Got a question?  We’ve got a FAQ for that.  Braughler Books is here to guide you every step of the publishing way and many of our happy authors once stood in your shoes asking these very questions.  Today we are going to break down Author Direct Publishing, from what it is to printing and pricing.

Read on to dig into some of the questions we’ve been receiving and visit our original FAQ page for even more answers!

Q: What is Author Direct Printing? How is it different from Print on Demand?

A: Author Direct Printing is the printing of books for the author to sell and distribute themselves. Print on Demand (commonly referred to as “POD”) is the sale of books through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc, whereby a book isn’t actually printed until it’s sold. POD allows you to have your books available for sale without having to order and store books in advance. (For the sake of comparison, this is the publishing version of Just In Time production in the manufacturing world.)  In fact, you have likely purchased POD books from Amazon in the past without realizing it. With Braughler Books, 100% of the earnings from Author Direct sales are kept by the Author; 65% of POD earnings are paid to the Author under the terms of our Author Agreement.

Q: In a POD arrangement, what are the typical bookstore discounts?

A: Standard industry bookstore discounts are 40-55% of Suggested Retail Price. That’s how the Amazons of the world make their money. Assume your book has a Suggested Retail Price of $20. With a 50% wholesale discount in place, Amazon will buy your book for $10 – and then they can sell it for whatever price they want, between $10 and $20. The difference between $10 and what they sell it for is their profit. (It’s standard industry practice for deep discounts to be in place, and when they’re not, the resellers are less inclined to offer a title for sale.)

When we establish a listing for your book in the Ingram Content Group’s database, we will build a discount percentage in place at that time. Braughler Books will guide you on establishing an appropriate discount and will help you understand the impact of that discount on your bottom line. As the Author, you will have the final say in the matter.

Q: What is the Ingram Content Database mentioned above?

A: Ingram is the service provider that Braughler Books is contracted with to enable distribution of our author’s titles. When you walk into your local Barnes & Noble bookstore and ask for a title to be ordered, the B&N database is accessing data about available titles from Ingram. Put simply, by having us list your POD book with Ingram, it enables access to your title to more than 40,000 resellers and bookstores, domestically and internationally.

Q: Is there a fee to be in that database for stores?

A: Yes. Braughler Books is assessed an annual fee by Ingram on the author’s behalf, to maintain the availability of your book in the POD channels. Additionally, we manage those listings for you and update them as necessary or requested. Your Publishing Advisor can address this further with you.

Q: How quickly will I receive my royalties on books that sell through Amazon and the other stores you say will be able to order it?

A: Braughler Books pays earnings to our authors on a quarterly calendar basis, 90 days from the end of the quarter. (This is based on the processing by our partner, Ingram, and when funds are received to Braughler Books on our author’s behalf.) So if you sell books through Amazon in January, it’s likely those earnings will be headed your way in July. Your Publishing Advisor can help walk you through these details.

Q: I have been thinking about it, and I’d like to sell my book for $15. Is that a good price?

A: The final price of your book – the Suggested Retail Price – depends on a number of variables. Your Publishing Advisor will walk you through the specifics of how to price your book, with the goal that the Suggested Retail Price covers the wholesale discount, as well as the cost of printing the book at the time it is sold. Braughler Books will carefully run calculations, factoring in all of the variables, to ensure you don’t price your book in a way that results in you losing money for each book sold.

Didn’t see your question answered?  We’ve got good news for you!  This is just Part One of a three-part FAQ series.  Don’t miss a post by subscribing to the blog and be sure to visit our original FAQ page.  Whether you are ready to get started or have come up with a few more questions to toss our way, contact us by clicking here.