Hey,
I just got my first royalty statement and I'd love some feedback.
Kensington's statement is quite clear (it even includes their reserve against returns) but I'm wondering whether anyone can give me a sense of how the percents stack up. I know that I can't really compare sales (except to other nonfiction specifically in my genre) but I would like some sense of where I stand. Frankly, I'm shopping a new book around and I'd love to tell them something about how my sales or return rate are good, but I don't know that they are.
For example, they have on hand about 50% of the total number of books I sold. It looks like about .5% (that's one half of one percent) were returned. Their reserve is 25% (which is obviously quite high in comparison to how many were returned). I earned out about 75% of my advance (it would have been just over 100% except for the reserve). The book was released this past April and the statement covers from January through June.
Any input would be appreciated. I'd typically have just called my editor, but she's transitioning to a new house (publisher staff roulette, gotta love it!).
I just got my first royalty statement and I'd love some feedback.
Kensington's statement is quite clear (it even includes their reserve against returns) but I'm wondering whether anyone can give me a sense of how the percents stack up. I know that I can't really compare sales (except to other nonfiction specifically in my genre) but I would like some sense of where I stand. Frankly, I'm shopping a new book around and I'd love to tell them something about how my sales or return rate are good, but I don't know that they are.
For example, they have on hand about 50% of the total number of books I sold. It looks like about .5% (that's one half of one percent) were returned. Their reserve is 25% (which is obviously quite high in comparison to how many were returned). I earned out about 75% of my advance (it would have been just over 100% except for the reserve). The book was released this past April and the statement covers from January through June.
Any input would be appreciated. I'd typically have just called my editor, but she's transitioning to a new house (publisher staff roulette, gotta love it!).