Topic

Publish America

Small pub.

Large pub.

Vanity

Payment & Terms

Advance

Nominal $1

Varies from none to c. $3,000

Almost always at least $3,000.  $5,000 to $20,000 not uncommon, even for first-time authors.

None

Copyright registration

Author registers at own expense

Publisher registers at its cost

Publisher registers at its cost

Varies

Royalties

8% of net, not retail.  While they have a sliding scale, no PA author has ever achieved enough sales to reach any higher category.

Varies widely, but almost always higher than 8% of net. 

Usually paid on retail, not net. 

Varies

Author copies

2 is the contract standard, but individuals have negotiated up to 5.

Varies widely with publisher and genre.  5-25 is common.

20-50 is common.  You can negotiate more.

Author’s ability to examine sales records

None

Exact numbers sold at any time. You or your accountant may review.

Exact numbers sold at any time. You or your accountant may review.

Exact numbers sold at any time. You or your accountant may review

Royalty period

Semiannually

Usually quarterly

Almost always quarterly

Royalty period

Sales

Sales History and Expectations

Less than 100, most to the author.   1,100 titles have no sales at all.

The publisher’s breakeven requires between 1,500 and 5,000

A book usually needs to sell at least 5,000 copies with minimal returns to break even.

Whatever the author buys, usually less than 200 copies.  None to readers.

Best Sellers

The current record stands at 5,200 copies (unverified)

Breakout success possible; titles occasionally hit NYT Best-seller list.

Tens of millions

None

Principal Buyers

Over half of PA’s books sell to the authors, providing 75% of their revenue

Readers

Readers

Authors

Distribution

Bookstore distribution

Whatever the author arranges, although PA’s distribution makes it a difficult sale

Whatever the publisher arranges

National, widespread

Whatever the author arranges

Discount to retailers

Ranges from 5% to 20%

Varies

40% or higher

Varies

Payment terms

Up front

Up to 90 days

Up to 90 days

Up front

Return Policy

Conditional upon 5% discount

Offering returns are an industry standard method of encouraging initial reseller purchases

Offering returns are an industry standard method of encouraging initial reseller purchases

None

Foreign distribution/rights

Fewer than 10 titles out of 17,000 have sold foreign rights

Foreign rights can be a lucrative addition to a books’ sales

Foreign rights can be a lucrative addition to a books’ sales

Doesn’t usually seek other rights

Marketing

Reseller Catalog

None

Yes

Yes

None

Full-time sales staff that sells books to bookstores

None; bookstore sales are not as profitable as sales to authors

Varies

Yes

None; bookstore sales are not as profitable as sales to authors

Author marketing support

None

Varies, but almost certain to include books

Books, print materials such as flyers, signage

None

Pricing Strategy

Earn as much as possible from author purchases through high prices

Modest markup based on limit print runs

Sell as many books as possible at reasonable profit

Earn as much as possible from author purchases through high prices

Publicist

PA doesn’t employ publicists

The publicist works with the author to develop and implement a marketing plan.

None

ARCS (review copies)

None from the publisher as default.  Up to 2 copies in a few cases at PA’s expense.

A small number  at the publisher’s cost

A large number at the publisher’s cost.

None from the publisher. 

Reviewer reception

Many reviewers do not review POD titles by policy.

Depends on the size and reputation of the publisher

All are read; most are reviewed in visible publications.

Many reviewers do not review POD titles by policy.

Book signings, interviews, etc.

All at author’s expense

Author support increases sales

If potential sales merit it, the publisher pays for book tours, arranges interviews, etc.

All at author’s expense

Trade publication ads

None

Carefully-targeted ads on a case-by-case basis

Standard part of the marketing plan

None

Trade Show Presence

None

Selective

Large publishers anchor these trade shows and are a key part of them

None

Production Quality

Binding & printing quality

Fair

Good to excellent

Top of the industry

Fair to Good

Cover art

Mass-purchased clip art; not unique to the author

Professionally designed; unique to each title

Professionally designed; unique to each title

Varies

Copy editing

None or detrimental

Professional quality

Professional quality

None

Content editing

None

Professional quality

Professional quality

None

Other Considerations

Library of Congress catalog description

The LOC refuses PA books because they are POD.

The LOC number is standard and facilitates orders

The LOC number is standard and facilitates orders

Offset print books might receive LOC description

Writer solicitation

PA continuously seeks new writers through Internet ads

None.  Submission guidelines are on the website and in writer’s publications like Writer’s Market

None.  Submission guidelines are on the website and in writer’s publications like Writer’s Market

A consistent expense that vanity publishers maintain because they make money off of writers

Manuscript selection

Accepts anything

Highly selective but willing to address smaller markets

Highly selective.  Only wants material with broad appeal

Accepts anything

Film & other adaptations

PA hasn’t sold any movie/tv rights out of 17,000 titles.

The publisher actively markets film & TV rights. 

Many books are optioned right away.  A few are filmed.

Doesn’t seek other rights

Permissions for copyrighted material

Doesn’t even read the material they print

Seeks permissions from copyright holders

Seeks permissions from copyright holders

Doesn’t even read the material they print

Strength of credit toward next publication

None

Varies with size of publisher and sales record

Depends on relative fields, but almost always strong

None

Author’s efforts sell…

90%+

1-5%

0% in most cases

100%