Quote:
Originally Posted by mcrow
The big advantage is that commercial/traditional publishers have the ability to market and place books in stores a lot easier.
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The new US baseline contract terms DWS refers to do not guarantee a print edition so there may not be any book to place on shelves. Neither do they guarantee any marketing, editing, specific release date, attainable reversion terms, or "nurturing".
They do offer up advances in the $2000-3000 range, royalties of 25% of "net" (with net defined as whatever is left after the publisher is done deducting whatever they feel they need to deduct), and 50% of whatever they negotiate for subsidiary rights, often to themselves. They also come with non-compete clauses, rollover rights, and the right to demand the return of the advance (plus interest). They also come with the promise to distribute the ebook to major ebookstores (i.e., Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Apple, etc)
And all they ask for is control of the copyright for the next hundred years or so.
Doesn't matter whether you call them traditional or commercial, that is what the NYC corporate publishers offer to newcomers in this year 2013. Whatever their precursors once did, whatever their brethren might be doing elsewhere, is irrelevant; the reality of BPH publishing today is what DWS is reporting on.
Anybody who wants a better deal had better be related to a BPH exec, already be selling more than 50,000 copies (the new minimum for corporate publishing to retain midlisters ), or already an indie publishing success.
Edit:
On book marketing, 2013:
http://kriswrites.com/2013/11/20/the...lity-part-one/
On book distribution, 2013:
http://kriswrites.com/2013/12/25/the...ability-kinda/