Sales for an Average Author

Who are the big traditional publishing companies anyway?

Picador.
TOR.
Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
Henry Holt and Company.

These are a few of the companies that authors dream of breaking into. Or so they say. But the real question is why? Why do authors long so much to have their books published with traditional companies when according to Tom Dark, a literary agent with Heacock Literary, the "overall industry profits last year were .03% and the average author sold 500 books at a 7% royalty." (He also states that "returns are unprecedented and alarming.")

How many authors at Wheatmark have sold 500 books ? Twelve percent! A good question, then, for any author choosing an independent publisher would be this: "What percentage of your clients have sold over five hundred books?" Most of them will dodge the question or try to distract you with the number of clients they've signed up over the years, but what does it matter if a company has signed up fifty-thousand authors or eighty-thousand authors if less than 1% of those authors haven't even sold five hundred books? In other words, why would an author sign up with a company that had a poor history of sales?

Be wary of a self-publishing company that boasts quantity while ignoring the issue quality.

A Glimpse into Traditional Publishing

Over the last couple of days, I've been contacting some of our Wheatmark authors to say hello and see what they were up to.

Most often this is the conversation I have:

ME: Hello this is me, how are you? How is your book doing? What are you working on?
THEM: Weeeeellll ... I haven't really done much with the book because it isn't selling and I don't have the money to hire someone to do publicity ...
ME: (Sounding very much like a TimeLife Books Series commercial from the 1980s) Have you tried using the techniques in our FREE book marketing workbook?
THEM: No.
ME: It's awesome. I'll send it to you!
THEM: Thanks!

There is another trickier topic the authors and I have talked about: Traditionally publishing a book.

Seen as the Holy Grail to many self-published authors, traditional publishing promises the sparkling literary lights of New York and L.A.

Or does it?

Many self-published authors aren't familiar with what it really means to traditionally publish a book. They assume that shelf space at the local Barnes and Noble will open up, a marketing department will be thrown behind them, and movie studios will clamber to option their book with Natalie Portman starring in the main role (possibly while the author sits by the pool drinking mai tais).

And sometimes, this happens.

Mostly though, it doesn't. The initial thrill of being chosen will wear off quickly as the author realizes they've lost control of the rights to their project, or that the book will be minimally released, not supported by the company's marketing department, and then find their title canceled not too long after. And! They'll still be called upon to work on the marketing of the book. Exhausting!

But for those seeking the challenge, expense, and potential heartbreak at a shot at best-seller status, I want to direct you to a fantastic blog entry by Jessica at BookEnds, LLC, a literary agency.

Their post entitled The Anatomy of a Book Deal is a great eye-opener to what it takes to be published and how the process works!

Check it out!