How do publishers make their money?

Question

Ok I've written a bok and I'm ready for it to be published. Do I pay them to look at it and then we sign a contract or do we sign a contract or what? Pls Help!?

Answer 1

Publishers make money by speculating on your book.

Let me explain the way traditional publishing works. You get an agent to shop your book around to publishers along with a book proposal which is an important document and you NEED to learn how to write one.

By the way, you do NOT copyright your book yourself. It is considered amateur and drives publishers and agents nuts. It makes them feel you don't trust them. It will be in your contract to have the manuscript copyrighted in your name. Legit publishers and agents do not steal work. The trick is to learn how to make sure the ones you are dealing with are legit.

If a publisher decides they are interested, they sign a standard book contract with you. That calls for you to receive 10% royalties from the sales of your book. 15% of your 10% goes to your agent for negotiating the deal.

The price of your book is set at 6 times the cost of production. Generally these days, with a hardcover book that comes to about $24.99. That means that for every book you sell, your share is $2.49 less 15% for your agent or roughly $2.12.

Today, it is common for a first print run of a book to be about 15,000 books. Therefore if you sell all 15,000 of your books, you stand to make $31,800. If your agent has done tier job, they have gotten you an advance of 50% of your royalties or $15,900.

That means that when your book sells 7,501 copies, you start earning your additional $2.12 per book. But publishers aren't fools, they are businessmen. If your book does not sell 7.500 copies, you will likely be asked to return any portion of that $15,900 that is owed.

If you are smart, you take that $15,900 and plow it into marketing and promoting your book so that you sell the rest of the first print run and get the publisher to do a second or even third run - which your agent will negotiate at higher rates.

Of course, this means your royalties end up being nothing, but you are investing in your future as a novelist. Often, if you are willing to invest, you can get your publisher to contribute a similar amount. Again, this is if your agent is on the ball.

If your books do not sell and end up on the bargain tables we all see at the major book stores and I walk in and buy your book for the reduced price of 7.00, you make ZERO. Nothing.

If your publisher negotiates with one of the large wholesale clubs like Costco to sell your book for half price - or approximately $16.49 each, you take the hit. Your 10% is based on that number. Of course, you will likely sell more copies in those clubs, so it is advantageous.

You do not get rich on a first novel. It is very rare. If any one asks you to pay money to look at your book, they are a self publisher and you should run fast. The only things your agent may charge you for are the standard 15% plus incidentals like printing costs of copies they have to send to publishers, postage, long distance calls etc.

The 90% left goes to the printer, and the publisher. They are the ones speculating on you and that is how it works. They have to pay editorial staff, attorneys, and many other people who will be there actually "working" for your book. They do earn their share. Believe it or not.

If you go to my profile you will find I star all the Q and A on publishing and writing. Read through them and print out ones you think will help you. Many legit authors post here and do a lot to help novices learn.

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They're, Their, There - Three Different Words.

Careful or you may wind up in my next novel.

Pax - C

Answer 2

You write a letter to a publisher saying "Hi, I'm so and so and I wrote a book that I think you might be interested in. If you would like, I can send you the first chapter and a summary of the book." Make sure that it's a publisher that publishes the kind of book you wrote. Find other books like yours and see who published them.

Then, if they respond with a yes, you send them a one-page summary of your book and the first chapter. If they like that, then they might ask to buy the publication rights for the book from you. And then you'll want to get a lawyer or agent to help go over the contract, to make sure that it's fair.

But you do NOT have to pay anymore to read a sample of your book to consider publication. Anyone who tries to convince you otherwise is a scam artist.

Answer 3

First we go out and buy a book that tells us all about how to publish. "The Writer's Market" for US publications is usually considered a favorite for that information. It will tell you about copyright (very important), query letters (very important), all the myriad of different publishers who may (or, pay attention, may NOT) be interested in your book, who the current editors are, addresses... really a lot to know before you start sending manuscripts out.
P.S. I wouldn't pay anyone to read my book but the few I work with.
I'd buy a book on the business of getting published, if I were you.

Answer 4

I don't know man I am just a fashion consultant.........can my agent do the same as that book agent can do.....?

I hate my job.......I want to be a writer!