Australian authors thinking of submitting may be interested in the changes we have made to our current royalty payment model.

Prior to this, we have been offering 50% of net revenue, which is a common practice for ebook publishers. Net revenue is the total receipts for the sale of a book minus the distribution/printing costs only. As net revenue varies depending on format, where the copy is sold, how it is distributed, and even the currency it is sold in, the royalty to the author can be somewhere about the same or slightly less than the traditional percent of recommended retail price (% of RRP) model, but can be much higher depending on sale point.

We still firmly believe that this model is fairer for the author because it is flexible and allows them to maximise their royalties by directing their readers to the sale point that gives them the biggest cut. However, the downside is that it is complex and the royalty payment per copy is not fixed. We have found many people find this model confusing, and that authors appear to prefer the usual model of % of RRP, which gives them a fixed royalty per copy sold.

Therefore, in the interests of clarity and transparency (and frankly, because we are a little sick of being accused of being misleading for trying to provide something we think is fairer for the author but which is harder for us), we are switching to % of RRP. From this time on, royalties will be 10% of Australian RRP for printed copies, and 20% of Australian RRP for ebook copies.

We are also dropping our advance payment from $500 to $200. Again, people have seemed more worried about the royalty structure than the fact that we are one of the few ebook publishers who offers an advance. Again, since it is disadvantageous for us and yet appears to be of little value to our potential authors, we are decreasing it as a risk mitigation strategy.

If you’re thinking of submitting, please read our submission guidelines and our writers’ FAQ. Leave a comment if you want to discuss various royalty models and structures; we’re always interested in, and try to be responsive to, feedback.