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Frequently Asked Questions
Questions in Bookseller Discount Program
Why should I choose the Bookseller Discount Program?
How do I order the Bookseller Discount Program?
What is the Bookseller Discount Program?
What if I chose the 10% royalty rate and want to change to the 20% royalty rate?
How much does it cost to be a part of the Bookseller Discount Program?
Why should I choose the Bookseller Discount Program?
If you choose our new 10 percent royalty rate option, we will sell your books to leading wholesalers at a 50 percent discount. Why is this important? The two leading book wholesalers in the U.S. (Ingram and Baker & Taylor) are involved in roughly half of the trade book sales in the United States. The new deeper wholesale discount means that Ingram and Baker & Taylor will resell your book to thousands of retailers at a discount of 35 percent off this list price. The deeper discount gives book retailers more incentive to sell your title. The discount and margin book stores receive is similar to traditionally published titles. For example, if a retail bookstore sells your title for $15, it makes a margin of $5.25 on every book sold. They can order replacement copies from their favorite wholesaler-whether that's Ingram, Baker & Taylor or any other major wholesaler. Finally, remember that your title will still be sold on a non-returnable basis, regardless of which royalty-discount structure you choose. The reason for this is that your books are printed-on-demand, which means they are produced as they are ordered.
If you choose our standard 20 percent royalty rate option, we will sell your books to leading book wholesalers at a 36 percent discount. This level of discount means that Ingram and Baker & Taylor will resell your book to thousands of retailers at a discount from 15 percent to 20 percent off the list price. What this means in dollars and cents is that if a retail bookstore sells your title for $15, it makes a margin of $2.25 to $3.00 on every book sold. This margin is sufficient if you are generating demand for your title but not as advantageous to book stores as the deeper discount.
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How do I order the Bookseller Discount Program?
You will need to read, sign and date a hard copy of the Bookseller Discount Program Addendum: http://www.iuniverse.com/files/contracts/lbdp_contract.pdf
The Bookseller Discount Program Addendum is a supplement to the base publishing agreement you have with iUniverse. The addendum, along with the $99 change fee should be faxed or mailed to the attention of "iUniverse Bookseller Discount Program Publishing Services Department:" fax to publishing services at 812-961-3134 or mail to iUniverse, Bookseller Discount Program Publishing Services Department, 1663 Liberty Drive, Suite #300, Bloomington, Indiana 47403.
Once your signed Bookseller Discount Program Addendum is received and approved,* the royalty rate change of 10 percent and the corresponding bookseller discounts schedule will be input into our system. It will take at least four to eight weeks after we receive your signed contract before the new bookseller discount rates are updated and utilized by booksellers (bookseller channels update at the beginning of each month, so please plan on three to four weeks after the beginning of the following month from when you signed the contract).**
* Please note that only the following programs/imprints are eligible for the Bookseller Discount Program: Author's Choice Press New, Author's Choice Press Republished, Writers Club, Writers Showcase, Writers Advantage, Select Publishing Package, Premier Publishing Package, the Bookstore Premier Pro Publishing Package and the Premier Pro Publishing Package.
** Please note that any wholesale inventory remaining for your book under the 20 percent royalty rate will need to be depleted, through book sales, before the new 10 percent royalty rate will take effect.
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What is the Bookseller Discount Program?
Authors who publish through the Bookstore Premier Pro, the Premier Pro or Premier Publishing Packages* can now choose to offer booksellers deeper discounts on their books. Increasing the discount makes your book more attractive to booksellers and makes it easier for them to stock your book. Booksellers highly value deeper discounts on the books they purchase.
Publishing through the iUniverse Premier package, you can choose from one of two discount schedules for booksellers and between two royalty rates. You decide between the standard iUniverse 20 percent** royalty rate (based on net sales) or the new iUniverse 10 percent*** royalty rate (based on net sales). If you choose the 10 percent royalty rate under the iUniverse Bookseller Discount Program, you will trade off a lower royalty for an increase in the discounts to booksellers of up to a total of 50 percent off the retail book price!
* Only new manuscript submissions within the Bookstore Premier Pro, Premier Pro or Premier Publishing Packages are eligible for the Bookseller Discount Program.
** On all sales of printed copies of the WORK, the PUBLISHER will pay the AUTHOR a royalty equal to twenty percent (20%) of the payments the PUBLISHER actually receives from sales of printed copies of the WORK, less any shipping and handling charges, sales and use taxes, and returns. Royalties will not be paid on copies provided or sold to the AUTHOR.
*** On all sales of printed copies of the WORK, the PUBLISHER will pay the AUTHOR a royalty equal to ten percent (10%) of the payments the PUBLISHER actually receives from sales of printed copies of the WORK, less any shipping and handling charges, sales and use taxes, and returns. Royalties will not be paid on copies provided or sold to the AUTHOR.
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What if I chose the 10 percent royalty rate and want to change to the 20 percent royalty rate?
Once you change your royalty rate for an ISBN (each title) from the standard 20 percent to the 10 percent you are not allowed to change back to the 20 percent royalty rate.
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A fee of $99 per ISBN (each title) is charged when you change your royalty rate from the standard 20 percent to the Legacy Bookseller Discount Program royalty rate of 10 percent (the royalty rate change also changes the corresponding bookseller discount schedule). Submit the completed addendum with the $99 payment via fax or mail to the iUniverse Publishing Services department. Payment for the Legacy Bookseller Discount Program via fax must be made with a major credit card (accepted cards as listed on the iUniverse Web site) in U.S. Dollars to "iUniverse, Inc." Payment for Legacy Bookseller Discount Program via mail must be made with a check or a major credit card (accepted cards as listed on the iUniverse Web site) in U.S. Dollars to "iUniverse, Inc."
Via Fax: The completed addendum and credit card payment information should be faxed to 812-961-3134 to the attention of "iUniverse Legacy Bookseller Discount Program Publishing Services Department."
Via Mail: The completed addendum and payment must be sent to "iUniverse Legacy Bookseller Discount Program Publishing Services Department," 1663 Liberty Drive, Suite #300, Bloomington, Indiana 47403. iUniverse is not responsible in any manner for materials never received or lost in transit.
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