tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post6679464720695389632..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: What makes a book sell? Does Unbound know the answer? by Alice JollyKatherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-39787735785877060742014-10-07T10:52:19.031+01:002014-10-07T10:52:19.031+01:00Didn't know about Unbound either, but would li...Didn't know about Unbound either, but would like to know more. That word 'profit' may well be problematic. I'm always a bit worried when profit is assumed to be the same as turnover when it isn't and can be considerably less. Sometimes no profit at all. Also, I'd be interested to know how this differs from Kickstarter. My understanding with that is that if a project doesn't reach its funding goal no backers are charged. Catherine Czerkawskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554969254207924049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-18068462566508188472014-10-06T10:42:09.562+01:002014-10-06T10:42:09.562+01:00Yes, very interesting. Do go on and tell us more.Yes, very interesting. Do go on and tell us more.julia joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773900100240758504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-9608176863085364572014-10-06T08:47:32.217+01:002014-10-06T08:47:32.217+01:00mm, very interesting - it also states you get 50% ...mm, very interesting - it also states you get 50% of the profit, Brian, not the book price? which could be very small indeed, as you have no control over what the publisher calls the costs of the book, unless I've misunderstood. I find these crowd funding projects strange, that people will pay in advance for a potential book, a lot of money too, when it's hard enough to sell actual books! Lydia Bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09328239009863878547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-36086549922444195632014-10-05T18:15:28.838+01:002014-10-05T18:15:28.838+01:00Interesting, but it took me some time to find out ...Interesting, but it took me some time to find out what the author gets - I could't find any mention on the website. I finally tracked down this in an article in Wired: "Authors receive 50% of all profits from Unbound books -- much higher than they currently receive from e-book sales." (? First I've heard that 50% is bigger than 70%)<br /><br />The only mention of e-books (the books are printed in a limited edition) came in their FAQs: <br /><br />Q – Will your ebooks be DRM protected?<br />A – At Unbound we don't believe that DRM is helpful or even really fulfils its claimed purpose. We will encourage all our authors to make their Unbound ebooks available DRM-free but, as the content is theirs, they will make the final decision.<br /><br />So I am assuming that the author controls the e-book rights, though, as there is nothing on the site about this, I am only guessing.<br /><br />Also, if you pledge money for one of the books they take, I think, a rather cavalier approach to your money. <br /><br />A – When do you you take my pledge money?<br />Q – We take the money from your account when you make the pledge. We can't recognise this money until the book is fully funded however, so if a project fails you can request a full refund. <br />(And that A and Q being reversed is not my doing...)<br /><br />It goes on like this through some more questions: you don't automatically get your money back if the book is not fully funded, you have to APPLY to get it back.<br /><br />I don't wish to be cynical but it sounds rather like someone trying to hang onto some of those publisher profits. It would be interesting to hear some more about this because there are some good things to consider.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10954558805590342363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-86945519679361719252014-10-05T10:28:16.203+01:002014-10-05T10:28:16.203+01:00Similarly, I've never heard of Unbound and I&#...Similarly, I've never heard of Unbound and I'd be interested in the process of how it works. Maybe you could do a post next month on that. And like Ali I wasn't sure whether selling £6,000 worth of books was pledges or sales. And how many pledges or sales is required to make it up to 60% I'd have to sell more than 12,000 books to make anything near £6,000. And who gets the £6,000, you or Unbound? So, you can see you've put a lot of questions in my mind. I'd be interested in the answers and look forward to next month's blog when hopefully you can answer some of them.Chris Longmuirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02488093821886798927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-6720519428770354232014-10-05T09:14:09.040+01:002014-10-05T09:14:09.040+01:00Fascinating, Alice. I'm not familiar with Unbo...Fascinating, Alice. I'm not familiar with Unbound but it sounds like crowd funding? A bit confused on one point. Is your book actually available or are these people pledging in advance? Best of luck with it anyway. I'm off to have a look :)AliBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611113709872287863noreply@blogger.com