A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: Expectations that inflate the soul; realities that deflate the heart
It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.
This week's conversation addresses the hopes that authors bring to their writing and the realities they get handed. Perhaps some of those hopes should be called delusions (too harsh a word for sure, but the kinds of expectations -- I have written a book that is going to make me rich -- some authors bring with them in seeking publication really do not match reality, and it is sometimes hard for publishers to help them understand objectively how difficult book sales are. When authors find out the reality, many give up, which hurts authors and publishers alike. Let's take a look at what is really going on.
Marketers claim that authors are now raking in $50K a year in royalties from self-publishing on Amazon.
Hm...The latest figures (2024) show that the average author earns less than $500 a year. A couple of zeroes added by mistake here? Or is that the rare author who really does make a living from their work? To be a realistic author, the average is the most useful number -- and remember, some folks do better and some do even worse! Expect the average, and plan self-marketing that will lead to the higher figures. Find out what is the best marketing for your genre. Amazon is not going to market for you. You have to market for yourself if you are self-published.
There are lots of opportunities for paid print advertising; so sinking a lot of money into that should turn a book into a bestseller, right?
Obviously, paid print advertising opportunities would dry up if no author made anything from them, but sinking a lot of money into that kind of marketing is, in our experience, mostly "sinking" that cash. We have found decreasing value in both print advertising and bulk mail. The most cost-effective advertising has been social media. Some of that can be paid, and publishers and authors have found paid social media advertising helpful.
Book launches will bring scads of sales and royalties, right?
Most bookstores that are experienced with author signings will order around 25 books, of which 1-10 generally sell, and the rest are returned to the publisher, immediately creating a deficit. (Bookstore practices are one of the banes of small publishers; the five big publishers can usually cope with these practices, but smaller publishers can be put out of business.) Publishers expect such results; bookstores expect such results; publicists expect such results. Authors, especially first-time authors, do not expect such results and often become disappointed and discouraged, wanting to give up right off the bat.
Yes, authors should have a sales goal for their book launch. Yes, the book launch is where the greatest sales will occur in the shortest time (typically). No, you cannot just put down a figure you would like to see. (Though, if you have the time and stamina and leave in a well-populated area or have travel funds, you could do book signings at 100 or so bookstores in hopes of selling those 2000 books you put into your marketing plan.)
A publicist can get you through the book launch safely although many authors are loathe to turn to a publicist because of the costs. Nonetheless, it might be worth spending money on a publicist for pre-launch and launch activities; publicists will be able to help you set realistic sales goals and will usually help you get more sales (though no publicist will guarantee any particular level of sales).
So, what is realistic?
Be aware that 90 percent of books seller fewer than 2,000 copies in a lifetime. These are traditionally published books, so yes, you should end up with some decent royalties over a lifetime if your book sells in the upper ranges of this statistic or, especially, if sales volume exceeds it by much. Whether that will cover the time you took to write it will depend on how long you took to write it and how you value each hour of your time.
If you have a hybrid contract or self-publish for less than $4K, you will probably make back your money back over the lifetime over the book, the greatest revenue typically coming in the first year (but not always). Generally, though, it costs more than that to publish a high quality, award-winning book.
Bottom line: Some authors have described the current publishing climate as "brutal," and it pretty much is. Selling books takes a lot of work, and writing the book is only the first step on an author's journey to bring his/her book and message to the world.
See more Publisher Conversations with Authors HERE.
Learn more about publishing from an acquisitions editor -- how to get your book proposal accepted, why proposals are turned
The Tuesday talks reflect real discussions between the management of MSI Press LLC and our own authors or those would-be authors who come through our doors but don't make the cut--yet. If you have a topic that you would like addressed, leave the question in the comment section. Chances are, in our 18 years of publishing first-time and experiences authors, we have had a conversation with one of our authors that we can share with you.
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Julia Aziz, signing her book, Lessons of Labor, at an event at Book People in Austin, Texas.
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