4.2 Factors Contributing to Self-publishing of books in Kenya and how it improves
4.2.3 Royalties
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(R8)
“My main one is social media, Facebook specifically, because that's what I use most. I would say about 85% of my sales I've moved them on Facebook. I would say maybe another 15% because I was featured in the newspapers or TV or some websites and maybe the other five is word of mouth. But social media is my main marketplace.”
(R9)
Social media gives self-published authors the space to promote and market their books without the help of an established publishing house. Technological improvements over the years have created an environment where independent creatives and artists can create, produce and sell their content. With freedom and control over their work, self-published authors can hire editors and designers of their preference and utilize social media for marketing.
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on Amazon, you'll probably get maybe $2, or two points or maybe 1.78.
Okay, so the amount of money you get from Amazon is very, very little.
And so, with Amazon for it to work, we need to be talking 1000s or hundreds of 1000s of sales to make any sense. So, amazon is just for giving you maybe the presence of an international platform.”
(R10)
Respondent No. 10 explains that with amazon, the royalties are minimal even though you are self-publishing. But with self-publishing where the author does not use any publishing services, the royalties all belong to them. For an author to earn good returns, then the author needs to make a high number of sales in Amazon.
“So, I can't say it's easy to sell on Amazon, it's all in the effort you put in it, because honestly, I feel like if it were not for Fiverr, and if it were not for my connections to other businesses, I wouldn't generate sales as much on Amazon.”
(R1)
Respondent No. 1 states that generating sales on amazon is difficult and requires a lot of marketing and effort. She explains that if it were not for her career as a freelance writer in Fiverr (freelance website), then she would not have generated a large number of buyers.
“Also, if you're an author, and you put up an e-book on a system like Amazon, or in your other e-book seller, you get a much higher royalty, usually 50%, sometimes as high as 75%. If you've published traditionally, you'll be lucky to get 10%. If you're a really big author, they might negotiate up to maybe 10-12-13%. I think the highest I've ever had was 15%. But sometimes it's as low as 7%. So, mainstream publishing has been a nightmare for local authors.”
(R6)
However, respondent No. 6 explains that Amazon's royalties are much higher than traditional companies. Where R10 explained that for an author to make sales on Amazon, they have to sell a lot of books; R6 explains only the royalty take. From these two explanations, it is evident that royalties can be high in self-publishing, but if the author is not making any sales, then they do not receive the return of their investment.
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“You know, with the printing, you need to go and print, and that costs money. But with self-publishing and e-book set up, it's cheaper because what you need is the internet and then upload.”
(R4) Basically, I can do everything for an e-book on my computer. Like, you can write the book, get it edited, get a cover, put it up for sale. In the next 1 hour or have a manuscript. Publishing an e-book, It's not just easier, it's cheaper.”
(R1)
Another advantage of e-book publishing overprint is the cost-effectiveness. The e-book does not require investment in producing it. Respondent No. 4 explains printing paperback books are more costly than e-book publishing. Respondent No. 1 explains that another positive trait of self-publishing an e-book is the ease of the process whereby it can be done from the comfort of one’s home.
Though the royalties earned from online publishing services are higher than what traditional companies have to offer, the authors still need to market and promote their books to break even. Without sales on amazon, high royalties do not mean much if the expenses incurred cannot be covered. The editors and designers cost much for those wanting quality outcomes.
For printed books, royalties are the profits gained after subtracting the production expenses.
“Now, when you go self-publishing, royalties are 100%, they go 100%
to you, of course, you will factor in the cost of production. So, cost of production and then you determine your pricing and then whatever is left after you have deducted the cost of production and maybe the cost of running your business.”
(R8)
“Yeah, 100% is mine. But of course, I have to come in, you know, a point where I break even because I would say the book costs are about half the cost of the book. printing a book is about half the cost of the book. But
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then you haven't considered all the other costs like transport, even the internet even late nights and all that. But yeah, your margin is way larger than when you go through bookshops, but then when at least it takes away the worry to sell many books.”
(R9)
Respondents No. 8 and 9 affirm that the royalties in self-publishing 100% belong to the author. But of course, factoring in the expenses of the book production. Another method of earning royalties is via book shops. For authors that manage to shelf their books in bookshops, they earn a certain percentage of royalties.