Comments on: HarperCollins Profit Sharing Might Not be a Better Deal for Authors

By: For Profit Ebooks. | 7Wins.eu

For Profit Ebooks. | 7Wins.eu — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:09:00 +0000

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By: feener

feener — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 11:54:40 +0000

The NYTIMES corrected the article and it is 15% of net dollar receipts, that is of course AFTER they earn back the advance they were given. The word NET is the key b/c with the publishing industry taking back returns at any point, you can never be sure that you have fully accounted for all the returns.

Either way a profit share does protect the publisher from a book that does not sell well. Yes the author is sharing in the expenses. However, if the book does sell well and is a hit, both the pub and the author will benefit nicely. It really is a smart way for an unknown author to get a chance.

By: Charles Petzold

Charles Petzold — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 04:07:49 +0000

Traditionally, the advance is supposed to allow the author to take a leave of absence from his or her day job to write the book. The advance allows the author to keep the kitchen pantry stocked with plenty of ramen noodles to nourish the body while the book is being written.

Without an advance, the author is receiving no income at all from the publisher during the 6 to 12 months required to write the book. This is intolerable.

I think advances should go in the oppposite direction: I think publishers should pay advances to writers that are closer in dollar amounts to what a consultant might get paid — or at least a highly qualified office temp. The publisher would then be *forced* to sell the book to prevent going broke.

The main problem is that publishers seem to have lost the ability to sell books, so while the 50% number initially looks enticing, it’s pretty meaningless if no books get sold.

I agree with you that it’ll probably turn out that the 50% (of whatever) paid to the author will undoubtedly be close in dollar amounts to 15% of net receipts. You can’t magically get more money just by calculating things a little differently.