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A Question on the Going Rate for Ebook Royalties Opens Up Some Finer Points About All Publishing Contracts
Here are 12 things for authors to know and consider
Though I have 10 books under my belt, I am looking at the first time having an electronic version for an upcoming edition. Question is: What is considered the going rate for electronic book version royalties? I’ve read 15% or 20% or 25%. And a further nuance: As there will also be the print version, is everything these days lumped together?
A member posted this to the Profitable Author Life You Love Facebook group I run (feel free to join us there) and it wasn’t easy to simply answer. First, I don’t know. Second, I suspect there’s not a “going rate.” Third, Googling it didn’t yield reasonable answers. Fourth, there are so many contextual and definitional things at play for a pat numerical response.
But all of that adds up to an article that I think will share just as valuable information on approaching and understanding book contracts.
1. Prior contracts
Even though, ten books in, none of those titles’ publishers released an ebook version, it is almost certain that contracts for those books included language about electronic versions and digital rights.
