I got this from Pelagic last week. Most publishers do this, they have a minimum amount under which they don’t pay you the royalties earned in a period but carry it over to next time. And I’m not complaining, and certainly not about Pelagic because they pay royalties every six months whereas most publishers pay annually. And Pelagic are quick, whereas bigger publishers are slow. So, no complaints.
In the first six months of 2020 Fighting for Birds, Behind the Binoculars and Behind More Binoculars brought in £30 for me (and the latter two some money for Keith Betton too) it’s just that that £30 is still out of reach.
Eventually, I guess the amount will stay below £50 for ever and I think the publisher then keeps it (although I’m not sure). But if that’s the case I hope it is closer to £0 than to £50.
[registration_form]
Definitely worth a comment. Haven’t yet worked out what it should be – still mulling it over.
Do your publishers give you a breakdown of the respective percentage sales of hard copies and ebook sales?
If so, do the figures fluctuate in any significant way during the lifetime of the titles? Or are they stable?
James – they do, but I’d have to go back and look to answer the second question.
Broadly, do your titles sell better as hard copies or in ebook version? Is any difference significant?
Also, they are probably not available or confidential, but it would be interesting to see individual sales graphs for all your titles – print versions and ebooks.
I assume the peak sales are immediately after publication when they benefit from media reviews and any interviews you give. Eg Martha.
With some titles, I imagine there might also be a boost at Christmas or whenever grouse shooting/raptor killing makes the headlines.
Have you considered experimenting with the self-publishing route – perhaps (assuming it exists) with the proverbial long-forgotten manuscript in the bottom draw? Somehow, I feel you might be missing a trick.