I am a published novelist, but something recently occurred to me.
My first book came out in 2007. My publisher told me he had printed 3,000 copies of my book, but later, he gave me conflicting information (for example, he later told me it was 1,000, then 5,000). At first, I thought he was just absent-minded.
Later on, a friend of mine (without asking me) tried to help me by calling up bookstores and ordering lots of copies of my book under mutliple names. He did not buy the books, but hoped that the stores would put them on the shelves after they were not purchased. However, the stores returned the books to the publisher.
The publisher then told me that he would have to deduct some of my royalties because, according to him, the bookstore charges him a fee if books are requested and then not purchased.
My first question is -- Is it common practice for bookstores to fine publishers for books that were ordered but not purchased?
My second question is -- Is it likely that the only reason that he charged me these fees was because he did not really print out a stockpile and he was printing on demand, thus requiring him to make up for his losses? This was a small publisher, so it did not surprise me that I could not walk into any store and find my book. But that means that he easily could have printed out maybe 50 copies and lied to me. There was no clause in the contract stating how many books were actually printed. I trusted him because he was listed in the Writer's Market, which is a reputable publication.
Furthermore, when he decided to terminate the contract (because my books weren't selling), he told me that he could send me the rest of the copies if I pay him $300 for postage. These were hardcover books, very good quality. If he sent me, let's say, 200 copies and had me pay $300 for them, would he be able to make some sort of scam profit? How much would it actually cost for a publisher to mail that many books?
Or am I being paranoid?
My first book came out in 2007. My publisher told me he had printed 3,000 copies of my book, but later, he gave me conflicting information (for example, he later told me it was 1,000, then 5,000). At first, I thought he was just absent-minded.
Later on, a friend of mine (without asking me) tried to help me by calling up bookstores and ordering lots of copies of my book under mutliple names. He did not buy the books, but hoped that the stores would put them on the shelves after they were not purchased. However, the stores returned the books to the publisher.
The publisher then told me that he would have to deduct some of my royalties because, according to him, the bookstore charges him a fee if books are requested and then not purchased.
My first question is -- Is it common practice for bookstores to fine publishers for books that were ordered but not purchased?
My second question is -- Is it likely that the only reason that he charged me these fees was because he did not really print out a stockpile and he was printing on demand, thus requiring him to make up for his losses? This was a small publisher, so it did not surprise me that I could not walk into any store and find my book. But that means that he easily could have printed out maybe 50 copies and lied to me. There was no clause in the contract stating how many books were actually printed. I trusted him because he was listed in the Writer's Market, which is a reputable publication.
Furthermore, when he decided to terminate the contract (because my books weren't selling), he told me that he could send me the rest of the copies if I pay him $300 for postage. These were hardcover books, very good quality. If he sent me, let's say, 200 copies and had me pay $300 for them, would he be able to make some sort of scam profit? How much would it actually cost for a publisher to mail that many books?
Or am I being paranoid?
