Confirming Your Publisher's Reported Sales Figures

[Cobrav]

Sorry if it seems I'm resurrecting an old thread but this is one of the few regarding publishing that mentions royalties. I'm currently evaluating publisher options and one thing seems obvious but isn't clear to me. Is there a way to independently check the sales of my book to make sure they are in line with what the publisher reports and pays royalties on? It seems possible that a (shady) publisher could report sales of 6 books a month when, in fact, they are higher. Any suggestions of which forum I should have looked in to find this information?

 

[Brigid Barry]

I believe they should be sending you a statement showing your sales. Hopefully they aren't that shady! Definitely check out our bewares section for publishers and see of Victoria Strauss had anything to say about them.

And check out the New Members thread to introduce yourself and let everyone get to know you.

A mod may want this moved to its own thread since it's not quite in line with the original topic. You should be able to create threads in most places.

 

[Maryn]

This is an excellent question, Cobrav, worthy of its own thread. (Although I very much appreciate your sensitivity about re-opening an old thread, too. Thanks!)

There have been some scary tales of publishers not reporting sales the author knows happened--out to lunch with eight friends, each ordering the book online, no sales shown?--and the answer to the question is information plenty of us can use.

(Also, welcome to you. See you at the New Members thread, I hope, so we can get acquainted?)

 

[Brigid Barry]

Thank you, Maryn, for making this its own thread because I'd love to see the answer as well.

 

[Maryn]

Exactly. I've read dozens of similar stories about for-sure sales and the publisher saying none or far fewer, but I have no idea how or if the author challenged those figures. I don't have the experience others do, though.

 

[lizmonster]

In the most recent contract I signed, there's a clause allowing me to request an audit of their accounting by an independent auditor. If the audit shows they've messed up by more than 5%, they pay for the audit. It's imperfect, but it's a little bit of protection.

I'd say the best thing you can do is thoroughly vet a publisher up front, but of course the industry is full of stories of robust houses crashing and burning in the space of a few months.

 

[Cobrav]

Thanks to all of you for responding so quickly. I'll also hustle over to the New Members area and introduce myself.

All of the suggestions were helpful, especially adding a clause to the contract about an audit. Of course, when the publisher is honest, none of this is necessary. The problem is that after beta-readers, a developmental editor, a line editor, a query letter coach and a literary attorney all took the money and ran, I'm a little gun-shy. This was after a phone interviews and submitted samples. Thanks to AW and Writers Beware, I'm getting better at spotting red flags.

When I registered at AW, I was informed that I would need to respond to a certain number (I think it was four) before I could start a thread of my own. After searching without luck for an existing thread on this topic, I decided to dive into one that was close. I appreciate your tolerance.

 

[Maryn]

We've recently renewed our efforts to be more welcoming to new folks. I haven't even come close to biting anyone in several days. (Well, not anyone new, at least!)

In all seriousness, we're glad to be of some help, and hope to be even more helpful. It takes some experience before those red flags really pop out at a person. So many of us were taken for a little or a lot of money, some even losing the rights to our own books, when we were new and green and wanted to believe in everybody who said they liked what we wrote. We want to be sure that doesn't happen to anybody else.

See you over at New Members, then? Excellent.

 

[mrsmig]

Welcome, @Cobrav! Since you're vetting agents, publishers, et al, be sure to check our Bewares, Recommendations and Background Checks section. There's lots of info about the good, the bad and the well-meaning but hopelessly inept.

If you don't see an indexed thread about a publishing entity you're interested in, feel free to start one of your own, and we'll do our best to help you out. I, for one, am always interested in researching new publishers and seeing what they have to offer.

And of course you can start your own thread at AW, easy peasy. The only restriction is in our Share Your Work section, where writers post their work for crit, and in the Beta Readers, Mentors and Writing Buddies section. You can respond to threads in those sections, but you can't post your own thread (requesting a crit, or a beta reader) until you have 50 substantive posts.

 

[frimble3]

This is an excellent question, Cobrav, worthy of its own thread. (Although I very much appreciate your sensitivity about re-opening an old thread, too. Thanks!)

There have been some scary tales of publishers not reporting sales the author knows happened--out to lunch with eight friends, each ordering the book online, no sales shown?--and the answer to the question is information plenty of us can use.

(Also, welcome to you. See you at the New Members thread, I hope, so we can get acquainted?)

However, do not trust your lying friends. Everybody says "You've got a book out? I'll race out and buy a copy!"
Then forgets/doesn't like your genre/saves their money for beer.
But, yes, audit and confirm. If nothing else, your asking for the right to an audit may be enough of a warning for them to say on the straight-and-narrow.

 

[Unimportant]

When I registered at AW, I was informed that I would need to respond to a certain number (I think it was four) before I could start a thread of my own. After searching without luck for an existing thread on this topic, I decided to dive into one that was close. I appreciate your tolerance.

That must be an unclear glitch in the info. New members can start threads from the moment they arrive! And they can post in any existing thread anywhere. The only restriction is that they can't start a thread requesting critique or beta readers until they've made 50 posts, as mrsmig said above.

 

[Cobrav]

Thanks, mrsmig. An invaluable resource. I spend most of my time there and have crossed off a lot of candidates (dodged a lot of bullets) based on member comments.