Do writers like Jerry Seinfeld make more money in residuals than other writers? So residuals are just what you get when you write an episode and every run somewhere. And that rate is negotiated by the Writers Guild of America, and the studios, and it’s set across the board. So all writers get paid the same amount of money, that same rate. The difference is every time your episode reruns someplace, you get that rate again and again and again, and Seinfeld was a hit show, so they run it more often. So he gets that check more often. But it’s the same amount that all the other writers might make. Seinfeld of course, was also an actor on the show. So he gets rerun money for his acting appearances as well. But the bulk of Seinfeld’s fortune doesn’t come in residual checks that come in those green envelopes, it’s from ownership points of the show that he co-created with Larry David. So every time that show sells someplace, he gets a giant check. That Brinks truck comes to his house and they back it up and all the gold coins dump out. So that’s where he makes most of his money. It’s not residuals it’s ownership points, back-end points of the show. All right. So for more information and knowledge about how to become a television writer and how to make it in the business, you can follow and subscribe @MichaelJaminwriter.
