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Severed Press

AC Crispin

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The only place that royalty rates of 2% are "typical" is for tie-in books, where the royalty must be split between the writer and the franchise owner. The franchise owner also holds the copyright to the work.

On the other hand, franchise books often get a much larger print run than an original novel.

It's a trade-off.

-Ann C. Crispin
 

IDGS

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Just to touch on this all again - when I first posted about royalty rates, I'll have to admit I knew virtually nothing about them.

Severed Press sticks to pretty average royatly rates for small press, and may or may not offer an advance (this is unofficial, just based on what I gather) depending on the project.

So far, first experience publishing with them was positive, so I have signed a contract for another book through them. They've teamed up with Terror4Fun.com, which should be an interesting outlet as well.

Best of luck to all!
 

S.C. Denton

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It's been so long since they passed on my story that I totally forgot about this thread. Thanks for all the information everyone. I do intend to send them something else in the future, but I've yet to write anything I feel is an appropriate match.
 

IDGS

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Very much advised, SC! I believe there's plans in the making for a Dead Bait III - I didn't get into DBII either, if that's the one you're talking about. Has yet to drop too, but apparently it's hitting printers in the next couple of weeks.

Best of luck!
 

cattdahman

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Good Times

I know this thread is old, but it needs to be updated in case anyone has questions about Severed. They are still publishing and so, far, I like dealing with them!

Yes, they are small but that means I am not lost and forgotten.

Yes, they are fast, but that means good things for me, too.

I like the way I feel important and not like one of the billion. I can e-mail and ask a question and get an answer very quickly.

The Dead Bait stories are fun and quirky and some are very deep (pun intended) reading.

I was fortunate enough to have just signed 9 books of a series with them and am more than pleased with the cover art (about which I was consulted and had a lot of say in). Horror is so very tough to get into and I am sadly not S King and didn't get a billion dollar advance. Umm...ok...because I knew from day one that writers don't get rich unless they are S King. :)
I also just signed a contract for four books (novels, not short stories) to continue the Dead Bait theme.

I don't know how anyone else will fair, but I am very happy with Severed press as my new home.
 

PortableHal

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I know this thread is old, but it needs to be updated in case anyone has questions about Severed. They are still publishing and so, far, I like dealing with them!

Yes, they are small but that means I am not lost and forgotten.

Yes, they are fast, but that means good things for me, too.

I like the way I feel important and not like one of the billion. I can e-mail and ask a question and get an answer very quickly.

The Dead Bait stories are fun and quirky and some are very deep (pun intended) reading.

I was fortunate enough to have just signed 9 books of a series with them and am more than pleased with the cover art (about which I was consulted and had a lot of say in). Horror is so very tough to get into and I am sadly not S King and didn't get a billion dollar advance. Umm...ok...because I knew from day one that writers don't get rich unless they are S King. :)
I also just signed a contract for four books (novels, not short stories) to continue the Dead Bait theme.

I don't know how anyone else will fair, but I am very happy with Severed press as my new home.

Hi Catt,

Thanks for sharing. Welcome to AW!

I think it's very important to like your publisher, especially when you've made a long term agreement. The biggest question I have for you is, are you making any real money with these guys?

Not Stephen King cash but a decent three to four figures in royalties at least?
 

cattdahman

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I have just signed and they are getting them out there asap so I don't have a basis to know what kind of money to expect really. I know what i made on am.com so I will be able to compare. As soon as I know I will be glad to share,:)
 

CAMDevil

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Just got a contract from them for a zombie novel I co-wrote with someone. Can someone tell me how their marketing is for their books?
 

elindsen

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Hi Cam. I've spoken with a few of their people and I hear it's not good. Low royalties and they only market the company, not books, with the exception of that one guy (sorry, can't remember his name). When I emailed with questions I got the impression it would all be on me.
 

CAMDevil

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Thanks for the answer. That's kind of what I feared.
 

G. Applejack

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Our royalties are more than double what you would get from the big 6.

Alright, I'm game. I have a horror manuscript I'm polishing up. I wasn't able to find your royalty rates on your site. What are they, so I may compare against what I'd receive from, say, Simon and Schuster.
 

kaitie

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Can I ask what the average number of copies sold is? I'm not sure what top 100 in Amazon horror equates with. Your royalties might be higher, but 10% of 100,000 is a lot more than 80% of 1,000, you know?
 

elindsen

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Our royalties are more than double what you would get from the big 6.

So far this year we have four debut authors who have made the top 100 horror on Amazon. We did not manage this by not promoting our books.

Thanks

The author I spoke with said your ebooks rates were much lower than the standard 40% most epublishers offer. He said your ebook and print royalties are the same.
 

Severed Press

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Awesome James. If memory serves me right, this author said he gets 16% both ebook and print.

We have not ever had an author on these royalty rates. Please stop making statements about our company based on hearsay. We treat our authors very fairly and have industry standard royalty rates.
 

lastlittlebird

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Severed Press, I'm saying this as a writer who often comes here to research publishers.

At the moment, in this thread, you've said that you give "industry standard rates" and that you give more than double what an author would get at the big six. This doesn't add up.

Even if you don't want to give us an exact royalty rate, you might want to put down a ballpark figure, or perhaps a minimum, for prosperity.
If the publisher itself says "this is the minimum you will get" I would consider that to be better information than one person saying otherwise.

When a company says "your information is wrong" and then doesn't offer the correct information, rightly or wrongly that looks fishy to me.
 

Severed Press

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Severed Press, I'm saying this as a writer who often comes here to research publishers.

At the moment, in this thread, you've said that you give "industry standard rates" and that you give more than double what an author would get at the big six. This doesn't add up.

Even if you don't want to give us an exact royalty rate, you might want to put down a ballpark figure, or perhaps a minimum, for prosperity.
If the publisher itself says "this is the minimum you will get" I would consider that to be better information than one person saying otherwise.

When a company says "your information is wrong" and then doesn't offer the correct information, rightly or wrongly that looks fishy to me.

Okay, this will be the last time I post on this forum as I don't want this to become something it is not.

Thank you Last Little Bird your comment makes sense and I will answer but not with figures, ball park or not. We do pay industry standard rates that are probably a little higher and in some cases a little lower than other small presses. As for my statement about it being double what a big publisher would give...going by James D's statement on what he receives, then I was misinformed by what I had read elsewhere and I will happily retract that statement.

I hope this clarifies.

There are people on this thread that have published with us, PM them, they have the FACTS. Do a Google search you will not find one bad word said about us.

We work hard here and our reputation with our authors is important to us. Although I found it irritating that inaccurate information was posted here. I am kicking myself for adding weight to it.

I wish you all luck in your writing and if you have some great horror send it our way and we will discuss royalties when we make a contract offer.

That is me over and out. THX
 

LindaJeanne

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How much does your royalty rate vary between authors? I ask, because a large variation is the only reason I can think of not to disclose royalty rates.

There are people on this thread that have published with us, PM them, they have the FACTS.

You, presumably, also have "the FACTS". If they can be provided by PM to a total stranger, why can't they be posted here for lurkers researching publishers to see? It would clear up any confusion or misunderstanding.
 

kaitie

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I can't see a reason not to have royalty rate ranges listed on the website (or at least a minimum listed). It seems like basic information about any small press, and I wouldn't want to submit unless I knew that information.
 

kaitie

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If I had to hazard a guess, it would be that royalties are on net, or even if they're on cover, that they're concerned that people might be turned away if they see numbers and think "I could get 70% on Amazon" or something.

That being said, I'd wonder how many authors like myself would be turned away by not having that information available. That's one of the most important things to know when evaluating a company, IMO.