"sales price" mean net or cover price?

[rlfulgham]

Hi James and Victoria,
If you're not still ticked at me, hi and merry Christmas. I do have question. I can't seem to get a straight answer at WN. Anyway, does "8% of sales price" mean "8% of net" or "8% of customer's price"? Would I get 8% of the price paid by the bookstore, or 8% of the price paid by the customer?

[James D Macdonald]

"8% of sales price" is a tricky way of saying "8% of net."

Your standard contract should specify either "cover price" or "list price."

That is to say, regardless of what the customer pays, you get a percentage of the full price of the book.

(Oh-- and I'm not ticked at you, and Merry Christmas to you and yours.)

[vstrauss]

Yeah, "sales price" is "net". Your publisher may not want you to realize this, hence the confusing terminology.

Depending on your contract, "sales" price or net may be further reduced by various publisher expenses--sometimes not specified, so you don't know what they are. If this is the case, it's anyone's guess what your actual royalty might be.

- Victoria

[CaoPaux]

For those who fret about books in the discount bin: if the author's being paid on gross, it doesn't mean a thing (royalty-wise, at least). Authors who get paid on net, however....