Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
If the publisher expects to make substantial money on ebook sales, it's reasonable for the author to request/demand more of an advance against expected royalties....
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And if publishers expect ebooks to
replace paper sales, rather than
increase overall sales numbers?
What if they expect net book sales (in units sold) to remain the same, while revenues drop due to retailer pressures to reduce the wholesale prices, and readers spend their saved money on other things? Should the authors receive a smaller advance in expectation of this outcome?
And while I can't blame authors for wanting to reserve rights, that is one factor that slows the advancement of ebooks. For example, an author may not want to grant international ebook rights to a US publisher, but this is exactly what slows down international distribution of the ebook version.
I can see how the royalty rate might be up for grabs, but I really don't see how this should specifically impact advances, especially if international rights are still treated separately.