Here’s a story about releasing money that was owed to the author.
An author called me to ask why her royalties were so low. She had been told by her editor that her sales were very good, but the royalties she received did not reflect that. This was a book that had been sold before she came to me, so I knew nothing about it.
But I did know that publishers deliberately withhold a certain percentage against future returns. That means booksellers can return what doesn’t sell. They order the number they want, and if the copies don’t all sell, they can send them back. The number they ship is based on the orders–not on what actually sells. They don’t know exactly how a book will sell until it’s out there.
I called the editor and she referred me a guy in Operations. That’s where they decide what to print and how much to withhold. I spoke to a very nice guy and told him the problem. He looked up the title. And lo and behold, he agreed that too much had been withheld, and he agreed to release $11,000. The author received a check, all because of one phone call.
Most people accept royalties as they are, but royalties are in fact a form of fiction. That’s because the math will usually add up, but you never know exactly how much is being withheld. Unless you ask. It’s generally around 20%, but as my example shows, not always.
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