I've had a few books published and, in my experience, even when a book earns royalties, they can be hard to get out of the publisher. Generally, I'd recommend only working with someone who offers you a decent advance. If the advance payment is not an amount you would be at all happy with, if it was the only payment you receive for the work, then waiting on a percentage deal later is probably going to make you even less happy. Generally a slightly higher % would be more normal and your royalties would be calculated as that % minus whatever advance you were paid, so, even when you get royalties, they can take a while. A company which offers a lower percentage and no advance sounds a bit suspicious to me, but you might find them publishing your book useful from a promotional standpoint, so it sort of depends on what you want.
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