What percentage of book sales typically go to the bookstore versus the publisher and/or the author?

Great question occ, I would really like to know this in regard to school textbooks especially. They can add up to hundreds of dollars, yet to resell then after the class (if you can and they haven’t changed the edition) for pennies on the dollar is ridiculous.

If it is hardcover, the author generally gets 12–15%. For softcover, it is around 8–10%. However, an author usually receives an advance on royalties in one lump sum. It is somewhat rare (though it certainly happens) to sell enough copies to get more royalties later on.

It’s my understanding that the author has to pay back any advance. I actually spoke to a YA author today who intimated as such when a 7th grader asked if being an author was a good way to get rich. He used the example that if he got a $10,000 advance and a book sold for $10.00 and he got 10 percent from each book sold, he would have to sell 10,000 books before he saw profit.

With a reputable publisher, you don’t have to pay back the advance, at least not in my experience. In the example above, the author has to sell 10,000 in order to receive royalties. That just means that until he hits his advance amount he won’t get any more money (the $1 per book in this case). The initial $10,000 is the publisher’s leap of faith in the author, and it is calculated very carefully based on the size of the first, and likely only, print run.

Being an author is probably not a good way to get rich. Standard advances for non-celebrities or newer authors are generally in the very low 5 figures. And this is often for a book that may have taken years to write.

I think I need a nap.

You left one important piece of the pie out of your posited scenario. That is the book distributor or wholesaler.

Here is a quote from Brett Sampson, CEO of Outskirts Press, “Industry standards for retail margins are difficult to define because, ultimately, it comes down to negotiation between all parties involved. Publishers have the power to negotiate with distributors, who have the power to negotiate with retailers, who have the ability to negotiate with the reader, but the typical trade discount is around 55%, which allows for a typical retail margin of 40%.” You can read the whole article at http://www.outskirtspress.com/articles/retailmargin.php

So if we take his average figure with your example, if the cover price of the book (the retail price) was $10 (Get me that book! These days that is cheap!), the wholesaler would have gotten a 55% discount. He allows the retailer a 40% margin. So, publisher gets 45% or $4.50, wholesaler gets 15% or $1.50 and retailer gets 40% or $4.00. The author’s cut comes out of the publisher’s piece and lis22 explained it well.

Whip me, beat me, make me do math! I’m a word person!

Wow- thanks for the great (& speedy) answers!

With Teaching with Your Mouth Shut, the book costs $21 each, for the first 5,000 copies, the author received 5% and over 5000 copies, the rate went up to 10%.