But I have friends who are in the top , and others who are in the top , selling thousands of copies a day. If I wish to set a good benchmark to aim for, there are many books that I would exclude from the list:. Edith Hancock. He is set to publish an abridged version of the novel for young adults on September 8 with Penguin Random House. Novelists write fictional books in paperback, hardback, and e-book formats. Have you been wondering how exactly do authors make money? In August, Forbes released data on the highest-paid authors of , looking at their total earnings — from book sales as well as TV and film adaptations, before taxes — between June 1, and June 1,