Crossword Genius

Author’s earnings from connections with ruling families (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

royalties

'author's earnings' is the definition.
(payments to an author for each book sold)

'connections with ruling families' is the wordplay.
'connections' becomes 'ties' (tie is a kind of connection).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'ruling families' becomes 'royal' (royal families).
'ties' put after 'royal' is 'ROYALTIES'.

'from' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for royalties that I've seen before include "Appropriate payments" , "Writer's payments" , "Payments to composers" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.