Wall of text ahead, it’s 4 am and I’m super tired.
When I was originally told about this site I was discussing it with some fellow authors and I really couldn’t see how the previous rate of 70% could be sustainable. Aside from the percentage they receive through selling the various rights, there certainly wasn’t a way for them to become a profitable business, and even staying in business might become difficult.
It was obvious that eventually they would be forced to change their business model, more specifically the royalty structure. Originally, I believed that they would reduce the rates for print books and leave the digital aspect roughly the same. Without the printing costs, they could still do reasonably well in that area. Even if they dropped it to 50% it would still be more than reasonable. I also thought it was possible for some sort of sliding scale, where the author would give up a certain part of their rate in order to receive additional services. That seemed feasible as well.
35%, across the board, net, is arguably pretty good. It’s vastly superior to the rates offered by traditional publishers, we can’t really argue about that. The real issue is whether or not it’s warranted.
I hear great things from already published Inkshares authors, but that’s coming from the people who have successfully crowdfunded. Some people will argue that this skews their perception on the subject. Honestly, it might.
Personally, I think that the new rates make collections and contests less appealing. Losing an additional 10% (we have no idea if that will apply to certain powerhouses like Nerdist or Geek and Sundry as they already have terms with Inkshares) could be seen as a huge blow for some people. I hesitate when thinking about it. This may sound crazy, but I’ve actually told my friends and family not to buy my book yet as I’m debating whether or not I want to continue with the contest (let’s be honest, though, superheroes fighting demons might not have been the best choice to submit for this one anyways). Honestly, Inkshares can provide the services I need to take my novel to the next level, I just have to decide the terms in which I want to be published with them. It doesn’t help that I had no idea about the rate change before I started trying to fund my book.
I also think people will begin to question whether the promotional services that they receive with winning contests or being included in a collection is worth it. Especially when authors shoulder the majority of advertising duties in the literary world already.
I realize that Inkshares is trying to draw in the self-publishing community, but I feel like this change in royalty rates could negatively impact that. Independent authors want that freedom of choice. When the book is released, the price and other factors are things they want to control. Inkshares has a great community, but with the reduction in royalty rates, and the author unable to set the prices when they launch their campaign, it certainly plays a role in whether they’ll want to be here.
