Getting your novel picked up as the basis of a high profile film release certainly helps, in both direct cash and increase in visibility/sales for that book and its sequels.

Like all entertainment, being an author is generally not lucrative unless you are established as an author or some other kind of entertainer with name recognition. Once you are and can negotiate things like film rights or future book royalties then the sky is the limit.

Funny, I just found their reddit account a day or two ago by accident while looking up something tech related. Made me wonder how much of it was due to my search and how much of it due to the importance of his account due to the IAmA.

I'll take "Paywalled articles I have no desire to read" for $400, Alex. What a silly topic. It's more of interest to real estate agents than Sci Fi fans.