Writing Information
| |
Writing Information |
|
|
|
|
Retail Margin, Trade Discount, and What it Means for the Author
DEFINITIONS Retail margin is basically the difference between your book's wholesale price and your book's retail price. For example, a book with a cover price of $10 and a wholesale price of $5 has a 50% retail margin. Wholesale price is the cost of your book to a retailer. To use the same rudimentary example, a book with a cover price of $10 and a retail margin of 50% will be sold to a retailer for $5. Retail price is the same as cover price or selling price. This is the cost of the book to the end consumer (the reader). The retail price is typically printed on the cover of the book and also "embedded" within the barcode on the back. For example, a book with a wholesale price of $5 and a retail margin of 50% will have a retail price of $10. As you can see, retail margin, wholesale price, and retail price are interconnected. By having two figures, the third can be calculated. The fourth definition to be aware of is the trade discount, which is the percentage off the retail price that a wholesaler or distributor pays for your book. Since the retail margin is a portion of the trade discount, the trade discount always exceeds the retail margin. Distributors typically expect between 50% - 70% in order to provide an acceptable margin to the retailer. MAKING DISTRIBUTION WORK FOR YOU It should come as no surprise that the amount of distribution your book enjoys rests largely upon its trade discount. Generally, the higher the discount, the greater the distribution. Think about it - distributors want to make money, too. So do retailers. While your book's trade discount is but a piece of your pie (albeit a big piece), it is the entire cake for distributors and retailers, who together must split the take. The greater the number, the greater incentive they have to distribute your book, sell your book, and market your book, etc. The proper trade discount depends upon each author's intentions, and can vary from author to author just as readily as from book to book. Obviously, the higher the retail margin, the higher the cover price, so authors interested in maintaining the lowest cover price possible will often opt for a lower retail margin. Conversely, those authors who long for the best distribution possible will elect a higher trade discount, even though their cover price will increase accordingly (or their profit will decrease accordingly). Non-fiction or niche-markets are less affected by higher retail prices and greater distribution is often advantageous in finding those markets. Often, the author will have little to no say in what trade discount to offer for their books -- its whatever the distributor mandates. Trade discounts can be as low as 20% to successfully get listed on Internet retailers like Amazon.com, who manage to make a profit with such low margins through EDI (electronic data interface) with distributors like Ingram and on-demand publishers like iUniverse and Outskirts Press. By comparison, trade discounts can be as high as 75% - 80% when dealing with a niche wholesaler, or when attempting distribution for a book that does not have a proven market. In these cases, the distributor may be padding the coffers a bit in anticipation for a "harder sell" and perhaps, also, in preparation for offering an increased retail margin to close the deal. INDUSTRY STANDARDS Industry standards for retail margins are difficult to define because, ultimately, it comes down to negotiation between all parties involved. Publishers have the power to negotiate with distributors, who have the power to negotiate with retailers, who have the ability to negotiate with the reader, but the typical trade discount is around 55%, which allows for a typical retail margin of 40%. Publishing-on-demand is removing some of the participants in this little dance, and as a result, the same piece of pie is being divided among fewer people, resulting in more money for the remaining players (especially the author). Brent Sampson is the President & CEO of Outskirts Press Publishing at OutskirtsPress.com and author of Publishing Gems: Insider Information for the Self-Publishing Writer. Information at http://outskirtspress.com/publishinggems
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Writers Turn to the Internet for Support, Friendship and Advice Riding on the fumes of potential, you take pen to paper or keyboard to monitor. Endless hours of creativity intermingle with apprehension, but your need to write engulfs your spirit. Write Your Story, Put It On A Website, Sell Millions of Copies Although he has his own website, John Grisham probably does very little self-promotion. When you have Doubleday on your side, most of the marketing is done for you. Business Writing Tip: Question & Answer Format Traditionally, business writing uses the "one thing after another" format, which usually means a plain recitation of the facts, circumstances, or whatever else needs to be said.But, we have a number of other options, and some of them may provide more responses or better responses. How to Get Free Publicity in In-flight Magazines If you're targeting an educated, more affluent audience with your message, and your topic is a good fit, in-flight magazines can be one of your best publicity tools.A quick look at the statistics should convince you:--Many of these magazines have high circulations. Writing Styles for Fiction: Which Voice to Use I recently set up a website to promote a new suspense novel. Once it started receiving hits I began getting questions about why I chose to write in third person. What Nationally Published Columnist, Cindy Laferle Has To Say About Writing & Journalism Today Norm Goldman, Editor of sketchandtravel and bookpleasures is honored to have as a guest, the nationally published newspaper columnist and author, Cindy LaFerle. Cindy recently published a book entitled, Writing Home, a collection of essays focusing on home, family and motherhood. Crime Writing Beckons If your cash is running out fast and you have an incessant need to write, why not turn to crime?No! Not committing crime, but to writing about crime. Crime is all around us, and people want to know about it. A Writers Inner Battle There is a psychological nuisance so powerful that can deflate the drive, self-esteem, and human spirit of many aspiring Writers of any age. These Writers are faced with an obstacle that make them stop, think twice and question their right to be a part of a respected community. Becoming a Writer The urge to write fiction seems God given for some, a learned skill for others.One thing is certain - it requires practice and a particular mindset. Common Writing Mistakes Most books aren't rejected because the stories are "bad." They're rejected because they're not "ready to read. Writing Without Style Style manuals are all well and good, and in fact, highly desirable for newspapers. The average reading level of newspaper readers is the sixth grade. Character Motivation - Always Ask WHY For many years, I've been a tutor for students undertaking courses in writing romance, crime or children's stories. In that time, I've marked thousands of assignments. A Perfect Day for Writers In one of the exercises in my "Getting Started as a Freelance Writer" workshop, I ask participants to describe what a "perfect day" would be like for them.The responses are frequently tender, wistful and unfailingly vivid. How to Build A Success Freelance Career (Part 1) In the current job market, many editorial workers have turned to freelancing as a matter of survival. I receive many queries from applicants regarding how to go about freelancing. Home Business Writing Made Simple Have you ever written a letter to a friend? Ever written an outline for any project you were about to start? What about a shopping list? If you have, and I imagine most have, you can then write focused, brief, content articles for your online home business.Why write? Well, of course you can spend lots of money to drive traffic to your site with absolutely no guarantee that you will obtain a single sale. Self-Examination Self-examination sheds light on a writers motives, goals, and aspirations, while self indulgence hide the obvious and absorbs any illumination before it occurs.When a writer exams his motives, goals, and aspirations, he opens up new viewpoints because he or she sees other avenues to writing; perhaps the short story writer can see a novel develop from the theme of a short story, or an article to clarify that subject matter. Write For Yourself First It would be very selfless or noble of me to tell you that I have created my web site only to help you and the rest of humanity. The reason for me spending so much time and energy into my writing and this site is selfish. Message to Online Writers: Dont Give Up On A Good Idea The writing community is a strong one, with many new "members" joining daily. All theser writers are finding or looking for their particular niches. Frequently Asked Questions from Writers 1. What Is A Premise?A premise is the point you have to prove in your novel. Plotting By Personality - Work With Your Natural Instincts What's the best way to plot?Quick answer: the best way to plot is whatever works best for you. After all, we're all different.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2007 www.Info-StoreHouse.com |
