Small Publishing Houses Make Big Changes
New Publishing Services Mean Better Deals for Authors
What one new publisher has defined as “partner publishing” or “partner pub” is beginning to attract the attention of authors and publishing houses alike. Pioneered by HarperStudio, an offshoot of publisher HarperCollins, new publishing contracts set out to reduce waste and fees while earning both authors and publishers big money.
What Makes the New Publishing Services Different?
The biggest difference in new publishing services, most being offered by smaller publishers, is the end of advance money, followed by a more even share of the profits. Traditional publishing houses will normally offer authors an advance on book sales. Once the book has earned enough to pay back this advance, authors are entitled to anywhere from 5.7% to 10% of the profits from future sales.
Small publishers want to change this platform for several reasons. It eliminates the risk; there is no need to gamble a large advance on a book either by a new author, or by an author who may have had flash in the pan success with a previous book. Contracts will vary from publisher to publisher, but many publishers will either take the set up costs out of the first sales of the book, or will assume the set up costs entirely, after this, most publishers and writers will then split the profits evenly.
New authors can stand to make more money this way, while established authors don’t have to worry about diminishing advances, due to overspending on potential best selling novels, or have to worry keeping track of future royalties, as there is little to do delay.
With the advent of print on demand publishing, this can also help publishers keep costs down, earning more money for both author and publisher, while reducing the amount of returned books.
Why Should Authors Wish to Publish in this Method?
New authors stand to benefit the most from this method of publishing. Small and large publishing houses alike will have less of a gamble on an unproven author by not offering an advance. Combined with print on demand publishing, which eliminates large printing runs, publishers can feel more comfortable publishing new authors. With set up costs low, and no advance money which may not come back, the profit margins become much higher for publishers, and therefore for the authors.
Previously published authors whose books see steady sales can also stand to benefit from this method. Traditionally, an advance is expected to become larger with each subsequently published book. With many publishing companies being down as much as 10% in sales, along with immense advances for celebrity authors, advance money that authors may count on for income may be reduced with subsequent books, rather than raised.
Partner style publishing allows authors to take home a bigger share of the profits. This means that authors whose books have steady sales, stand to make a larger share of money, over an extended period of time, than they would from an advance and a smaller percentage of the profits.
This also helps to level the playing field, allowing authors of all genres and abilities to have a better chance at being published, and making a fair share of the profits. This, in essence, creates a partnership between the author and publisher, with both doing what they can to help maximize the books profits.
Self publishing, ebooks, and print on demand style publishing are rapidly changing the face of print publishing today. While the publishers making the biggest waves may be the smallest fish in the pond right now, with time, this is sure to change.
Source:
Writer Services Fact Sheet – Advances and Royalties
Print Publishing is Rapidly Changing
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