Pricing & Royalty FAQ
Will I make money when my book is sold online through Trafford?
Will I be paid a royalty even if I live outside the United States?
How is the price of my book determined?
What is "distribution cost" in self-publishing?
How does Trafford calculate royalty payments?
When do I choose my book's price?
Can I change the price of my book later?
What is the best price for my book? How do I decide?
How am I paid for my book sales?
When am I paid royalties? When do quarters start and end?
How long does it take to receive payment?
Can my royalty check be split between a co-author and myself?
Can I arrange for someone else to receive my royalty payments?
What is the difference between a channel or retail sale and a Trafford sale?
Am I paid royalty on books I purchase?
I've noticed my book being sold as "used" on Web sites but I have not received payment; why haven't I been paid?
Why is my book listed at a different price on certain sites?
How do I know that I am being paid fairly for my book sales?
How can I track my book sales?
Why does Trafford need my Social Security number?
I do not have a Social Security number because I am not a U.S. Citizen. What now?
Will Trafford send me a 1099 to report additional income from royalty payments?
Yes, you can make money by selling your book. You will earn a royalty amount when your book is sold through Trafford, as well as other retailers. In fact you have the option to choose how much royalty you earn per book sold.
Review the rest of this FAQ page for more details about how and when you are paid.
Please note that you will not be paid a royalty for copies of your book you order through us and receive your author discounted price. Read the full FAQ about this below.
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Yes, you will be paid a royalty even if you live outside the United States or are not a U.S. citizen. (There is only a slight difference in the laws of taxation. Click here to read the FAQ about this below for details.)
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The price of your book is determined by a fixed cost for the cover and page count, plus the distribution cost and royalty amount. The cover cost and page count determine the minimum base price for the production of your book. Then the distribution and royalty amounts are displayed after you choose the total selling price.
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The distribution cost is calculated by the costs involved in offering your book for purchase through various channels. These costs include maintaining your book on a Web site, keeping information current, order fulfillment, customer support and any other processes to ensure that your book is available to others.
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Trafford gives our indie published authors a royalty rate of 20%. Royalties are based on the payments we actually receive from the sale of printed or electronic (e-book) copies of your book, less any shipping and handling charges or sales and use taxes. Also, we offer discounts to retail and wholesale customers, so the royalty amount you receive depends on what type of customer bought your book and any discount they received.
You should be aware that the largest retailers, including Barnes & Noble, Amazon and most Borders stores, place orders for Trafford titles through Ingram; those orders will appear as wholesale sales on your royalty statement. Because Trafford pays a higher royalty rate on sales through Barnes & Noble or Barnes & Noble.com, all Barnes & Noble sales will appear on your statement in a "Wholesale—Barnes and Noble" line with the higher royalty rate.
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During the process of publication, you will be prompted to choose your price after the manuscript and cover are approved (because we need to know the final page count and book size).
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Unfortunately, you cannot change the price of your book once you approve and finalize it for publication. Make sure that whatever price and royalty amount you choose is an amount you are comfortable with for the entire life of the book.
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The best price of your book depends on a variety of factors, but overall, the choice is up to you. There are a few items to consider when choosing your price. First, you may want to look around at different bookstores and online to get a general feel for the price of books for different lengths and genres. Next, consider your market. Who is your target audience and how much do those people typically spend on a book? If you are included in the targeted audience, ask yourself how much you would pay for a book of your type and length.
You need to find a comfortable balance between how much you earn per copy and how much the book costs, since these two amounts are related.
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We pay the royalties for your book sales in the form of a mailed check or by electronic funds transfer (EFT) if you have given us payment information through the Author Circle. We will pay out your royalties on a quarterly basis (four times per year). However, if you are paid via check, royalty earnings for a book must reach $25.00 or more before we will process payment and mail to you. We will continue to hold your royalties until the balance due to you is $25.00 or more. There is no is no reserve for payment if you opt for EFT.
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We pay royalties on a quarterly basis:
First Quarter: January 1 to March 31 (checks are mailed in late May)
Second Quarter: April 1 to June 30 (checks mailed in late August)
Third Quarter: July 1 to September 30 (checks mailed in late November)
Fourth Quarter: October 1 to December 31 (checks mailed in late February)
You are paid for the books sold and shipped in the given time frame. If a book was purchased online on March 30, but the book was not actually printed and shipped until April 2, then you would be paid in the second quarter, not the first, since the book didn't ship until the second quarter.
You will only be paid once for the original book sale. For instance, if a book is resold in any kind of second-hand store, you will not earn a royalty on the purchase. Also, you earn a royalty when a retailer purchases your book for their store (when the book is printed), but not when the consumer actually purchases the book off the shelf.
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It takes about two months after the quarter closes until the royalty payments are sent to you. First Quarter payments are mailed or transferred in late May, Second Quarter payments are mailed or transferred in late August, Third Quarter payments are mailed or transferred in late November, and Fourth Quarter payments are mailed or transferred in late February.
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No, we currently do not offer the option to split the royalty payment between individuals. This is due to tax restrictions. You can, of course, do whatever you wish with the royalty payments once you receive them, but it will be up to you to split any payments with co-authors.
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Yes you can, but only if you transfer the entire rights of your agreement with Trafford to that person. They will also hold the copyright for the book, but not the content of the book or your manuscript. If you would like to arrange this, please contact your PSA.
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If you purchased an ISBN and channel distribution, there are two different kinds of sales (if you have the distribution only through Trafford's Bookstore, which is free, then retail sales do not apply to you.) When a book is sold through our Web site, it is considered a Trafford sale. A retail, or channel sale, is when the book is sold through any retailer other than Trafford (like amazon.com or Barnes and Noble). The selling price must be the same for both Trafford and retail sales, but you will earn a different royalty amount depending on the type of sale.
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It depends on how you place the order. If you place an order for copies of your book through Live or e-mail with Trafford and receive your author discount, then no, you will not receive a royalty payment for that order. This is because you receive the "royalty" as a discount up front. However, if you order directly through our Web site or a retailer and pay full price, then yes, you will receive a royalty payment for that purchase.
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Often, retailers list books on their Web sites and advertise that they have "new and used" copies of books. Retailers use this as a marketing tool to entice the consumer by frequently offering a small discount on the used version. This does not necessarily mean that they have an actual copy of your book on hand, which is most likely the case if you have not been paid a royalty for the book sale. If any books are sold to a retailer, you will earn the retail royalty amount which was agreed upon.
If a retailer or third party actually is selling a used copy of the book, you would have already been paid in the past for the original sale.
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When you publish with Trafford, your book is circulated to various retail channels through Ingram, our distributor. Retailers can list the selling price of your book at whatever price they wish, although most follow the suggested retail price which you select. However, some retailers may choose to list the book higher or lower than the suggested retail price, which is completely within their rights. Regardless of what a retailer sells your book for, you will always receive the retail royalty amount agreed to during the production of your book.
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You will be provided with a royalty statement showing book sales and royalty payment details each quarter. The statements are compiled and cross-examined by multiple parties to ensure an accurate record of royalty payments.
Both our printer and distributor employ independent auditing firms to verify the book sales data. Additionally, a globally recognized accounting firm conducts yearly audits of our finances to ensure accuracy.
But, if you feel there has been an error in your royalty payment report, you can contact your PSA to look in the matter more thoroughly.
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Book sales are reported on the quarterly statements distributed with royalty checks. Currently, we cannot track book sales mid-quarter.
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We require your Social Security number to comply with the government’s tax regulations. Since you have the opportunity to earn additional income from book sales, the government requires that you pay taxes on the total earnings. The W-9 form allows you to provide a Taxpayer Identification Number, or TIN. If you are publishing your book under your own name or a pen name, your TIN is your Social Security number. If you are publishing under a business name, or you want your royalty check to be addressed to a business, you can enter your employer identification number instead of your personal Social Security number.
If you do not supply your taxpayer ID number, we are required to withhold taxes at the rate of 28 percent of total earnings.
If you supply us with your taxpayer ID at a later date, we cannot return the withheld tax money because we do not retain it — it is passed on to the government by law. You can speak to a tax professional about how to report this at the end of the tax year in order to receive a tax return for any additional amount that you are due.
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Even if you live outside of the United States, you will still earn a royalty just as our American authors do, but we are required to withhold 30 percent of your royalty earnings. This percentage will be withheld unless you apply for a foreign tax number by submitting a W-8BEN. With a foreign tax ID, we're no longer required to withhold taxes. Any money that was previously collected can be reclaimed with your taxes at the end of the year, but we cannot repay it.
For more information, or to download a W-8BEN, visit www.irs.gov.
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If you earned $20.00 or more in royalties within a fiscal year, we will automatically send you a 1099 statement. The 1099 reports your additional income in royalties during the first, second and third quarter of the current year and the fourth quarter of the previous year. It is the form you need to use to report taxes showing additional earning or contractual work. If the total earned is less than $20.00, then the IRS does not require you to report it, so we will not send you a 1099 form. (If you are not a U.S. citizen, you will receive a 1042, very similar to the 1099.)
If you have further questions regarding reporting taxes, please contact your tax professional.
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