Sales Reports

Commercial publishers don't charge fees or penalties for returns.

Royalties are calculated based on the number of books shipped to stores. Since there are nearly always returns, this is technically an overpayment to the author. To avoid making the author give money back, the publisher withholds a portion of royalties due in each royalty period (this is known as a "reserve against returns.") As the returns come in, they're deducted from the reserve.

Some smaller publishers that don't want to bother with the complicated accounting involved in setting reserves simply bill you for any overpayments, or take them out of your next period's royalties. But this should just be whatever royalty percentage is is due you by contract. if your publisher is charging you a $14 (!!!) return penalty per book, you are being seriously ripped off!

- Victoria

How the hey much are they selling the books for?

Is it perhaps a self-pubbed book through one of the vanity presses that offers some distribution, discount and return if you pay for it?

Regards,
Scott

At $14 to $16 per book, in effect you are buying the books yourself, retail, only not getting the books.

I too am curious as to the name of the publisher.

It would help a lot if you could name the publisher.

I'm unclear on what you're saying.

Here's the way it works: Every six months your publisher sends you the royalties on the books that sold. You don't pay anything; he pays you. If he has to pay penalties to bookstores (what penalties?) that's his problem, not yours.

Number shipped minus number returned is the number sold. He should pay you your royalties. It really isn't all that complex.

Doogie said:

When returns of your book are sent back from the stores to your publisher, you are charged a fee. Is it normal for this fee to be variable? For example, is it normal for the return penalty to be $14.00 per book one month and then $16.00 next month?

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As a punter, it costs me about $2 p&p to have books delivered or return them. How can your publisher be charged $14-16 per book? What they doing, chauffering them back to distribution?

Something very wrong there.

Doogie, please let us know who the publisher is. If you don't feel comfortable naming it publicly, contact me privately at [email protected]. I'm a staff member of Writer Beware, which tracks questionable agents and publishers; I may already have a file on this publisher.

What does the royalties clause in your contract say? Some contracts give the publisher the right to deduct all kinds of expenses from their net receipts, and dishonest publishers may use this as an excuse to reduce their net to ridiculously low levels and thus cheat you of royalties.

- Victoria

You can check the list at Preditors and Editors, but I don't think Writer Beware has a list as such (it does have some alerts). Writer Beware is confidential by the way.

Here's the link to the P&E list:
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/peba.htm

But if it's not listed there, it could simply mean that P&E haven't yet received any information, not that there isn't a problem.

There's also an index to this Bewares and Background Checks board:

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=792

Doogie said:

Victoria, can you link me to your list of bad publishers? He may already be on.

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Writer Beware doesn't post agent or publisher lists, but we'll check our files for any writer who has a question. Send me the name of the publisher at the email address I gave above, and I'll see if we have any other complaints.

- Victoria