Line By Line
It's Line By Line time again....
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Dear author,
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Two words in a row with no problems, other than that they don't like their authors enough to call them "dear" ...
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The New York Times contacted us this week to propose a partnership.</blockquote>
One wonders exactly what they mean by "partnership," and if that was the word that the Times used. One also wonders exactly which office at the Times contacted them ... the Times has an aggressive staff selling advertising in their pages.
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We are now working with The New York Times to bring a new era of marketing services to our authors.
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Yep, it's advertising. I wonder if the deal is: PA guarantees an ad every week, and sells those ads at the by-the-year rate to their authors, rather than the single-insertion rate that the authors could get on their own. With, of course, a small cut for PA. Bets on that this will be a "The Author Pays" deal? Of course it is.
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It appears that our authors are being taken very seriously by the New York Times.</blockquote>
Or at least their checkbooks are.
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We expect to outline the details of this partnership with the host of the one and only NYT Best-seller List for you soon, but for now we are so excited that we just want to celebrate the event with you.</blockquote>
True, the Times does host the NYT Best-seller List. That doesn't mean your book will be reviewed, or listed as a best seller. For starters, to be reviewed, a copy will have to go to the Times significantly before the book is published. Second, to be on the best seller list, the book has to be ... a best seller. Buying an ad for your book in the Times isn't going to get either of those things.
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It looks like we're entering a new level of publishing distinction!</blockquote>
A meaningless sentence.
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Since this calls for celebration, and it's almost August, royalty month, we've put together a special offer that includes royalties.</blockquote>
Here comes the hook, the Vanity Press part of this letter, and its real purpose: Get the authors to buy their own books by the case.
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Authors who choose to buy copies of their own book will receive a special discount, PLUS we will pay royalties on those books. Since all royalty checks will go out by the end of next month, the rewards will come in quickly. Our offer breaks down as follows:</blockquote>
Let's figure this based on a typical 180 page, $19.95 PA book. (My Brother's Keeper to be precise.) I'm assuming that PA will go offset for these books, given the numbers.
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50-100 copies: 40 pct discount royalties
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100 copies, the author pays $11.97 per book, or $1,197.00, and gets $95.76 in royalties, for a total out-of-pocket of $1,101.24. PA pays $7.29 per book, for a total of $729.00. PA's profit: $372.24.
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101-150 copies: 45 pct discount royalties
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150 copies: Author pays $10.97 per book, $1645.88 total, minus $131.67 royalties, author is out-of-pocket $1,514.21.
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151-200 copies: 50 pct discount royalties
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200 copies: Author pays $9.98 per book, $1,995 total. Royalties come to $159.60, for an out-of-pocket expense of $1,835.40 (not counting shipping).
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201 or more copies: 55 pct discount royalties
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Let's say the author buys 500 copies (and gets "considered" for Independence Books, hurrah!).
Author pays $8.98 per book, for a total of $4,488.75. Royalties come to $359.10, for a total out-of-pocket expense of $4,129.65. PA pays $5.08 per copy, for a total of $ 2,540.00, and a profit of $1,589.65. Not bad for accepting one phone call.
Notice that as the per-book price goes down that the author's per-book royalty goes down with it.
Notice too that the author could have gotten the same prices that PA got from a short-run printer by going to that printer herself, and have gotten books that she could offer to bookstores at the discounts they expect, take returns, and not have the PublishAmerica albatross hung around her neck.
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Full-color children's books are excluded.
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Their favorite short-run printer won't give 'em the same price breaks for internal color.
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The offer expires July 30. Please call us at 301-695-1707.
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High-pressure tactics. Hurry, hurry, hurry! Offer expires soon! Operators are standing by!
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Thank you.
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And thank you, PublishAmerica, for another amusing morning.