A Contribution to The Collective Unconscious

October 14th, 2005 · No Comments
by Booksquare

The Smart Bitches are picking up the idea of ebook royalty rates at traditional publishing houses — and they’re examining the issue with all the fervor of, well, smart bitches. We firmly believe that the more this issue is discussed, the better for the publishing industry. It is near-impossible for publishing houses to make the case that electronically published titles should be treated in the sam manner as other ancillary publishing income, yet so few authors and agents (or even publishers) understand the economics behind this revenue stream.

As you leap into the discussion, remember one thing: ebook sales are increasing. Not rapidly, but the numbers are going up. Hard costs do exist. It is the nature of these costs that make single-digit royalty rates (or, well, anything below 35% or so) suspect.

File Under: Square Pegs