[Publishers’] savings on printing, binding and distribution make up for the lower revenue from lower ebook prices– and increased profitability is coming entirely off the backs of authors.

Those are Brian DeFiore‘s words, emphasis mine, in an article important to writers.

The 10 salient words here are suitable for memorization:

Increased profitability is coming entirely off the backs of authors.

 

DeFiore’s article is headlined eBooks and profitability– What we’ve always said and publishers have always denied.

Here’s what you need to know to understand why I’ve chosen this as our Provocation in Publishing today.

(1) The “we” as in “what we’ve always said?”—is literary agents.

(2) DeFiore is one. His firm is Union Square’s DeFiore and Company, an outfit that has the grace to describe itself on its site as “a mid-sized literary agency.” When was the last time you heard a company volunteer that it wasn’t absolutely planetary in its stride?

(3) DeFiore sits on the board of directors of the Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR)—the US agents’ professional organization. DeFiore is the chairman of the AAR’s Electronic Rights Committee.

So you’re hearing from the presiding agent for things-digital at the main American organization of literary agents, writing on its official site.

Every time a hardcover sale is replaced by an ebook sale, the publisher makes $2.20 more per copy and the author makes $1.58 less.

Sitting up yet? Let DeFiore put it another way for you: [Read more…]