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Polis Books is an independent digital publishing company actively seeking new and established authors for our growing list. We are currently acquiring titles in the following genres. Submissions in the following genres should be to [email protected].
We are currently acquiring:
• Mystery
• Thriller
• Suspense
• Procedural
• Traditional crime (i.e. ‘cozies’)
• Science Fiction
• Fantasy
• Horror
• Supernatural
• Urban Fantasy
• Romance
• Erotica
• Commercial Women’s Fiction
• New Adult
• Young Adult
• Humor/Essays
We are not currently acquiring:
• Children’s Picture books
• Graphic novels
• Short stories or stand-alone novellas
• Religion
Submission Requirements:
• Query Letter
• Three Sample Chapters
• Author Biography (include information about personal blogs, Twitter handle, or other social media outlets you feel we should be aware of)
Query letter and sample chapters should be emailed as attachments (not in body of email) to:
Polis Books is an independent digital publishing company actively seeking new and established authors for our growing list. We are currently acquiring titles in the following genres. Submissions in the following genres should be to [email protected].
We are currently acquiring:
• Mystery
• Thriller
• Suspense
• Procedural
• Traditional crime (i.e. ‘cozies’)
• Science Fiction
• Fantasy
• Horror
• Supernatural
• Urban Fantasy
• Romance
• Erotica
• Commercial Women’s Fiction
• New Adult
• Young Adult
• Humor/Essays
We are not currently acquiring:
• Children’s Picture books
• Graphic novels
• Short stories or stand-alone novellas
• Religion
Submission Requirements:
• Query Letter
• Three Sample Chapters
• Author Biography (include information about personal blogs, Twitter handle, or other social media outlets you feel we should be aware of)
Query letter and sample chapters should be emailed as attachments (not in body of email) to:
I know some of my children’s writer friends have written historical or contemporary romance adult novellas. If you have and it has a 25 -35 year old main character, then this might be a good opportunity for you.
Pelican Book Group has opened submissions to Easter Lilies, an annual book series published under the company’s Harbourlight Books imprint. The series consists of only three stories, based upon a specific scripture, released on each day of the Easter Triduum.
Writers are invited to submit stories, 15K-25K words, with elements of traditional or modern romance. The protagonists should be 25-35 years old.
Deadline for submissions is September 30, 2014.
Nicola Martinez serves as Editor-in-Chief. Payment: royalties.
Please note: These series guidelines are in addition to the general guidelines that apply to whichever imprint your submission fits, so please also familiarize yourself with our general guidelines as well.
Easter Lilies
2014 Defining Scripture for Easter Lilies is: Solomon 2:14 “Let me see your face, let me hear your voice, For your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.”
Easter Lilies is our annual special release. Each year, one Easter Lilies story will be released on each day of the Easter Triduum. (Yes, only three stories per year.)
Submission Guidelines:
Easter Lilies are historical or contemporary romances. In addition to adhering to the guidelines for the White Rose imprint, the following is also necessary:
The defining Scripture for the year must be used as a basis for the story. (This scripture will change each year on October 1st)
Stories should be between 15,000 and 25,000 words.
Both the hero’s and heroine’s points of view may be incorporated, however, we’d like these stories to be “hero-driven”, so ideally, stories should focus on the hero’s love developing for his heroine. These stories may be historical or contemporary, but they must be set around the Easter holiday.
Heroes and Heroines should be between the ages of 25 and 35.
In addition to using the current year Easter Lilies scripture as the reference, some symbol of the Easter Lily must also be incorporated. Easter lilies have long been a symbol of purity, motherhood, the trumpet herald of the Angel Gabriel as he visited the Virgin Mary, of resurrection, and more. (Feel free to research and use different symbols. These are listed as example only). How you incorporate any of the symbols is up to you. Whether it’s an actual flower that the hero gives to the heroine (or vice-versa), or a piece of jewelry, or a spiritual experience. The use is up to you. Perhaps your hero is a Christian musician who plays the trumpet. Perhaps your heroine has lily earrings that have been passed through her family. Perhaps your hero had a “resurrection” of his faith through some experience past or present, or maybe your heroine is a mother. How you incorporate the Easter lily symbolism is up to you. It can be subtle or overt, but it has to be there.
Submissions for Easter Lilies are accepted August 1st through September 30th each year. Submissions for Easter Lilies that are received outside this time frame will be discarded without response.
I'm not sure if you've been following the controversy over Random House's new digital-only lines: Hydra, Alibi, Loveswept, and Flirt. Writers have been up in arms because no advance was being offered on these books, like with Random House print authors, and also because copies and other miscellaneous expenses were going to be taken out of the author's royalties. When I first heard about it, I was reading a discussion on the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) listserve I belong to, and the argument was mostly with Hydra and whether or not a book published with this imprint would qualify a writer to belong to the SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America). It turns out the way the Hydra contract was originally written an author was not eligible for SFWA membership.
The good news is that Random House has buckled under the pressure from the writers (YAY!), and they have revised the contract. They didn't give in 100 percent, but they now offer two different models of payment, and one of these offers an advance.
Authors and others in the publishing world who were up in arms seem to be happy with Random House's changes and have said so on blogs and Twitter. To read fully everything that has been going on, you should visit Writer Beware.
What I was hoping to discuss with Muffin readers today is this whole notion of having to get an advance in order to be considered "professional" enough to belong to a writing association. And in some of the blogs I read about this issue, they said that authors weren't taking themselves seriously if they didn't demand an advance. John Scalzi, an author with a popular blog, even said that we should question publishers that can't offer advances and wonder if we will ever get paid our royalties.
So, I'm sitting at my computer in St. Louis, thinking, Well, golly gee, I have three books under contract and am not going to get advances on any of them. I was super excited to get royalties and someone wanting to publish them. I think it helps me with my writing goals of doing school visits, teacher workshops, and teaching online classes. Plus, I like small and regional publishers, and I think they often don't offer advances to an author the first time they work with her or him. And I take myself and my work seriously.
What do you all think about this? If you have a book, did you get an advance? Was it hard to meet your advance? Did you feel pressure? If you aren't published yet, will take a contract without an advance? Would love to hear from you on this issue!
Let me try again. I got way too windy on my initial response.
I can't help thinking it's a simple, economics supply-demand issue. There are so many writers, so many submissions, that publishers, in a sense, have the upper hand right now. Add to that the changing world of books, how people are reading and their willingness to buy books, the profits are being spread thin for publishers as well.
As you suggested, I think most writers want to see their creations enjoyed by readers.
I am glad there are large groups advocating for authors. Corporations are, after all, very bottom-line motivated and the creators can get lost in that shuffle
I think the biggest dealbreakers with the original terms of Hydra did not have to do with no advance. There were other issues: Hydra wanted the rights to the work forever, they were taking all foreign rights, and they were deducting expenses normally absorbed by the publisher such as editorial work and cover art.
The new terms, even for the profit-sharing model, have an out-of-print clause and allow you to negotiate foreign and subrights. That's an important improvement, IMO.
Also, I don't know about SFWA but RWA does allow monies from royalty to count toward membership qualifications for PAN, their subgroup for published authors.
@Julie: Well said, it is a business and the creative person is often not business-minded. In today's world, we have to be or as you said we will be lost in the shuffle. I am glad, too, that the publisher listened to the outrage though. It reminds me of what happened a few years ago in the children's publishing world with book covers.
@Maya: Thanks for adding that--yes, I knew there were many more issues besides the advance, but the blog post I read that bothered me the most was on John's site: WHATEVER and mostly talked about advances--I guess because I haven't gotten one, I took offense. :)
@Amber: I'm not sure. Maybe it means it's a changing world and nobody really knows what's going to happen yet until you get a book or two published and test the market. I write children's books. I write historical fiction and picture books--neither one of those are high money makers right now, and I know that. I am happy that someone is paying me to write and share that with children/teachers/parents. I guess for me it doesn't matter if it's upfront or after. And I guess I wrote this post trying to figure out if it should matter to me OR if it mattered to most and I was a minority.
To all--thanks for your comments! It's an interesting debate/situation. And I definitely don't think publishers should take advantage of new authors, of course; but I also think smaller and mid-level publishers need to have a good business model or they will find themselves going bankrupt in today's market.
Thanks for posting this, Margo! I was unaware of the controversy with Random House's digital-only lines. When we did the E-Publishing Revolution issue a couple of years ago, I was a little shocked to learn that most e-publishers, with few exceptions, do NOT offer advances. I agree with Julie's point of the changing climate of publishing, but I'm not sure if profits are being spread too thin for publishers. I know book stats have always been vague in the publishing industry, but it appears from the publisher-reported stats that digital sales have increased exponentially over the past few years. But I've also heard from other sources like Digital Book World that profits at the larger publishers have risen while sales have remained flat. Are they making profits because of lower advances, less money spent on marketing, and lower production costs for digital books?
Like many other industries it is lopsided and in favor of the conglomerates. Small and mid-size publishers struggle in the marketplace. I think it's up to the individual author to decide what's right for her. And I don't think you should take offense, Margo, about the comments on the advance. SFWA has always had these strict guidelines in place, despite the changing industry. They even have a list of publications you have to have been published in to qualify to apply for a membership!
But what is AWESOME about this story is the power of the people--because writers, organizations, agents, and readers spoke out against this contract, Random House changed it.
I love discussions like this! I'd love to see more of this on The Muffin. :)
Ang: You are right. :) I should look at it in a more positive light--power to the people--makes me think a little of the scene in Les Mis where the college rebels are waving the flag and singing, "Do You Hear the People Sing?" :) I qualify for PAL (Published Author List) with SCBWI which is my genre anyway, and my publisher is on their list. So there. :) LOL
A few authors have filed a class action suit against the romance publisher Harlequin Enterprises and two European corporations it created. We’ve embedded a copy of the complaint below.
UPDATE: Harlequin publisher Donna Hayes responded: “Our authors have been recompensed fairly and properly for their work, and we will be defending ourselves vigorously.” The company added that “this is the first it has heard of the proceedings and that a complaint has not yet been served.”
The suit alleges that the publisher owes some authors eBook royalties from contracts signed between 1990 and 2004. During those years, these authors “entered agreements” with a Swiss corporation created by the romance publisher.
The lawsuit outlined the problem: “However, Harlequin, before and after the signing of these agreements, performed all the publishing functions related to the agreements, including exercising, selling, licensing, or sublicensing the e-book rights granted by the authors. Instead of paying the authors a royalty of 50% of its net receipts as required by the agreements, an intercompany license was created by Harlequin with its Swiss entity resulting in authors receiving 3% to 4% of the e-books’ cover price as their 50% share instead of 50% of Harlequin Enterprises’ receipts.”
GalleyCat contributor Jeff Rivera interviewed Grand Central publisher Jamie Raab for mediabistro.com’s So What Do You Do? feature today.
In the interview, Raab (pictured, via) defended her imprint’s standard practice of giving authors a 25% royalty rate for eBooks: “We have an infrastructure to support.” She outlined the values of what traditional publishers have to offer whether they are new in their writing career or established New York Times bestselling authors.
When asked on whether or not she fears big-name writers will take a less traditional publishing route, she replied: “I think about that a lot because I know it’s on authors’ minds. And I think it’s incumbent on every publisher to do a better job than they’ve ever done before — more creative on marketing and eBooks, working in partnership more closely with their authors, keeping them in the loop, publishing more strategically.”
STATUS: Was all set to potentially launch something cool on Friday and lo and behold, ice storm in Seattle. Trust me, this makes sense because we are based in Denver but our tech person, who manages all things digital, is in Seattle. She had no electricity or internet for 3 days. Shudders.
What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? FREE by Graffiti6
Last week, the Vice President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America reached out to SFWA members about Dorchester Publishing.
Dorchester's probationary period is scheduled to end on January 31, 2012 and SFWA would like to evaluate their progress in meeting the benchmarks SFWA set for them.
By their request, members could contact them with any information that the Board should consider.
Well, let me tell you, I was happy to oblige. I wrote a letter clearly outlining my stance that that Dorchester should remain on probation or be delisted altogether based on not making any progress whatsoever on benchmark 1: That it fulfills its contractual and financial obligations to the authors it has already published, including full and accurate accounting of royalties per contract, with scheduled payment of any royalties outstanding.
Despite repeated requests for updated accountings and the thousands of dollars still owed in back royalties to NLA authors who used to be with Dorchester, we've received excuses, delays, and no good faith efforts to resolve their obligations.
And I have no problem making my sentiment on the situation public.
12 Comments on Should Dorchester Remain on Probation? Yes., last added: 1/27/2012
I can't imagine how hard and frustrating that must be for you and your clients. Knowing you can put in so much hard work, only to not get paid is the worst.
I didn't know that SFWA puts publishers on probation. I've learned something valuable today besides avoiding Dorchster.
I hadn't heard of any publisher being on probation before either. Sounds like these guys need to stay that way, for sure!
Marian Crane said, on 1/23/2012 4:52:00 PM
I've known to avoid them for a couple of years now, but it's refreshing to see an agent be so open about the reasons why Dorchester should be delisted from SFWA.
Gee, another reason why I'm looking at agency representation before I submit work directly to e-publishers. I can't be on top of every controversy, but a great agency will know far more.
The path to publishness isn't exactly covered with rose petals and scented with potpourri. There's work involved...a lot of it. It's sad that good faith was put into this company and they are refusing to reciprocate good business manners and proper recompense as they should.
I interned at Dorchester before moving over to Random House children's, so whenever I hear about all this craziness...Wow. I agree with your stance, Kristin. If tDorchester is still not fulfilling their obligations, they should remain on probation.
http://bklovin.blogspot.com/
Anonymous said, on 1/24/2012 8:18:00 AM
I'm curious how many lawsuits are pending against them, or other legal means. If I were a roofer who never got paid for a job by the homeowner, I would at a minimum file a lien against their home and possibly consider small claims court.
Are the Dorchester authors just being quiet about what they are doing, or is everyone settling for writing angry letters?
SFWA has put at least one publisher on probation before, Night Shade Books. They quickly got their act together, and the probation was dropped. Night Shade is, in my opinion, now a top rate outfit publishing some of the best fantasy around and was number 2 on my list of publishers to read in 2012. Too bad Dorchester is not responding in a like manner.
STATUS: Leaving the office at 5 p.m. That never happens!
What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? YOU AND I by Wilco
In good news, we've now gone through all our Random House statements from the spring with a fine tooth comb and I'm delighted to report that RH is not doing a wholesale change to their electronic book royalty rate on existing contracts; there was simply an error that was resolved promptly.
Contracts that have the royalty rate of 25% of retail will still have 25% of retail. Now, I have heard that they want to change any 15% of retail to 25% of net (which is actually to an author's advantage per my previous blog entry) but I have not personally seen that so as far as I'm concerned, that's simply a rumor for now.
As RH royalty statements are my fav in the biz and because they always resolve issues quickly, I'm back to happy.
8 Comments on Random House Gets A Clean Bill Of Health, last added: 8/8/2011
Yay for being back to happy! I wish there were a standard for royalty statements. It seems each publisher does it differently, which makes me tear my hair out. Thanks for keeping us informed!
With all of the disconcerting news about pub-houses changing their business models in a way that hurts the author, it's great to see one of the big houses play fair.
So gald to hear that RH is supporting the authors with their decisions. With so many of us exploring epublications it's great to have experts like you and RH ensuring we still have options!
Status: It’s official. RWA in New York has just begun. Most awkward moment today? Sitting on a panel that also had editors and being asked the question: what is a fair electronic royalty rate. Grin.
What’s Playing on the XM or iPod right now? BAILAMOS by Enrique Iglasias
Last Thursday, Harlequin sent out a press release announcing that for single title romances on their list, they would be switching to 25% of net receipts starting Jan. 1. 2012.
But before you begin celebrating that finally Harlequin is getting in line with the other major publishers, take a moment to look at the fine print or in this case, what isn’t there. What Harlequin didn’t mention in their press release is that as a Publisher, they are currently not on the agency model with their digital distributors—Apple iBookstore being the one exception.
So in short, this move to 25% of net is def. better than the paltry 6 or 8% of retail that they were offering but it’s not necessarily equal to what Publishers pay via the Agency Model.
Here’s why. Let’s do some math boy and girls.
Let’s say your single title Harlequin royalty rate is 8% of retail and the retail price for your romance novel is $7.99.
8% of 7.99 = 0.64 of royalty per sale to the author
That’s the baseline. Now let’s look at what 25% of net receipts from Harlequin looks like on the wholesale model.
$7.99 is the retail price but because Harlequin sells wholesale, they give (on average) a 50% discount to the seller. That would look like this:
7.99 – 3.99 (discount) = 4.00 of net receipts to Harlequin
25% of 4.00 = $1.00 of royalty per sale to the author
Well, that’s definitely better than 64 cents given previously!
But the whole reason why Big 5 Publishers moved to the net receipts royalty rate is because of the agency model. In this configuration, the Publisher gives 30% to the distributor and receives 70% as net receipts. So it would look like this:
30% of 7.99 = 2.39 to the distributor
Now deduct that commission: 7.99 – 2.39 = 5.60 of net receipts to publisher
If author gets 25% of net receipts on agency model, that would be:
25% net receipts of 5.60 = 1.40 of royalty per sale to the author.
Not quite the same.
Now keep in mind that the above calculations are not taking into consideration any other deductions a Publisher on Agency Model might possibly be taking before calculating the author’s share. So that is a possible factor to consider.
But in general, Harlequin’s move to 25% of net is not, on the surface, the same as what other houses are offering.
And from what I’m hearing via chat in the blogosphere, the other Harlequin royalty rate of 15% of net to series authors (which was also announced in a separate press release) is going over about as well as a lead balloon.
14 Comments on Doing The Math on Harlequin’s Move to 25% of Net Receipts but on Wholesale Model, last added: 6/30/2011
Thanks for doing the math. HQ pretty much does what it wants, since it has an unending supply of authors willing to give up their firstborn to be published by them. Frankly, I think e-royalty ought to be 50%, which is what my publishing company does, but I'm a writer, so I tend to take that side. I blogged on this, trying to get people to see the bigger picture.
Lisa Scott said, on 6/28/2011 1:42:00 PM
Kristin, how does the 15% net for series authors compare to what it was previously? They requested a full from me for one of their lines. Is this a better or worse deal than in the past?
As a series author with HQ, it needs to be noted that under the old formula series authors received 75% of what single title authors did -- under the new model they receive 60%. This is going backwards!
I have just found your blog and have already started to learn more about writing and publishing. As a mature woman I have just ocmpleted a university course which now leaves me time to get back into my writing - so it is great so be able to follow blogs that deal with literary issues:):)
The math was making my head spin. If anyone asks me again why I want an agent I will tell them to read this post! I'm glad you have it figured out so writers can write :)
Anonymous said, on 6/29/2011 12:47:00 AM
Question: Are publishers as bad at calculating net profits as the motion picture industry is? Because if they are, then really, no matter what the percent or how it is calculated, you'll end up with zero. Movies almost never show a profit so they don't have to pay the points on net. I think their accountants use smoke and mirrors and maybe a Ouija board to balance the books.
Kristin, please cover the topic of "actively writing", the header for the Harlequin letter. Even tho not actively writing, those books are out there and reissued regularly, plus bundled. That 15% in lieu of the 50% our older contracts covered of Cover price, is a big bite.
Kristin, please cover the topic of "actively writing", the header for the Harlequin letter. Even tho not actively writing, those books are out there and reissued regularly, plus bundled. That 15% in lieu of the 50% our older contracts covered of Cover price, is a big bite.
Some royalty statements arrived this week and PA John has been practising making sense of them and learning how to enter the information onto a simple spreadsheet (the only way to keep track of things).
Some publishers still send out statements requiring decoding skills that the guys at Bletchley Park would have been proud of, but many are getting at least a little more user-friendly. I don't pretend to be able to make sense of all the codes and sub-sections, but I like to keep track of the bottom-line of what has been earned each period, and what the new running total is. (NB: do you like my shark stapler?):
For most books, this means the Unearned Balance, at least for a while - that is: what I have yet to earn before I have covered my advance and get any more money (sigh). But for books that have either done really well, or have simply been chugging away for a very long time, I actually get a payment (hurrah!).
My royalty payments are generally more the kind that will buy a nice new pair of shoes, rather than a nice new yacht but, hey-ho, it all feels like free money by that stage anyway...
By the way, if you are confused about why Thursday's post Digitally Created Backgroundsappeared, then immediately disappeared, it's because Blogger went down this week and that post got wiped off. It's back again now.
STATUS: Yesterday Angie and I were reviewing one client’s statement and to sum it up. What a hot mess.
What’s playing on the iPod or the XM radio right now? SWAY by Dean Martin
Love of royalty statements.
Yep, it’s that time of year again. April and October are NLA’s biggest royalty periods which means that the month of May and November are consumed by hours reviewing those statements.
So, in an effort to empower authors about their statements (because I promise you that a lot of agents don’t spend nearly the time they should on reviewing them), here’s another tidbit to file away in your knowledge bank.
If your publisher holds World rights and is selling your titles abroad, it’s important to track where the projects are sold to and when they will be released.
Why? Because if you don’t know that info, how do you know when the monies are supposed to appear on your royalty statements? Also, do you have a copy of the licensing agreement and the latest foreign royalty statement from the territory in question?
Most agents insert a clause in the contract allowing the author to receive such info—usually upon request. Without it, it’s impossible to review a statement for accuracy. What, you gonna just take the Publisher’s word for it?
Considering the number of errors we see in EVERY royalty period, that’s a lot to take on faith.
And here’s another facet to this. If Publisher has World, did they sell UK rights to separate publisher or was it done by a sister house in England? If a sister house, then UK royalties are specified in the US contract and should show on the US statement.
You don’t want to know how many times this information as just been plain missing from the statement or just wrong.
Knowledge is power and as an author, you have a right to a copy of those licensing agreements so ask for them. I would say that in the last several years, NLA has recovered well over $100,000 in missing royalties—money clients would never have received if we hadn’t pestered Publishers about info missing from the statements. In fact just last week, a client got $8000 because we argued that the wrong royalty rate was being used to calculate certain sales listed on the statement.And per the contract, we were right and they paid up. But if we hadn’t pointed it out…
Well, that’s a lot of money to leave on the table.
STATUS: I think my telephone’s handset is permanently glued to my left ear. Way too much phone time over the last few days.
What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? THE LOVECATS by The Cure
Wrapping up the fun facts tonight!
Mari Mancusi—It took me over two years to convince her publisher to buy the fourth book in the Blood Coven Vampire series. Then they did, repackaged the back list with new covers and now the series is doing great and we are up to having recently sold book eight!
Lisa Shearin—who has well over 100,000 copies in print for her Raine Benares series had a ton of passes while on submission for MAGIC LOST, TROUBLE FOUND because the editors didn’t like the “fun voice.” It wasn’t the “norm” in fantasy.
Shanna Swendson—Gets regular royalty checks for her Enchanted Inc. series even though the first book published more than 5 years ago. Talk about evergreen!
And I have a ton of other facts that will probably never see the light of day but this has been fun to recap.
Kristin, Kind of off subject, but I just wanted to say thank you. I've been following your blog, taking your advice and I was just signed by an agency in New York! I thought maybe you would enjoy reading what it feels like for the other side here.http://ranunculusadventure.blogspot.com/ Thank you so much for all your advice, humor and encouragement. It really did make a difference.
Kind of sad to read about a publisher complaining that a fantasy book wasn't 'the norm', while mostly what we read is that no one wants the norm anymore and we had better be completely unique.
I've really enjoyed these fun facts. As an aspiring writer, I know there's no "magic" formula to getting published, but I still get a vicarious thrill whenever I hear about how authors signed on with their agent.
And in your case, Agent Kristin, these stories were particularly fascinating!
Fun series! Also this blog is like college, like a degree in publishing. If you want to be an experter in this area, you just have to read it every single day! I was rejected twice by your agency kristin, but I cannot thank you enough for this blog and the free advices. I found a publisher in Portugal. Wish me luck! Tânia
STATUS: Not really liking how dark it gets so early.
What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? LIGHT MY CANDLE from the Soundtrack RENT
Yesterday I highlighted the top 3 culprits regarding errors in royalty statements. So what happens if errors are found?
It’s pretty simple. We call our main contact in the royalties department. Since rarely an accounting period passes without some error being found on any one of the hundred + statements we receive, we talk to the royalty managers pretty often. First name basis actually.
We usually call first to discuss the errors and then follow up with an email so there is a paper trail. In all our instances, the royalties contact has corrected the errors promptly and regenerated the statements so we have correct ones for our files.
We make notes in the client's royalties file so we can track past issues and be on the look-out for future issues (as sometimes it's the same error that keeps reoccurring). Do I think the errors deliberate? For the big publishers, no. For some of the indie smaller publishers, it depends on the company.
Now there are definitely other things Publishers have done that haven’t been above board (as there have been lawsuits etc) that could impact royalty statements but they weren’t issues on the royalty statements themselves per se.
I would also entitle it "why you need an agent," with the childish addition of "3rd." As in 3rd comment. Someday I'll be able to throw down a "1st!".
Ben Sadler said, on 11/19/2010 9:31:00 AM
I have only been following your blog since I moved to Denver.(3 months ago)So even if you have talked about this before I find it incredibly Interesting. I agree with previous posts regardless of wither or not you have blogged on a topic before. If it is on your mind let us know. At the very least it is a reminder that the issue is still relevant.
Thanks for this, Kristin. Have you heard of authors' royalties being jerked around by Amazon? I had a free Kindle DL offer and Amazon told my publicist it generated GOBS of actual sales. The report was very specific in number of copies sold. Come royalty time, Amazon backpedaled and then wouldn't let anybody see the actual numbers. Besides mad, I was perplexed as to why this happened. Surely folks paying 9.99 for a DL aren't returning for a refund? I learned I'm not the only author in my company with this problem. Just wondered if it's common or not. Thx, Linda S. Clare The Fence My Father Built, a novel from Abingdon Press.
STATUS: It can’t be 2:30 in the afternoon already.
What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? NEVER, NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP by Barry White
One of the issues of writing a blog for so long (since 2006 for me) is that I often forget what topics I’ve covered and what I haven’t. And sure, I could scroll through some of my tags but I’m too lazy. *grin*
April/October is our biggest royalty period. It’s when we receive the most statements. So right now I have quite a pile on my desk so it’s first and foremost in my mind. And for one major publisher, their October statements always come the first week in November.
So after reviewing the umpteenth one today, whether I’ve already discussed this or not, I wanted to highlight the top 3 culprits regarding errors in royalty statements that I’m seeing:
1. Returns at a price point that didn’t exist with the original published edition. If a book was published for let’s say $13.99, then returns have to be at $13.99. Any other number is a clear error.
2. The wrong percentage recorded for electronic books This can happen in a variety of ways. Perhaps the royalty is supposed to be on retail price and it’s showing on net or it’s just the wrong percentage altogether.
3. A royalty escalator has kicked in but the statements don’t reflect it. In deals, there are often royalty escalators at certain break points. For example, for an adult hardcover, a standard is 10% to 5000, 12.5% to 10,000 and 15% thereafter. The royalty statement might have an error putting all copies at 10% but let’s say 6000 copies have sold so 1000 of those copies should be at the 12.5% level.
Publishers have heard of computers, right? This really shouldn't happen, especially the last two examples you cite.
I work in IT software development, and I can tell you that it isn't that hard to set rules to automatically assign a particular value once a certain quantity is reached. All they have to do is set it up once, and each time they run the statement, it will go into the database and count the quantity sold, subtract the returns, and apply the royalty amount based on the rule you showed.
This isn't hard stuff, and I'm not even a programmer. Why do they have so many errors? If my company delivered software that had frequent, basic errors, we'd be out of business in a flash.
Anonymous said, on 11/17/2010 2:01:00 PM
@Anonymous: Some of the pay databases used are as old as I am.
Technology is getting to a point where companies have to either abandon their old systems or build their own software to continue interfacing with their older systems. I have seen a publisher go the latter route (black screen, green text, Jobs in a garage kind of old).
I can imagine how it's hard to keep track. But, even if it's something you've mentioned before, it's good to read about it a second time.
Just curious: Have you blogged about internships within literary agencies? I haven't found any on your site. I haven't really found much about it on any agent's blog, actually.
(And I'd love to intern somewhere. This is why I'm curious. But, I don't really know where to begin.)
Maybe it would make a good topic? :-) *fingers crossed*
Even if software is automated with rules, it's still subject to human error, which is the root cause of 50% of IT problems. A user must still go in and define the initial rules based on the contract. If someone was in a hurry and left off the 12.5% and 15% rules, then the software doesn't know that things are anything but the 10%. And yes - each entry in the database would have to be manually configured, since each contract may be different.
I agree with Catherine - since the terms are different for each contract, someone has to enter them for each contract. This also means that bugs in the software are harder to catch - because they will only appear in certain circumstances for certain contracts. That said, I suspect I could write a better system!
Wordver: wenemi (1. Enemy as defined by tiny adorable things. 2. Slang for "when am I". For example, "wenemi gonna finish dis freakin novel?")
So what do you do when you see these errors? And is this something that most agents look for?
Anonymous said, on 11/18/2010 12:13:00 AM
Q: Aren't some of these "mistakes" made accidentally on purpose? (like @ the grocery chain where you don't get the sale price cuz it's not scanned in).
I've heard they tend to make these "mistakes" in the publisher's favor and then hope the writer is too "creative" or clueless to notice. Glad some agents like you pay attention to the important details.
It seems like the software, in this case, should be written with default values in mind. If 10, 12.5, and 15 percent are the default percentages at those breakpoints, and it's actually unusual to vary from those norms, then the software should default to having those values set. It would cut down on the number of errors, but not eliminate them. The next step would be to improve their process to highlight portions of a new entry that vary from the norm (e.g. different percentages or breakpoints).
Since so many of you have signed book contracts or seeing the your book hit the shelves, I thought you might be interested in this post that Alan Rinzler had on his blog. This is important information to know about your sales.
Here’s Alan (make sure you link over at the bottom – there’s more):
An author friend of mine couldn’t figure out why he was having so much trouble selling his new book. He had a respectable list of published books to his name, a regular schedule of speeches and workshops, and a solid platform in print and broadcast media.
So on a hunch, I looked him up on Nielsen BookScan, an industry service for publishers that reports actual book sales by ISBN number at retailers across the country.
There was the answer in black and white. The sales figures for his last book were dismal.
He was shocked at the news, certain that the numbers were wrong. In fact, he was only dimly aware of BookScan and didn’t really understand what it was or how it worked.
Big mistake.
BookScan numbers are like an author’s credit rating
All book publishers (and some savvy authors) subscribe to Nielsen BookScan. The very first thing an acquisitions editor does is check a published author’s Nielsen numbers, when considering a new submission.
Nielsen BookScan tells the naked truth about how many copies a book sells. It produces weekly tallies via electronic links to thousands of cash registers across the country. This is no guess or anecdotal report. It’s all ka-ching, straight from the till.
The numbers may as well be carved in stone.
“We only report what we receive from cash registers, and we never change our numbers,” said Jim King, the go-to guy for book publishers at Nielsen in a phone interview at the company’s White Plains, NY offices.
“The book may have sold additional copies, but not through our reporting outlets. An author’s book might have sold at non-reporting retailers like Wal-Mart or book clubs, but we have no way of including that. So there’s no way anyone can request us to change an ISBN report.”
Recent BookScan results may determine whether a book is acquired
The most recent Nielsen numbers will therefore have a powerful impact on whether or not a book is acquired in the first place, since publishers take these numbers as indications of the new book’s potential success.
Poor recent numbers may put a damper on a publisher’s enthusiasm to sign up your major new opus. I’ve known authors with a long track record of success slip into a marginal status with a single recent sales failure.
Brutal but true.
How Nielsen numbers impact bookseller orders
Even if a book is ultimately appealing, recent low Nielsen numbers will impact the all-important realistic projections for the new book’s potential sales.
This can affect not only the advance, since most publishers predicate the amount paid on signing on projected first year sales — but also the first printing. That’s because sales reps know that the major accounts will also consult Nielsen as well as their own internal records to determine how many they’ll order of the new title.
In some case, they may actually pass. That’s right, book buyers may skip ordering any copies at all if the author’s last book had unimpressive performance numbers.
How Nielsen collects sales data
Nielsen says that they cover about 75 percent of retail book sales in the United States. In a typical week, they track sales of more than 300,000 titles by their ISBN numbers, at nearly 13,000 retail accounts in the United States, including Amazon, the n
6 Comments on Things You Need To Know About BookScan, last added: 10/30/2010
The business end of this business is SO sobering *sigh* There’s SO much to be aware of, so much to keep on top of! Thanks, Kathy, for keeping on top of something so important
Donna
chris behrens said, on 10/28/2010 3:34:00 AM
Again, good stuff. And I was searching through your archives for other info. Your the best!!!!
chris behrens said, on 10/28/2010 9:17:00 AM
**You’re** instead of your, oops!
I posted my comment before I had my first cup of coffee, not sure if both my eyes were open–LOL.
Does anyone else check their favorite blogger/s before their first cup of coffee?!
:Donna Marie said, on 10/28/2010 9:44:00 AM
Chris, typos like that drive me crazy too lol And since I’m a nightowl (which I’m working on changing), I’m always up when Kathy posts them after midnight, so I’m usually checking stuff then. I AM getting better—well, in a fluctuating type of way—with going to bed before midnight. It worked for two nights, then it got later again. When I go to Barnes at night, they close at 11, so I can’t fall asleep early *sigh*
But I completely understand your need to correct the mistake! I would always correct my typos on forums, but esPEcially here, right? I mean—WRITERS are reading! LOL
Donna
chris behrens said, on 10/28/2010 10:01:00 AM
LOL–Donna. Nothing wrong with being a night OWL!
Gerry Nielson said, on 10/29/2010 9:30:00 AM
I know that BooksAMillion.com reports it’s sales numbers to BookScan and will do wholesale orders for things like books signings etc.
This article came out last week in the New York Times. It was such a bummer, that I didn’t post it. Even some best-selling authors are feeling the pinch. I know a lot of you have already read this, but when the Stinky Cheese Man Jon Scieszka says things are bad, we really have to be aware of what is going on in the picture book industry.
Picture Book No Longer a Staple for Children
By JULIE BOSMAN
Published: October 7, 2010 NY Times
Picture books are so unpopular these days at the Children’s Book Shop in Brookline, Mass., that employees there are used to placing new copies on the shelves, watching them languish and then returning them to the publisher.
“So many of them just die a sad little death, and we never see them again,” said Terri Schmitz, the owner.
The shop has plenty of company. The picture book, a mainstay of children’s literature with its lavish illustrations, cheerful colors and large print wrapped in a glossy jacket, has been fading. It is not going away — perennials like the Sendaks and Seusses still sell well — but publishers have scaled back the number of titles they have released in the last several years, and booksellers across the country say sales have been suffering.
The economic downturn is certainly a major factor, but many in the industry see an additional reason for the slump. Parents have begun pressing their kindergartners and first graders to leave the picture book behind and move on to more text-heavy chapter books. Publishers cite pressures from parents who are mindful of increasingly rigorous standardized testing in schools.
“Parents are saying, ‘My kid doesn’t need books with pictures anymore,’ ” said Justin Chanda, the publisher of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. “There’s a real push with parents and schools to have kids start reading big-kid books earlier. We’ve accelerated the graduation rate out of picture books.”
Booksellers see this shift too.
“They’re 4 years old, and their parents are getting them ‘Stuart Little,’ ” said Dara La Porte, the manager of the children’s department at the Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington. “I see children pick up picture books, and then the parents say, ‘You can do better than this, you can do more than this.’ It’s a terrible pressure parents are feeling — that somehow, I shouldn’t let my child have this picture book because she won’t get into Harvard.”
Literacy experts are quick to say that picture books are not for dummies. Publishers praise the picture book for the particular way it can develop a child’s critical thinking skills.
“To some degree, picture books force an analog way of thinking,” said Karen Lotz, the publisher of Candlewick Press in Somerville, Mass. “From picture to picture, as the reader interacts with the book, their imagination is filling in the missing themes.”
Many parents overlook the fact that chapter books, even though they have more text, full paragraphs and fewer pictures, are not necessarily more complex.
“Some of the vocabulary in a picture book is much more challenging than in a chapter book,” said Kris Vreeland, a book buyer for Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, Calif., where sales of picture books have been down. “The words themselves, and the concepts, can be very sophisticated in a picture book.”
They can, for example, be written with Swiftian satire, like “Monsters Eat Whiny Children” by Bruce Er
11 Comments on Picture Books On Decline, last added: 10/12/2010
Yeah, Kathy, I read this too (I think Anita posted it) and it’s SO sad. To think that parents are pushing their children away from picture books is ridiculous. Can’t kids be kids? UGH!
Donna
Mimi Cross said, on 10/12/2010 4:52:00 AM
Maybe I’m paranoid, but why do I feel the screens are behind this?
Publishers, you need to fight back.
Don’t you realize you are fighting big business?
But you’re big business too.
Go out and solicit more info and quotes like this one:
“Literacy experts are quick to say that picture books are not for dummies. Publishers praise the picture book for the particular way it can develop a child’s critical thinking skills.”
Now, go to all your connections—c’mon that’s what you want your authors to do to promote themselves, right? —and write, write, write, promote your picture books!
Get the word out that picture books ROCK.
Get teachers, parents, librarians, kids, and psychologists; get the research done and get an article of your own published in the NY Times.
If the picture books die, the publishing industry has only itself to blame.
Now, I’ve got to go. I need to read some picture books to my four-year old son.
MaryZ said, on 10/12/2010 7:49:00 AM
I’m not having success with a PB manuscript, and am thinking of turning it into a chapter book. Will that make me a traitor? I love and collects PBs, so I hope I hope this trend reverses.
:Donna Marie said, on 10/12/2010 7:50:00 AM
YEA, Mimi!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This should actually be SENT to the publishers OR an article should be written and submitted TO the NY Times!
Donna
chris behrens said, on 10/12/2010 9:39:00 AM
That’s crazy!!!
Camille Ettenger said, on 10/12/2010 10:12:00 AM
I am truly saddened by this. Picture books plant the seeds of imagination and set the stage for reading readiness.
Children are meant to be playful and imaginative. And picture books compliment this important phase of life.
Perhaps if children were permitted to be children, there would be less adults who revert back to childish behaviors.
Mary Nida Smith said, on 10/12/2010 10:19:00 AM
Donna Marie & Mimi Cross, you both are so right. We all need to fight back, get out the word and help create an exciting place at the local bookstore for children. Have SCBWI get out the word for all us to form together and fight for the child in all of us. Amen!
Mary Nida
Donna Jeanne Koepp said, on 10/12/2010 10:51:00 AM
As a child reader of picture books and an adult reader of dry technical specification manuals, guess what I read for pleasure?…..picture books!! There are plenty of long, long, long books out there waiting for adults. Why rush it? I wish my specificaiton manuals had pictures. I need to ask my architect friends about that.
All the comments here are right on!!
:Donna Marie said, on 10/12/2010 1:59:00 PM
Camille, I LOVE that last line of yours!
Donna
:Donna Marie said, on 10/12/2010 2:00:00 PM
Wow, Mary…I wonder if that could actually happen…you know, some “Picture Book Awareness” movement sparked/headed by the SCBWI! Hmmmmm….
Donna
:Donna Marie said, on 10/12/2010 2:03:00 PM
Rushing childhood has become a huge problem, I think. When we look around, so much of what we see younger and younger children doing, thinking and then acting upon is incredibly frightening! I don’t think children should be “babied”, but I DO think they should be allowed to be children first.
Donna
I know a lot of you write YA, so you may be interested to know that Noble Romance Publishing is starting a new line of YA romance novels starting in October. They are pretty open when it comes to YA genre. They say, “If the story is great, we don’t care if it’s a historical set on Mars or a contemporary set in the cornfields of Nebraska.” They are offering $1000 advances.
**A note from Jill N. Noble, your friendly Senior Editor: Do you have a story that’s completely different? Too dark for other publishers? Too controversial? Too unusual? A mix of so many sub-genres you’re to the point of making up descriptions that defy the imagination? If so, I’d love to see it. Be true to yourself, be true to your characters, be true to your stories. I assure you, I don’t shock easily!
Here are the YA Romance Guidelines :
1. YA Romance stories all involve primary characters between the ages of 16-21.
2. YA Romance stories explore all facets of a young adult’s life — including those some adults/parents might find a bit uncomfortable to examine.KEEP IT REAL.
3. YA Romance stories must address the consequences — or potential consequences — of behavior and choices in a realistic manner.DON’T SUGAR-COAT THE TRUTH, BUT DON’T PREACH, EITHER.
4. YA Romance stories can address any topic (sub-plot to the romance or as part of the romantic thread) a young adult might encounter in their life, including but not limited to, sexual orientation, sexual experimentation, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, drugs, drinking, peer pressure, school, gangs, etc. If you touch on any of these subjects, do not glamorize the consequences or the reality. Alternatively, again, do not “preach.”
5. YA Romance stories . . . let’s talk sex. The question is not how much sex/level of explicitness is appropriate for a YA novel, but rather, how much sex is appropriate for your story and your characters. Our instructions for this are the same as they are for every NRP story: Be true to yourself. Be true to your characters. These stories aren’t about you (necessarily), or what you would want your son/daughter to do. They are about your characters — their choices, their thoughts, their desires, their actions. The sexual content – the action, the language, the reactions – should all accurately and adequately and believably reflect your fully fleshed out characters. *The only caveat to this is no sexual relations between adults and minors.
6. YA Romance authors know their audience. They don’t use language young adults wouldn’t use, they don’t “talk down” to their young adult readers, and they have an intimate knowledge of what it’s like to be a young adult in today’s world.
7. All sub-genres and genre mixes.
8. All story lengths – shorts, novellas, novels.
They’re open to anything…but remember, these are romance novels. The level of passion between the main characters must be authentic and palpable. Other than that, they say to feel free to explore any new, uncharted territory you can imagine, or re-do a well-worn plot in such a way as to make the story uniquely your own.
Most importantly, they are seeking stories that touch t
2 Comments on Looking for YA Romance, last added: 9/3/2010
Hi, Kathy. Thank you for posting this. One clarification, so your readers don’t get upset. We offer *up to* $1000 advance. We decide what to offer on an author-by-author basis, based on author’s publishing history and Web presence, type of book, length of book, etc.
Connie Colon said, on 9/3/2010 5:32:00 PM
Now that I see the baby pictures next to the correct adult pictures it seems like it should’ve been a whole lot easier!!! I originally had the correct one for Heather Alexander and then changed it at the last minute (goes to show, you should always stick with your first impulse…) Thanks for the fun contest (especially since I won — yay me!!)
Note: Two are children’s authors and two more are trying their hand at children’s writing.
While you may not have a lot of inherent faith in their methodology, Forbes has released their new list of guesses at how much the most successful authors made over the 12 months ending June 1:
James Patterson ($70 million)
A former junior copywriter at J. Walter Thompson, Patterson is intimately involved in cover designs and marketing for his own books. One out of every 17 novels bought in the U.S. are authored by Patterson. Over the past two years he has made some $500 million for Hachette, his publisher.
Stephenie Meyer ($40 million)
Last fall Meyer’s novels were fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh on USA Today‘s bestseller lists. Her four-book series, Twilight, has sold 40 million copies in the U.S. and 100 million worldwide. In June the third Twilight film posted the most successful first week box office return of any movie of 2010.
Stephen King ($34 million)
Among King’s current projects: a deal with DC Comics to co-write a comic book series; a musical with John Mellencamp; and a drama series with the SyFy network based on his novella The Colorado Kid.
Danielle Steel ($32 million)
Steel has four new hardcovers out this year and clinches an average $7 million advance per book. Among other income this past year: a reported $1 million settlement from her former assistant, who was convicted of embezzling $760,000 from the romance novelist.
Ken Follett ($20 million)
Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth was adapted to a TV series that premiered in July starring Donald Sutherland. Follett often sets his novels where he lives: the author has homes in Stonehenge, London, Antigua and South Africa. Follett’s wife was Minister of Culture under Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Dean Koontz ($18 million)
Koontz’s latest book, The Husband, came out in May and was optioned to Focus Features and Random House Films. Forty-four of his novels have been New York Times bestsellers.
Janet Evanovich ($16 million)
Evanovich may rank seventh, but her selling power is comparable to James Patterson (about 20 million of her titles sell annually). Still, St. Martins failed to agree to a $50 million a
6 Comments on Top Author Earnings, last added: 8/24/2010
STATUS: Okay, if I don’t blog in the morning, it looks like it’s not happening so more early morning blogging to come.
What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? HER FIRST MISAKE by Lyle Lovett
Several agent friends have confirmed that Macmillan sent a letter over the weekend asking authors to sign amendments that gave them electronic rights to backlist titles.
Oh Shades of Random House hegemony!
By the way, these letters went out to authors—not to the agents or agencies who represent them.
Tsk, tsk. I wag my finger at you Macmillan.
If you are an author and you received this letter, do not sign or return it without consulting with your agent or attorney first. If you haven’t got either, then pick up the phone and call the Authors Guild. I know the lawyers over there and they’d be happy to take a look at this amendment that has been sent out (if they haven’t seen it already).
Whatever you do, make sure you have a complete understanding of your rights and what you’d be granting if you signed the amendment and what other options exist if you don’t.
This has been a public service message from Agent Kristin… *grin*
21 Comments on Publishers Behaving Badly--Again, last added: 8/19/2010
The world of publishing is beginning to seem like a very scary place. The whole "rights" thing is starting to get very complicated. I have been looking into epublisher Carina Press (Harlequin) and would love your thoughts on this, Kristin. They are asking for full rights for seven years and even though they say that right now, they aren't doing "print", that it may be a possibility in the future. What if they decide to go to print in that seven year period? What does that mean for us authors as far as rights go? Do you think Carina Press might be a good first stepping stone for an unpublished writer? Or would you steer clear?
I have received this letter. I have asked several agents to rep. me for these rights. I am getting the same blithe rejections I have come to adore from agents. More than one told me "agents don't represent just e-rights. You'll have a hard time finding one that does that." In the same breath many will admit, this is where the business is going. Better stated, one day, all publishing rights will be merely the e-rights. I am not sure what agents do anymore apart from rejecting people. Here I have a book previously published: there is no work, none, apart from negotiating the percentages from a publisher who is obviously looking to deal and interested in publishing it in the new format. I might not like the new format either, but I have come to accept that in this market like to eat. There is also considerable cinematic potential in the work and I have retained all movie rights. http://us.macmillan.com/wherehellfreezesover [email protected]
On the plus side, this letter acknowledges that e-rights are something to explicitly bestow--the rights don't pass implicitly because of previous agreements--and that attitude isn't universal.
I see no purpose in reverting backlist erights to a publisher. What are they going to do for you? I've published my own backlist of 15 books and am selling many more than my publisher would. Granted, it required me to get my own cover art, formatting, etc. etc. which required me to essentially form my own publishing company. Traditional publishers controlled distribution. They don't with eBooks. My books are on Kindle, in the iBookstore and we sell electronic forms ourselves. Any authors with backlist rights who are interested, drop me a line.
I know it's a business and publishers are in it to make money but this kind of thing really raises doubts about publishers caring anything about their authors. I certainly know my publisher doesn't.
Thanks for the FYI, Kristin! Our agency received some letters for our authors today, and I did wonder at the randomness that seemed to be applied in which authors and works they wanted e-rights for. Now I'll check to see if they went out to our other authors directly.
@David Kearns: As someone who just spent all day dealing with these letters, and will spend some more days to come, let me assure you that it is not as simple as negotiating percentage points. Would that it were. Also, our agency, and most agents I know, don't want to represent an author for just one project/right, they want to represent the author throughout their career. I would never sign an author simply because they have a deal in hand; it would, frankly, be cheating the author.
Abby Minard said, on 8/17/2010 6:51:00 PM
Every time you post something like this, it just affirms my belief that having an agent is the only way to go. I wouldn't want to deal with this on my own. Thank goodness for you and your colleagues and all you do.
Growing up in the music industry, I tend to get paranoid about my rights as an artist. I would DEFINITELY refer that letter to my agent/attorney. After all, I would MUCH rather let someone who KNOWS what they're doing advise me instead of hoping that I can figure the contract out on my own.
I do hope other authors are making the same choice :)
Oooo, looks like J.A. Konrath (who took his backlist and is making $$$$$ on it for himself on Kindle) and other authors are smarter than the publishers now. Wasn't Konrath just castigated for this recently in PW?
Trish, you can hardly expect PW to celebrate Konrath's accomplishments. He achieved his success outside PW strictures, and it's an industry magazine, so of course he is now a pariah where he was previously a mere curiosity. Let's see who goes out of print first--PW or Konrath.
Any author signing for less than 25 percent ebook royalties either has a lousy agent or is just plain faithless. I think 40 to 50 percent is a good starting point--but even then, 70 percent on your own sounds a lot better.
Konrath did not take is "backlist". Those books are too new for his rights to have reverted. He took books that he'd never sold (you now, the "under the bed" books) and self-published them. He also took his latest Jack Daniels sequal and did this, because his publisher wouldn’t pay him the advance he wanted. I know several people having good luck with this same scheme.
But let us all remember the math here: eBooks are less than 5% of sales for most genre fiction that is published in mass market (it’s more like 1% for most of the people I’ve talked to). So even if you triple the royalty %, you’d have to sell a HELL of a lot more copies to make the same money (and if you’re not someone like Konrath, with a NY-publisher-created fan base already in place, there’s almost no chance of pulling this off).
Konrath stated that he wanted $100K for his new contract, which is why he walked. Let’s assume that’s a standard 3 book contract. To earn that, he’d have to sell 16K+ copies of each of the three books (assuming that he’s really getting 70% of the $2.99 price). That’s not unreasonable, but it’s unlikely based on the sales history of that series (hence his publishers refusal to pay him that much for it).
If anyone can pull this off and make it work, it’s Konrath. That said, I have no plans to follow in his footsteps.
Great blog! I genuinely love how it is uncomplicated on my eyes and the facts is well written. I am wondering how I could be notified whenever a new post has been made. I have subscribed to your rss feed which need to do the trick! Have a nice day!
What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? LONDON CALLING by Clash
Okay, my wifi at home has gone kaput. Sometimes I don’t get a chance to blog while still at the office so then I’ll pop online via the laptop at home. Kind of difficult when it’s not working. Hopefully that will get taken care of tomorrow.
So many little tidbits to share. Most of them funny and it’s not even Friday yet.
Authors Guild and Wiley continue… Lots of people didn’t agree with the AG stance on Google but I’m still quite glad they are out there being a watch dog for authors.
All I can say is there must not be a lot going on in Boise, Idaho. Still, I’m dying to know the motive for this condiment crime spree. (Never imagined those three words would appear in the same sentence together.)
And best for last. You know publishing has hit mainstream when The Onion jumps in the mix. I just laughed and laughed. (It’s TWILIGHT but with Minotaurs!).
17 Comments on Wiley (cont.) And Tidbits, last added: 6/19/2010
Haha, condiment crime spree. Hopefully someone will commit a felony with ketchup so those three words can be strung together again.
The Onion article is hilarious as well. A girl seeing past the "brooding exterior" of a "bad-boy" minotaur, eh? I can see the cover now - a swooning girl and a buff, half-bull teenage boy - never mind, I can't, it's too hysterical.
I do like the idea of a "bad-boy Mayan vision serpent" though. :)
Hey now! As a Boisean myself I feel compelled to defend the condiment woman (dare I call her saucy?).
Sadly, I can't. It seems like everytime Idaho makes the nat'l. news it's for something wacky: women scalping each other in Kirkham hot springs, crazy man killing entire family and going on the run with the two kids, a small town changing it's zoning code so all residents are 'required' to own a gun.
Yes, it's a weird and wonderful world here in potato-land.
So that's why all my library books have had a mayonaisey smell lately...
That is hilarious. I love that the library in question is like 10 minutes from my house and I haven't heard a thing about these "condiment-related crimes" in local news. Thank you Kristin for keeping me up to date. :)
Shi said, on 6/16/2010 7:04:00 PM
I would totally laugh at the mayo spree if I weren't currently working in a library. I've had one to many experiences of reaching into the book drop and pulling my hand out to find it covered in various slimy and/or sticky things.
And Minotaurs, wow! But hey, who would've believed me five years ago if I told them sparkling vampires where the next hot thing?
Not to jump off topic--because I totally love the condiment crime spree and Minotaur update,
but I'm curious why the publishers aren't able to take current data and show the author what their royalties would have been had they been under the amended contracts?--I'm guessing that's what the auditors do?--I really don't know.
LOL.... I work in a library and certainly got a kick out of the book drop story. Hopefully it doesn't become a trend!
That Onion article is so well timed. I was shelving in Fiction yesterday and noticed all the many many vampire related books out there. (I knew we had a lot in YA, but I was surprised to see so many in Fiction as well!)
Mayonnaise? On books? It's distressing how many people get that wrong. It's mustard on books. Mayonnaise should only be dumped on videos, although salsa is also acceptable on DVDs, and of course nothing goes better with Blue-Ray than a nice ranch dressing.
People... why on earth are we the dominant species?
All I can see is a poor 74 y/o nice grandma in handcuffs...in a little jail cell...for mayo on books with realish other criminal in there. Anyone else seeing this picture after the drop! I'm telling other people about this story, so thanks for sharing!
The even funnier thing is: that mayo crime happened in Idaho Falls- it's just too small to show up in the National News, so they call it Boise. That's where I live, and the next day, the library drop box was closed off! Oh brother! I agree though, the question is: why?
Actually, there's a crime trick...condiment crooks... pulled in Toronto where one crook squirts ketchup on a pedestrian while the second crook steals his wallet.
Reading that press release almost reminds me of someone arguing "did not" when confronted with an accusation, but not going into any more detail than that.
Anonymous said, on 6/13/2010 8:11:00 AM
You know, when someone counters specific charges with "nuh uh," it's just not believable.
The AG said that Wiley changed e-book royalties from cover price to net receipts. It would be nice to say, "No, we didn't," or "We did, but we drastically bumped up the royalty rate in compensation."
"We don't think so" is just a dumb, unbelievable response.
God I love youtube too - except when I catch myself after wasting a couple of hours watching vids instead of sleeping or writing or doing something else essential!
This though was one of the funniest things I've seen! must repost. Thanks for sharing!
What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? FOREVER YOUNG by Alphaville
After my blog tirade two years ago when Simon & Schuster didn’t play nice in the sandbox (by deleting the crucial last four lines of their Out of Print clause without telling anyone), you know how strongly I feel about publishers behaving badly.
Sounds like John Wiley & Sons might be doing similar if the Authors Guild strong warning is anything to judge by.
I do not have any authors impacted by the sale of Bloomberg Press to Wiley so I have not seen this letter. And for the record, I have no personal take or stake on the situation but for general purposes, I like to pass on warnings when they occur so they reach as many readers as possible.
If you’re impacted by this, you might want to touch base with the folks at the AG.
17 Comments on Publishers Behaving Badly, last added: 6/12/2010
Wow. That is some shady business dealings. Behavior like that puts the whole company in a negative light and puts their very integrity into question. As an author, the fact that they would conspire in this way would make we want to avoid them completely.
This is one of the reasons I like you so much, kudos to you for letting the word out- even when it doesn't affect you.
This is shocking! This is a good way to alienate future writers. What were they thinking?
Thanks for the warning. I won't query them first hand, if I can't get an agent. I'm assuming they're first and foremost trying to trick the agent-less people.
Please shoot me now! Though I have been working on a book for some time, I am new to the publishing world. I wish I had found your site with examples of submitted query letters prior to sending one out yesterday. Ouch! Kristin, if you feel so inclined to read it and give any advice, please shoot me an e-mail. Thanks!
Anonymous said, on 6/12/2010 9:35:00 AM
Royalties on "unknowable" net are a screw, period. Not because the percentage is off. If the publisher sold the books for 50% of cover price, I wouldn't mind that I got 20% of net, as opposed to 10% of cover price. But, guess what, publishers can sell the book for anything they want to. Why don't they add in their contract that they won't sell the book for less than 50% of cover price. Then, gimme a double cut of net, I don't mind.
Why hide the truth in a contract? That's the place where everything should be clearly stated and understood by both parties... and, well, being "knowable" helps.
The payment a publisher makes for "content" should be stable, knowable, and, well, payable. Please.
STATUS: So excited! Leaving the office before 6! However, I’m just going to take Chutney for a walk and then continue working tonight as I need to read client material.
What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? POCKET FULLOF SUNSHINE by Natasha Bedingfield
Today I was reviewing a royalty statement from a book that had been recently released. In other words, this was the first statement for the title that we had seen.
In looking at the statement, I noticed that there wasn’t a single electronic book sold in the six-month accounting period this statement encompassed.
Red flag! And you don’t even have to be a rocket scientist (or a literary agent for that matter!) to be able to look at the statement and realize that if an electronic book is available but sales are not showing on the statement, something has gone awry.
Now in this instant, the problem was easily solved. The book released right at the end of the six-month accounting period (so in late December) and the ebook didn’t release until 2 weeks later (in January) so there was no way for ebooks to show on this statement. Problem solved.
However, I bring this up because I’ve seen this issue on other statements and the above situation was not the issue.
The issue ended up being this: the ebook ISBN was not tied to the print title of the book and thus the publishing house royalty system was recording ebook sales with that ISBN but it wasn’t linked to anything. There was no way for the computer to know what author to attach it to.
The only way the problem was solved was by me ringing up the editor to get the ISBNs for the ebooks and then ringing up the royalty department to say, look, there’s an issue here. You need to tie these ISBNs to the statement for these titles. Then have the publishing house regenerate the royalty statements.
So even though you trust your agent, it’s still good idea to read your royalty statements and see if they make sense. Lots of royalty statements can come in certain months (like April/October) and heck, everyone is human and something could be accidentally overlooked. Be your own best advocate.
11 Comments on Ebook Royalty Glitch, last added: 5/14/2010
Wow, thanks for sharing. It's scary to think about what happens to all that money if no one ever connects the dots... good thing you know about all of this, though!
The challenge is the dual-nature of product families. They're an obvious means of tracking workload/workflow and are used for that purpose, not just tracking various platforms used to distribute a book.
In the past, product families generally kept to themselves. Book people worked on books. Media people worked on media and never would the two cross. Now it's become a Venn diagram and we have to cope with seeing irrelevant (to us) records in our product families. Why are all these dead tree things clogging up my orderly 1s and 0s books?
So what happened? We changed the product families! Get those dead trees out of there. They're confusing the computers, they're confusing the workers. Keep to your side of the pool! (How many analogies can I mix in here?) Of course, this completely defeated the purpose of having a product family and we grudgingly accepted this new change in thinking.
Still, this is a new process for the industry and we make mistakes. ...often.
Some of the ebook distributors are slow about reporting numbers and paying royalties. Several of my publishers have complained about Fictionwise, and it's only gotten worse since B&N bought them out.
Presented by Edward Necarsulmer IV, McIntosh & Otis, Inc. on January 30th 2010.
Advance Against Royalties or SHOW ME THE MONEY - Upfront money publisher pays author for the right to buy a literary Property.
Track Record/Earning Out or HOW DID MY BABY DO? – Did previous books sell enough copies to cover their advances?
Grant of Rights/Territory/Work for Hire or MY WRITING SOUNDS BETTER IN KOREAN! – States where a publisher is allowed to sell your book and your relationship to the work.
Manuscript Delivery or DEADLINES - When is your manuscript due?
Payout Structure or WHERE IS MY MONEY? - The schedule in which the advance will be paid.
Royalty Rate (Hard, Soft, Mass, Board Books, etc.) or IT’S FLYING OFF THE SHELVES… - Royalties are how the advance is earned out. For each copy sold, the author earns a percentage of the price. The amount he earns changes depending on how many copies and edition of the book was sold.
Escalation/Slide or AND NOW I’M GOING TO BE RICH! - The percentage a publisher pays usually increases after a book has sold a certain amount of the copies.
Joint/Separate Accounting or MIGHTIER APART THAN TOGETHER - If there are two books in the contract, will they both have to earn back their advances before royalties can be paid? Are they counted together or apart?
Subsidiary Rights or ICING ON THE CAKE - Additional right such as audio rights and foreign rights that can either be granted to publisher or author. Publishers traditionally shares in any profits made from subsidiary rights.
Flow Through or THE EXPRESS LANE - A clause that ensures payment of subsidiary rights income is paid as it is received by the Publisher, instead of waiting for bi-annual royalty statements.
Royalty Statements/Unearned Statements or I’VE ARRIVED! - Issued twice annually these statements are your report card from the Publisher calculating your number of units sold at the each royalty rate.
Copyright or YOUR FRIEND, THE ‘C’ IN A CIRCLE - Your publisher will register the title, year of first publication and the name of the copyright owner with the U.S. COPYRIGHT OFFICE, although copyright protection actually begins the moment your pen touches the paper.
Jacket/Cover Consultation or PUT ON YOUR BERET! - A clause in an agreement stipulating a good will exchange between Author and Publisher when designing the dust jacket or cover art.
Out of Print or PREPARING FOR RETIREMENT - Enough said.
Option Clause or TO BE OR NOT TO BE A FREE AGENT? – no explanation from Edward.
Bonus Language or PROTECTING FOR SUCESS – My comment: This is where you really need an agent. Edward whipped though 32 things that he tries to get in the contract that you or I would never think of, but could make a big difference in the outcome of your book.
GENERAL: Avoid vague language, Reserved rights, Right to audit
WORDS THAT SHOULD RAISE A RED FLAG:
Forever
Perpetuity
Universe
Now and herei
5 Comments on Book Contract Basics, last added: 2/25/2010
Thanks for sharing this! This is the clearest “translation” of all that lingo that I’ve seen to date!
- Liz
anitanolan said, on 2/22/2010 9:34:00 AM
thanks Kathy!
Donna Marie said, on 2/22/2010 9:57:00 PM
Nice and concise! I can tell you one thing—I KNOW I want and need an agent. It’s a matter of an agent wanting and needing ME! lol
Donna
kathytemean said, on 2/24/2010 9:44:00 PM
Liz,
Thanks. Edward gave a very good workshop. I am going to have to try and get him to do it again for a workshop or conference and have him repeat it. He couldn’t make it this year.
Kathy
kathytemean said, on 2/24/2010 9:46:00 PM
Donna,
I’m in the same boat with you. I love Edward, but then I am not the only one who does.
In what appeared to be a clear bid to anticipate the release of the breathlessly awaited Apple tablet, Amazon announced Wednesday new royalty terms for authors or publishers who release e-books through its Kindle’s digital text platform, a direct publishing initiative.
Authors and publishers will be offered a royalty rate of 70 percent of the digital list price after “delivery costs,” typically about 6 cents per digital unit. This rate is similar to that currently offered by Apple in its app store.
Amazon’s move is also a clear bid to woo authors away from traditional publishing houses. Publishers typically offer authors a royalty rate equal to 15 percent of a hardcover list price and 7.5 percent of a trade paperback list price. On digital books, the emerging industry standard among the largest publishing houses is 25 percent of net proceeds from the sale of an e-book.
Amazon has set some criteria for authors or publishers who want to receive the 70 percent royalty. List prices must be from $2.99 to $9.99, a maximum that is much lower than the typical hardcover price of around $25. The e-book’s list price must also be 20 percent lower than the lowest list price for a physical copy of the same book and the same price as or lower than any competitor’s price.
Any thoughts on whether this is good for writers?
Kathy
Posted in News, Royalties Tagged: Amazon, Books, need to know, Royalties
6 Comments on Royalty Increases at Amazon, last added: 1/21/2010
Royalties are great, but IMHO, the more important news is that a major player is working to bring the prices of ebooks down. ePublishing is not going to go mainstream until the prices are reasonable.
Tatiana Vidal said, on 1/21/2010 10:06:00 AM
Should we writers wait to sell the rights to Kindle if Apple Tablet is coming out in less than three months, should we wait for the criteria on royalty stabilizes?
kathytemean said, on 1/21/2010 10:59:00 AM
Tatiana,
Boy, I wish I knew the answer to that. We are on the edge of the unknown. I will be going to the SCBWI Conference in NYC next week and look for opportunities to ask this question and other question in relation to this whole market. I will definitely share anything i find out.
Kathy
kathytemean said, on 1/21/2010 11:05:00 AM
Camille,
You probably are right. I wonder how this is all going to shake out for the authors? Will it mean more books getting published? Will it mean more money or less for an author’s writing? Is this the demise of real “Hold in your hand” books? I wish I had a crystal ball.
Kathy
Donna Marie said, on 1/21/2010 7:02:00 PM
I’ve always hated the thought that books were trending toward digital (my father’s been saying this was the future for books for at least 15 years *sigh*). It’s hard to really know what will be better for authors because it seems that ebooks will be in flux more. Hand-held books will always cost $ in the way that there are tangible materials that cost $. Ebooks are only digital, so the actual cost won’t really change to produce or deliver them.
Anyway, although I’ve come to see the ways that the Kindles and Nooks can be very convenient and they have their place, I will always prefer actual books. I want to feel the paper, see the cover, be able to flip pages, etc. I have a friend here at Barnes who received a Nook for Xmas and said she was in bed reading with it *sigh* It broke my book-loving heart.
kathytemean said, on 1/21/2010 9:53:00 PM
Donna Marie,
Even with loving technology, I don’t like the idea of losing the tactile feel of holding and book and like you said, “turning the page.” I can see text books on a Kindle or being able to read manuscripts on a Kindle if you are and editor or agent, but I want to keep my books.
On the other hand, maybe they will provide more opportunities for authors and illustrators to get published – that would be a good thing. But I know I would be disappointed to only have my book published that way.
I know some of my children’s writer friends have written historical or contemporary romance adult novellas. If you have and it has a 25 -35 year old main character, then this might be a good opportunity for you.
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GalleyCat contributor Jeff Rivera interviewed Grand Central publisher Jamie Raab for mediabistro.com’s 
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Since so many of you have signed book contracts or seeing the your book hit the shelves, I thought you might be interested in this post that Alan Rinzler had on his blog. This is important information to know about your sales.
This article came out last week in the New York Times. It was such a bummer, that I didn’t post it. Even some best-selling authors are feeling the pinch. I know a lot of you have already read this, but when the Stinky Cheese Man Jon Scieszka says things are bad, we really have to be aware of what is going on in the picture book industry.
I know a lot of you write YA, so you may be interested to know that Noble Romance Publishing is starting a new line of YA romance novels starting in October. They are pretty open when it comes to YA genre. They say, “If the story is great, we don’t care if it’s a historical set on Mars or a contemporary set in the cornfields of Nebraska.” They are offering $1000 advances. 
James Patterson ($70 million)
Ken Follett ($20 million)
Contract Basics 
This comment has been removed by the author.
Let me try again. I got way too windy on my initial response.
I can't help thinking it's a simple, economics supply-demand issue. There are so many writers, so many submissions, that publishers, in a sense, have the upper hand right now. Add to that the changing world of books, how people are reading and their willingness to buy books, the profits are being spread thin for publishers as well.
As you suggested, I think most writers want to see their creations enjoyed by readers.
I am glad there are large groups advocating for authors. Corporations are, after all, very bottom-line motivated and the creators can get lost in that shuffle
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LOL, I'm giving this a second try too.
I think the biggest dealbreakers with the original terms of Hydra did not have to do with no advance. There were other issues: Hydra wanted the rights to the work forever, they were taking all foreign rights, and they were deducting expenses normally absorbed by the publisher such as editorial work and cover art.
The new terms, even for the profit-sharing model, have an out-of-print clause and allow you to negotiate foreign and subrights. That's an important improvement, IMO.
Also, I don't know about SFWA but RWA does allow monies from royalty to count toward membership qualifications for PAN, their subgroup for published authors.
If a publisher doesn't offer an advance is this telling you that publisher doesn't expect to make much money from your book (and neither should you)?
@Julie: Well said, it is a business and the creative person is often not business-minded. In today's world, we have to be or as you said we will be lost in the shuffle. I am glad, too, that the publisher listened to the outrage though. It reminds me of what happened a few years ago in the children's publishing world with book covers.
@Maya: Thanks for adding that--yes, I knew there were many more issues besides the advance, but the blog post I read that bothered me the most was on John's site: WHATEVER and mostly talked about advances--I guess because I haven't gotten one, I took offense. :)
@Amber: I'm not sure. Maybe it means it's a changing world and nobody really knows what's going to happen yet until you get a book or two published and test the market. I write children's books. I write historical fiction and picture books--neither one of those are high money makers right now, and I know that. I am happy that someone is paying me to write and share that with children/teachers/parents. I guess for me it doesn't matter if it's upfront or after. And I guess I wrote this post trying to figure out if it should matter to me OR if it mattered to most and I was a minority.
To all--thanks for your comments! It's an interesting debate/situation. And I definitely don't think publishers should take advantage of new authors, of course; but I also think smaller and mid-level publishers need to have a good business model or they will find themselves going bankrupt in today's market.
Thanks for posting this, Margo! I was unaware of the controversy with Random House's digital-only lines. When we did the E-Publishing Revolution issue a couple of years ago, I was a little shocked to learn that most e-publishers, with few exceptions, do NOT offer advances. I agree with Julie's point of the changing climate of publishing, but I'm not sure if profits are being spread too thin for publishers. I know book stats have always been vague in the publishing industry, but it appears from the publisher-reported stats that digital sales have increased exponentially over the past few years. But I've also heard from other sources like Digital Book World that profits at the larger publishers have risen while sales have remained flat. Are they making profits because of lower advances, less money spent on marketing, and lower production costs for digital books?
Like many other industries it is lopsided and in favor of the conglomerates. Small and mid-size publishers struggle in the marketplace. I think it's up to the individual author to decide what's right for her. And I don't think you should take offense, Margo, about the comments on the advance. SFWA has always had these strict guidelines in place, despite the changing industry. They even have a list of publications you have to have been published in to qualify to apply for a membership!
But what is AWESOME about this story is the power of the people--because writers, organizations, agents, and readers spoke out against this contract, Random House changed it.
I love discussions like this! I'd love to see more of this on The Muffin. :)
Ang: You are right. :) I should look at it in a more positive light--power to the people--makes me think a little of the scene in Les Mis where the college rebels are waving the flag and singing, "Do You Hear the People Sing?" :) I qualify for PAL (Published Author List) with SCBWI which is my genre anyway, and my publisher is on their list. So there. :) LOL