Astrologer Linda Goodman received the highest advance ever paid for a book in the 1970s

A Record Advance Was a Bet on Readers

A book advance is money a publisher commits to an author before the book earns royalties. It is generally recouped from the author’s future share of sales: the publisher first earns back the advance, and only sales beyond that amount generate additional royalties. The advance is therefore both a guaranteed payment to the author and a major wager by the publisher on how many copies the book can sell.

What the Price Tag Signaled

Paying Linda Goodman $2.25 million for Love Signs in 1978 made the deal remarkable not just for its size, but for the commercial expectation it implied. A publisher accepting that risk was betting that Goodman’s name and subject could attract a very large readership. Astrology offered an especially personal promise: it invited readers to use birth signs to think about temperament and relationships, making the book’s appeal potentially broader than a specialist audience.

The advance was not proof that the book would earn the publisher more than it cost. It was the price the publisher agreed to pay for the opportunity—and the risk—of bringing Goodman’s work to that audience. That distinction is what makes the record memorable: the headline figure captures a publisher’s confidence before readers had made the book a success.