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chris gow... chris gow...
 
December 19, 2008 08:53 PM

How much should an author be able to buy copies of their book for?

If I wrote a book, is there a standard discount the publisher should give me to buy copies of my own book?

Maybe I want to give copies to friends or sell it at speaking engagements, etc.
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cyrusrua cyrusrua
 
 December 20, 2008 09:25 PM
Of course it depends on your contract, but after you've used up your advance copies (the free ones you get initially) if they're being fair you should expect a discount of 57%. That figure is the wholesale price (traditionally 50% of the list) plus your royalty (assuming here 7% of the cover price) which is paid from the wholesale (they aren't going to pay you royalties on copies you buy yourself.)

Anything over the wholesale price is not fair to you. The wholesale price is what pays the publisher, the printer & the royalties every day while the difference pays the retailer. There may be minimums you have to buy to get the privilege, though. Make sure that all of this is stipulated in your contract before you sign it & you'll be fine.
Source(s):
I work A/P A/R at a publishing company.

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mskadu mskadu
 
December 19, 2008 09:10 PM
Yes, they should indeed! I think a 20% discount sounds good. And after all you are giving away the books and that will help promote it - more money for the publishers.

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lindsaywri... lindsaywri...
 
December 19, 2008 09:41 PM
Absolutely there should be a discount! Depending on the contract it can be up to 50%. There may also be provisions for copies at speaking engagements since there are marketing opportunities. It's a standard clause to provide an author discount, if you're looking at a contract, make sure this is addressed.

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tracebooks tracebooks
 
December 19, 2008 09:47 PM
Yes, most authors get discounts on their own books. They're even given advance copies most of the time, usually at least a case. And the discount is usually greater than 20%, because anyone can walk into Walmart or Borders and get 20% or 25% or even 30% off. Agents usually will talk them down to greater than 50% off for the author.
Source(s):
I work with a major children's publisher


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pescina pescina
 
December 19, 2008 09:48 PM
It depends on the contract or how the publisher works. Sometimes they give you a certain amount of copies for you to give away (50-100), if you're not self-published, of course, in which case you'd be paying for all copies. I guess that if you run out of books you can buy more from the publisher with a discount, if they have them in stock. One of my former teachers, who is a published writer, has to buy copies of one of his books at bookstores because there are no copies available with the publisher.
Source(s):
I worked for a small publishing Co. as a proofreader, have friends who've published.


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