So, it says here that Carousel Tides (published November 2010) has earned out and paid its fond author royalties. This is the second period in which this has happened, so, yay! Carousel Tides!
Carousel Sun (published February 2014) only has $520 to earn back until it, too, can begin contributing to the author’s income stream. Last period, it had more than $1,800 to earn back, so — well done, Carousel Sun!
For the completists — Carousel Seas was only published in February 2015 (2015, The Longest Year Ever), so no royalty report this time. Maybe next time.
Across all the royalty statements, sales of ebooks are slightly ahead of hard copy sales. In the case of the books we’ve written under contract with Baen, of which Trade Secret is only the most recent example, esales paid back the advance in the first six month’s of the titles lives. Which is interesting, if these sorts of things happen to interest you.
And, no, no report for Dragon in Exile — maybe the time after next time.
So, that.
# # #
Tomorrow bids fair to be an Odd Day. Tai Chi from 9-10 am, then change into my impression of business clothes, and head out to the hospital for the afternoon shift. No one has told me precisely where to report, or even pointed out the employee’s entrance, though I think I know where it is. Also, there’s some snafu with my badge, so I won’t have it, going in. Well, at least I know my boss’ name, and the location of her office. The rest can be figured out.
This evening, having finished the errands, and cleaned All The Things, it’s time at last to get to work, though what I really want to do is curl up on the couch under a floofy blanket and take a nap.
Ah, well.
Maine continues to labor under a snow-free forecast for at least the next 10 days. This is just. . .eerie. Mind you, I’m not complaining; there’s a very significant part of me that is Perfectly Happy Never to Shovel Snow Again, but, still — this is Maine.
And so to work.
Very happy to have bought and read all three of the above books in 2015, thus contributing to your royalties (or Baen’s earnings).
Might one who is ignorant of the workings of a writer’s world ask about the mechanics behind a title being ‘earned out’? One presumes by context a book must earn enough to pay back an advance? Is this amortized over time, or simply a lump sum that must be achieved first?
Well…
Publisher and author sign a contract, agreeing that author will produce Book X of not less than X words to be delivered on A Date In Future. For this title, publisher agrees to pay A Certain Amount In Advance of Royalties — let’s use $12,000, since that’s what the publisher paid up-front for the Carousel books.
Book X is published in November, say, 2010. The Author has received, previous to publication, $12,000 — $6,000 on signing of the contract, and $6,000 on Delivery and Acceptance of the manuscript. First royalty period comes around, the author’s share of the book sales (0.08% of cover, say) does not hit $12,000. The author does not get a royalty check.
Second royalty period; the author’s share of sales is closer to $12,000, but still no cigar — and no check.
Third, fourth — let us fast forward five years, and — hey presto! The author’s share of sales has at long last hit — and surpassed! — $12,000! The publisher’s investment — the Advance Against Royalties — has been paid back in full and! the author wins a check for $350.
Next royalty period, the book having already paid for itself, whatever the author’s share of sales is, comes directly to the author in the form a check.
The picture conjures in my mind a large cat occupying a small roadside shrine in Greece. http://bit.ly/1ONU6uX
Wow, just 0.08% of the cover price? So they have to sell %150,000 dollars of book for you to ‘repay’ the $12,000 advance, and only then the author can look forward to royalties? In other words, for every $20 I pay on a hardback, the author sees $1.60, but only /after/ the advance is paid off. I begin to understand the impact of Amazon and other monopolizing retailers power on the ability to make an income.
Where else is an oracle to rest?