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| Income
Comparison |
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"Thinking your publisher is going to make you rich and famous (and promote your book) is like giving birth and thinking your obstetrician is going to raise your kid. It ain't gonna happen. Difficult as it is to realize, authors must take full responsibility for the promotion of their own books." -Kathryn Hall, Publicist |
The following table of income and expenses is provided to show at what sales levels the financial advantages of self publishing come into play. Primary responsibility for publicizing a new book rests with the author, whether the book is being self published or whether it's published by a large publisher, so the author's income below is shown before publicity costs. Once 5,000 copies have been sold, a self-publishing author has usually broken even, and produced enough cash from the project to pay for a modest publicity campaign. An author published by a large publisher has also broken even at this point. However, if a book hits a sales level of 10,000 copies or more, a self-publishing author has made more than three times the money a royalty author has. In addition, authors doing publicity appearances draw people to their workshops, and are hired for personal and business consulting. 20 people in a $350 weekend workshop can produce more than enough revenue to pay for an ambitious publicity campaign. For an example of a savvy self-publisher's story from the Wall Street Journal, click here. |
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Income |
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Expenses |
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| Source of Sale |
Cover Price |
Typical Discount |
Quantity |
Author's Gross Income |
Ware- housing & Sales |
Editing, Cover & Pre-Press |
Publicity |
Printing |
APC Fee |
Author's Net Income Before Publicity |
Comparable Royalty Income Before Publicity |
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| Author Sale |
$
14.95 |
0
% |
500 |
$
7,475 |
$
0 |
$
3,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Retail Sales |
$
14.95 |
45
% |
500 |
$
4,111 |
$
1,479 |
$
1,500 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Wholesale Sales |
$
14.95 |
53
% |
4,000 |
$
28,106 |
$
9,837 |
$
2,000 |
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|
|
|
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|
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|
5,000 |
$
39,692 |
$
11,276 |
$
6,500 |
$
5,000 |
$
7,500 |
$
8,800 |
$
5,616 |
$
4,485 |
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|
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|
|
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| Author Sale |
$
14.95 |
0
% |
1,000 |
$
14,950 |
$
0 |
$
3,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Retail Sales |
$
14.95 |
45
% |
1,000 |
$
8,223 |
$
2,878 |
$
1,500 |
|
|
|
|
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| Wholesale Sales |
$
14.95 |
53
% |
8,000 |
$
56,212 |
$
19,694 |
$
2,000 |
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10,000 |
$
79,385 |
$
22,552 |
$
6,500 |
$
15,000 |
$
12,500 |
$
8,800 |
$
29,032 |
$
8,970 |
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|
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| Author Sale |
$
14.95 |
0
% |
2,000 |
$
29,900 |
$
0 |
$
5,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Retail Sales |
$
14.95 |
45
% |
2,000 |
$
16,445 |
$
5,756 |
$
2,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Wholesale Sales |
$
14.95 |
53
% |
16,000 |
$
112,424 |
$
39,348 |
$
3,000 |
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|
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|
20,000 |
$
158,769 |
$
45,104 |
$10,000 |
$
25,000 |
$
20,000 |
$
12,000 |
$
71,665 |
$
17,940 |
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|
|
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| Author Sale |
$
14.95 |
0
% |
5,000 |
$
74,750 |
$
0 |
$
5,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Retail Sales |
$
14.95 |
45
% |
5,000 |
$
41,113 |
$
14,389 |
$
2,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Wholesale Sales |
$
14.95 |
53
% |
40,000 |
$
281,060 |
$
98,371 |
$
3,000 |
|
|
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|
|
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|
50,000 |
$
396,923 |
$
112,710 |
$10,000 |
$
30,000 |
$
45,000 |
$
20,000 |
$
209,162 |
$
44,850 |