{
  "id": 5294251,
  "title": "My book was a failure. I won't ever make a penny from it beyond the advance, but it did lead to career opportunities.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/my-book-was-a-failure-i-wont-ever-make-a-penny-from-it-beyond-the",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-03T09:05:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Insider",
    "slug": "business-insider",
    "url": "https://www.businessinsider.com/book-financial-failure-led-career-opportunities-2026-9"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Melissa Petro's 2023 book advance netted her a six-figure sum, but the book itself sold only 2,000 copies in its first year. Despite the lackluster sales, Petro credits the book with opening doors to new opportunities, including ghostwriting, speaking events, and high-profile interviews. She was initially driven by the desire to become a successful author, yet discovered that the vast majority of nonfiction books sell only a few hundred copies in their first year, making it highly improbable to recoup an advance. Petro now acknowledges that being an author often means having a day job to cover living expenses, as few writers earn significant money from their writing alone.",
  "summary": "Melissa Petro discusses her journey from landing a six-figure book deal to navigating the challenges of publishing and sustainability as an author.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}