e-Books, how do we protect ourselves

[SusanJillParker]

I've contacted a couple of publishers and a couple of publishers have contacted me about writing e-books. Only after reading some of the horror stories that authors are having with contract negotiation and renegotiation, along with validating their royalties, this whole e-Book thing smells.

As small time authors, how do we protect ourselves? Who's watching over the publishers? The average e-Book author doesn't have an agent. Rumor has it that the average e-book author is selling 10 e-Books for the one e-Book the publisher reports to him as being sold and the one e-Book that he receives a royalty.

I'd like to sell e-Books, but I won't release my work, unless I feel that I'm getting my honest rate of return. Then, again, between a rock and a hard place, if I don't turn my work into e-Books, my work will only be stolen to be sold by someone else.

For all those authors with e-Books on the site, what are you doing to protect yourself? Do you honestlly feel that your publisher is reporting all of your sales to you?

Is the simple answer to sell our own e-Books on our own site? Even that, with hackers hacking everything, offers little protection.

Does anyone have any answers?

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I've contacted a couple of publishers and a couple of publishers have contacted me about writing e-books. Only after reading some of the horror stories that authors are having with contract negotiation and renegotiation, along with validating their royalties, this whole e-Book thing smells.

As small time authors, how do we protect ourselves? Who's watching over the publishers? The average e-Book author doesn't have an agent. Rumor has it that the average e-book author is selling 10 e-Books for the one e-Book the publisher reports to him as being sold and the one e-Book that he receives a royalty.

I'd like to sell e-Books, but I won't release my work, unless I feel that I'm getting my honest rate of return. Then, again, between a rock and a hard place, if I don't turn my work into e-Books, my work will only be stolen to be sold by someone else.

For all those authors with e-Books on the site, what are you doing to protect yourself? Do you honestlly feel that your publisher is reporting all of your sales to you?

Is the simple answer to sell our own e-Books on our own site? Even that, with hackers hacking everything, offers little protection.

Does anyone have any answers?

Buy a few of your eBooks and see how many you get paid for.

 

[jeninflorida]

I've contacted a couple of publishers and a couple of publishers have contacted me about writing e-books. Only after reading some of the horror stories that authors are having with contract negotiation and renegotiation, along with validating their royalties, this whole e-Book thing smells.

As small time authors, how do we protect ourselves? Who's watching over the publishers? The average e-Book author doesn't have an agent. Rumor has it that the average e-book author is selling 10 e-Books for the one e-Book the publisher reports to him as being sold and the one e-Book that he receives a royalty.

I'd like to sell e-Books, but I won't release my work, unless I feel that I'm getting my honest rate of return. Then, again, between a rock and a hard place, if I don't turn my work into e-Books, my work will only be stolen to be sold by someone else.

For all those authors with e-Books on the site, what are you doing to protect yourself? Do you honestlly feel that your publisher is reporting all of your sales to you?

Is the simple answer to sell our own e-Books on our own site? Even that, with hackers hacking everything, offers little protection.

Does anyone have any answers?

This is a very good question. I'm not sure that you can even access Amazon books sales from a publisher even though you would be the author. Guess it has to go on as trust. I can ask a couple of my friends on their thoughts but they write for the big publishers. Maybe it would be better if you posted who you are thinking about working with and see if anyone has experience with that publisher?

Lastly, why not just publish the book yourself?

 

[TxRad]

Freddie, the only way you're going to get full disclosure and peace of mind is to print them yourself and sell them out of the trunk of your car. Or something like that.

 

[SusanJillParker]

Freddie, the only way you're going to get full disclosure and peace of mind is to print them yourself and sell them out of the trunk of your car. Or something like that.

Being that we all want the same thing, to be paid an honest return for our hard work with writing, self-publishing is something that seldom ever works, that is, unless you're a lecturer and take your show on the road to thousand of people. The rest of us are at the mercy of carpetbaggers and scallywags.

 

[mcguinness]

If you put information of any kind on the Internet, it can and probably will be stolen and disseminated for free. The only way it won't be is if everyone finds it worthless. Make your peace with that.

I would suggest reading The Passive Voice blog (http://www.thepassivevoice.com/), the writer has a lot of experience and insight with both traditional and e-book publishing.

 

[TxRad]

Being that we all want the same thing, to be paid an honest return for our hard work with writing, self-publishing is something that seldom ever works, that is, unless you're a lecturer and take your show on the road to thousand of people. The rest of us are at the mercy of carpetbaggers and scallywags.

There are ways of doing it. You just have to think outside the box.

That or do what everyone else does. Take your chances and make the best deal you can.

Personally, I do both.

 

[sr71plt]

My for-profit publisher gives me access to all of the distributor reports (directly; I have the access codes; I can see whatever he sees). My not-for-profit publisher sends me forwarded reports too, but as I don't take profit from the books I have with her, I only look at the reported unit sales numbers.

The bottom line is that you can't (in e-booking) and never could (in print), as either an author or a publisher, account for every single copy sold--there are just too many control points that are out of an author's or publisher's full control.

If you are making money out of something you enjoy doing and otherwise wouldn't make money out of and aren't willing to forgo some skimming to make money where you otherwise weren't making money, I suggest you just not publish.

And, Freddie, since you seem to be obsessed about this and bring it up over and over again and get the same responses that aren't satisfying to you, I suggest that you just not publish.

Much of the hazy sales reporting is done by the distributors, so you don't solve your problem by cutting the publisher out and self-publishing. When you do that, it becomes you yourself trying to track the hazy numbers down rather than the publisher (who has the self-interest of wanting their cut from the distributors as well).

 

[talismania]

Writers should keep in mind that their publishers want to make money. They also want you to make money, because if you make money, they make money. This is especially true if your books are selling well. Might they skim a little, maybe. Might they hedge against expenses? You bet it happens. But completely screwing writers over isn't in their interest. Screwed over writers find other publishers for whom they can make money.

The main thing a writer can do for protection is research. Does a publisher have a good reputation with writers, readers, in their industry? Have they been in business for many years or just a few months? Signing on with a publisher is a business relationship. Where a lot of writers err is approaching publication like a service.

Anyway, research is your friend! There are whole worlds of difference between a commercial publisher, hobby publisher, vanity/subsidy publisher, or someone setting themselves up as a middle man for self-publication.

Sorry for the ramble, but I hate seeing new writers ending up with orphaned books and other bad experiences.

 

[SusanJillParker]

Writers should keep in mind that their publishers want to make money. They also want you to make money, because if you make money, they make money. This is especially true if your books are selling well. Might they skim a little, maybe. Might they hedge against expenses? You bet it happens. But completely screwing writers over isn't in their interest. Screwed over writers find other publishers for whom they can make money.

The main thing a writer can do for protection is research. Does a publisher have a good reputation with writers, readers, in their industry? Have they been in business for many years or just a few months? Signing on with a publisher is a business relationship. Where a lot of writers err is approaching publication like a service.

Anyway, research is your friend! There are whole worlds of difference between a commercial publisher, hobby publisher, vanity/subsidy publisher, or someone setting themselves up as a middle man for self-publication.

Sorry for the ramble, but I hate seeing new writers ending up with orphaned books and other bad experiences.

Thanks for your help.