In publishing, a fee paid to an author upon signing a contract for publication and/or upon delivery of a final manuscript (often, half of an agreed-upon advance is paid upon signing, and half is paid upon delivery and acceptance of the manuscript). The amount of the advance is subtracted from the author's share of royalties accrued from the sale of copies of the publication. When royalties received have exceeded the amount of the advance, the publication is said to have "earned out." If an advance is not completely paid off by royalties, it is not often asked to be returned, the publisher merely absorbing the loss. In some rare cases, an advance paid upon signing a contract is revoked due to delivery of an unacceptable and unpublishable manuscript. Also known simply as an advance and an advance payment against royalties.
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