A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: Which are Better, Net Royalties or List Royalties?
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, we share a conversation with a first-time author, who is new, naive, and nervous when it comes to the financial side of authoring a book. Specifically, this author clearly did not understand the difference between royalties on list and royalties on net. The pertinent part of the conversation elucidating these differences is reproduced here. Typical Royalties on List and on Net Briefly, royalties paid on list are paid at a percentage of the list price of the book. Royalties paid on net are paid at a percentage of what the publishing house "earns" after costs are subtracted from gross revenue. The differences are explicate...