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Originally Posted by llreader
Let's consider a "parity" situation, an author that could get a book published through a regular publisher. Would an editor be interested in going in on a "book project"?
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From what I understand, the editors are hired on a salary basis by the publisher. The publishers are far more likely to use an editor whose salary they're already paying and who knows all the players at the publishing firm -- and whose primary obligations are to the publisher, rather than the author. (Same for copy editors and so forth.) In some cases this may not be ideal; e.g. the editor may not be the best fit or may not have a lot of experience. However, if the author is in control, it's harder for the editor to say things the author doesn't want to hear (but needs to hear), as the writer can pressure or even fire the editor.
By the way, most professional photographers are pretty fanatical about their rights, and getting paid for their work. The only photographers who would get paid on spec like this are novices and/or desperate. Not sure about illustrators, but I doubt they're much different.
Also, the cost of managing all these royalties will just increase a publisher's overhead and complexity; e.g. instead of one person (the author) expecting and scrutinizing royalties per title, you now have what, 4? 5? Each of which could potentially get difficult or even litigious if they don't get their share.
A lot of authors seem to be pushing for bigger advances; in part to get paid earlier, and in part for bragging rights. I don't know how many authors could afford to pay up front all of the associated costs, especially if they get a smaller advance from the publisher. I.e. even if some authors were interested, they may not have the option to really accept enough of the financial burden to justify a significantly higher percentage of the royalties.
For example, was your friend either willing or able to skip his advance altogether and spend an additional $10,000 or $20,000 to put out his book, even if it meant a higher royalty?
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Originally Posted by llreader
I am not saying the publishers are evil, or thieves, or anything like that (his publisher has been very supportive), but they have a lot of overhead to cover, there are a lot of books to flog, and only so much collective attention out there. With the return an author gets on a book, it can be hard writing worth it. The question is, is there a way to keep a larger percentage of less sales, and do better than with a traditional publisher?
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Although I doubt it's a smooth curve, my expectation is that the only way to increase your share is a) to take on more of the financial risks, and b) to have an agent who can negotiate higher royalties.
However, I also expect that novice writers just don't really know what they need, and don't have the required connections, let alone the baseline prestige to get professional journalists to review the book, for example.
Plus, this is kind of like the author saying "I don't have much faith in my publisher," or the publisher saying "I don't have much faith in the writer." Why would a publisher bust their hump and expend cultural capital for an author where they will get a lower return on their investment?
And, of course, since the only major change ebooks will bring is cutting distribution costs, this type of option really has been available for quite some time. Perhaps some of the bigger names have a deal like this, but just as likely is that they command big advances and big royalties without taking on the extra responsibilities, unless that's their preference (e.g. James Patterson).
So an author who already has a good-sized audience, has the connections, already had the book professional edited, already has cover art and has the experience might do fairly well re-releasing older books in electronic format, say via Amazon DTP. Other writers probably won't benefit quite as much.