Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew H.
Sorry, no. Even cursory research will show you that 70-80% of books don't earn back their advance. This is well understood and has been the case for many years.
Of course, when a book hits it really big, it makes up for a lot of losers.
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That a book doesn't earn out it's advance just means that the author won't see any additional royalties. It says nothing about the publisher's profit.
Let see: Advance of $5,000, royalty rate of 10%. Hard back print run of 2,500 at retail price of $25, wholesale $11.25. If all sold, that would be $6,000 in royalties. However, there's only a sell-through of 40% - 1,000 copies. Royalties due on 1,000 copies is only $2,500. Has the publisher lost money? Let's see.
Income: $11.25*1000 + $1 (remaindered)*1500 = $12,750
Less printing/shipping/handling: $3750
Less advance: $5000
Less cover art and typesetting: $1000
Gross profit: $3000.
Not too bad, for a short print run with low sales