Comments on: My first actual book royalty payment! http://www.rhodytrader.com/my-first-actual-book-royalty-payment/ The Musings of a Trading and Investing Addict Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:07:07 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Joe Drake http://www.rhodytrader.com/my-first-actual-book-royalty-payment/comment-page-1/#comment-267 Joe Drake Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:32:32 +0000 http://www.rhodytrader.com/?p=276#comment-267 Congratulations on your first royalty! Congratulations on your first royalty!

]]> By: John http://www.rhodytrader.com/my-first-actual-book-royalty-payment/comment-page-1/#comment-260 John Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:32:50 +0000 http://www.rhodytrader.com/?p=276#comment-260 Jerry - Believe me, I watch all the details. The reserve is definitely on there, rising and falling with the level of sales. That was certainly part of the equation, but only a minor one in the grand scheme. It just took time to work off the advances and expenses charged against my account. Alas, my book hasn't sold quite as well as Harry Potter. :-( Jerry – Believe me, I watch all the details. The reserve is definitely on there, rising and falling with the level of sales. That was certainly part of the equation, but only a minor one in the grand scheme. It just took time to work off the advances and expenses charged against my account. Alas, my book hasn’t sold quite as well as Harry Potter. :-(

]]> By: Jerry Butler http://www.rhodytrader.com/my-first-actual-book-royalty-payment/comment-page-1/#comment-259 Jerry Butler Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:03:56 +0000 http://www.rhodytrader.com/?p=276#comment-259 Hi John, Looks like you were caught in that age-old publishing formula called the "Reserve for Returns". A publisher can under almost any contract retain author earnings to cover future returns of the book. The catch is that the publisher almost always retains well in excess of what is actually needed, consequently, two and a half years later you start to see payments, small but better than nothing. Understanding the financial terms of the contract and what the reserve really means can help authors. Better would be to be able to check those reserves twice a year and be in a position to challenge them. That's what we do. Best, Jerry Hi John,
Looks like you were caught in that age-old publishing formula called the “Reserve for Returns”. A publisher can under almost any contract retain author earnings to cover future returns of the book. The catch is that the publisher almost always retains well in excess of what is actually needed, consequently, two and a half years later you start to see payments, small but better than nothing. Understanding the financial terms of the contract and what the reserve really means can help authors. Better would be to be able to check those reserves twice a year and be in a position to challenge them. That’s what we do.

Best,
Jerry

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