Thursday, January 21, 2010

Diane Fanning's in the House

Diane Fanning is an author of both true crime and mystery. She didn’t start off writing books, though. In college, she majored in chemistry, a passion from her high school days (that's her to the left). She later wrote for radio and television and an advertising agency. She’s earned over 70 Addy Awards for her work. When she moved to Texas, she began working in non-profit, including a ten year stint as the Executive Director of Another Way Texas Shares and serving three terms on the State Advisory Committee for the State Employee Charitable Campaign. In 2001, the National Association for Choice in Giving awarded her the Freedom Fighter Award.

Her true crime, Written in Blood, was nominated for the Edgar Allen Poe award and she was featured on 20/20 and 48 Hours. She still writes true crime, but is also now writing multiple mystery series. You can find her on her website, where you can also see a video of her on CBSNewsOnline talking about her work on Mommy’s Little Girl. Or look for her on the blog, Women In Crime Ink, and follow Diane on Twitter.

No Apologies Needed

I often receive apologies from readers for purchasing one of my books at a marked down price. Typically, these messages concern a paperback bought at WalMart at a markdown or a hardcover book pre-ordered on line. They want my forgiveness for diminishing my royalty payment because it was bought on impulse, without thinking or because they simply couldn’t find the book elsewhere.

But, apologies are not needed. I’m delighted they got a bargain. I’m pleased that they saved money. It something I like to do and more power to them all. To prove I mean what I’m saying, I’ll let all of you in on a money-saver.

Right now, if you pre-order a copy of my third Lucinda Pierce book, MISTAKEN IDENTITY, from either Amazon or Barnes & Noble on line, you’ll save more than $9 off the cover price. The book is scheduled for release in February in the UK and in May here in the states. If the past is any indication, the price will probably go up after the UK release. Or in that trite old phrase: “Buy now and save.”

Why am I so cavalier about readers paying less for my books? For one simple reason, with both my true crime with St. Martin’s Press and my fiction with Severn House, my publishers pay me royalties based on a percentage of the cover price. This practice is an industry standard—not universal but very typical.

Who, then, loses money on this deal? It’s not the author or the publisher. It is the bookseller. Although there are exceptions, booksellers typically pay the publisher 60% of the cover price. If they decide that they can sell more books by cutting the price, they are cutting into their profits for each individual book, with the hope that the volume of sales will make up for that shortfall.

There are times, however, where I do not receive a percentage of the cover price and my cut is based on the publisher’s actual sales price. That situation has arisen for me several times with St. Martin’s Press. However, in order to make that deal, St. Martin’s needs to have my authorization. And I have granted permission, every time.

I am certain my approval sounds counter-intuitive. Why would possess an author to willingly accept lower royalties? For me, it was international sales. In order to gain readership of my true crime books in foreign countries, I have to get them on the shelves. No books equals no sales equals no royalties. As Billy Preston sang, “Nothing from nothing is nothing.”

I and the publisher make this decision to compensate for the money spent to send the books overseas. Paper is a heavy commodity, making shipping costs high. For books by an author who is not well known in a particular country, the added expense forces sellers to mark-up the book to a price that would scare away most potential purchasers.

To make it possible and profitable to these book dealers, St. Martin’s Press agrees to sell at a price that is less than 45% of what is printed on the cover. I agree to accept a royalty percentage of that lower purchase price and the foreign seller agrees to pay in advance and not make any returns. As a result, I get some money that I wouldn’t have otherwise and, in addition, I get paid for that sale in my next royalty check with nothing held back for possible returns in the future—as is common practice with most sales. As a direct result, I have built up a reader base in South Africa, Australia, the UK and elsewhere.

So don’t worry about taking advantage of bargains on my account. Just go out and buy books—the more the better. Read more. Build your library quicker. Give gifts to family and friends. Just buy books wherever you find them.

I and my fellow authors thank you from the tips of our busy fingers to the bottoms of our hearts!

Thank you, Diane!

Diane’s a prolific writer. You may wonder what someone who investigates murders and crimes, interviews serial killers, and publishes about two books each year is like. I can tell you firsthand she’s open-hearted and a good friend.

Diane will be dropping by today, so leave her a “howdy” or a question.


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26 comments:

  1. Thanks for the insider look into foreign royalties!

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  2. Cool. Thanks for the insights. I had no idea about any of that. Now I don't feel so bad for getting my books at BigW.

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  3. Thanks for the article, I learned some things. And hey - if I could just LAND a Walmart deal I'd be happy as a pig in slop ... the volume of sales far outweighs the reduced royalties per book.

    Marvin D Wilson

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  4. It is my pleasure to be here on Helen's blog. Glad to hear you found my piece informative.

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  5. Thanks Diane - very helpful information. I appreciate how much thought you've given these procedures - I think your intuition does you well especially married to your good reason! How do independent book sellers make out in all this? That is my usual reason for not shopping at Walmart or even if I can help it, online.

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  6. Yes, your post is chock full of very eye opening information.

    I tend to buy books from my local non chain bookstore (Politics & Prose).

    They host author chats and classes, and are very knowledgeable about books and love to chat with customers. There's also an intimate coffee shop!

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  7. Sounds like a great bookstore, Marisa.

    Thank you, Diane, for talking about this. I'm glad to see how it breaks down for the author and the bookstore.

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  8. I am a huge fan of independent bookstores and make purchases through my favorite one, Murder by the Book in Houston whenever I can. I also buy a lot of books through chain stores when I do signings, usually at Barnes & Noble.

    But I know many of my readers do not have access to independents and I cannot ignore their only sources for new books.

    I am in a similar situation. I live in a small city where there are no independent book stores and the only book store in town is Hastings. I try to visit independents whenever I am out of town. I just installed the Local Books app on my iPhone that will find where I am through GPS and give me a list of all the bookstores and libraries in the area. I look forward to using it the next time I am in a strange town. I look forward to browsing new stores along the way.

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  9. 70 Addy Awards? Guess all that research has paid off!

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  10. Thank you for the finance, er, economics (?) lesson. This post is one more reminder that it is important to learn the business behind the craft.

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  11. Hello Diane and Helen, Interesting explanation of the foreign royalties. You've made a valid point, that the ultimate goal of building an audience outweighs the ups and downs of the royalties. Expanding the reader base and bringing them back for the next book seems to maybe compensate for the fluctuations in royalties?

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  12. When a reader finds a "discounted" book that catches their attention they are more inclined to purchase it. That hooks them on the author and they want to buy more books. Thanks for the interesting post on how the system works for writers and publishers.

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  13. Lots of great information here. Thanks.

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  14. I was always curious as to how booksellers made sales. Thanks.

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  15. It's nice to know we can enjoy a bargain without the guilt!

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  16. Hey, got enough guilt in my life. I'm glad, too, not to have guilt from buying discounted books.

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  17. I'm interested to know you can push for getting paid cover price. I have to admit here we are always forced to accept the booksellers prices. :( Next contract I'll try my luck. Maybe I'm nosey but what is the common royalty rate in USA? I used to get 10% but now I push for 12% (worst case), 15% (normal) and occassionally 18% (if they really want my book and fear I'll go elsewhere as I've learned to be NOT loyal).

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  18. Howdy, Diane. Howdy, Hel. Thanks for an informative blog post. I suspect that if I purchase one of your books at below list price and I like it, I'm more likely to buy the next one at full price.

    Your work sounds interesting, Diane.

    Bob Sanchez
    http://bobsanchez1.blogspot.com

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  19. Wow! Interviews serial killers too? I wonder how one would gain access to such people for an interview. Best wishes for your continued success.

    Stephen Tremp

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  20. Wow! Interviews serial killers too? I wonder how one would gain access to such people for an interview. Best wishes for your continued success.

    Stephen Tremp

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  21. Lauri,
    Yes, you should push for cover price royalties. There are some publishers who won't budge but you never know until you try. I've seen paperback royalty rates as low as 7.5% and hardcover as low as 10%. It varies from publisher to publisher and you can always ask for more.
    Bob, You are exactly right. I am more likely to try a new writer if I don't have to pay full cover price. If I love the book, I would buy another by the same author for full price without hesitation.
    Stephen, My experience is that if someone is in prison and rarely if ever getting visitors, they'll put you on the visitors list. This is particularly true for those who are in lock-down 23 hours a day as is the case with many serial killers.

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  22. It's really helpful to get information on royalty rates and discounts from an author with many publications behind her in different genres and countries. Thanks Diane.

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  23. Great, informative post -- thanks, Diane and Helen!

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  24. Book industry is so complicated. Thanks Diane and Helen for the insight!

    Really Angelic

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    I don't mean this in a bad way, of course! Societal concerns aside... I just hope that as technology further advances, the possibility of transferring our memories onto a digital medium becomes a true reality. It's a fantasy that I daydream about almost every day.


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