Step in the Write Direction--April 15, 2013

A Step in the Write Direction

 

April 15, 2013

 

Update:

Not too much to update. I had a busy week with two proofreading jobs and working on the father/grandfather anthology. I printed out all those I had received and it came to 83,000 words. I have to get it down to around 67,000 so have work to do. One thing that will make it easier is that a number of writers sent two or three submissions and the publisher usually likes only one from each contributor, so that will cut down some….Our two children who live here in town came over yesterday after church and helped clean house—getting ready for our daughter and family who are coming tomorrow from Oklahoma for a two-week vacation! Can hardly wait to see them!...My husband has an appointment this morning to get the results of a heart ultrasound to see if there are any more blog clots (they found one last September), then next Monday, the 22^nd, he’ll have the procedure to replace the defibrillator. Hopefully (and prayerfully) the third wire can be re-used. If not, that will require a second surgery later.

 

Thought for the Day:

Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow (Ronald E. Osborn).

 

Laugh for the Day: (appropriate for today!)

A man on vacation was strolling along outside his hotel, enjoying the sunny weather. Suddenly, he was attracted by the screams of a woman kneeling in front of a child.

Questioning the mother, the man learned that the child had swallowed a coin. Seizing the child by the heels, the man held him up, gave him a few shakes, and a quarter dropped to the sidewalk.

"Oh, thank you sir!" cried the woman. "You seemed to know just how to get it out of him. Are you a doctor?"

"No, ma'am," replied the man. "I'm with the IRS."

Writer’s Hints:

Reader’s question: How do you get paid when you sell your book to a publisher? Upfront amount? Royalties?

 

Answer: Every publisher is different. Years ago when I first started selling books (in the early 70s), my first three were bought outright. One was a Bible quiz book which sold for 29 cents and I received $125. When it went out of print, it had sold over 140,000 copies, so you can see I lost money on that. The next two were small devotional books for children and women, and I received $250—also losing money.

 

Most publishers, however, pay a royalty percentage, usually around 8-10 percent, but you have to know if this is on wholesale (in other words, if a book sells for $10 and a bookstore buys it at a discount for $6, you just get royalties on the $6) or on retail.

 

Some publishers also give an advance, based on the estimated sales of the book. This is more common with well-known writers or writers who have been previously published by that publisher. You have to remember this is an ADVANCE ON ROYALTIES, so the publisher has to sell enough to recoup that advance before you start getting royalty checks.

 

I’m not maligning anyone, but don’t think that because it’s a Christian publisher, you can just sign it and send back—no matter how excited are! Years ago a new writer in our group called me all excited because she had received a contract for her children’s book—an outright purchase of $500. I discussed with her what the book would probably sell for and, even if it sold 5,000 copies—an average run at that time, how much she would lose. She wrote the publisher back, turning down the contract. (The publisher did write back, saying they were new and that’s all they could afford at the time, but if they could eventually go the royalty route, they would contact her again as they liked the book.)

 

 I usually pay Sally Stuart at: stuartcwmg@aol.com to look over a contract when I receive one. Even if everything’s on the up-and-up, you can ask for some changes—more free copies upfront, etc. The one time I didn't have her look at one (she did the original, then they sent an amended one) I'm still regretting it!

 

Hope this helps!

 

Enjoy the week spreading the gospel

through the printed page!

 

Donna Clark Goodrich

dgood648@ aol.com

www.thewritersfriend.net

http://donna-goodrich.blogspot.com

 "A Step in the Write Direction--the Complete How-to Guide for Christian Writers"