Publishers and royalties

[Jason]

Has anyone experience of commercial publication of gay erotica? The sort of publishing that produces some sort of royalty?

I’m looking for a publisher for xxx gay stories. Ideal would be a publisher looking for short items, say 20,000 words, and as I’m in UK and stories would be with a UK theme probably a UK publisher (unless US readers find UK settings quaint and archive). Of course I’ve done the google search. Most seem to want 50,000 plus, and write it first and submit it.

I’m after a publisher for 20,000 words, and if there is some sort of royalty (I’m aware not much) write another one or another ten. Self publishing is problematic as I want to use a nom de porn and therefore not promote through my social media. I’m looking for a publisher with a catalogue. I think I do need a publisher.

Is it reasonable to get royalty payments of £100 for an ebook? £1,000? 10 books at £1,000 would certainly begin to get interesting.

My unique selling point is the idea of using real locations in London, so fictional events in real places. I do know how to write and am published in other genres.

 

[Sklar]

I have a story that I started and finished on LPSG that I got published and I am about to publish my second book soon.

E-books are less expensive to sell because it's an e-book. Asking someone to pay 1,000 pounds is so over-priced it's farcical. To put it this way 1,000 pounds is equal to $1,326 US dollars.

No one will pay that.

My book is listed at 34.99 US. My E-book is 4.99 US.

Regardless of your hook/slant, no one will pay that for a book, let alone an e-book.

Sklar

 

[Jason]

I’m thinking in terms of an eBook at £4.99 or even less, maybe £1.99 or £0.99. I’m wondering what sort of sales number is practical and whether total royalty could make say £100 or £1000. There has to be some sort of financial reward for writing 20,000 words of decent prose.

 

[michael_3165]

This is what google says for standard authors genetally:

"For traditionally published authors, a typical royalty rate might range from 5-18%, with 10-15% being common for hardcovers and 5-7.5% for trade paperbacks. E-books often offer higher royalty rates, potentially between 25-50%. Self-published authors can earn even higher royalties, with some platforms offering up to 70%."

So for every £1000 your book makes you'd get £75 ish. Bearing in mind tax. £75,000 would get you £5,500 ish on trade paperbacks.

 

[Jason]

Many non-fiction books in UK are published in very low print runs, often initially 1,000. Many have a cover price around £10. An author’s royalty is typically 7.5%. Once promotional copies and damaged copies are taken into account the author is looking at a royalty of maybe £600. A second impression takes the royalty over £1000. And as you point out @michael_3165 it is taxable income.

I’ve published a lot of non-fiction books, around two dozen of those I’ve written and 80+ I’ve edited. My best selling one managed over 10,000 sold, but the publisher made big discounts on the sale price, and this knocks the author’s royalty badly. At the other end of the spectrum I’ve tried Kindle and self publishing. Royalty is typically tiny, and it’s a lot of work to market them

In UK just about no-one is making more than a trickle from royalty on non-fiction. Sometimes there is an income from someone who is supporting the writing, perhaps BBC or a university. Such deals are hard to get, and even here the sums are rarely big. There’s a niche area in celebrity books. Someone famous can do well from a book. Think former PMs, Prince Harry.

Then there’s fiction. J K Rowling demonstrates it can be done, but such best sellers are rare. Most fiction writers get a pretty poor return. Initial print runs are typically higher (often 10,000 minimum). Publishers have all sorts of clauses in contracts which reduce royalty. It’s possible to make a fortune from fiction but most don’t.

I was wondering what the gay erotica market is like. There’s a suggestion that it is booming, and certainly gay bookshops are packed. Could I make £100 royalty from a gay ebook? £1000? Does anyone here know? Google isn’t really helping me for a publisher. Any ideas?