Where Is the Money?

Most people think authors make a lot of big bucks, but it's not true.  The majority of published author's may not even make minimum wages.  You think I'm kidding; well, I'm not laughing. 

This is a discussion many authors were having a few weeks ago on a Yahoo loop I belonged to.  It started by someone reading a blog about where the money is.  I can't remember the author's name now, but the story about the money wasn't pretty.  She was an author with one of the big six publishers. 

Many of you probably didn't know if an author gets money up front for their book they don't get royalties until the publisher makes enough sales to cover the amount they paid the author.  If they don't sell enough books; the author could end up having to pay part of the money back.  It all depends on what is in their contract.

E-publishers came along and after a few years the big 6 publishers wanted in on the action.  They tried to make their contracts for e-books the same as print books, which is about 5 to 7% depending on the contract negotiated.  E-publishers were giving way more and many name authors decided to keep their rights for e-publishing their books and self-published themselves. 

Some e-book authors have been making good money and even a living with their writing, but with the big name authors joining our ranks it's not easy.  Those authors who have a large following are beating out the new authors.  They are too much competition for many mid-list and e-book authors. 

There are thousands of people joining the ranks of author by self-publishing instead of waiting for a publisher to read their manuscript and accept it.  Many readers aren't willing to take a chance on a new author unless the book is really cheap, or even free.  They have reason to be afraid because some author's work hasn't been edited before publishing.  

Many published authors I know work a full time job.  If it weren't for the fact my husband and I are retired with pensions, social security and other investments I would have had to go back to work with what I make. 

It costs to be an author.  Any money, I make goes into promotion, websites, ink, paper, computers, conferences, etc.  The money goes back into the business.   Of course, some day, I expect to write a classic like Gone with the Wind, and that book will outlive me.  Grin!  While I'm alive there is always hope.  Like my husband says, "Follow your dreams."

 

Have a great week, and I'll see you next Sunday.  Thank you for reading my blog.

 

Sandra K. Marshall

http://www.skaymarshall.com

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What Do You Consider Too High to Pay for E-books?

Just recently there has been a dispute between five publishers and consumers over the price of e-books.  Three of the publishers are paying money back to the consumers, but two others haven't settled yet, or not as of two days ago. 

It's not my intent to side with publishers, but to help inform the public about the work involved in e-publishing a book.  Most readers think the reason e-books are cheap is because there's not a lot of work to get a book out to the public in this format.

Wrong!  E-publishers receive many submissions, and they weed through them to find a story with a germ of an idea that might sell, or a story that is so well written they might not have a lot of editing to do.

Then there is the contract.  A lawyer is used to draw up contracts between the publisher and the author.  If they give all of their authors the same benefits and terms then they can use the same contract by changing titles, author names and dates.

They have more than one artist to design the covers for books.  If the e-publisher allows the author input in the decision for the cover, there will be forms sent to her/him.  Questions like what color of hair and eyes your heroine/hero has, how tall are they, and a description of something they're wearing in a scene.  These are just a few things asked in the questionnaire for your book cover.

Editors are essential for editing manuscripts before they can be published.  Most e-publishers have good editors, and many of them came from the print houses.  If you get a good editor, your work will be so much better than without one.  Nearly, all e-publishers sell well written stories because they edit, and their authors rewrite many times.  I will add that many authors hire an editor to look over their manuscripts before they self-publish, so there books can be good, too. 

Next is the formatting.  This is a toughie, and it's very time consuming.  Most formats are PDF, Mobi Pocket, HTML and print.  Any place a book is placed has a different format.  For instant, Amazon and Barnes & Noble have different formats.  A store such as Sony store is different, and there are many other places where a book can be displayed that do use the same formats.

Last but not least is marketing.  I must admit marketing is pretty much left up to the author, and it is in the author's contract that she/he must do a certain amount of promoting her/his books.  Publishers do have a website where their catalog of books are shown and can be bought in a format of your choice.

Not being a publisher, I'm sure that I have left a lot out.  I just want to let people know that e-published books can be just as good as the big print houses. 

I would love to hear what you are willing to pay for an e-book?

Thank you for reading my blog, and I hope to see you next Sunday.

Sandy

http://www.eirelander-publishing.com