When you're in a bookstore or shopping online to buy a book, have you ever wondered who gets the money from the sale of that book? There's no definitive answer for the exact amount that goes to those involved with the publishing and distributing of the book. But overall, there is an industry standard.
The first thing you should know is there are three groups that the revenue will go to:
- The author
- The publisher
- Retailers and distributors
Most people think authors are given the short end of the straw when it comes to compensation for their work. Although this might be true, publishers aren't the one's getting the majority of the profit, as many people assume. According to Lincoln Michel in his article “Everything You Wanted to Know about Book Sales (but Were Afraid to Ask), "well over 50% of the cover price goes to the retailer that sells books to customers and the distributor who gets the books to retailers" (Michel).
In the world of publishing, there is a thing called an author royalty. According to Tucker Max in "Book Royalties 101: How They Work," a book royalty is "the amount that a publisher pays an Author in exchange for the rights to publish their book" (Tucker).
Author royalty rates vary, but the industry standard is about 8% of the cover price for paperbacks and 10% for hardcovers (increasing to 15% if the book really takes off). For eBook sales, authors and publishers get about 25%. This brings to question, which medium of books sells more (Michel)?
Books actually sell pretty equally in hardcover and paperback, but if a book really takes off, then paperback sales far outrun hardcover sales, most likely because of affordability and accessibility. Ebooks account for around 20% of the total book market (Michel).
Overall, the division of revenue in the publishing world varies across the board, but there is an industry standard, which makes things a little more simplified. As an author, when choosing a publishing company to publish your book, it's important to first look at what their royalty fees are so you know up front how much you will be receiving for your hard work.
Works Cited
Max, Tucker. “Book Royalties 101: How They Work [Complete Guide].” Scribe Media, 28 Apr. 2022, https://scribemedia.com/book-royalties/#:~:text=can%20calculate%20them.-,What%20Is%20a%20Book%20Royalty%3F,25%25%20on%20every%20eBook%20sold.
Michel, Lincoln. “Everything You Wanted to Know about Book Sales (but Were Afraid to Ask).” Electric Literature, 28 Oct. 2019, https://electricliterature.com/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-book-sales-but-were-afraid-to-ask/.
*Photo: https://cindychildressphd.medium.com/six-ways-to-make-money-with-a-nonfiction-book-1f299bbec640
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