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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Mar 13, 2020 13:25:33 GMT
Ron,
Actually after you wade through the legalese it's not that complex, as the various terms and conditions as they apply to specific contexts are pretty explicit or clearly stated.
I've written up some basic contractual agreements [sans legal training], meaning after you've had to nail down who is responsible for what [or who gets paid for what and when] under a variety of potential conditions a few times, it's a lot easier to follow.
Not showing the dollar amount makes sense because even if you were allowed to share said information, a lot of people with either less skill or far less of a previous track record [if any] would quickly start complaining when they don't receive a similar deal.
Good information, thank you
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2020 17:03:32 GMT
I thought that this might be of some interest to those who may have been thinking about traditional publishing. Following is that part of my contract with the publisher who is doing my new YA non-fiction book. I have deleted the actual dollar amounts since I wasn't sure if I was free to share that information. The royalty rates may be higher or lower with other publishers, depending on their size and the nature/potential market of the book, but the basic contract language is typical regardless of who they are. You can see that it's not very simple! The advance against royalties is kind of a loan from the publisher. They will keep the royalties earned on sales until the advance is paid back. Once that happens, you will receive further payments. However, the advance is also non-returnable. That is, it is money the author gets to keep even if the book doesn't sell a single copy, ever. (I am pleased to say that I think that most of my books for this publisher earned back their advances so that I now get periodic royalty payments.) R 7. ADVANCE AND ROYALTIES 7.1. The Publisher shall pay the Author an advance against royalties and any other amounts that may become due for the Work in the sum of XX Dollars ($XX), payable as follows: 7.1.1. XX Dollars ($XX) upon receipt by the Publisher of a copy of this Agreement signed by the Author; 7.1.2. XX Dollars ($XX) upon delivery of an acceptable manuscript and artwork that meet the Publisher’s requirements as specified in Section 2 herein and any provided guidelines from the Publisher as to length, form, reading level, and content coverage; and 7.1.3. XX Dollars ($XX) upon the Publisher’s acceptance of the final, revised manuscript and artwork of the Work. 7.2. The Publisher shall pay the Author a royalty of Eight Percent (8%) based on the net U.S. dollar amounts received by the Publisher from sales of all English-language hardcover copies of the Work published by the Publisher, accounted for separately, wherever sold. 7.3. The Publisher shall pay the Author a royalty of Four Percent (4%) based on the net U.S. dollar amounts received by the Publisher from sales of all English-language paperback copies of the Work published by the Publisher, accounted for separately, wherever sold. 7.4. The Publisher shall pay the Author royalties, accounted for separately, on sales of all hardcover and paperback editions of the Work published by the Publisher in languages other than English, wherever sold, according to the schedule above for the English-language paperback edition. 7.5. No royalties will be paid for copies of the Work distributed or displayed for publicity, advertising, or review purposes or for copies that are sold below cost or on the remainder market or for copies that are published and distributed without charge in Braille. In addition, no royalties will be paid for copies of the Work given or sold to the Author under the terms of this Agreement. 7.6. The Publisher shall have the right, but not the obligation, to reduce by one-half (1/2) the royalty rates payable to the Author hereunder in any of the following circumstances: 7.6.1. On sales of the Work made to any customer at a discount of Fifty-Five Percent (55%) or more from the Publisher’s list price (deeply discounted sales); 7.6.2. On copies sold from a reprinting of one thousand five hundred (1,500) or fewer copies made two years or more after first publication of the Work. This is provided because of the increased cost of manufacture of small printings, to enable the Author and the Publisher to keep the Work in print and in circulation for as long as possible; and/or 7.6.3. On sales of the Work published and sold by the Publisher solely for export or special sales (including but not limited to book clubs and premium sales) outside the United States. 7.7. The Publisher shall pay the Author a royalty of Ten Percent (10%) on the monies net U.S. dollar amounts received by the Publisher from the sales of audio-books based on the Work and published by the Publisher, (as listed in Section 1.1), separately, wherever sold. 7.8. The Publisher shall pay the Author a royalty of Ten Percent (10%) on the net U.S. dollar amounts received by the Publisher from sales of the Work or license to access the Work in any of the Publisher’s electronic editions as defined in Section 1.3. hereof accounted for separately, wherever sold. The distribution of an electronic edition of the Work by the Publisher or by an agent or distributor appointed by the Publisher under any name or imprint of the Publisher shall be deemed to be a sale by the Publisher and such distribution shall be accounted for and a royalty shall be due thereon as provided in this Section 7.8. 7.9. The Publisher shall pay the Author a royalty of Five Percent (5%) on the net U.S. dollar amounts received by the Publisher from the exercise by the Publisher of any of the commercial and merchandising rights in the Work, as defined in Section 1.4. hereof. 7.10. The Publisher shall pay the Author a royalty of Ten Percent (10%) on the net U.S. dollar amounts received by the Publisher from the exercise by the Publisher of any rights for which no royalty is specifically provided in Sections 7.2. – 7.9. hereof. 7.11. If the Work or any portion of the Work is combined with other works or materials and included in any database, digital library, custom publication or similar product published by Publisher (a “Combined Work”), Publisher shall pay Author a royalty equal to the corresponding royalty set forth above for such Combined Work, multiplied by the percentage which the Work or portion thereof bears to all of the works (including the Work) contained in the Combined Work. 7.12. The net proceeds received by the Publisher from advertising revenue (as listed in Section 14) shall be divided Twenty-Five Percent (25%) to the Author and Seventy-Five Percent (75%) to the Publisher. 7.13. The exercise of any of the rights granted hereunder by any parent, subsidiary or affiliate of the Publisher or any entity controlled by or under common control with the Publisher shall be deemed to be an exercise of such rights by the Publisher, and the Publisher shall pay the Author a royalty thereon as provided in this Section 7. 8. PROCEEDS FROM LICENSE OR SALE OF RIGHTS 8.1. The net proceeds received by the Publisher from the sale or license by the Publisher of any of the rights granted under this Agreement (as listed in Section 1.2. - 1.4.) shall be divided Twenty-Five Percent (25%) to the Author and Seventy-Five Percent (75%) to the Publisher. 8.2. For the purposes of this Agreement, net proceeds shall equal the gross proceeds received by the Publisher from any such sale or license, reduced by any related expenses including but not limited to foreign taxes and any agent’s commissions. Extremely interesting.
As I understand it, the author will always get 4% for bookstore sales as bookstores always get a 55% discount when ordering books. It's the standard. I have set my own discount at Ingram Spark at 55% returnable, destroy, always, so as to encourage bookstores to order. This is also the approach advised by IS.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2020 17:08:34 GMT
I was wondering if you could clarify this:
8.1. The net proceeds received by the Publisher from the sale or license by the Publisher of any of the rights granted under this Agreement (as listed in Section 1.2. - 1.4.) shall be divided Twenty-Five Percent (25%) to the Author and Seventy-Five Percent (75%) to the Publisher.
So, if the publisher sells the rights to the author's work, the publisher will get 75%. Is that correct?
The whole thing makes me feel uncomfortable. Someone else is selling my soul and keeping 75% of the profits.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2020 18:25:23 GMT
I was wondering if you could clarify this:
8.1. The net proceeds received by the Publisher from the sale or license by the Publisher of any of the rights granted under this Agreement (as listed in Section 1.2. - 1.4.) shall be divided Twenty-Five Percent (25%) to the Author and Seventy-Five Percent (75%) to the Publisher.
So, if the publisher sells the rights to the author's work, the publisher will get 75%. Is that correct?
The whole thing makes me feel uncomfortable. Someone else is selling my soul and keeping 75% of the profits.
No...they are not selling the rights to your book if you mean the copyright. You own that (there is a separate clause in the contract that spells that out.) They are only talking about the specific rights that are being granted to the publisher by the contract.
Here are those rights spelled out:GRANT OF RIGHTS The Author, on behalf of himself and his heirs, executors, administrators, successors, and assigns, hereby grants and assigns to the Publisher for the full term of the United States copyright, and any and all renewals or extensions thereof, the following exclusive rights in and to the Work: 1.1. The exclusive right to reproduce, publish, distribute and sell and to grant licenses to others to reproduce, publish, distribute and sell the Work in whole or in part and separately or combined with other works or materials, in all print formats, including hardcover, paperback and print-on-demand, and in all electronic formats as defined in Section 1.3., in all languages throughout the world. 1.2. The exclusive right to exercise and grant to third parties all other rights in and to the Work throughout the world, in all languages and in any format or media and using any method of reproduction, recording, storage, retrieval, delivery, distribution, display, broadcast, or transmission now known or hereafter devised, including all other publication rights; reprint rights; book club rights; translation and foreign language rights; first- and second- serialization rights; dramatic rights; audio-recording rights (including audio-books); radio, television, motion picture and film rights, and all related merchandising rights derived from those rights; audiovisual rights; adaptation, condensation, abridgement and syndication rights; and the right to publish part or all of the Work and excerpts and selections from the Work in anthologies, school textbooks, magazines, newspapers or other publications. 1.3. The exclusive right to exercise and grant to third parties all electronic publishing and distribution rights in and to the Work throughout the world, including but not limited to the exclusive right to reproduce, store, publish, distribute via any and all methods, display, transmit, broadcast and sell the Work and/or any interactive adaptation or enhanced edition, condensation, or abridgment thereof, in whole or in part, alone or in combination with other works or materials (including, without limitation, additional text and illustrations, music, audio and audiovisual features, hyperlinks, games, study and interpretation guides, definitions, and interactive features and audio recordings of the complete text), using any electronic, magnetic, optical, digital, laser-based, or related form now known or later developed, in a manner designed to be viewed and interacted with, sequentially or nonsequentially, including the right to include, reproduce, store, publish, distribute, display, transmit, broadcast and sell the Work or any portion of the Work in or as a part of any electronic or digital database, compilation or other similar product. 1.4. The exclusive right to exercise and grant to third parties all commercial and merchandising rights in and to the Work, including the right to produce toys, games, clothing, calendars, greeting cards, jewelry, and other items based on the title, story line, or characters of the Work and also including the right to use the title, story line, or characters of the Work as the basis for or in connection with any trademark, advertising, or publicity for any product, service, or event. 1.5. The exclusive right to publish and distribute the Work in Braille or in other forms for use by the physically and mentally challenged. The rights granted hereunder allows for text-to-speech conversion of the Works solely for use by the handicapped or the physically or mentally challenged. 1.6. Author acknowledges that the Publisher has sole and exclusive ownership of the trademark, trade name, logo, imprints, title of the Work, series title, graphic design, and any other identification features (collectively, “Publisher’s Identification”) now or hereafter used by the Publisher for the Work. 1.7. Nothing in this Agreement (including but not limited to the right of the Author to books, film, and digital files on termination) shall permit the Author to use the Publisher’s Identification during the term of this Agreement or thereafter, without first obtaining the Publisher’s approval in writing. 1.8. All rights in the Work not specifically granted in this Agreement to the Publisher are reserved to the Author. 1.9. The Publisher shall provide copies of license agreements upon Author’s written request to the Publisher, provided the Publisher is not bound by confidentiality. Some of these are very specific to the publisher I am working with and some are pretty general. But keep in mind that any income derived from the exercise of any of these rights (such as merchandising) is shared with me. In a sense, the publisher can be thought of as a kind of agent. For instance, if there are any "toys, games, clothing, calendars, greeting cards, jewelry, [or] other items" generated by the book (as unlikely as that might be), I will share in the income. That share is just 25%, but it must be kept in mind that the publisher will have done all the work in contacting merchandisers, negotiating deals and working out contracts. All I have to do is collect my check. In fact, once I turn in the finished book I can focus on my next one instead of being swamped by ten thousand other things for which I have neither time, experience nor money to indulge in. Just think of what you would have to go through if you had to take it upon yourself to contact and negotiate with game companies, clothing or toy manufacturers or greeting card publishers.
None of the rights being granted, though, includes the copyright to the book itself:12. COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION 12.1. The Author hereby authorizes the Publisher to register the copyright to the Work in the name of the Author in the United States of America and in any other country deemed appropriate by the Publisher. 12.2. The Author hereby appoints the Publisher as the Author’s attorney-in-fact solely for purposes of registering the copyright to the Work and to apply for renewal or extension of such copyright in any and all countries covered by this Agreement and to acknowledge, deliver, and file all such papers and documents as shall be necessary or convenient to effectuate such extension. All of the rights listed revert back to me if and when the book should go out of print, with the original publisher having no further claim on any part of the book. The rights will also revert if the publisher doesn't publish the book within a certain time frame (and I would get to keep the advance).6.5. Except as allowed in this Agreement, if the Work is not published by the Publisher within twenty-four (24) months of the date of acceptance of the final revised manuscript and artwork under Section 2 hereof, the Author may contact the Publisher in writing of the Author’s desire to terminate this Agreement. If the Publisher does not publish the Work within twelve (12) months of this written notice, this Agreement shall terminate, whereupon all rights granted herein shall revert to the Author, the Author shall be entitled to retain all sums paid hereunder, and neither party shall have any further obligations or liabilities to the other hereunder. 9. REVERSION OF RIGHTS The rights granted under this Agreement shall revert to the Author if the Work goes out of print and the Publisher within twelve (12) months of receiving written notice from the Author does not place the Work in print again, provided that any license granted by the Publisher prior to receiving such notice shall remain in effect, and the Publisher or any licensee of the Publisher shall retain all rights to dispose of existing inventory. Upon termination, the Publisher shall have no further obligations or liabilities to the Author except that the Author’s earned royalties and share of net proceeds from licenses shall be paid as set forth in this Agreement. The Work shall be deemed out of print when it is no longer available for sale by the Publisher or any licensee of the Publisher, in any form, and when the Publisher and/or its licensees are not planning to reprint it within twelve (12) months. You own the copyright in name only. They own the right to make money off your book. Example, Margaret Atwood signed away the movie rights to her book The Handmaid's Take in the 80s. She still owned the copyright, but she makes zero money now in the TV series. To me it sounds like rape. This is why independent publishing agrees with me. I like deciding on the go.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2020 18:26:28 GMT
And the more I read the above rights given away the more frustrated I become. I'm sure it's right for others, just not for me.
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Post by ronmiller on Mar 13, 2020 21:35:30 GMT
And the more I read the above rights given away the more frustrated I become. I'm sure it's right for others, just not for me. "You own the copyright in name only. They own the right to make money off your book. Example, Margaret Atwood signed away the movie rights to her book The Handmaid's Take in the 80s. She still owned the copyright, but she makes zero money now in the TV series. To me it sounds like rape. This is why independent publishing agrees with me. I like deciding on the go." No. That is not exactly true. You are in effect licensing your book to them. The publisher is taking all the risks in publishing the book: editing, printing, binding, advertising, marketing, etc. These are all things you would have to either pay for out of your own pocket or try to do yourself, regardless of experience. They even take on the expense of paying you an advance---which is a total loss to them if your book doesn't sell well. Yes, they are making money from your book...but so are you. Every dollar your book earns is shared with you. And you don't have to do a thing: instead of devoting every waking moment to promoting and marketing your book yourself you can instead focus on being creative and writing your next one...and letting the publisher sweat all the details. And when your contract with the publisher is over, you still own the copyright to the book. You can publish it yourself, you can sell it to a different publisher, you can do anything you want with it. If your book fails, if it just winds up decorating remainder tables, then it is the publisher who has to absorb all of the losses. Yes, the contract demands a lot of exclusivity, but that is reasonable. If I were to contract with a publisher for a book and then turn around and sell the same book to three other publishers that would be absolutely unethical even if it weren't surely a breach of contract. I have done more than twenty books for this particular publisher. Each was assigned a professional editor who worked closely with me. The books also got professional designers. For every one of them I received an advance against royalties. Several of the books have gone into the black so I also now get regular biannual royalty checks. This is exactly what most self-published authors hope for. A book I co-created a couple of years ago for another publisher was selling an average of twenty copies a day for over a year. I think that a lot of self-published authors would like that, too. But that was in large part possible because of the resources the publisher could bring to advertising and marketing. Several of my books have gone out of print and I am free to either find other publishers for them or publish them myself---and I have done that very thing. Movie rights are a distinct commodity you can sell. It is not the same thing as selling or giving up a copyright. If Atwood essentially gave away the movie rights to her book then she did something very foolish. It sounds very much like she didn't get the advice or help of an experienced agent.
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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Mar 13, 2020 21:52:12 GMT
Maggie,
Think of it this way. he guys who played the "Three Stooges" were careful in negotiating their contracts, so for many years after they quit making appearing in short films they continued making money from residuals, even when the short films they'd film had been modified for TV.
A lot of actors who'd had similar careers got nothing.
The difference is in how the contracts were negotiated in the differing cases.
Even if an author doesn't feel their work might translate into a movie, they really need to have someone experience in negotiation on their side, because it's the difference between making extra money or losing out on money.
It's not the publisher's shoulders if the author failed for whatever reason to negotiate the best deal they could.
Whether it's a contract for publishing, performing / receiving a service, buying a car, and so on, the devil is in the details so it's best to read the fine print before signing.
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Post by ronmiller on Mar 13, 2020 23:01:33 GMT
Maggie, Think of it this way. he guys who played the "Three Stooges" were careful in negotiating their contracts, so for many years after they quit making appearing in short films they continued making money from residuals, even when the short films they'd film had been modified for TV. A lot of actors who'd had similar careers got nothing. The difference is in how the contracts were negotiated in the differing cases. Even if an author doesn't feel their work might translate into a movie, they really need to have someone experience in negotiation on their side, because it's the difference between making extra money or losing out on money. It's not the publisher's shoulders if the author failed for whatever reason to negotiate the best deal they could. Whether it's a contract for publishing, performing / receiving a service, buying a car, and so on, the devil is in the details so it's best to read the fine print before signing. Very well put! And it's worth keeping in mind that my contract is not substantially different than anyone else's, including best-selling authors---including authors who have been published by the same company for years and even decades. They have stuck with their publishers because they are happy with them. Publishers (at least legitimate ones) are not out to cheat their authors.
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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Mar 13, 2020 23:22:45 GMT
Maggie, Think of it this way. he guys who played the "Three Stooges" were careful in negotiating their contracts, so for many years after they quit making appearing in short films they continued making money from residuals, even when the short films they'd film had been modified for TV. A lot of actors who'd had similar careers got nothing. The difference is in how the contracts were negotiated in the differing cases. Even if an author doesn't feel their work might translate into a movie, they really need to have someone experience in negotiation on their side, because it's the difference between making extra money or losing out on money. It's not the publisher's shoulders if the author failed for whatever reason to negotiate the best deal they could. Whether it's a contract for publishing, performing / receiving a service, buying a car, and so on, the devil is in the details so it's best to read the fine print before signing. Very well put! And it's worth keeping in mind that my contract is not substantially different than anyone else's, including best-selling authors---including authors who have been published by the same company for years and even decades. They have stuck with their publishers because they are happy with them. Publishers (at least legitimate ones) are not out to cheat their authors. Entities that attempt to make more money via screwing over those who fund their existence usually don't last.
Having essentially swum with and survived a few sharks, barracuda, and piranha, it doesn't take long to realize who or what you're swimming with. The rascals [publishers or agents among others] tend to tell on themselves.
Anyone who counsels 'don't worry about it, just sign the contract' usually doesn't have your best interest at heart.
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Post by ronmiller on Mar 14, 2020 12:37:31 GMT
Very well put! And it's worth keeping in mind that my contract is not substantially different than anyone else's, including best-selling authors---including authors who have been published by the same company for years and even decades. They have stuck with their publishers because they are happy with them. Publishers (at least legitimate ones) are not out to cheat their authors. Entities that attempt to make more money via screwing over those who fund their existence usually don't last.
Having essentially swum with and survived a few sharks, barracuda, and piranha, it doesn't take long to realize who or what you're swimming with. The rascals [publishers or agents among others] tend to tell on themselves.
Anyone who counsels 'don't worry about it, just sign the contract' usually doesn't have your best interest at heart.
Exactly. And I want to emphasize that, if you are working with a legitimate traditional publisher, you are not signing away the rights to your book. You are, as I mentioned, licensing those rights. In exchange for an advance and a share of the proceeds, you are allowing the publisher to print, advertise and market your book. The ways in which they can do this---and any limitations---are spelled out clearly in the contract. The publisher will be asking for exclusive rights to do this for the term of the contract which is perfectly reasonable: it would make no sense to have your book appear simultaneously from half a dozen different publishers. It would effectively be competing against itself. And why would a publisher want to invest in publishing your book if they know it is going to be available from others? You own your copyright---that is never at issue---the book is yours. But for the term of the contract you have licensed certain rights to the publisher---in exactly the same way that Disney might license a company to manufacture a Mickey Mouse toy or a celebrity might license the use of their name on a product. In every case, the licensee asks for the exclusive right to manufacture that toy or add a name to that type of product. But you have not given anything away: the publisher pays you for the right to do certain things with your book: publish it, advertise and market it, arrange for translations and/or foreign sales, arrange for book club editions, perhaps make deals for merchandising or other media, all of which is to your mutual benefit and which you do not have to do yourself or find other people to do for you. For instance, I have had books offered through book clubs, including the Book of the Month Club, something that would not have easily happened had I self-published. I have had books translated into Japanese, French, German and even Swedish---again something that would have been difficult if I were self-published. And once the term of the contract has expired, all of these rights revert back to you. You can publish the book yourself, you can find an another publisher...whatever you want to do. I realize that a lot of self-publishers like to get their hands into all of these things themselves, which is all well and good, but for my part I would rather be working on my next book than devoting every waking moment and every available penny trying to market the last one. Now, all of that being said, I don't want anyone to think for a single moment that I have any prejudice against self-publishing: I don't at all. I have self-published many, many books. I just don't want anyone to do so based on misconceptions about traditional publishing.
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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Mar 14, 2020 13:47:25 GMT
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Post by ronmiller on Mar 14, 2020 13:56:56 GMT
And the more I read the above rights given away the more frustrated I become. I'm sure it's right for others, just not for me. You are not "giving away" any rights. You are being paid for every single book that a publisher sells. All you are doing, essentially, is licensing the publisher for a certain period of time. The fact that the license is exclusive for the duration makes perfect sense. In exchange, the publisher is taking on all of the financial risk of publishing your book, from editing and printing to advertising and marketing (for instance, few self-published authors can afford to give away print copies of their books for review and promotion). But they are not taking any rights from you and you are not giving any away. And let's say you sell fifty books to a bookstore at say, something around 50% of the cover price. They sell the book for full price. They are making money from your work. They may even make more money per book than you do.
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Post by And Kevin 2024 on Mar 14, 2020 14:01:15 GMT
"The whole thing makes me feel uncomfortable. Someone else is selling my soul and keeping 75% of the profits."
That's often always the case. To write an article I once followed the path of a radio from China. Factory price (you did have to order a lot though!) was £2. It passed through so many profit adding hands before it was finally bought by an end-user the final price was £40 + taxes. The creator of most items makes the least, unless they sell direct.
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Post by ronmiller on Mar 14, 2020 14:36:17 GMT
"The whole thing makes me feel uncomfortable. Someone else is selling my soul and keeping 75% of the profits." That's often always the case. To write an article I once followed the path of a radio from China. Factory price (you did have to order a lot though!) was £2. It passed through so many profit adding hands before it was finally bought by an end-user the final price was £40 + taxes. The creator of most items makes the least, unless they sell direct. True enough. But then the manufacturer has to develop a complex infrastructure ranging from warehousing to distribution to retail sales. Even the largest, wealthiest companies in the world rarely sell directly to the consumer. Just pull up to, say, the headquarters of Ford in Detroit and tell the girl at the desk that you are there to buy a new car and see what happens. Besides, £38 of that £40 final price did not go to the final person in the chain. Each individual down the line each got only a small markup.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2020 16:14:32 GMT
And the more I read the above rights given away the more frustrated I become. I'm sure it's right for others, just not for me. "You own the copyright in name only. They own the right to make money off your book. Example, Margaret Atwood signed away the movie rights to her book The Handmaid's Take in the 80s. She still owned the copyright, but she makes zero money now in the TV series. To me it sounds like rape. This is why independent publishing agrees with me. I like deciding on the go." No. That is not exactly true. You are in effect licensing your book to them. The publisher is taking all the risks in publishing the book: editing, printing, binding, advertising, marketing, etc. These are all things you would have to either pay for out of your own pocket or try to do yourself, regardless of experience. They even take on the expense of paying you an advance---which is a total loss to them if your book doesn't sell well. Yes, they are making money from your book...but so are you. Every dollar your book earns is shared with you. And you don't have to do a thing: instead of devoting every waking moment to promoting and marketing your book yourself you can instead focus on being creative and writing your next one...and letting the publisher sweat all the details. And when your contract with the publisher is over, you still own the copyright to the book. You can publish it yourself, you can sell it to a different publisher, you can do anything you want with it. If your book fails, if it just winds up decorating remainder tables, then it is the publisher who has to absorb all of the losses. Yes, the contract demands a lot of exclusivity, but that is reasonable. If I were to contract with a publisher for a book and then turn around and sell the same book to three other publishers that would be absolutely unethical even if it weren't surely a breach of contract. I have done more than twenty books for this particular publisher. Each was assigned a professional editor who worked closely with me. The books also got professional designers. For every one of them I received an advance against royalties. Several of the books have gone into the black so I also now get regular biannual royalty checks. This is exactly what most self-published authors hope for. A book I co-created a couple of years ago for another publisher was selling an average of twenty copies a day for over a year. I think that a lot of self-published authors would like that, too. But that was in large part possible because of the resources the publisher could bring to advertising and marketing. Several of my books have gone out of print and I am free to either find other publishers for them or publish them myself---and I have done that very thing. Movie rights are a distinct commodity you can sell. It is not the same thing as selling or giving up a copyright. If Atwood essentially gave away the movie rights to her book then she did something very foolish. It sounds very much like she didn't get the advice or help of an experienced agent. I understand. I can see the appeal.
Twenty books is impressive, Ron.
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