percent (of the net, not the gross). I hand in the manuscript and, twice a year thereafter, get the royalty checks. But I have to spend all the research and photo money upfront.
Standard contracts vary, but 1/3 on signing, 1/3 on delivery, and 1/3 of the advance on publication is not unusual these days.
So you have that money in hand, but note that it may have come in over 3 calendar years. Only the really huge potential best sellers go through the system quickly.
Say that you sign in 2004, deliver in 2005, and they set the release date for 2006. Now the book is published. It’s a big, serious book so they schedule for the meaty sales time of September. That’s in the middle of the July-December sales period, so no statement comes in until after the January-June sales period. But publishers have three months from the end of a period to report royalties. So you expect your first royalty statement by October 1, 2007. Which is actually when you start asking your agent about it. (I’ve had them arrive in December.)
It’s unlikely that you make back your advance in the first sales period, so you wait another sales period or two. Now it’s October 2008. Hurray, you’ve just made back the advance and you get that first check for $133.25, less your agent’s 15% commission.
Unfortunately, the next sales period the returns come back from the bookstore and this time you get a negative $14.62.
That’s why all working writers try to be as prolific as possible, to keep books always in the pipeline so that a regular income stream can be possible.
Eve, when you received your first book contract, where you already writing your movie column?