I'm an author with an independent publisher... I get a very low advance (usually $1-2000), but am offered a slightly higher royalty than bigger publishers. It means that i have very little to sustain me at the beginning of the process (so i have a day job), but start getting royalty cheques in the first six months. I personally much prefer this system, as getting an advance is a bit scary, because you're getting paid for something you haven't done yet! Getting paid in royalties instead makes me feel like I really earned it.

It also means that my publisher has more money at the beginning to spend on the design of my book, which makes more people pick it up and buy it...