I'm so grateful for this post, Sean. Thank you for being frank and transparent about the economics of book sales. It's important to note that the majority of sales for poetry books are totally untracked by BookScan, Amazon, Bookshop.org, SPD, or other services that track sales through official "storefronts" (either brick & mortar or online). When I worked for a small poetry press, I generally considered our authors to be the biggest customers because they were on the front lines, hand-selling at various readings around the country. It's often more profitable for the author as well since the author's discount from the publisher is far greater than whatever royalty rate was contracted for the book. On top of that, no direct sales from publisher to customer are tracked in these systems. Which means no AWP Book Fair sales are accounted for, nor are smaller conference sales, nor purchases through the publishers' websites. Nor are any of these latter sales eligible for royalty accrual, so the author doesn't see a dime of these sales. When we make our choices as poetry book consumers, we should consider which method best helps the author in the long term, which isn't always the most immediately profitable choice. Having accurate sales records can help a publisher take a risk on an author's next book. Yes, this happens more often in fiction and nonfiction, but I've heard agents and editors talk down on a poetry book that appears to have only sold 10-20 books through BookScan...
Jul 21, 2023·edited Jul 21, 2023Liked by Sean Singer
As a writer of character-driven fiction, it's similar for me sales-wise - especially with my most recent books - each with a small press. Over the years, I've encountered people who think if you're an author (and have had reviews in the NYT or other prominent periodicals), you're making good money, but alas, this is far from the case, and with small press books, you generally lose money when you publish them since all expenses to promote the book - travel, especially - come from your pocket & if you hire a publicist, you'll definitely be in the red - barring a miracle.
Are the figures for your book sales from Amazon Author Central? do they include books purchased directly from you? Poetry has seldom been self supporting, always seeking patrons. One thing sales do not account for is the number of readers, and the many ways they find you over time. Poetry is always an act of love.
I'm so grateful for this post, Sean. Thank you for being frank and transparent about the economics of book sales. It's important to note that the majority of sales for poetry books are totally untracked by BookScan, Amazon, Bookshop.org, SPD, or other services that track sales through official "storefronts" (either brick & mortar or online). When I worked for a small poetry press, I generally considered our authors to be the biggest customers because they were on the front lines, hand-selling at various readings around the country. It's often more profitable for the author as well since the author's discount from the publisher is far greater than whatever royalty rate was contracted for the book. On top of that, no direct sales from publisher to customer are tracked in these systems. Which means no AWP Book Fair sales are accounted for, nor are smaller conference sales, nor purchases through the publishers' websites. Nor are any of these latter sales eligible for royalty accrual, so the author doesn't see a dime of these sales. When we make our choices as poetry book consumers, we should consider which method best helps the author in the long term, which isn't always the most immediately profitable choice. Having accurate sales records can help a publisher take a risk on an author's next book. Yes, this happens more often in fiction and nonfiction, but I've heard agents and editors talk down on a poetry book that appears to have only sold 10-20 books through BookScan...
Thank you for these insights and observations. The only way to make a million dollars in poetry is to start with 3 million dollars
As a writer of character-driven fiction, it's similar for me sales-wise - especially with my most recent books - each with a small press. Over the years, I've encountered people who think if you're an author (and have had reviews in the NYT or other prominent periodicals), you're making good money, but alas, this is far from the case, and with small press books, you generally lose money when you publish them since all expenses to promote the book - travel, especially - come from your pocket & if you hire a publicist, you'll definitely be in the red - barring a miracle.
I am happy and proud to have each of your books in my personal library. Also, wonderful doodle here. Yours?
Are the figures for your book sales from Amazon Author Central? do they include books purchased directly from you? Poetry has seldom been self supporting, always seeking patrons. One thing sales do not account for is the number of readers, and the many ways they find you over time. Poetry is always an act of love.
They only include sales via Amazon. All sales from bookstores, Bookshop.org, Tupelo, from me directly, and so forth, are not included