10 Ways to Help an Author
1
Buy a book. This sounds obvious but there are ways in which you can buy the
book that are better than others, bear these in mind. An author will make the
largest profit on a book that has been self-published. Self-publishing does not
carry such a stigma as in the old days. Many established writers bring out some
books in this way. If there are no self-published books available, the next
best profit is made on books the author bought from their publisher. Publishers
usually allow authors the same discount as booksellers. These days that is
often 50 per cent with a large publisher, less with a smaller one. Anything the author can make above that is profit. It will
be pure profit if the author sells a copy at a reading. You may even get a
discount too as many authors round down prices to a convenient sum. You can
also get the book signed. If you can´t buy from an author at a reading you may
be able to contact them direct and buy through the post. Postage will have to
be added though. If you buy a book from a bookshop the author will get a small
cut eventually. This used to be ten per cent of the cover price but it is now
often only ten per cent of the profit. The author will probably have to wait a
year for it to go through their publisher´s books. Some publishers also like to
have a threshold at which they pay out. The author might not get this money
until it reaches that. Buying a book secondhand will bring no profit to the
author at all. I understand this is sometimes the only way when books are out
of print.
2
Buy an ebook for Kindle. Again, the author will get more money from a
self-published title. At the moment Amazon pays 70 per cent for books priced
circa 3 pounds or over, and 35 per cent on the lower-priced ones. The
turnaround with Amazon is about 2 months and then money is paid straight into
the author´s account. Depending on pricing an author may make more from this
per title than with a non-electronic book. If the author has done their ebook
through a publisher the situation is very different. Electronic rights are so
new that they are a good area for scamming authors. A publisher might try to
get these rights free or for a low percentage. Authors should stand out against
this. Once a publisher has scanned and formatted an ebook it is pure profit
unlike the print version. This should be reflected in the royalties. Even if
the author´s deal is good on these, say 25 per cent, they will have to wait a
long time, perhaps a year, for the royalty cheque.
3
Leave a review on Amazon for a book you have enjoyed. This may help the author
to sell more copies.
4
Recommend books you like to friends
5
Go to an author´s reading
6
If you are also a writer, you may get the chance to recommend top books of
the year in a newspaper
7
Never ask a writer to work for free. If you are arranging a festival you are
paid. Authors want to be paid too.
8
Don´t offer an author exposure instead of pay. Most are quite capable of
exposing themselves and need to be paid so they can buy heating. clothes, etcetera,
just as you do.
9
Never ask an author to read and criticise your work. Some of them run classes
for which you would have to pay. That is the only decent way to do this. Most
of the authors who don´t, don´t enjoy this form of work. You are putting them in
a very hard position. If they are nice they will probably feel they have to say
something pleasant. This is absolutely no use to you. They will also rightly
resent any time spent on this.
10
Don´t be rude about the financial side of an author´s life. Would you ask your
doctor how much he got for a particular consultation? Would you sneer at the
low salary of a variety of other jobs? The reality is that a few authors are
financially very successful and the rest have their ups and downs like many
others in creative professions. We don´t need patronising questions or sneers.
They are just plain rude.
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