Beyond Book Sales

What authors should know about publishing ROI. Jen Wahi, Publisher, President

I talk to authors every day, and one question comes up repeatedly: “If I invest thousands of dollars to professionally publish my book, how am I going to make that money back?”

It is a completely reasonable question, and frankly, I think more authors should ask it before signing with a publisher. Publishing a book is an investment, particularly when you choose a professional hybrid publishing model. Authors deserve to understand what they are paying for, what they will own when the process is finished, and how their book might create a return once it is out in the world.

My first answer is always the same: there are no guarantees in publishing. No reputable publisher can promise a certain number of sales or a specific return. But there is a big difference between simply paying a company to produce a book and investing in a professionally published book that is positioned to reach readers and generate value over time.

Hybrid Publishing Is Not Vanity Publishing

A vanity press is generally in the business of selling publishing services to authors. You pay for a package, your book gets produced, and in many cases that is where the relationship essentially ends.

A reputable hybrid publisher should look at the book differently. The goal should be to create a professionally edited, designed, produced and distributed book that can compete in the marketplace, while making sure the author understands rights, royalties, distribution and ownership.

Those things matter tremendously when we start talking about return on investment.

What Does It Take to Earn Back Your Investment?

Let's use an $8,000 publishing investment as an example. Suppose your paperback retails for $18.99 and, after printing costs, retailer discounts and distribution costs, you earn approximately $6 per copy through traditional retail channels.

At that rate, you would need to sell about 1,334 books to recover an $8,000 investment.

That can sound like an enormous number, but it assumes every book is sold one copy at a time through a retailer. That doesn't have to be the case.

Direct Sales Change the Math

Suppose that same $18.99 book costs approximately $5 per copy for the author to purchase. If the author sells it directly for $18.99, the gross margin is approximately $13.99 before other selling expenses.

Sell 100 copies and the gross margin is about $1,399. Sell 500 and it is approximately $6,995. Sell 600 and it is approximately $8,394.

Of course, authors may have shipping expenses, event fees, credit card processing fees and other costs. But the point remains: how you sell a book can be just as important as how many books you sell.

Who Might Buy 100 Copies?

This is usually when I ask an author to stop thinking only about finding 1,000 individual readers and ask a different question:

“Who might have a reason to buy 100 copies?”

Imagine you've written a leadership book. What if a company purchases 300 copies for a leadership development program? What if an association purchases 200 copies for conference attendees? What if you create a workshop around the book and every participant receives a copy?

Now you aren't necessarily looking for 500 people to purchase one book. You may be looking for one organization that has a reason to purchase 500.

The same thinking applies to other genres. A regional history book might connect with museums, historical societies and visitor centers. A children's book about the Great Lakes might connect with schools, camps and environmental organizations. A memoir tied to an important social issue may create opportunities with nonprofits, universities and community groups.

This is what I mean by positioning a book rather than simply publishing one. The question isn't only, “Who will buy this book?” It is also, “Who already has access to the people who should be reading it?”

Sometimes the Book Sale Isn't the Biggest Return

For some authors, especially nonfiction authors, the greatest financial return may not come from book sales at all.

Let's say you're a consultant and invest $8,000 to professionally publish your book. During the first year, you earn $3,000 from book sales. On paper, you haven't recovered your investment.

But then someone reads the book and hires you for a $5,000 consulting project. An organization pays you $2,500 to speak. Several readers become clients and generate another $6,000 in business.

Now that $3,000 in book revenue has potentially contributed to another $13,500 in professional opportunities. The larger picture becomes $16,500 in book related revenue and opportunities generated from an $8,000 publishing investment.

That doesn't mean every author will experience those results. It means royalties aren't always the only way to measure a book's value.

For consultants, coaches, business owners, educators, speakers and subject matter experts, a book can establish credibility and open doors. In those situations, the book isn't simply the product. The book can be the thing that leads someone to the product or service.

ROI Doesn't End at Launch

Authors sometimes feel they need to recover their entire investment during the launch period. But a professionally published book can continue generating income and opportunities for years.

That is where the publishing model matters.

With the right hybrid publisher, the author retains 100 percent of the royalties earned from book sales after applicable retailer, distribution and printing costs. If you make the upfront investment to professionally produce your book and continue receiving the full author royalty year after year, every additional sale can continue contributing toward recovering that investment and eventually generating a return beyond it.

The Other Side of Traditional Publishing

Traditional publishing certainly has advantages. The publisher generally assumes the financial cost of editing, designing, producing and distributing the book.

But getting through the door can be difficult. Many authors first need a literary agent, who typically receives a percentage of the author's publishing income. If a traditional publisher acquires the book, the author generally receives a contractual royalty rather than 100 percent of the book's earnings.

So while the author may not make the same upfront financial investment, they may give up a significant percentage of the revenue the book generates over its lifetime.

And royalties are only part of that equation.

What Are You Giving Up?

One of the biggest differences authors need to understand is ownership, rights and control.

A book is not simply a product. It is intellectual property, and that intellectual property can have value far beyond the copies sitting on a bookstore shelf.

Depending on the traditional publishing contract, an author may grant the publisher extensive or exclusive rights involving print editions, ebooks, audiobooks, translations, foreign territories and other subsidiary uses.

The author may still own the underlying copyright, but that does not necessarily mean the author controls how the work is used. Owning the copyright and controlling the publishing rights are not always the same thing.

A traditional publisher may also have substantial contractual control over how a book is packaged, positioned, priced, distributed and marketed. And having the right to market a book does not necessarily mean the publisher will continue aggressively marketing it for years.

That is why authors should look beyond the royalty percentage and ask:

What rights am I giving up? What control am I giving up? And what could those rights be worth five, ten or twenty years from now?

A book can become an audiobook, a translation, a course, an educational program, a speaking platform, a licensing opportunity or the foundation for an entire business or brand.

Those possibilities are part of the value of your intellectual property.

With the right hybrid publishing model, you make an upfront investment in professionally producing your book, but the asset you are creating remains yours. You retain your intellectual property, maintain control over the long term life of the book and receive 100 percent of the royalties under the publisher's model.

You aren't simply paying to publish a book. You are investing in professionally creating an asset that remains yours.

What Happens When Your Book Is No Longer New?

There is another part of the traditional model that authors sometimes overlook: the publishing industry's attention is constantly moving toward the next season of new books.

A traditional publisher may put marketing and publicity resources behind a new release, especially around launch, but that attention does not necessarily continue indefinitely. As newer titles arrive, an older book becomes part of the backlist and may receive fewer marketing resources.

That can matter for an author whose audience grows slowly or whose platform expands several years after publication.

With the right hybrid publishing arrangement, publication day doesn't start a countdown clock. You can pursue a bulk order in year two, develop a speaking program in year three, launch a new campaign in year four, connect the book to a course or business opportunity, or discover an entirely new audience years after publication.

Think Beyond the Upfront Cost

That is why I encourage authors not to compare publishing options based solely on what it costs to publish a book today.

Look at the entire financial picture.

What will you own when the process is finished? What percentage of the book's earnings will you receive? How much control will you have over its future? If the book is still selling five or ten years from now, who will benefit from those sales?

If you are paying to publish your book, you should also understand how royalties are calculated, whether you can purchase your own books at a clearly defined author price, whether you can sell those copies yourself and keep the proceeds, how your book will be distributed and what happens if you eventually decide to leave the publisher.

These aren't boring contractual details. They are part of your ROI.

The Cheapest Option Isn't Necessarily the Best Investment

Something that costs less upfront isn't necessarily the better investment if you are sacrificing royalties, rights, control, quality or long term earning potential.

At the same time, a high price does not automatically make a publishing company reputable. Authors need to understand exactly what they are receiving for their investment.

When I talk to authors considering hybrid publishing, I want them to look beyond, “How much will it cost me to publish?” and ask a second question:

“What will I have when we're finished?”

Will you have a professionally edited and designed book? Will it be properly distributed? Will you understand your royalties? Will you retain control of your intellectual property? Will you be able to purchase and sell your own books? Most importantly, will you have created something that can continue working for you after publication day?

A Book Still Needs an Author Behind It

A book isn't a lottery ticket, and publishing one isn't a get rich quick strategy. A beautiful book sitting unnoticed on Amazon isn't likely to generate much of a return.

The author still has an important role in marketing, building relationships, reaching readers and pursuing opportunities.

But a professionally produced, strategically positioned book can create many paths to value. It can generate retail royalties and direct sales. It can lead to bulk orders, speaking engagements, workshops, corporate programs, school programs, consulting opportunities, media appearances, new clients and relationships that might never have happened without the book.

Ask a Better Question

So when an author asks me, “Can I make my publishing investment back?” I don't simply pull out a calculator and tell them how many copies they need to sell.

Instead, I start asking questions.

Who needs this book? Where are those people? What organizations already reach them? Who might purchase it in quantity? What opportunities could be built around it? What can this book allow you to do that you cannot do today?

Those questions are much more interesting than simply asking how many copies you need to sell on Amazon.

Because the goal shouldn't be just to get your book published.

The goal is to create a book that has somewhere to go, something to do and an opportunity to keep creating value long after publication day.