Payment to author from people in palaces? (7)
I believe the answer is:
royalty
'payment' is the definition.
(I know that royalty is a type of payment)
I can't explain the rest of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for royalty that I've seen before include "Ready for performance" , "Kings, queens, etc" , "Majestic quality" , "Palace residents" , "Regal status" .)