Ability to live with copyright or 10% of sale price

Writers tend to think that they work as a profession, not for a living. The literary profession is one of the heavily loaded professions. a romantic understanding it comes down to the figure of the author and everything that surrounds him, including his editor. In fact, only 15% of writers devote their time to producing alone.

“It is very difficult to live with literature alone. Almost all authors have other jobs. And we do not charge large sums even if we are well paid for the book,” explains the author. Montse Barderi. Not surprising given that the author’s profit from his book rarely exceeds 10% of the net selling price. That is: If 3,000 copies are sold at 20 euros each, the author will demand 6,000 euros.

How does the publishing world work? The law gives authors exclusive rights to use their works for the rest of their lives: copyright. After his death, it is inherited by his relatives for 70 years. Then they become public domain. When the author completes a work, or even before, he usually transfers the rights to a publisher so that they can cook it and eventually it is released.

Agreement between the parties

And when it is published, how are the profits distributed? Although there are different formulas—self-publishing is on the rise—the literary work revolves around this agreement between publisher and author. not regulated by law. It determines the percentages that one and the other receive, calculated by the number of copies sold, not the printed ones. Often the author receives an advance, which will be finalized on this estimate. There are also literary agents, intermediaries who defend the interests of the author.

The printing industry usually remains between 15% and 20% of the total. Distributor between 35% and 40%. And the publisher is between 20% and 25%. This is where the marketing, promotion and maintenance campaigns of the editorial structure come from. Therefore, he assumes that “a normal net margin that is satisfactory to the publisher ranges from 7% to 15%”. ernest folcheditor, journalist and owner of Navona publishing house.

In this way, publishers get into a business that involves certain risks. “The financial one is the highest because we anticipate the money. And between you contracting the copyright, printing, distributing and collecting the book, may take more than a year. They also have the right to return our books”. In short, “no one works as a publisher to get rich,” says the Cultural and Creative Industries professor at Esade. Jose Maria Alvarez de Lara.

First of all, the editor places a bet on the author, who is blind to newcomers. It is the person who decides how many copies will be printed and bears the advance costs. If this number of printed books is not eventually sold, the publisher is not entitled to withdraw the advance. “If a publisher publishes 10 books, one or two books are successful, four or five books are moderate, there will be one or two failures“, To explain Lara’s. “It’s a risky investment where books that sell better finance those that don’t—he continues.”

“It’s a trial and error job where you lose so many times,” he warns. folch. That’s why it goes through many filters: The percentage of books that reach a publisher and are eventually published is less than 5%. At Navona, for example, the six editors who make up the staff publish an average of 60 books a year. Editing them costs between 4 and 5 euros per copy. So, with an average of 3,000 copies printed, about 15,000 Euros.

a painful decision

The prices of the books are determined by the publisher and are fixed. If they are not sold, the discount strategy cannot be used. And even setting a price is pretty complicated because “a book is worth the content, not the amount of paper it has.” Usually, they are determined by competitive prices.

In the case of returned books, the publisher may offer them to the author at cost price. Or you can sell them to second-hand bookstores. Also, forgive them. But the most normal is to put them through the guillotine. “The publisher can and should destroy these copies, even if it hurts him,” he says. Lara’s. Because otherwise, “the covers are cut off and it kind of goes into the black market; the author does not charge for these sales,” he explains. raquel xalabarderDirector of Legal and Political Science studies at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC).

Win the physical world

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“We are almost the last bastion of the cultural sector that is still physically distributing,” he comments. folch. In fact, between 70% and 80% of the books sold are still in paper format. Audiobook ‘not very successful in Spain,’ adds Lara’s. There are no digital versions either, although they are cheaper.

Nothing seems possible against this millennial industry that has risen during the pandemic. According to the latest figures from the Spanish Federation of Publishers’ Association, 79,000 books were produced in 2021 with an average circulation of 3,590 copies. And turnover increased by 5.6% annually to 2,576 million Euros. “The printed book will not die,” he concludes. Lara’s.