We’ve been talking about authors moving to doing their own e-books because publishers offer a low rate to the authors. Now
an agent has taken a bold move.
[Literary agent Sonia Land] called on publishers to up their rates from 25% to 50% of net proceeds from e-books to secure digital rights.
She took one of her authors who had 100 books, but the estate hadn’t received an offer of e-publishing from the print publisher, and e-published them through her own company.
They never approached me with a deal, but I think they knew I wanted a better offer.
A Transworld Publishers spokesman said:
We have broad and ongoing talks with agents to explain the economics of e-book publishing and our confidential royalty rates are part of our strategy for the e-book market which is constantly evolving in what we believe to be the best interests of our authors and the industry as a whole.
What do you think? Should the author get more than 25% on their e-book? Or does the publisher do enough work in promotion and converting the print book to e-book to justify their getting 75%? And why is it that part of the strategy for the e-book market is to keep the royalty rates confidential?
As an author who is going the self-pubbed route, I think I shouldn't comment.
ReplyDeleteAs a reader who had the bright idea of buying e-books for all my fiction works so that I could have more storage space for fellow book-a-holic and husband, I was shocked to discover that many ebooks (on newly released books or old classics) are exorbitantly high. Admittedly $2 of each price is the whispersync international fee, but still.
So I suggest anything that doesn't drastically lower the price of e-books compared to print books is going to stop me as a reader buying books, whether the author has self-pubbed or chosen the traditional route.
Judy (South Africa)
I have to agree with Judy above. There are two big issues with the big name publishers and their venture into ebook sales. They aren't sharing the wealth with the authors and they're charging way too much for a book with little overhead compared to a hard back or even paperback. Some of them are going to slowly go down with the ship they're too stubborn to make repairs to.
ReplyDeleteA 50-50 split should be the lowest rate publishers pay their authors because writrs do 90% of the work. I've been on both sides of the publishing coin and know how much time it actually takes to produce a book.
ReplyDeleteI add my cheers to both Judy and Susan. There is no reason for an ebook to command the same price as print. Even at a lower price, the author should get a higher percentage. There's little overhead and it's just not that hard to accomplish - witness the number of self-pubbed authors who manage it. Gone are the days when one needed to rely on a publisher to succeed. Sadly, some of those publishers will not get it. May they rest in peace...or whatever. ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd Jean! She snuck in there while I typed.
ReplyDeleteJean is like a whisper on the wind, Laura. She surprises you.
ReplyDeleteThe big names with big publishers are still charging close to what it would cost you to buy a print book. (Not that those authors have much say over what the publisher puts as the price.) Those who self-pub their e-books seem to be following the trend of lowering the price to up their sales numbers.
I receive a higher royalty on eBooks than on print. I think 25% or more is fair.
ReplyDeleteI'm following these discussions with interest and would like to see the rates start at a 50-50 split for ebooks. It sometimes seems like the big pub houses are just digging their heels in the sand and won't budge from old models, old thinking. Helen, any clue as to why they don't seem to embrace the potentials of digital and lead the pack?
ReplyDeleteJoanne, I'm only guessing, but I think they were taken by surprise. They were shocked that e-books became so popular so fast. Second, e-books hurt their bottom line. They make more selling print books in bookstores. Third, they thought the bookworld could not do without them. They were the ones who decided what books would be printed. They are scrambling to catch up. Unfortunately, e-books are selling fast. So they think to make money they must go with the big celebrity and political books. They're not taking on as many new authors or midlist authors. But people are slacking off on buying the costly, worthless books like Snookie whatever. While big publishers are trying to plug holes in their boat, authors and readers are sailing off. It's a scary world right now for publishers, agents and authors. Change is always scary.
ReplyDeleteOne of these days (if I ever get to that point in the writing process) I'm really going to have to research all of this. Thankfully there are people like you who will always keep me informed and up-to-date.
ReplyDeleteOnce you figure in the agent's percentage, that's not much for the writer in royalties. I think 14.9% is the figure kicked around most recently. That's awful.
ReplyDeleteIf the publisher is not going to market and publicize the e-book, and most of them do not for mid list writers, then the author ought to get a bigger share of the pie. 40% would be a good starting point.
I agree that ebooks priced almost the same as print is idiotic. Price them lower. It's not like you have to invest in paper or ink. It's one file that is duplicated endlessly and had to be formatted once (if it was done correctly). Even at 40%, and 60% would be better, the author will still make money, more since they will make it up by selling more books.
Helen,
ReplyDeleteSmall press and e-only publishers have typically paid royalties of at least 50% on e-books for years. They typically price their e-books much less than the big guys, also. Authors who self-publish to Kindle can get up to 70% royalty (less a nominal delivery fee) for e-books priced at $2.99 or more ... and the author/publisher sets the price.
I ditto the comments for a 50-50 split on e-publishing. The big boys are greedy, but will soon learn the change has begun. Everyone is trying to survive, they need to start looking at the big names who are moving to S/P ebooks.
ReplyDeleteI note with interest, Catherine Cookson's family are going to produce her books in e format. They are not happy with the publisher's reluctance to do so.
What a wonderful bit of PR spin from the Transworld publisher. LOL The reason the royalty rates are confidential is that they do not want authors to know how much is going into the publisher's coffers compared to how little is going into the authors'. The big publishers are trying to subsidize the cost of printing, marketing and distributing their paper books with revenue from e-books. It does not cost much at all to publish an e-book, or a nice trade paperback via services offered at Amazon and other site.
ReplyDeleteI have not heard of the $2 fee for Whispersync, that Judy mentioned. I have not paid anything like that for the e-book I published at Smashwords and Kindle. One Small Victory is priced at $2.99 and if I had to pay some kind of $2 fee, I would have priced it higher.
I really appreciate all of you coming by and telling us what you think and know. A lot of you are there in the trenches and have first-hand experience.
ReplyDeleteFrom my perspective, I'm self published and and going to CreateSpace. I gave iUniverse my 30 day notice. So I'm completely on my own. I like the percentage CreateSpace, Kindle, and SMashwords give. Of course, I would like to sign on with one of the Big Six. But until then I'm happy with the 70% commission.
ReplyDeleteGood for her! I firmly believe publishers are out to lunch on ebook pricing. I'd love to hear that pitch"
ReplyDelete"broad and ongoing talks with agents to explain the economics of e-book publishing and our confidential royalty rates are part of our strategy... "
Yeah, part of their strategy to maximize the profits from their brand new cash cow.
~jon
Actually, if the author has someone to edit the story, he/she could e-publish it his/herself anymore. Helen, your job as an editor is secure. ;)
ReplyDelete70%, even with discounts, sure beats 14.9%, or whatever 12% minus the agent's 15% would be. It pays to do it yourself.
ReplyDeleteI just received the first proof for my latest novel and it is beautiful. I went through Create Space and even though there have been plenty of rumblings that CS was doing shoddy work, I see none of it in my book. I had to make some changes that got lost in conversion, but otherwise, this is quality work. One more proof and then I okay and we're off to the races. There is something to be said with being part of the process and having more control.
There seems to be a lot of blogging about traditional publishing vs self publishing lately, myself included. I've broken down some figures over at Caesars Through the Fence with regards to what we actually earn both ways.
ReplyDeleteI've blogged before about the wonderment of why publishers charge the same for an ebook as they do print, and having self published four books now, I can say it costs nothing to upload a book to Amazon or Smashwords or Pubit. It takes a little time to format the book properly (which publishers might take more care with, since the majority of complaints about poor formatting are on books put up by publishers *ahem*) and we have to make new covers and pay to have it professionally edited, but the publisher has already had all that done via the print copy. So where is there cost?
And why would royalty rates be kept confidential? Likely because the publisher is too embarrassed to admit he's ripping the authors off.
70% commission sounds pretty nice, Stephen!
ReplyDeleteI agree Jon. Publishers are not helping their case.
That's good news, Glynis.
J.M., there's also some sweet about being one of the trailblazers, I would think.
Thanks marshacanham. I think a big factor in this shift in the publishing world has to do with bloggers. Bloggers have brought a light to shine on the industry.
Helen, it seems to be pretty sweet for the trailblazers I've been reading, like Konrath and Hocking, but not everyone will get the same results. I'm sure plenty of writers will fall into the midlist range, but it will be a healthier and more profitable range. The big trick is getting people to read your books when you only have one or two out there. It seems that numbers are key. The more books you have available, the more potential readers see your name, and the more likely you are to have early success.
ReplyDeleteI don't have an inventory of books ready for self-publishing. Most of the books I didn't finish weren't good enough for publication and I refuse to put just anything out there. I am working on another book and putting out some short stories, but it takes time to get recognized, especially when most reviewers "don't do e-books," which is why I decided to take my novel to print earlier than intended. It's all about numbers -- and how how I want to work to be able to live on my writing royalties and not have to slog through more wage slavery.
I think 50 per cent is reasonable - it's what many smaller presses offer. If larger publishers price accordingly they should be able to get plenty of ebook sales!
ReplyDeleteYou're right J.M. And there can only be a limited number of trailblazers. The ones who are getting huge payoffs are those who already had a following for the most part. There are some who did not, but are marketing as fast and furious as they can and it's paying off. You're right about having a list of books and short stories for readers to see and choose from. But there have been authors who went with just one - but they, for the most part, started writing at a fast pace and got more books added to their list fairly quickly.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping solid writing and more books as soon as possible will help raise my profile. I don't write paranormal or crime fiction, as such, so that means I won't be an impulse buy in the paranormal or crime sections.
ReplyDeleteSolid writing is probably the best means of getting repeat readers!
ReplyDeleteHave to get them first and then get the word out. It seems that anything other than thrillers, horror and paranormal gets short shrift. I keep hoping.
ReplyDeleteMy South African publisher who is part of a large publishing company is giving 15% on ebooks first published in print and selling them at the same price. It is madness. I fight everytime I get a new contract. In the last one we ended up scratching ebooks completely. I agree they will be obsolete if they do not change.
ReplyDeleteI would be happy to see authors getting better paid.
ReplyDeleteI don't see cost as a major obstacle for getting the books i want to read. I can borrow basically anything in the public library, or I buy cheap paperbacks in the airport bookstore >:)
Cold As Heaven
Lauri, publishers are fighting to get what they consider their fair share. Problem is, authors are beginning to decide their take is not fair.
ReplyDeleteCold As Heaven, the airport bookstores were one of the major reasons my husband bought an iPad. He got tired of being stuck without a book to read and only finding his favorite authors in hardback in the airport stores.
Another ditto for 50% or more for the author. I'd like to see a publisher publish a book without the author! Even celebrity books require a ghostwriter in many cases. Publishers should be very, very afraid right now, and they should be doing everything they can to keep their writers happy.
ReplyDeleteElle
HearWriteNow & Blood-Red Pencil