Hi
Does anyone have any information on standard royalty rates across the industry for a first time author of a children's picture book? I just want to check I'd be getting the decent amount. They're offering 25% per sale.
It's with Austen Macauley and I'm still making my mind up whether to take the offer as it's a contributory contract. I have already sought advice on the contract itself and I've had a lot of mixed feedback. Some say it's getting to be pretty standard these days for previously unpublished writers, others say hard no (also publisher dependent). The main issue I've found is whether it would be better or worse value to self publish and with a publisher there would be more attention to detail- technically speaking.
Any good advice on this?
Thanks very much!
Hi Lucy,
Do take a look at the Society of Author's groups which are free to join - depending what you're writing they have information within these groups on standard royalty rates etc.
For example: https://www.societyofauthors.org/Groups/Educational-Writers/FAQs-for-educational-writers-(1)
Hope this helps.
W&A Admin
I'll second everything Neil says. Read the information on this website, it has all you need to know about what you need to know.
http://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/vanity/
I self-published and receive 100% of price of my book sales through my distributor, and 70% from Amazon.
I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole! A quick search throws up lots of horror stories about them (http://www.scamion.com/austin-macauley-publishers-ltd-d3 and https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/austin-macauley-publishers-ltd/-/austin-macauley-publishers-ltd-they-stole-3000aud-from-me-and-never-published-my-book-1412349 were two I found in less than thirty seconds). If you're with a publisher, the money should flow to you (yes, the rates are lower, but that reflects the initial investment in an unknown author and the editing work they do). There are some reputable companies out there that do work on a profit-sharing basis, but the good ones are, sadly, in the minority. For what AM offer, you'd be better off sourcing your own editor, and self-publishing - that way you get to keep 100% of the profits.