As far as the new york times, isnt that 10,000 sales in a week? Not overall. So you make $25,000 your first week of sales and then get on the list.
I would think that most first time authors do not even get a hardcover. They get trade paper back or regular paperback. 5,000 paperback sales is $2500 or so in royalties or $15,000 in hardcover royalties. Don't quit your day job. I would think it would take 3,000+ hours of work minimum for a first novel (not including all the writing you did just to learn how to write). That is less than illegal aliens make. Wow. You have to really love it to be an author.
I would assume that most first time authors do not get sent for book tours. Doesn't sound worth the cost.
How do they market first time authors? Especially someone who is not Stephanie Meyer. Is it lobbying Barnes and Noble to put the book at the front of the store? That is how I learn about most new books... That and seeing a cool cover and title is what gets my attention. That and begging people for quotes. How did Brandon get Robin Hobbs to read his book in order to give him a quote? Is it because he is friends with David Farland?
I would think Fantasy is hard also for a first time authors. As a long time reader of fantasy, most blurbs on the cover of fantasy books look the same. Atleast sci-fi books can be about very different topics and that can be shown on the blurb on the book.
My guess about making money as a writer is that it takes time for people to learn about you and for you to make a name for yourself. It probably also helps alot to make a nice website and a blog. I had never heard of John Scalzi until someone sent me to his blog.
I would never have quit my job to write full time for the $10,000 that Brandon got in an advance. I would want to see if people actually liked my books before I wrote full time.
Then on top of the small chance for any chance of financial success you have to deal with
1. amazon decided to pull the buy button
2. someone mad for some reason because your book isn't available on kindle giving you a 1 star review (if you are a new author you probably don't get alot of reviews
3. people telling you, that you suck publicly.
I have to say authors have a lot of guts.
BTW, so do other genre's than Sci-Fi/fantasy on average sell better? That is surprising. Most of the top selling movies are sci-fi/fantasy, but the novels don't sell as well. Which is interesting. Might be in part because there are so many of them.
How does an editor know when they see Stephanie Meyer's book that it would sell so well? I actually did not hear of her until her 3rd book or so when it was on TV. How did they market Stephanie Meyer?