You may be asking yourself, “Why is a royalty software vendor writing an article for IBPA publishers about author relationships?” That’s a good question! Throughout my 25 years of close collaboration with MetaComet’s book publishing clients to improve their royalty management processes, I’ve been reminded over and over again that royalty conversations are about more than numbers and dollar signs. They’re a critical element of an honest and trusting relationship between authors and publishers, especially since, once a book is published, royalty statements become the most frequent channel of communication between the two.

In discussions with independent publishers and authors, I’ve also learned a lot more about how to build those relationships, whether through your royalty-related interactions or outside of them. As in most of our other relationships, transparency and consistency are the keys to developing mutual respect and trust.

Starting Strong

The seeds of mistrust can be planted at the contract stage, so it’s important to have the “hard conversations early,” as publishing expert and author advocate Jane Friedman once told me. 

In addition to ensuring that everyone understands and agrees to the deal terms, the contract negotiation stage is also the best time to establish expectations for what the publisher and author will each do to develop and support book sales. Friedman recommends creating a digital author guide or even a series of online videos to educate new authors not only about how you’ll be working together but also about how they can continue to build their careers. Sharing your experience and understanding will add value to your relationship and begin to cultivate your authors’ loyalty. (I highly recommend visiting Friedman’s website at janefriedman.com for further valuable insights and ideas.)

Don’t hesitate to discuss your initial marketing plans with the author at an early stage in the conversation. What will you do to support the book sales? What will you rely on the author to do? Misunderstandings regarding marketing norms and responsibilities are a common source of frustration for new authors.

Help your authors understand the typical book sales life cycle. What challenges do they need to be aware of? What will success look like? First-time authors usually have no awareness of how the book retail business works, and their expectations may be out of sync with yours.

It’s also a great idea to educate your authors about royalty statements before they receive their first real one. Review a sample together so they know how to interpret it and understand what all the numbers mean, and what baselines to expect. For new authors, their first royalty statement can be overwhelming, confusing, and sometimes, disappointing. Setting clear expectations early on can prevent negative emotions from damaging your relationship.

Be proactive at this stage, and in every stage of your partnership. New authors may be too intimidated to ask all of their burning questions, or they may not even know what questions to ask. Think about the questions and concerns that previous authors have had and be prepared to educate your new authors about the things they don’t know. Do a little research: maybe check out the r/PubTips channel on Reddit to find the questions your authors aren’t yet asking you. It could be enlightening.

Regular Contact Breeds Trust

After a book has gone to market, some new authors feel abandoned as their publishers move on to their next projects. It’s important to make some time to continue your ongoing communications, without draining away the time you need for your other business priorities.

With automated royalty processing, regular statements can be delivered easily without a lot of hands-on work from the publisher. You may want to allocate some of the time you’ve saved to following up with your newer authors, providing them with context for their first royalty statements.

Our customer Christopher Robbins, publisher and CEO of Familius, told us that he sends royalty checks each month and signs each one by hand. It helps him stay tuned in to his sales while reminding his authors that he’s paying attention and cares about their relationship. This literal hands-on effort probably won’t work for most publishing companies, but simply having these monthly communications can put you ahead of less responsive publishers.

Authors also value other updates beyond the financials, such as regular PR reports. Friedman suggests creating an email newsletter just for your authors, so they know what’s new with your company and the publishing industry in general—and know you’re thinking of them. You might schedule annual video calls with your authors or even in-person events. Friedman has recommended that publishers even plan educational events that bring their authors together for professional development and a sense of community. These are benefits that authors won’t have access to if they opt for self-publishing.

Above all, it’s important for your communications (and especially your royalty statements and payments) to be consistent, reliable, and clear.

‘Authors Crave Information’

The above is another memorable quote from my conversation with Friedman. Authors can be demanding when it comes to feedback and information, and it is good practice to pick up the phone or respond to emails when they reach out with questions and concerns. But with proactive information sharing, you can cut down on some time-intensive and less crucial interactions, like basic questions about royalty statements and other support calls. Your initial author education and expectation-setting sessions can prevent these questions from arising, and an author portal or royalty portal can keep the information flowing without requiring phone calls or any additional handholding.

A portal enables self-service information delivery for your authors, giving them access to new and historic royalty statements and reports, contracts, announcements, and other reference materials. A portal can also allow them to update their contact information within your system, saving data entry time and possible errors.

Our publishing clients tell us that support calls can consume up to an hour for each call, so an investment in a time-saving self-service portal can pay off many times over.  And by having royalty automation in place, you’ll have much easier access to the information needed to answer those calls.

How Much Is Too Much?

I’d like to forward a potentially controversial recommendation: Despite your authors’ hunger for information, in many publishing models, there is such a thing as too much information. Including every detail of transaction data on a royalty statement can actually breed distrust, especially for your new authors. 

It takes a lot of experience and knowledge to understand many of the quirks of book sales reports. Inexperienced authors can panic at the sight of a statement that includes negative numbers, zeroes, or deep discounts. Unless you’re contractually obligated to include every detail, it may be preferable to default to a summary format instead.

Ideally, you'll have the ability to experiment with different royalty statement layouts to allow you to include more or less information as the relationship requires. Sometimes making a few small adjustments to the statement can significantly reduce support calls.

Conclusion

If this article leaves you with one new insight, I hope it’s that mastering royalties makes a huge difference to your author relationships. Every detail of your royalty process adds to or subtracts from your credibility and trust: Timely delivery satisfies your authors. Appropriately granular statements give them the information they crave. Accurate and professional-looking reports give them confidence in the results. As a bonus, your royalty communications provide a channel for additional communication and engagement.

If you agree, disagree, or want to discuss this topic further, please get in touch! I’d love to continue this conversation with the IBPA community.

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