E-books are changing the publishing landscape in a variety of ways. One of those ways is when money is made.
If I were to sign a contract with a large publishing house tomorrow, I’d get a large chunk of cash. Most of the big publishers pay an upfront advance. Hopefully my book sells enough copies make the publisher a return on their investment. Once that happens, anything sold after the advance is sent to me in the form of a royalty check.
Most of the time a book makes money right off the bat. Book stores order copies, place them out front (hopefully), and the author spends a lot of time trying to generate buzz by going on tours, doing signings, etc. If your book does well, it may get legs and continue to sell well, but usually sales drop off quickly. The publisher, who has been marketing the book, takes those marketing dollars and supports the next book coming down the pipe.
E-books are different. Authors usually don’t have much of a marketing budget. They can tell their friends, blog about it, tweet, etc., but even that will likely only sell dozens of books, not thousands. Instead, if your book is good, word begins to spread. Maybe you get four or five stars on Amazon, which in turn spurns more sales. More sales means more buzz, which again generates sales.
Where a print book sees large sales up front, then a slow and steady decline, e-books are usually the opposite–low sales, and then slow and steady growth, assuming your book is decent.
Think of the placement of a print book. It starts at the front of the store because it’s shiny and new. Then it’s pushed back to the back of the store, and then it’s discounted, or even sent back to the publisher to make room for the new books.
With e-books, they start on the electronic shelf, and there they stay. They never get kicked off the shelf, they’re just there. And if they’re good, then there is a good chance that sales will pick up.
