I have been doing research for my soon-to-be-released book, Author! Author! Write, Publish & Market a Buzz-Creating How-To Book: Sell Your Book in Print, on Amazon, on Barnes & Noble and in the iBookstore, and it occurred to me to share some information with you about the payment policies of the various big book retailers.
As you know, I own Madaket Lane Publishers, a boutique publishing agency. When we begin to work with a new author, we are invariably asked when payments to authors are made. Unfortunately, payment schedules vary. Why? Because the various retailers who carry our books pay us according to different schedules.
If you are self-publishing or working with a boutique publisher, your receivables (incoming payments) are probably similar to ours. To help you figure out when you can expect to be paid, I’ve put together the following remittance information from the some of the larger retailers:
Amazon’s Payment Policy (for Kindle Sales)
Amazon pays out approximately 60 days after the end of the month in which a sale occurred. So, if you sold a book in February, you can expect payment at the end of April. The day of the month is not set in stone. A quick look back at my bank account shows me I’ve been paid on the 23rd of one month and the 28th of another. For US sales. I’ve been paid on different days for European sales. Sales made through Amazon’s other subsidiaries are paid on different dates as well.
You should note that Amazon has a minimum payment threshold of $10.00. This means that unless you have earned at least $10.00, your payment might roll over into the next month.
CreateSpace’s Payment Policy
CreateSpace is the print-on-demand sister-company to Amazon. While the are technically “an Amazon company,” they have their own payment policy.
CreateSpace pays out approximately 30 days after the end of the month in which a sale was made. This means that a sale made in February will generally pay out at the end of March.
Barnes & Noble’s Payment Policy (for NOOK sales)
B&N has the same payment policies as Amazon for Kindle sales. That is, it pays about 60 days after the close of the month in which a sales was made. Additionally, it also has a $10.00 minimum payment threshold.
Barnes & Noble does not have the same reach as does Amazon does. It sells NOOK books in the U.S., Canada and Great Britain. As far as payments go, this means you will not have to keep track of sales in as many territories. I don’t think that is a good thing.
The iBookstore’s Payment Policy
Apple pays about 45 days after the end of the month in which a sale was made. It, too, has a minimum payment threshold, though it is confusing to understand. It’s publisher agreements suggests that this might be $150, but it makes payments of as little as $10.00. Here is the pertinent info:
EBOOK AGENCY/COMMISSIONAIRE DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT, Section 5: Commission; Tax; and Reporting, paragraph (c) “After deducting Apple’s commission, and any taxes collected by Apple under Section 5(f) hereof, from eBook Proceeds, Apple shall either remit to Publisher, or issue a credit in Publisher’s favor, subject to Apple’s standard business practices, including minimum monthly remittance amount thresholds determined by Apple (e.g., $150), the remaining balance by electronic funds transfer (“EFT”) no later than forty-five (45) days following the close of the previous monthly sales period…”
About Google Books
For now, I do not publish to Google Play. Why? I don’t like the clause in their contract that lets them set the sale price for my books. While the other retailers also state that they can determine the final price of a book, Google states that it will adjust its retail price to be lower than that found at the other big-name retailers. This, then, would put me in conflict with the policies of the other retailers that demand that I not price my books lower elsewhere. I might change my mind at a later date, but I don’t think we are missing any sales by not being in the Google Play store.
Working with a Publisher
Now, if you work with a publisher, you can probably expect to be paid within a specified number of days after the company gets paid. After all, the publisher will be receiving payments for any number of books by any number of different authors, from any number of different retailers. They will have to verify receivables against sales made and will then have to figure out the royalties due to the different authors.
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