Quote:
Originally Posted by ProfCrash
Or Publishers could rethink their contracts and start offering larger royalties. If Authors are moving to Amazon Encore because they are getting a larger piece of the pie then the traditional Publishers need to change how they do business.
Maybe the traditional Publishers need to focus on ebook only lines that are less expensive to produce, focus less on signing bonuses, and offer larger royalties. They don't have to match Amazon's rate. If they offer something larger then what they currently offer, say 50%, for e-books and those books will be sold in all the major stores then indie authors might be more willing to sign with the traditional Publisher.
Amazon is acting in its best interest. It is a business, that is what businesses do. Barnes and Nobles and Borders did the same thing when they employed business practices that hurt independent bookstores. It is time that the Publishers did the same thing. Develop deals that benefit them and the authors and entice them away from Amazon Encore.
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I think that a big part of the traditional publishing and authoring business is the
Advance!.
I see authors so tied into the "advance" system that they do whatever the publisher wants. Even if they make a good bit of money, they come down to the wire (really starting to work on the next book) and they have run out of money and they need that advance just to pay bills. It is a "hand to mouth" trap where the money goes from the publisher's hand to the mouth of the author. The publishers really work this angle. I believe they would prefer not to deal with authors who don't need the money so much. All publishers like that advantage.
I talked to a couple once who worked as a writing team and had a proven track record. They had just gotten a nice payday and I was nearby and came over to help them celebrate. The man and I had been friends for years. The couple had just paid off all their bills, and short term loans, and had a fair amount of money left. They were planning to leave for Antigua in 3 days, for a month of sailing, diving, and the like.
Then they were coming back to get their next advance and start working on their next project.
I asked why not just skip the month's vacation, get to work on the book for 4 to 6 months or so (at home where it is cheaper and the rent is being paid anyway) and get ahead of the curve. Perhaps they could even get a better deal.
There was an air of incredulity, even bordering slightly on hostility from the wife. "You just don't understand!. You have a business. You don't really have to write. We are writers. This is how it works. We need some time off in the sun."
I let it go, poured a little more wine into the toasting flute from their wedding a few years earlier, and said that they were right of course, and it was all smiles and pleasantries again.
I was reminded of the old song about coal mining. "You load 16 tons, and what do you get? Another day over and deeper in debt." The two sides, the publishers and the authors were actually comfortable in their relationship. It was what they knew.
Now a new player and a new medium are disturbing the old equilibrium. When the music stops, a few players will not have a chair anymore.