Will Amazon’s announcement to pay authors and publishers 70% royalties be a game changer? This royalty is being offered to both publishers and authors  and  if the sales of Amazon’s Kindle continue to grow, what a carrot this will be for authors weary of the woes of p-book publishing.

Under this program, eBooks must be priced between $2.99 and $9.99. So as an author, how will you come out compared to print publishing royalties that range between seven and fifteen percent? Assuming you have a print contract with a ten percent royalty and your book is priced at  at $16.99, you’ll earn $1.70. Under Amazon’s new royalty formula and if the book is priced at $8.99, you will earn $6.25 or three and that’s one-half times more per book.  

What’s the rub? By publishing directly, you forego the services publishers have provided – advances, editing, and marketing. But what is the reality of these authors today?

Except for established best-selling authors, advances are about where they were when we got our first book contract in 1982. For the most part, editing is outsourced and judging from the many books we read, we know even best-sellers are replete with errors that in the past would have been picked up by a developmental or copy editor, or a proofreader.  Whether your book is published by a Big 6 publisher or you do it yourself, you will need to line up your own editing if you want to avoid embarrassing errors. Authors have learned that if their book is to get sold, it’s up to them. The situation in publishing houses has become such that some book agents have begun providing editing and marketing support to their promising authors.

Even before Amazon’s 70% humdinger, some big-name authors like Stephen Covey and Stephen King have been going directly to eBooks.  Will you join them?

Don’t know how to proceed with a book you have already written or one you plan to write? I can help. You can contact me directly for a free consultation at paul@9lives4yourbook.com.