Tucker Max's Advice: Become Your Own Publisher And Triple Your Royalties

Tucker Max writes:

I know how an author can triple their effective royalty. This is on the same sales, with nothing else substantively changing in any other aspect of their book. Same books (print and ebooks both), same bookstores, same placement, same customer experience, even the same publisher (sort of). (Attention, Authors: I Tripled My Royalties, and You Can Too)

This isn't just talk, Tucker Max tripled his royalties on his latest book, Hilarity Ensues. He went from earning about $3.50 per hardcover copy to earning $10.00.

Become Your Own Publisher

What's the catch? You have to become a publisher.

You might be wondering what's the difference between becoming a publisher and being a self-publisher. Tucker Max insists he is not self-published, but the way I use the phrase (though I prefer 'indie') I'd say he was self-published because he created and owned a publishing company (he has sold it) that published his book. But that's neither here nor there.

The important thing is that Tucker went from earning 15% royalties on each hardcover sale (7.5% on trade paperback) to nearly 50% per hardcover sale.

How did he do this? He struck a deal with Simon & Schuster which gave them 11% of sales in exchange for distributing his book.

Why strike a distribution deal with Simon & Schuster? Apparently there's one thing writers can't do themselves: Distribution of paper books. Tucker says:

That's really all big-6 publishers are good for. Printing the books, putting them in trucks, taking them to warehouses, getting them into Barnes & Noble, collecting money from Barnes & Noble, dealing with returns, and those sorts of things are difficult, if not impossible, for traditional authors to do, everything else you can do yourself. Either subcontract it out to freelancers or do it yourself. (Keen On… Tucker Max: How An Asshole Is Blowing Up The Publishing Industry [TCTV])

Paper Books Versus Digital

Most self publishers only publish digital books and print on demand (POD) paper books because of the hassle and expense involved.

And, unless you're assured to sell at least 250,000 copies of your book, Tucker Max advises authors NOT to go this route. Why? Because you'll have to pay up front for things like printing and distribution. You're assuming all the risk and that's why you're taking all the reward.

Unless you're already a best seller this strategy likely won't appeal to you, but it's something to keep in mind for when that day arrives. :-)

Thanks to The Passive Voice Blog for mentioning Tucker Max's article.

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NaNoWriMo update: I've written 27,010 words so far and hope to do another 2k tonight. That is, after I try out Jeffrey's way of organizing a story. :)

Other articles you might like:
- How To Write Every Day: Jerry Seinfeld And The Chain Method
- What's The Difference Between Paranormal Romance And Urban Fantasy?
- Using Excel To Outline Your NaNoWriMo Novel: Defeating the sprawl

Photo credit: "subway rush" Susan NYC under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Amazon Award-Winner Regina Sirois & The Problems Of Indie Distribution

I love success stories!

When author Regina Sirois decided to self-publish her young adult literary fiction, On Little Wings, she found the process satisfying but for one aspect: the gate to getting her book into bookstores was nearly impossible to open. While she was happy with her ebook and print sales online, it was the bookstore experience that was left out of the process.

“That is the one hurdle I couldn’t break,” said Sirois in an interview yesterday with GoodEReader. “I loved being a self-published author, but getting it in bookstores was the last gate I couldn’t get through.”

That will certainly change now that Sirois’ novel won the young adult category for the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. The winner in each of the two categories will win a publishing contract with Penguin and a $15,000 advance, and Sirois will most definitely see her book gracing the shelves of her local bookstore.

“I said in my speech at ABNA that I am grateful for this opportunity but it wrecked my marriage,” Sirois laughed. “I wasn’t going to enter. My husband forced me to enter it in ABNA at the last second, right before the contest closed. I told him it sounded like a huge waste of time for me to even enter. He mentioned it to me several times and I told him no. He came back two days before it closed and said, ‘If you don’t enter it, I will enter it for you.’ It was about 11 o’clock at night and I was tired and more than a little irritated with him, but I did it. He’s right about everything now! I will not live this down.”

Read the rest of the article here: ABNA Winner Regina Sirois on Indie vs Traditional Publishing.

Distribution was something John Locke had trouble with as well, here are his comments from a recent interview with IndieReader:

Before entering into my distribution deal with Simon & Schuster, I knew that TV and print media was the exclusive domain of traditionally-published authors. I knew as an indie author it was unlikely I would ever be interviewed on TV, or have my paperback, Wish List, reviewed in print media. So I knew there was an exclusive club. But I thought my distribution deal made me a member, or at the very least, an honorary member. Boy, was I wrong! I hired a publicist and offered myself up…and quickly learned I was not part of the club! Not one media outlet would talk to me or review my book.  Even the little papers in the towns where I grew up and went to high school and college refused to do a story on me!
- John Locke on the Big Problem (Still) Facing Indies

Hopefully, one day, it will be possible for indie authors to strike distribution deals with bookstores. Who knows, perhaps one day Waterstones will carry certain indie books! Here's hoping.

The important thing is to keep writing. Cheers.