Publishing and marketing books in Regency England wasn’t easy, especially for a woman. How did Austen manage it? The world loves to paint her as a spinster who sat around writing about love and marriage, but the reality is that she was a businesswoman, working to sell and manage her books.
Austen’s Publishing Options
Austen had two publishing options in Regency England. She could sell her books to a publisher for a flat rate. The publisher would then assume all the costs of printing and distributing the books, but he would also keep all the profits. This was a safe bet, but it had lower earning potential.
Alternately, she could publish a book on commission, which Austen called “publishing for myself”—or self-publishing. This meant that the publisher would front the expenses for publishing and distributing the book, but the author had to repay these costs plus a commission of about 10% of the sales. Ideally, the book sales cover would cover these expenses, but, if not, the author had to pay the expenses out of pocket. This was a risk but could lead to higher profits.
Northanger Abbey
Austen sold her first book, Susan (later renamed Northanger Abbey), in 1803 to Crosby & Co. for £10 (approximately $986 today). During her father’s lifetime, Austen received £20 a year as an allowance, so £10 was a significant sum for her.
Crosby advertised the book once but never published it. After six years of waiting, Jane wrote under a pseudonym to inquire about her work, adding that she’d like to publish the book elsewhere. Crosby responded by threatening legal action if she did this and said she could buy the book back for £10. Austen no longer had this money (half her yearly income!), so the book sat unpublished for years.
Northanger Abbey was a sad story. Austen had better luck with her next one.
Sense and Sensibility
Austen’s brother Henry agented Sense and Sensibility, selling it to Thomas Egerton on commission. This meant Jane was taking a gamble and would have to pay the publication and advertising costs, as well as the 10% commission on the sales. In 1811, Egerton printed 750 copies, a large print run, and by 1813, it had sold out! Austen earned £140—about $13,806 in today’s money. A second edition was published later in 1813, and it continued to earn Jane income until she died.
The author was listed as “by a Lady.” Austen preferred to remain anonymous, but Henry often let her identity slip at dinner parties, and news of her books spread by word of mouth.
Pride and Prejudice
In 1797, Jane’s father wrote to a publisher about First Impressions, a novel written in letters, and I can picture Jane waiting anxiously to hear if her novel had been accepted for publication. The publisher returned the letter with “declined by return of post” scrawled across the top—and no other comments. That must have been a blow.
Jane revised this novel into Pride and Prejudice and, following the success of Sense and Sensibility, sold it to Thomas Egerton for the lump sum of £110 (about $10,848 today). But this is her most loved novel! Why didn’t she sell it on commission? Perhaps she was still smarting under that first harsh rejection. Egerton went on to publish three separate editions of the popular novel, earning more than £450 ($44,379 today), much more than Jane.
She regretted this decision, but she did at least earn money on the book.
This novel was again published anonymously, “by the author of Sense and Sensibility.”
Mansfield Park and Emma
Pride and Prejudice is the only book Austen did not publish on commission (and now we see why).
She published Mansfield Park with Egerton on commission in 1814, and the first edition sold out in six months! She earned approximately £310 (around $30,572).
Still anonymous, the title page listed the book as “by the author of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.”
Egerton did not want to do a second publication of Mansfield Park, so Austen turned to John Murray, a London publisher. Through Murray, she published Emma and a second edition of Mansfield Park on commission. Austen launched Emma with 2,000 copies—her largest initial print run yet! About three-quarters of the copies sold, turning a profit of £221. Unfortunately, Mansfield Park didn’t sell well this time and accumulated £182 in losses. This left Austen with £39 total profit for both books, or $3,846.
Emma was published as “By the author of Pride and Prejudice,” and it included a dedication to the Prince of Wales, who was an admirer of her work. Austen wasn’t really a fan of his, but he wanted the dedication, and it is nice to have influencer endorsement. If only that prince had opened a TikTok account and posted a twerking dance video for the book. Then Emma would have flown off the shelves.
Northanger Abbey and Persuasion
And whatever happened to Northanger Abbey? Her brother Henry bought it back in 1816, and Austen changed the title and name of the heroine, as another book entitled Susan had been released in the interim. After Austen’s death in 1817, Henry and Cassandra published both Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, through Murray, on commission. Austen left all her books and copyrights to her sister, Cassandra.
These books, for the first time, were published under the name Jane Austen.
Fifteen years after Austen’s death, Henry negotiated for a new edition of Austen’s six novels, and Cassandra continued to earn money from them.
So how much did she make?
Austen’s lifetime earnings totaled…£684, or $67,456.
This is something! But, as we all know, it’s well under what her novels have earned. Still, I see how hard Austen had to work to find publishers and negotiate sales—and how she sometimes needed a man (her brother) to step in. But she believed in her work, took risks, and pushed her books out into the world. That’s pretty inspiring stuff.
Thanks for reading! What do you think of Jane’s publishing journey compared to today? I’d love to hear any of your thoughts below!
I found these sites helpful when writing this: Jane Austen’s Publishing Journey, The Economics of Jane Austen’s World, and Jane Austen’s Fame and Fortune, Now and Then
More Jane reading fun:
Did Regency Women Really Swoon?
Plump is Beautiful: Austen’s Takes on the Many Sides of Beauty
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