So, is there any incentive to distribute the books worldwide?lmodesitt wrote:The second is U.S. editions sold to foreign distributors, in which case I only get about half what I do for a U.S. sale, but that's often more than I get from foreign sales.
Additional sales at a lower profit is still more profit.CodeBlower wrote:So, is there any incentive to distribute the books worldwide?lmodesitt wrote:The second is U.S. editions sold to foreign distributors, in which case I only get about half what I do for a U.S. sale, but that's often more than I get from foreign sales.
It's not so much that the author is penalized as it's a smaller amount of profit to the publisher for the author to get a cut of. A book of Mr. Modesitt's sold through a foreign distributor may cost a customer at a British retailer (for example) more than it does an American customer who walks into a Borders and buys one, but that extra cost reflects the distributor's expense and profit as well as the cost of shipping.I could see there being a larger cost involved .. but, after reading the comments of folks who live other places about what they have to spend to get books, I'm wondering why you get penalized as well.
How so? He's not the one translating it, and I presume they aren't asking him to rewrite it. Unless they actually send him on an international tour, I'm not sure what effort he'd be undertaking.CodeBlower wrote:I guess I was assuming that Mr. Modesitt would have to contribute more effort in order for the books to go outside the United States.
This is speculation, of course, but I'm doubting he's the impetus behind it, rather the publisher is doing it for the greater profits. The per-unit profit on a foreign sale might be lower, but the absolute profit is greater, as there's really no downside to selling more copies to other markets.My question, then, was whether or not the increased effort was worth the lower rate-of-return for foreign sales.
I'm guessing the extra effort would be expended in trying to get the publisher to move outside of their "comfort zone" -- obviously he doesn't have to add chapters to the books or anything.
Presuming that the fifty cents is pure profit, as the royalty is to Mr. Modesitt, why? You're not going to be selling fewer $1 books in this country, and given that the foreign distributor and seller and undertaking a significant portion of the effort to sell the book, splitting the profit on the joint venture doesn't seem unreasonable.For me -- if I were used to selling books at $1 each -- if someone showed up and said we could sell them in the next county for $0.50 a piece, I think I would graciously decline.
). That having been said, I must admit that I have always been taken aback by that. A tangential question, which of your portfolio was your "best-selling" book. I ask because every once and awhile when the ravages of time...or my tendency to lend books in the futile hope that they will be returned...requires a book to be replaced I am often intrigued by what i see available on shelves and what I have to hunt for. 
Which is a damn shame for us British fans, though some of the book chains here do have copies of your work imported from the Stateslmodesitt wrote:Most of the "foreign" sales of U.S.-printed books [sorry, if I didn't make this clear] are in Canada, the U.K., and Australia, and these are at the lower royalty rate. The reason for the U.K and Australia sales as foreign, rather than "British rights" is because no British firm wants to reprint my new books there, and hasn't for almost 10 years..
L. E. Modesitt., Jr.
Hmm... well when I went to my local barnes and nobles store a few days ago, the only SF book I saw in your section was the eternity artifact, and the other 8-11 books were all fantasy, most of it recluce. I was thinking about possibly getting one of your SF books, which is why I noticed. Instead I bought viewpoints critical and arms-commander.lmodesitt wrote:At this point, The Magic of Recluce remains the single best-selling book, but much of that may simply be because it's the fantasy that's been in print the longest. My weakest-stelling fantasies still outsell my strongest SF titles by a significant margin.
L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
