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I'm not "giving up 85% of my money in perpetuity". Yes, authors get paid a royalty of 6%-25% of the cover price. However, the biggest cut of the cover price go
by cstross 12y ago
I'm not "giving up 85% of my money in perpetuity".
Yes, authors get paid a royalty of 6%-25% of the cover price. However, the biggest cut of the cover price goes to the distribution/retail chain. And when I say "biggest" I mean "50-70%".
In general, the publisher spends about the same amount as the author royalties on production and manufacturing overheads. And reaps the same again as their profit share.
Between us my publishers and I typically end up getting 20-30% of the price of each book sold, with another 10% going on production costs. Amazon then take 50-70%. They may choose to pass half their share on to the consumers, but they're still trousering more profit than my publisher and I get, combined.
- Turing_Machine 12y ago" However, the biggest cut of the cover price goes to the distribution/retail chain. And when I say "biggest" I mean "50-70%"." Unless you put it in KDP, in which case you get 70% and the retail chain gets 30%. With respect to perpetuity, maybe your contracts are better than most people get but "term of copyright" is quite common.
- cstross 12y agoTwo words: "reversion clause". This is what literary agents are for.
- Turing_Machine 12y agoTwo more words: "good luck". Especially if you're relying on an "agent" rather than a real attorney.
- WalterBright 12y agoBTW, though I don't agree with many of your points, I appreciate that you're taking the time to post here. Thank you!