I've never bothered pursuing a legacy publishing deal. Two women I met in 2017 were desperate to get agents and be published "properly." They got agents...
This week will see my 15th book published. A couple of my titles have sold more than a 1,000 copies, but the KU reads really add to my income. I'm now going to try another pivot with another pen name. I wouldn't be allowed to do that in trad, being indie means I run my own creative business.
All-access subscriptions would not only kill the publishing industry, it’d kill writing careers for authors. It’s not just the gatekeepers who would lose out, it’s the creatives too. We’ve seen it happen in the music industry, and the film/tv industry: streaming nuked their profits, and almost none of the creators are making a living wage anymore. I’m sympathetic to a new author who thinks, I just want people to read my work. But this Amazon model is hurting everyone and making the whole enterprise unsustainable.
I disagree, especially if we designed it the way the digital library (Libby) works, where authors are paid per license!
It's hard to compare to Spotify: People today always say it killed the music industry because musicians at the bottom will only see a fraction of the earnings from their stream. But they also saw a fraction of the earnings of their CD sales. I don't think emerging artists were better off in the past.
Uh... Was this written in 2012? I had to go check the date... You've heard of self-publishing, right?
It might come as a surprise to you, but most authors today don't give a fig about the Big Six, uh sorry, Big Five, no, sorry, Big Four. Big Three? Hm, it almost looks like they're failing as a industry, doesn't it? I think your title should've been "Save for a selected few, traditionally published authors have never, and will never make a living from writing". As that's what you're really talking about here, for the most of this piece. And it's not because books don't sell, it's simply because they are NOT. PAYING. AUTHORS. Their authors, the people who WROTE the whole thing, get 10% if they're lucky, while self-published authors get 75%+ and can MAKE A LIVING selling WAAAAY less books than they would have to sell traditionally.
A mid-list trad author does not make a living. Mid-list indie makes a very comfortable living. You say "only 26,000 sales", but when you get $3 out of the $4 price tag, that's 26,000 x $3 = $78,000. Not too shabby for "only" one book, right? The same type of trad pub book sells for $12, but the author only sees maybe $1.2, which in total makes it $31 200. Hardly livable, right? Meanwhile the publisher takes the other $280,800 and CALLS IT A LOSS.
So it's not that "no one buys books", it's that the authors have left traditional publishing, because they were treated as chattel, and as a consequence the publishing houses are experiencing a decline in sales of THEIR titles. Meanwhile, the indie market is doing just fine.
Oh, and there's also a small detail of pricing their ebooks the same as their print books. As a reader, I will never, EVER buy an ebook that charges me for non-existing printing costs that go straight into the pockets of publishers. For a $12 paperback, a lot of that price is the cost of paper, printing, and handling. So why would I pay for those with an ebook? If I really want a trad book, I'll but a physical copy, but if I'm just looking for something to read and not something that takes shelf space, and one ebook is $12, and the other $4, I know which one I'm buying.
Interesting insight into the publishing world at this time, thank you. I do love buying paperback books and I do buy ebooks. I wonder if writers will just self publish say on Amazon (which prints to order which would be more sustainable) and offer ebooks to satisfy the different preferences. Would need to build your own audience but if the publishing houses prefer that anyway so they spend less on marketing, then one would be doing that anyway.
I mean, if you have no subscribers you’ll have no book sales either. Finding an audience as a writer is always hard, but I’d argue you’d have better luck finding readers of an online article than a book!
I knew many of these facts but not all. 50% of books sell less than a dozen copies? Really? My self-published book has sold more than that—by multiples. Like, without much advertising.
Reinforces my beliefs about traditional publishing being a waste of time for new authors. I still read (usually on Kindle, often self-published authors) and I still buy books (the ones I'd want to read again or share with friends).
I’m a reader and I know nothing about the publishing houses but I’ve been reading since I was 10 years and have collected over 1000 physical books, sold it and moved countries & now I’m starting over
I read physically More than I do digitally even though I have a Kobo and Kindle! Nothing can beat the physical touch of a paper in my opinion
However, I’m not sure if I’m in the minority here and I hope we don’t see the end of physical books but a more just & fair system for authors to get published
This is a must-read for anyone aspiring to have their book published by a traditional publishing house. The odds of getting published are slim, and the chances of it becoming a big seller are even slimmer.
I have a non-profit publishing company. It started because agents and publishers have little interest taking on new authors who are older because they will never be able to build a brand around them. The publishing industry doesn’t actually care if the writing is good or original as long as it sells. Ghost written celebrity tell-alls are the best! As a novelist, I will be happy if I ever recover the editing costs. I write because I have things to say, not to get rich or even to earn a living!
Your article, with all its supporting information backs up my feeling about the publishing industry.
Forewarned is forearmed, as the saying goes. I’m going to think about this information some more, and build what I know and what I feel in my gut into my plan for writing.
I've never bothered pursuing a legacy publishing deal. Two women I met in 2017 were desperate to get agents and be published "properly." They got agents...
This week will see my 15th book published. A couple of my titles have sold more than a 1,000 copies, but the KU reads really add to my income. I'm now going to try another pivot with another pen name. I wouldn't be allowed to do that in trad, being indie means I run my own creative business.
This was indeed eye-opening. Thanks for doing the work to summarize the essentials.
Wrong!!
All-access subscriptions would not only kill the publishing industry, it’d kill writing careers for authors. It’s not just the gatekeepers who would lose out, it’s the creatives too. We’ve seen it happen in the music industry, and the film/tv industry: streaming nuked their profits, and almost none of the creators are making a living wage anymore. I’m sympathetic to a new author who thinks, I just want people to read my work. But this Amazon model is hurting everyone and making the whole enterprise unsustainable.
I disagree, especially if we designed it the way the digital library (Libby) works, where authors are paid per license!
It's hard to compare to Spotify: People today always say it killed the music industry because musicians at the bottom will only see a fraction of the earnings from their stream. But they also saw a fraction of the earnings of their CD sales. I don't think emerging artists were better off in the past.
Uh... Was this written in 2012? I had to go check the date... You've heard of self-publishing, right?
It might come as a surprise to you, but most authors today don't give a fig about the Big Six, uh sorry, Big Five, no, sorry, Big Four. Big Three? Hm, it almost looks like they're failing as a industry, doesn't it? I think your title should've been "Save for a selected few, traditionally published authors have never, and will never make a living from writing". As that's what you're really talking about here, for the most of this piece. And it's not because books don't sell, it's simply because they are NOT. PAYING. AUTHORS. Their authors, the people who WROTE the whole thing, get 10% if they're lucky, while self-published authors get 75%+ and can MAKE A LIVING selling WAAAAY less books than they would have to sell traditionally.
A mid-list trad author does not make a living. Mid-list indie makes a very comfortable living. You say "only 26,000 sales", but when you get $3 out of the $4 price tag, that's 26,000 x $3 = $78,000. Not too shabby for "only" one book, right? The same type of trad pub book sells for $12, but the author only sees maybe $1.2, which in total makes it $31 200. Hardly livable, right? Meanwhile the publisher takes the other $280,800 and CALLS IT A LOSS.
So it's not that "no one buys books", it's that the authors have left traditional publishing, because they were treated as chattel, and as a consequence the publishing houses are experiencing a decline in sales of THEIR titles. Meanwhile, the indie market is doing just fine.
Oh, and there's also a small detail of pricing their ebooks the same as their print books. As a reader, I will never, EVER buy an ebook that charges me for non-existing printing costs that go straight into the pockets of publishers. For a $12 paperback, a lot of that price is the cost of paper, printing, and handling. So why would I pay for those with an ebook? If I really want a trad book, I'll but a physical copy, but if I'm just looking for something to read and not something that takes shelf space, and one ebook is $12, and the other $4, I know which one I'm buying.
Interesting insight into the publishing world at this time, thank you. I do love buying paperback books and I do buy ebooks. I wonder if writers will just self publish say on Amazon (which prints to order which would be more sustainable) and offer ebooks to satisfy the different preferences. Would need to build your own audience but if the publishing houses prefer that anyway so they spend less on marketing, then one would be doing that anyway.
I do.
I avoid reading on a screen.
This would be great advice if I just had, you know... Paid subscribers.
I mean, if you have no subscribers you’ll have no book sales either. Finding an audience as a writer is always hard, but I’d argue you’d have better luck finding readers of an online article than a book!
I knew many of these facts but not all. 50% of books sell less than a dozen copies? Really? My self-published book has sold more than that—by multiples. Like, without much advertising.
Yes, it was quite gratifying to read that. I did a refresh of my numbers yesterday and had a little smile to myself.
Reinforces my beliefs about traditional publishing being a waste of time for new authors. I still read (usually on Kindle, often self-published authors) and I still buy books (the ones I'd want to read again or share with friends).
I’m a reader and I know nothing about the publishing houses but I’ve been reading since I was 10 years and have collected over 1000 physical books, sold it and moved countries & now I’m starting over
I read physically More than I do digitally even though I have a Kobo and Kindle! Nothing can beat the physical touch of a paper in my opinion
However, I’m not sure if I’m in the minority here and I hope we don’t see the end of physical books but a more just & fair system for authors to get published
Funny that books sales are at all time record levels!!
This is a must-read for anyone aspiring to have their book published by a traditional publishing house. The odds of getting published are slim, and the chances of it becoming a big seller are even slimmer.
Thanks for sharing with us
I have a non-profit publishing company. It started because agents and publishers have little interest taking on new authors who are older because they will never be able to build a brand around them. The publishing industry doesn’t actually care if the writing is good or original as long as it sells. Ghost written celebrity tell-alls are the best! As a novelist, I will be happy if I ever recover the editing costs. I write because I have things to say, not to get rich or even to earn a living!
Your article, with all its supporting information backs up my feeling about the publishing industry.
Forewarned is forearmed, as the saying goes. I’m going to think about this information some more, and build what I know and what I feel in my gut into my plan for writing.