MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Bookbub -- are authors getting duped?

eggheadbooks1 · 12-01-2015, 06:10 PM

I keep hearing authors rave about Bookbub, and getting chosen seems to be a badge of honor, and yet...

I looked at their pricing. For example, in Crime Fiction they charge $940.00 for the ad if the book is priced less than $1.00. The average sales are 3360. At $0.99 per sale the royalty rate (35%) is $1164.24. That's an average fee of almost 81% of your royalties.

More importantly, they have 3,290,000+ subscribers for Crime Fiction. But at 3360 sales, that's only a .1% buy rate. In other words, 99.9% of all Bookbub subscribers DO NOT BUY. That's abysmal! Why would an author want to be in a bookstore where only .1% of customers buy? And pay for the "privilege" to be in it?

Or take Supernatural Suspense. Average downloads are 980 yet Bookbub charge $360.00 for a book priced below $1, which is $20.43 MORE than what the author earns in royalties. So Bookbub take all the author's royalties and then some. This strikes me as absurd.

On top of all this Bookbub earn affiliate income from Amazon.

So, fantastic for Bookbub but crap for the author. Is this a case of the Emperor's new clothes? Are authors getting duped?

Your thoughts?

12-01-2015, 06:10 PM	#1
eggheadbooks1 Read, don't parrot. Posts: 224 Karma: 110242 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: Kindle Fire, Kobo Touch, Aldiko for Android	Bookbub -- are authors getting duped? I keep hearing authors rave about Bookbub, and getting chosen seems to be a badge of honor, and yet... I looked at their pricing. For example, in Crime Fiction they charge $940.00 for the ad if the book is priced less than $1.00. The average sales are 3360. At $0.99 per sale the royalty rate (35%) is $1164.24. That's an average fee of almost 81% of your royalties. More importantly, they have 3,290,000+ subscribers for Crime Fiction. But at 3360 sales, that's only a .1% buy rate. In other words, 99.9% of all Bookbub subscribers DO NOT BUY. That's abysmal! Why would an author want to be in a bookstore where only .1% of customers buy? And pay for the "privilege" to be in it? Or take Supernatural Suspense. Average downloads are 980 yet Bookbub charge $360.00 for a book priced below $1, which is $20.43 MORE than what the author earns in royalties. So Bookbub take all the author's royalties and then some. This strikes me as absurd. On top of all this Bookbub earn affiliate income from Amazon. So, fantastic for Bookbub but crap for the author. Is this a case of the Emperor's new clothes? Are authors getting duped? Your thoughts?