Quote:
Originally Posted by Archimedes
I think what we owe authors is not a legal obligation, but a self-imposed moral obligation. Well, considering that in 2013 most books are selling for around $10, of which the author gets roughly a half (or a little less), something between $5 and $10 would be generous, and not too generous.
About reviews: I love to write them. Young people still see writing as a chore, but as you get older, you'll see the pleasure in writing, especially non-fiction, such as a review. I started reviewing for Amazon, purely voluntarily, and that's where I found that I loved writing a brief review.
Get started on Amazon (you don't have to review only what you buy there), books, movies, equipment. Take pride in the review: check your spelling, for instance; pretty soon you'll get some positive feedback, and boinggg!
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For traditional publishers, the author does not get half (I think Stephen King is one of the few who gets nearly that. ) For hardcover (at about 25 list) the author gets approximately 3.50 last time I checked some of the writers who talk about contracts. For mass market paperback, the author gets roughly 35 cents for a 7.99 paperback. The larger paperback forms yield approximately 2 to 3 dollars for the author, but it depends on various retailers and bulk orders that might be done for a library system, etc.
More popular authors are able to get more, but the average writer is getting 7 to 15 percent of cover prices under many contracts.
Self-published (whether backlist or not) can get anywhere from 35 percent to 70 for ebooks. It ranges, depending on what the author charges and what retailer (not all retailers are matching Apple's and Amazon's 70 percent. Smashwords pays around 80 percent. B&N pays 60 or 65 for most pricing.) For print books, an indie author gets 35 cents to around 3.50 (depends on where the book is published. Secondary retailers take a cut so on any given platform the payout to author really varies.)
One of the reasons that indie publishing is so popular is because Amazon started giving authors 35 percent. When Apple came along and offered authors 70 percent, Amazon matched that (with certain prices).