Deal or No Deal? How Much $$$ Until You Say, 'Yes?'

[Benjamin Sobieck]

Question for the self-pubbers: How much would money would it take for you to sign a contract?

It's not a trick question. I think the answers could spark some interesting discussion.

[I. J. Parker]

Seems like J.A.Konrath used to say 6 figures.  But frankly, these days it's probably impossible to get a title back.  I'd want more to abandon a book forever.  Keep in mind the IRS is also waiting.

[Brian Hoffman]

Offer me the same contract that James Patterson or Harlen Coben has and I'm yours.

Seriously, for me it is less about the money than it is about the rights I would loose and what marketing I'd get versus the money.  More and more, I think that self-publishing is the only real answer for me because I don't see them adding value for me.  Maybe for all of us.  

[Eric Christopherson]

I'd do it for a mere 25K to test whether a trad-pubbed book would help sell my indie titles.

[Benjamin Sobieck]

A "mere" 25? You're buying dinner next time.

[Dana King]

It would depend on a lot of things. Rights, marketing, how much extra work the publisher wants me to do, deadlines for edits, things like that. For me, it's a package. If someone wants to publish something I've written pretty much as is and will market it a little more than I have the time or inclination to do, great. The more limits and impositions they ask for, the more money I want.

Bullshit costs.

[Benjamin Sobieck]

But so do advances. Would you be willing to sign for $0 upfront if you knew they'd push it hard?

[Jed Power]

I would be happy to take $0 upfront if I could be sure it was going to be a legitimate strong push.

Twenty-five years ago I self-published my first book.  It was not a vanity.  I did almost everything myself; for the things I couldn't I hired nearby free-lancers.  A local printer did thousands of copies for me.  First book he ever did and they came out good.  But I had to put money up of course and spend a lot of energy selling them all.

 So the $0 upfront with a big push would be fine with me. 

[I. J. Parker]

This won't happen!  A publisher who doesn't invest in an author via advance will also not invest after the fact.  Meanwhile, your rights have become theirs, and your royalties are a tiny portion of the book price.

I have in the past accepted a very low advance, because I thought to build a stable relationship with the publisher and was willing to wait for royalty payments. The promotion was totally lacking. My books had been bought for library sales only.  (They happen to sell well to libraries).  And while there was distribution potential, no effort was made along those lines.  No ARCs were sent.  No books were submitted for awards judging.  I'm finally now, after a couple of years, seeing small royalty payments, but the books are subject to being taken down even on Amazon.

[Dana King]

Maybe. But I'd have to trust them a LOT.