Author and talk-show host Glenn Beck has signed a wide-ranging contract with CBS Corp.'s Simon & Schuster publishing arm that gives him profit participation in each new book, a perk the publisher has traditionally reserved solely for its most important writers, such as Stephen King.

The deal reduces the publisher's risk by paring Mr. Beck's advances at a time when the book business is rocky.

The move also locks in an author whose media presence has helped make him a best-selling writer. According to Simon & Schuster, Mr. Beck's first book, the 2003 nonfiction work "The Real America," sold 50,000 hardcovers; 2007's nonfiction "An Inconvenient Book" sold 500,000 hardcovers; and his novel "The Christmas Sweater," published in 2008, sold 775,000 hardcovers.

Authors typically receive a royalty of 15% of the publisher's suggested retail price on hardcover titles and a 7% to 10% royalty on paperbacks, money paid out after publishers have recouped their advance. Mr. Beck will accept smaller advances in exchange for a share in the profits. The deal will also provide him with more creative control over how his books are designed and marketed.

"I'd rather take a lower advance and have a partnership," Mr. Beck, 45 years old, said. "I'll bet on myself and a smart person on the other side of the table every time." Mr. Beck said he took satisfaction in having a deal similar to that of Mr. King, noting that Mr. King described him in a magazine column as "Satan's mentally challenged younger brother."