Question for traditionally published authors

[ImperialBlether]

I was just wondering what percentage of the sale price you get on a Kindle book. If you self-publish and if the book sells for £1.99 or more, then you get 70% (though VAT is now involved so this is a rough figure.)

I know that the agent and the publisher take their share, but given that there is virtually no cost involved apart from the cost to Amazon, I wondered what the author ended up with. I can understand publishers promote your work etc, but if you have written 10 novels, presumably they are not still promoting your first. Do you then get a higher percentage of that book or just the same?

Just pondering this morning!

[schmalex]

I think the answer to your question depends on what is in individual contracts. But don't forget that there are lots of costs to producing a good book - cover design, editing, etc. If you're traditionally published you don't have to pay any of these costs.

[OutrageousFlavourLikeFreesias]

I think it depends on your contract to be honest. Mine has volume breaks so I get a higher % as sales go up. So if my first novel has a big sales surge off the back of my second, I'll get a bigger share.

I'm happy to share with my publishers, they work very hard for me and I definitely feel that we're partners.

[TheWordFactory]

My contract is a sliding scale too.

So x% for the first 10,000 sold, then Y for the next 10,000 etc. But obviously you don't get a dime until you've earned out your advance.

Funnily enough, publishers do keep promoting old e-books, because unlike HBs/PBs, there is little reason not to. No up-front outlay.

My first publishers (I moved to a different house years ago) recently asked my permission to re-package my first three books with shiny new covers. So I will expect an increase in sales there. And this in turn will drive sales of my latest books, as readers get hooked into the series.

I get six monthly royalty statements and cheques from all my publishers, both here and abroad. The books that I wrote over ten years ago really are the gifts that keep on giving .

[ImperialBlether]

Thanks for answering! I didn't mean they didn't have any work to do, just that the cost of actually producing and transporting a physical novel is obviously so much greater. I just don't understand how someone's paperback can be £3.99 but their Kindle copy £5.99.

[ImperialBlether]

Also, for those of you who are traditionally and e-published, what's the ratio of sales? As a reader I spent a fortune on e-books when I first got a Kindle, but now I'm finding I'm going back to paperbacks.

And - while I'm here! - please make us all jealous and tell us how many copies (roughly) you've sold of your bestselling book. Where did it come in order of publication, eg was it your first published book?

[Mamab33]

That's very interesting pondering of a morning OP.

TheWordFactory that is really nice to hear!

[TheWordFactory]

Imperial I sell far more ebooks than PBs ratio of 10:1.
I suspect my first few books are no longer even in print, yet they consistently sell in electronic format.

My first book has sold more than any others, because it's been around the longest, in many different languages. I don't know the exact numbers, but hundreds of thousands.

[ImperialBlether]

Blimey, WordFactory, we need a "well impressed" emoticon!