money paid to a writer for the right to use his or her property, usually a percentage of sales or an agreed amount per sale
COMMENT: Royalties can vary considerably. An established author may receive 10% of the list price on hardback sales and 15% for paperback sales. Royalties can be based on the list price (i.e., the price of the book before it is discounted to the bookshop), or on the receipts, which are the money received by the publisher from the bookshop. It is common to pay a royalty on receipts in the case of sales overseas, since they are usually at very high discounts. Royalty statements will normally show the numbers of copies sold in various markets, together with the list price and the discounted receipts. In Scandinavia (but not in the UK) it is normal for the author to insist on being told the quantity of copies printed, as this will indicate the numbers given away for review or as specimen copies. In Russia, royalties are not based on sales, but on the size of the book: a royalty would be X roubles per 1000 characters or per 10 pages ‘signature’. In the UK, sliding royalties are common on paperbacks, where the author gets an increased royalty as the quantity sold increases. In Russia, the opposite is the case, where the author gets a smaller percentage royalty from reprints. |
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