9 Sept 2020, 17:47

I was contacted by a publisher for illustrating the PB. They offered $1,500 advance against ~8% royalty for a 32 page book. So after tax it is about $30 a page ....
and it is a well-known publisher ...

My former experience are all for educational markets. Although they pay a flat fee, some offers are much better than $1,500. Wonder if this is a reasonable price tag in trade book market for beginner. They price makes it feel like illustrating for charity ...

On the other hand, I have been working with an agent on my own book for a while, we haven't signed contract yet, but the agent really likes my story and she has good sales records. So I am wondering if spending 1 month on a $1,500 book at this time could be a waste of time. Instead I can push my own book to publish faster and potentially get a better deal. Is that correct or low ball offer is just a common thing nowadays? ... What is your opinion or experience?

Thanks a lot!