This is the second in a series of posts offering a quick overview of what costs you might encounter when you publish an academic book. Because yes; even reputable presses will ask you to cover some of the expense of publishing.
Let’s talk royalties!
I can hear you thinking:
Wait just one minute! Aren’t publishers supposed to pay me royalties?!
You’re right, of course. And as you’ve no doubt also figured out, those royalties don’t often amount to much. (Think: nice night out on the town, including drinks and dessert and full-price movie tickets and the babysitter. Hopefully. Not: one-week vacation in balmy Costa Rica. You’ll have to start researching bugs in the tropics if you want that!)
But I mention it anyway because I know of several reputable university presses that have asked and will continue to ask their authors to “donate” royalties, or a portion of royalties, to offset the publisher’s costs.
I’m not entirely sure what you get in exchange for your donated royalties. A slight reduction in the list price of your book? A few extra author copies? The goodwill of your publisher and a tax write-off?
Whatever the case, this practice of asking you, the author, to forfeit a portion of your royalties is not as uncommon as it might once have been (especially in certain fields where the sales of books have dropped precipitously). So if your editor mentions it, try to rein in any possible shock and ask lots of questions about what you get in return. At a minimum, I’d think a nonprofit university press could give you a receipt for tax purposes.
Your turn
Have any of you here-to-fore silent readers been asked to relinquish royalties earned back to your publisher? If so, was it for all royalties in perpetuity or just on the first hundred or so books sold? Did you get anything in exchange, aside from publication of your book?
Other posts in the series:
- Wrapping up your book: Jackets and cover art
- Author copies: How many, how much
- Permissions: Who pays?
- Getting the word out: Publicity and PR
Stay tuned!
