Dealing with author copies: Gotchas to avoid in your publishing deal

Authors believe they should get free copies of their own books. But for the most part, they don’t. In fact, the cost and terms of fulfillment of author copies are part of the negotiation with the publisher. Pay attention to this when the contract is in process or it could cost you quite a bit later on.

Free author copies

All publishing contracts include free copies for the author. But stingy traditional publishers may limit the free copies to one box (typically 16-24 copies) or even just one copy. Ask for more (try for 200). You’ll settle somewhere in the middle. Insist on free shipping, too. Publishers are often willing to negotiate on these terms, because the cost of those copies to the publisher is low, often just three or four bucks a copy.

If your book is selling like mad, the publisher may feel generous enough to send you more copies months or years later when you ask for them. But if the book isn’t selling, they’re going to insist that you pay.

Author copy pricing and fulfillment

Authors get to buy their own books direct from the publisher at a discount. This is the author copy price, and it’s part of the contract negotiation. The discount could be anywhere between 40% and 60% of the purchase price. And they will charge you for shipping. For a book with a $30 list price, you’ll have to budget at least $15 per book including shipping.

Sometimes the terms of these purchases specify that the author will not resell copies. The publisher doesn’t want you going into competition with its resellers. If you’re giving away copies in conjunction with your own event or workshop, the price of those books is a cost you’ll have to account for.

If you’re working with someone who wants a bulk buy, like an event or a client, it’s best if they buy direct from a reseller. Porchlight does bulk fulfillment at a discount, and has excellent service. If someone at the buying organization has Amazon Prime, they may be able to avoid shipping costs, which is sometimes a cheaper way to buy overall. If your contact asks “Can you get me bulk books at a discount?”, just send them to Porchlight.

You may be tempted to buy copies of books, store them yourself, and resell them to people. Unless you own a warehouse operation, that’s going to become a pain in the ass. When you count the cost of the books, the hassle of packing them, and the cost of shipping them, you’ll come out behind. Let professional book fulfillment operations like Porchlight do it for you.

Contractual buybacks

Some publishing contracts require you to buy back a fixed number of books from the publisher, to mitigate the publisher’s risk. Be very wary of these provisions; they can cost huge amounts of money.

For example, suppose your publishing contract includes a $30,000 book advance but mandates a 5,000 book buyback. Assume that the author price for those books is $12 each, and shipping is $3 per copy. Do the math: you’ve just agreed to spend $75,000 to buy copies of your own book, and even after receiving the advance, you’re $45,000 in the red. Not only that, you’ve got 5,000 books in your garage, which is about 200 boxes. Unless you have some use for 5,000 books (for example, you’re going to send them to clients), that’s a very bad deal.

If your deal looks like this, a hybrid publisher may be a better choice. True, they don’t pay an advance, and they’ll charge you for other services like book production and cover design. But while they’ll charge you to get the book printed, their marked-up printing cost is far lower than the traditional publisher’s author copy pricing. They’ll warehouse those books, sell them to resellers or direct, and pay you a high royalty per book. And once you’ve gotten the book printed, you can ask them to send you as many as you want, paying only shipping. In any case where a publisher requires a book buyback, get a quote from a hybrid and compare the overall costs. The prestige of having a traditional publishing imprint may turn out to be more expensive than it’s worth.