How much should an author expect to get paid for an Ebook?

[Jaqhama]

Had an offer about Ebooks recently.

I know nowt about them.

Someone tell me how much an author should expect to get paid...and how much in royalties?

All that stuff, I'm clueless.

Cheers: Jaq.

The Jaqzone:
http://kevin-jaqhama-lumley.blogspot.com/
http://alfwarz.blogspot.com/

[crystalwizard]

Since Ebooks have a much lower production cost, most publishers try to set retail cost fairly low as well. I set almost all ebooks I sell at 5 dollars US.

How much should the author get of the profit? That's going to be specific to the publisher. Rule of thumb to go by: You should get paid what you feel your work is worth, regardless of what format it's going to be published in.

New content added on a regular basis.

Visit Abandoned Towers at
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[SilviaMG]

You mean how much you might be paid as an advance? Average right now (I'm talking non-speculative specific) is maybe $10,000.

Tobias Buckell has some figures on advances for first novels:

www.tobiasbuckell.com/2005/10/05/author-advance-survey-version-20/

E-books tend to pay less and if you are with a small e-book publisher then your sales are probably going to be tiny. I can't speak from experience but from what I've heard from others sales can be very, very low. Like say 20 books a month. Which means almost nothing in royalties if your e-book sells for $5.

Right now e-books comprise less than 1 per cent of the publishing business. Numbers have increased but it's still a niche market.

Silvia's online at silviamoreno-garcia.com

[crystalwizard]

SilviaMG said...

E-books tend to pay less and if you are with a small e-book publisher then your sales are probably going to be tiny. I can't speak from experience but from what I've heard from others sales can be very, very low. Like say 20 books a month. Which means almost nothing in royalties if your e-book sells for $5.

The ebook market is wide open, and growing. For someone that's on Fictionwise and well known, you'll sell very well.

It costs far less to produce ebooks than paper or hardbacks
there are no related warehouse or shipping costs

5 bucks is average for cost of an ebook

Since there are no costs associated with sold copies, other than the discount that the publisher gives the distributor or store, the profit margin is much better than it is for print books.

There's no reason that a publisher needs to short change an author on sales of an ebook.

[SilviaMG]

The key though is 'well known.' And even a well known author will sell far, far more copies in print. The people I've personally known doing e-books have not been big names with big publishers so their sales (and advances, if any) have been tiny.

If Jaqhama's publisher is a small e-book publisher money is probably going to be not that much. E-books are not here yet now even if Sony's new reader and the Kindle are trying to change that.

btw, I'd be curious to know how spec magazines that offer physical versus e-copies are doing. I'm thinking F&SF, etc.

Silvia's online at silviamoreno-garcia.com

[crystalwizard]

SilviaMG said...

btw, I'd be curious to know how spec magazines that offer physical versus e-copies are doing. I'm thinking F&SF, etc.

I've been seeing F&SF in B&N again, on the magazine shelves, and B&N also just opened a huge online e-magazine section so they're probably doing okay. I don't know if they make their stats public knowledge beyond what's on their writer's guide page.

[lin]

I don't think it's realistic to expect royalty advances from ebooks. Certainly not from small presses and CERTAINLY not in the ten thousand dollar area. The average advance on regular books from 'real' presses is around five grand.


I would say that on a POD book selling for around $14.95 you might expect to see a dollar, maybe two.

[Jaqhama]

Thanks for all the replies.

Ebook publisher hasn't mentioned an amount yet.
When he does I'll get back to you.

Been offered ten British quid for a short story for a Brit horror anthology collection.
Might rush out and order a new motorcycle.

The Jaqzone:
http://kevin-jaqhama-lumley.blogspot.com/
http://alfwarz.blogspot.com/

[cussedness]

The vast majority of ebook publishers offer between 25% and 27% royalty on cover prices for books sold through distributors. Those who can offer direct sales through their sites will offer 40% on those.

Having done the math, the amount you make per book on an ebook is the same as you can expect to get from a print book giving you 10% on cover price.

At the height of my ebooks sales, I was making between 2 grand and 3 grand a year on my ebooks. My ebook sales averaged between 500 and 1000 copies of each title.

Earlier this year, an altercation with my publisher, led me to demand the rights back to my books and they are set to come out from Daverana Enterprises.

Some books will be lucky to sell 10 copies in their entire online life. Others sell very well (obviously). The type of material that sells best in ebook is BDSM. I can't write it. Tried and blocked completely.

It's a crapshoot. (no pun intended). You can't predict how well a book will do in ebook. One of the things that I think holds the ebook industry back is the tendency to just throw books out and not put the time into editing and so forth. Quantity can do well for the publisher, but not the writer.

Janrae Frank
I have no skeletons in my closet, they are all hanging from the yardarm.

Once there were three brothers, Brandrahoon the vampire, Isranon called the Dawnhand, speaker to spirits, and Waejonan the Accursed, first of sa?necari. Isranon defied his brothers and was destroyed, his descendants forced into the darkness.

Serpent's Quest (Volume one of Lycan Blood)
stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=639663
website
www.janraefrank.com
[url]http://www.daverana.com[/url

[Enigma]

The biggest advance I've gotten for an e-book is $200.00, and that was for my erotica.

[nathan]

SilviaMG said...
You mean how much you might be paid as an advance? Average right now (I'm talking non-speculative specific) is maybe $10,000.

Silvia am I reading you typing that the Average for an e-book advance is 10-grand? 10 thousand dollars? For an e-book? By non-speculative do you mean Romances, Thrillers, Mysteries, Suspense or are you folding in non-fiction?

edit: I just noticed the link I'll read this.

VIEW IMAGE
"Writing the wet dreams of teenage boys" - Lindsey Llyod, Tangent Reviews

Tarantino himself has been forward and unapologetic about his influences. In a 1994 interview with Empire magazine, he said, "I steal from every single movie ever made. If people don't like that, then tough tills, don't go and see it, all right? I steal from everything. Great artists steal, they don't do homages."

[nathan]

Read it. Seems like the average advance according to that particular sample is 5k for first novel. I was hearing 6-8 but prob 5. I can't see how an e-book is going to get 2x's as much.

Not ranting here--just shuffling through.

VIEW IMAGE
"Writing the wet dreams of teenage boys" - Lindsey Llyod, Tangent Reviews

Tarantino himself has been forward and unapologetic about his influences. In a 1994 interview with Empire magazine, he said, "I steal from every single movie ever made. If people don't like that, then tough tills, don't go and see it, all right? I steal from everything. Great artists steal, they don't do homages."

[lin]

You're correct. I doubt anybody ever got a ten grand advance on an eBook in history.

LINTON ROBINSON.com</font>

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[nathan]

No kidding---I think that would make news and send some kind of collective shockwave through the community.


I do remember reading Stephen King made 100K 1$ at a time as a download on his websiteRiding The Bullet (as I recall the title). I imagine JK Rowling or Stephanie Meyers or Paloni, ect, ect could do something similiar.


Of course that was a left turn in the discussion, but still I'm not sure from reading Ralan's that *any* epublisher pays an advance and if they do, that any of those even rise to minimum"pro" rates of 2k as defined by orgs.


However I haven't looked into it a lot and my own experience down that line doesn't make me a cheerleader.


VIEW IMAGE
"Writing the wet dreams of teenage boys" - Lindsey Llyod, Tangent Reviews

Tarantino himself has been forward and unapologetic about his influences. In a 1994 interview with Empire magazine, he said, "I steal from every single movie ever made. If people don't like that, then tough tills, don't go and see it, all right? I steal from everything. Great artists steal, they don't do homages."

[Malachi]

Definitely. I've had better royalty offers by small start-up publishers that were literally one-man outfits operated in their spare time after work, with an operation budget that came 100% out of their own pockets. And, on top of that, most of those didn't have a cover price as high as $15. What they did have, fortunately, were continuous to semi-continuous sales numbers over the span of multiple years. But even if they hadn't had those sales numbers, the offer made ahead of time was still better than $1 out of $15. That's beyond insulting.

Yes, I have gone back to my original nickname.

Art Director: Daverana Enterprises & Flashing Swords Magazine
artdirector@davarana.com

[lin]

A couple of bucks, I beleive I said. But hey, go sign up on lulu, figure out what their price is. Figure out what the 40% amazon takes will be. See what your profit will be, even not splitting with a publisher.

By the way, just for a little perspective here: the standard industry contract tends to run like 10-12-15 percent, with steps up for number sold. That's for books printed on ink presses and costing much less than POD.

Ten percent of $15 is $1.50 Fifteen percent of $14 is two bucks.

Of course eBooks are a different story because they cost ZIP to produce. But they sell for like $6-8, don't they.

TWENTY FIVE percent of $7 is under two bucks.

So, cool. Be insulted.

LINTON ROBINSON.com</font>

MAKE YOUR OWN BOOK PROMO VIDEOS FOR FREE</font>

[lin]

By the way, a lot of highly popular POD presses have produced a confusion factor in discussion of royalties. A lot of the real scammers quote 20-30 percent 'royalty'... for a book the author PAID TO PRODUCE. So, sure.

LINTON ROBINSON.com</font>

MAKE YOUR OWN BOOK PROMO VIDEOS FOR FREE</font>

[lin]

On the other hand, you can produce your own eBook for NOTHING, ship it to customers online for NOTHING charge like $5-8 dollars and give PayPal $.50 fee per transaction and make 5 times as much.

Worth thinking about.

LINTON ROBINSON.com</font>

MAKE YOUR OWN BOOK PROMO VIDEOS FOR FREE</font>

[Malachi]

lin said...
A couple of bucks, I beleive I said. But hey, go sign up on lulu, figure out what their price is. Figure out what the 40% amazon takes will be. See what your profit will be, even not splitting with a publisher.

By the way, just for a little perspective here: the standard industry contract tends to run like 10-12-15 percent, with steps up for number sold. That's for books printed on ink presses and costing much less than POD.

Ten percent of $15 is $1.50 Fifteen percent of $14 is two bucks.

Of course eBooks are a different story because they cost ZIP to produce. But they sell for like $6-8, don't they.

TWENTY FIVE percent of $7 is under two bucks.

So, cool. Be insulted.

And yet, this is not the only business model being used by every branch of online publishing. Some branches actually have their act together, have created and maintained a centralized community, know their markets intimately, and even the small-time nobodies do better than that.

So cool, take that dollar or two. If you get really lucky and sell a couple hundred copies, you'll make a couple hundred dollars.

Yes, I have gone back to my original nickname.

Art Director: Daverana Enterprises & Flashing Swords Magazine
artdirector@davarana.com

[lin]

And yet, this is not the only business model being used by every branch of online publishing. Some branches actually have their act together, have created and maintained a centralized community, know their markets intimately, and even the small-time nobodies do better than that.

So cool, take that dollar or two. If you get really lucky and sell a couple hundred copies, you'll make a couple hundred dollars.


Actually, that's the standard royalty setup for books across the industry.
Apart from the obnoxious nature of this response, it doesn't give any information and.... what, having some dreamtime royalty percentage (which you don't mention) will make you luckier and sell more books.

I'll take your word on the small times nobodies.



Wow, all you guys are having so much fun being snotty jerks, you don't get around to mentioning what you consider a cool wonderful rate of royalty, like the kind that is making you rich on your books.



I guess I should have said, 'People with a modicum of intelligence and know-how can produce eBooks for free'


If you guys decide to quit being twats and put some actually information down so others can laugh at it, it might be worth reading.

LINTON ROBINSON.com</font>

MAKE YOUR OWN BOOK PROMO VIDEOS FOR FREE</font>

[Malachi]

After having read a handful or two of your posts, yes I did have fun being a snotty jerk. Of course I was pressed for time, so I was only about half as snotty as you tend to come across on a regular basis. What can I say; scouting quality artists (you know, the kind that aren't so bottom-of-the-barrel they'll all but pay you to work for you), developing a series of novels or two, discussing design layout issues, emailing business contacts... only had so much time to throw some snotty around. Sorry, wasn't up to your standards, there.

And people with a modicum of quality control can produce e-books for free, it has nothing to do with intelligence. If you can handle writing, editing, layout, art, cover art, marketing, and have the contacts to get it published through something better that <u>lulu</u>... yeah maybe you can just put out an ebook for free. I've been there and done that for a decade or so... but one presumes you have much more experience.

Yes, I have gone back to my original nickname.

Art Director: Daverana Enterprises & Flashing Swords Magazine
artdirector@davarana.com

[lin]

Happy to hear it.

Meanwhile, you girls have slapped up two more loopy posts devoid of any information or any sign of having much in the way of understanding of whatever it was you were snarking about before and avoiding now.

Nice job

LINTON ROBINSON.com</font>

MAKE YOUR OWN BOOK PROMO VIDEOS FOR FREE</font>

[Malachi]

So far in every post I've seen made to you by pretty much anyone, you've managed to stonewall your way into refusing to listen to anything anyone had to say. In all honesty, it seems more than pointless to try to share anything learned in the time we've put into ePublishing. Your posting history indicates it would be like trying to teach a cement block to speak. A shame, but that's about the size of it.

Yes, I have gone back to my original nickname.

Art Director: Daverana Enterprises & Flashing Swords Magazine
artdirector@davarana.com

[lin]

But, dude who can't spell 'wolverine' you aren't SAYING anything are you? You and your boyfriend here are yapping about how stupid I am to quote standard royalty schedules and how it's just do degrading and shit.

But you don't state anything to the contrary, just whinny and snicker and present your buttocks.

Then you come up saying I won't listen.

And how, of course, you are just to cool to talk to me.

Needless to say, I totally agree. I'm just trying to absorb off the wisdom and information you've passed out in this thread. And with such a gracious, cool, convincing attitude, at that.



BTW, it's pretty obvious from YOUR non-informative, whiny posts that you haven't looked at my profile: you're just dreaming up your idea of what I know and who I am to suit you.
Don't let me upset you.

LINTON ROBINSON.com</font>

MAKE YOUR OWN BOOK PROMO VIDEOS FOR FREE</font>

[lin]

I know people who sell pdf's for $99, but around $7-8 is a lot more common. Kind of the median price, I'd say.

So 25% or that is a max of two bucks. Pretty much the figure you guys were hooting and sniggering at like junior high girls until one of you actually got it together enough to state some figures of you your own instead of giggling over mine.

Hilarious.

LINTON ROBINSON.com</font>

MAKE YOUR OWN BOOK PROMO VIDEOS FOR FREE</font>