Shall we publish your next book?
YAV Publications offers higher standards, better or identical print quality, and significantly greater royalty percentages than all the competition. Because the publisher’s share is one-fourth that of our closest competitor—less than one dollar per book—your cover price is lower, as is your wholesale price. The result? More sales!
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Comparison. Why Pay More?
This table compares three very well known POD (digital printing) publishers with YAV.
(Information obtained from their websites and also by phone calls to their representative in 2011.)
Note: This table should have 15 rows; if not, try another browser.
Pub-1 $ 999 |
Pub-2 $ 1,499 |
Pub-3 $ 1,299 |
YAV $ 899 |
Comments |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Author retains all rights, including rights to files |
Almost, except $1,500 for file return within 18-months; after that, $300 |
 |
Yes; except $200 for return of files |
 |
When considering the return of files, one sticky point is the cover files. These can be in layered format or as a single layer. The former (layered format) is preferable because non-layered files are difficult or impossible to update with a new logo and ISBN number. |
ISBN Assignment, LOC number, Books-in-Print registration, plus Barcode |
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 |
 |
Publishers generally provide ISBN numbers for their authors. ISBN numbers confer no "rights" to the publisher, however, they uniquely identify the particular publisher and thus, must be updated whenever an author changes publishers. Purchasing a single ISBN is so costly compared to what publishers pay for them, it is best for authors not to purchase ISBNs themselves unless they are releasing a minimum of 10 books. According to Mark Levine's The Fine Print of Self-Publishing authors purchasing an individual ISBN "can get messy." |
Retail Channel Distribution, e.g, Amazon.com, library availability, and toll-free order number. |
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 |
 |
 |
Retail channel distribution includes Amazon.com, Borders.com, BarnesAndNoble.com, etc., but can also include availability in the Ingram and Spring Arbor catalogs for bookstore & library purchases. Some PODs charge extra for catalog inclusion. YAV Publications does not charge for this service. |
eBook (E-Book) Format |
(requires next higher package: $1,799) |
(requires next higher package: $2,999) |
$399 |
$99 to $199 depending upon page-count |
eBooks are available in many formats, Kindle and ePub being the most popular. Some PODs maintain control of the eBook after production, allowing them to extract a portion of the profits. YAV gives all control and profits to the author. |
Percent of eBook Royalties; and who sets the price. |
50% of actual eBook royalties; (publisher sets price at $9.99 and controls royalty payout) |
"up to 90%" of actual eBook royalties; (publisher sets price and controls royalty payout) |
100% of actual eBook royalties; (publisher sets price at 50% of print retail price up to $9.99) |
100% of actual eBook royalties; (author sets retail price which can be as low as he or she desires) |
Most people aim at the 70% royalty offered by Amazon and Nook books. This explains the use of the term "actual eBook royalty." With this in mind, "Pub-1" is paying 35% of the eBook sale price to the author and keeping the other 35%. According to Stephen Windwalker's How to Price eBooks for the Kindle, the lower you can set your eBook price, the better. $2.99 is the lowest price that qualifies for a 70% royalty for Kindle and Nook books. |
Image Insertion / Text Treatments |
10 / 10 |
 |
$15-$25 each |
20 / 50 |
Images should be submitted as black & white digital files. Text Treatments refers to the number of text effects to be added (i.e., not in the original manuscript file) such as boxed or shaded text and call-outs or wraparounds. |
Book Interior Design and Cover Design |
Template, |
Template, |
Custom, |
Custom, |
A google search of "book cover templates" or "book templates" will reveal that there are many un-original options for PODs to use on your book. With a template, the publisher merely inserts images and text into a preassigned pattern. The book does not stand out. YAV develops your personal cover concept and ideas—likewise, for the interior—keeping with the philosophy that every book is unique. |
Editorial Review |
Adds $342 |
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 |
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A professional editor will review your book. Sometimes the editor will require additional editing or proofreading. |
Author Webpage (with Domain name) |
Adds $479 plus $29 to $32 per month. |
 |
 |
 |
The webpage provided by YAV (e-commerce included) is built into the InterestingWriting site, yet accessible via your own domain name. You may also embed the page in a separate site or YAV can provide an independent site starting at $120 setup plus an $85 annual hosting fee. |
E-Commerce pays directly into author's account, immediately |
 |
 |
 |
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YAV uses "Buy Now" buttons from GoogleCheckOut set to pay the entire purchase amount (minus Google credit card processing fee) directly into author's bank account. |
Minimum allowed retail cover price for 200-page, trade (6x9) softcover book. (Number of free books.) |
$ 17.95 |
$ 17.99 |
$ 15.99 |
$ 9.39 |
Because of the discounts required by online retailers such as Amazon and others (48% to 55%) and the publisher's share of each book (above manufacturing costs) a minimum retail price is necessary. Needless to say, the greedier the publisher, the higher this minimum cover price will be (and the lower the number of copies that will be sold). Naturally, an author can set any price, as long as it is higher than the established minimum. YAV has the lowest minimum retail price. *Free copies policy for $899 (total) or higher: Softcover of up to 276 pages = 10 free copies, 277+ pages = 5 free copies, hardcover = 1 free copy. |
Author's per-book price for 1, 50, 100, and 500 books. |
$ 12.57 |
$ 7.56 |
$ 10.39 |
$ 4.89 |
Pub-1 portion $5.15 to $8.67. Pub-2 portion $4.63 to $3.66. (note: Pub-2 does not pass quantity discounts on to the author) Pub-3 portion $4.27 to $6.49. YAV portion less than $1.00. |
Royalty Rate Formula Sample Author Royalty Percentage on 200-pg., 6x9 trade softcover with retail price = $17.99. |
50% of net after subtracting COGS—Cost Of Goods Sold (e.g., $4.97 for 200-pg, trade softcover) and any discounts (Amazon=48%). Same formula for Publisher website. Online Retailer (e.g., Amazon): 12% |
100% of net after subtracting Author’s per-book cost, plus either a $1.92 handling fee, any discounts (Amazon=55%), or an additional 27% for Publisher website sales. Online Retailer (e.g., Amazon): 3% |
100% of net after subtracting production costs and any retailer charges (discounts, e.g. Amazon=55%). 75% of net for sales from Publisher website. Online Retailer (e.g., Amazon): 23% |
100% of net after subtracting Author’s per-book cost (see above) calculated after any discounts (Amazon=48%). 100% of net for sales from Publisher website. Online Retailer (e.g., Amazon): 27% |
See Mark Levine's The Fine Print of Self-Publishing about methods PODs use to obscure the true per-book price and manufacturing cost in order to decrease the author's share and increase the publisher's share. This is a no-brainer. YAV pays the highest royalty in the business. That said, because YAV does not require that an author charge $17.99 or $15.99 for a 200-page book, most authors would not set such a high cover price. Rather, they would set a more realistic one of $9.95, $11.49, $12.79, or $13.89 or maybe even $14.95, to keep the price in line with most books. At $13.89, royalties on Amazon sales would be 20%, sales from the Publisher's site would pay the author 62%, and Personal sales, 65% of the cover price, still higher than others. |
Total Price |
$ 999.00 |
$ 1,499.00 |
$ 1,299.00 |
$ 899.00 |
At $ 899.00, YAV Publications is $100 less expensive than our closest competitor. And, regarding all the other after-market products you might require, such as Book Trailers, Book-signing materials, etc., we beat those prices, too. Note that books over 276 pages have slightly higher prices. Hardcover books have slightly higher pricing unless combined with a softcover book of the same dimensions. |
Authors: Our 2011 FAQ is currently being revised (Our Sample Publishing Agreement is always up-to-date).
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