Traditional Publishing Truth

[VydorScope]

Better read this fast, the original article was pulled, but Google still has it in cache...

http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...&ct=clnk&gl=uk

I think some will find that very eye-opening.

[Ranny]

Very interesting read and you can see why authors prefer selling ebooks.

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by Ranny

Very interesting read and you can see why authors prefer selling ebooks.

Quite true.

[Ken.Hagdal]

Thank you for the link. Sad that she felt she had to pull her post.

[VydorScope]

Originally Posted by Ken.Hagdal

Thank you for the link. Sad that she felt she had to pull her post.

As I understand it, most trad contracts have a "do not speak about the terms" clause in them. She might have gotten in trouble for violating that. That is just a guess though.

[crich70]

As a side note all 4 of her books are available as ebooks over at Amazon.
Click

[James_Wilde]

All this makes me now much more willing to buy ebooks instead of pbooks.

[BookCat]

I think that article was just whingeing. Surely all authors understand that an advance is an advance on royalties, not a gift. It's a bit like when I used to let rooms and took a month's advance rent plus deposit. The rent allowed them to live there for a month, then they'd pay me again to live there for another month. Likewise, advances on royalties, if £5,000 covers the first £5k of the royalties an author makes on the book, when that figure is exceeded, the author begins receiving royalty payments.

This is nothing new to anyone who has an interest in writing, so I felt she was just having a bit of a moan. Unless the piece was written for non-writers who have the mistaken impression that writers make lots of money when only a few do.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by BookCat

I think that article was just whingeing. Surely all authors understand that an advance is an advance on royalties, not a gift. It's a bit like when I used to let rooms and took a month's advance rent plus deposit. The rent allowed them to live there for a month, then they'd pay me again to live there for another month. Likewise, advances on royalties, if £5,000 covers the first £5k of the royalties an author makes on the book, when that figure is exceeded, the author begins receiving royalty payments.

This is nothing new to anyone who has an interest in writing, so I felt she was just having a bit of a moan. Unless the piece was written for non-writers who have the mistaken impression that writers make lots of money when only a few do.

How is it whingeing? She said several times that she wasn't bashing her publisher and that she wasn't complaining.

I'm going to give you the lowdown. Get ready. (And please know that I am NOT bashing my publisher. They are a business, so it's safe to say their goal is to make money along with spreading the love of reading.)

And I'm happy - so grateful. I truly am. Please, please don't think this post is about me complaining or being negative. I simply want to dispel the myth that all published authors are loaded with money. It's an unhealthy assumption that hurts and disappoints all involved.

[Lemurion]

Thanks for posting it, but that article's all information that is very readily available. If you're considering publication and don't know that, you haven't done your due diligence.

The other thing to remember is that while the average indie author starts getting paid faster and gets more money per book, the vast majority don't make $10,000 for their first book either, no matter how it gets spread out.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

Thanks for posting it, but that article's all information that is very readily available. If you're considering publication and don't know that, you haven't done your due diligence.

The other thing to remember is that while the average indie author starts getting paid faster and gets more money per book, the vast majority don't make $10,000 for their first book either, no matter how it gets spread out.

And even authors who are big names now (like Stephen King for example) started out in exactly the same way.

[Lemurion]

If you already have a following and a backlist, you'd be a fool to put it with a commercial house. However, if you're just starting out it's well worth the time to look at all your options and balance them out. Neither commercial nor indie publishing is right for everyone.

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by BookCat

Surely all authors understand that an advance is an advance on royalties, not a gift.

She's a young adult author addressing her readers, especially ones who ask for freebees.

Originally Posted by VydorScope

As I understand it, most trad contracts have a "do not speak about the terms" clause in them.

I don't think HarperCollins should do that. They should see themselves in the business of disseminating information, not suppressing it. They also are in the business of making money, but I can't believe there is solid evidence that such clauses increase publisher profits.

[latepaul]

I imagine it's a negotiation thing.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by latepaul

I imagine it's a negotiation thing.

I'd guess that negotiation comes later after someone has sold a number of books. What exactly would a novice writer have to negotiate with?