Harpers authors encouraged to sell directly

From Digital Book World

There's an extra ten per cent in the deal

First Publisher to Pay Higher Royalties for Direct E-Commerce Sales

New York, NY (October 2, 2014) — HarperCollins Publishers today announced the launch of an e-commerce program which will allow its authors to earn an additional 10% net royalty on print, e-book, and physical audio products sold through the HarperCollins platform. As an example, authors earning a 25% net royalty will now receive a 35% net royalty on e-books sold through the HarperCollins platform.

Authors can participate in the e-commerce program in multiple ways. They can add a HarperCollins “buy” button to their site, which will take consumers to www.hc.com to complete their purchase, or they can integrate the HarperCollins shopping cart directly into their website. Additionally, authors can use social media to direct consumers to purchase their products from HarperCollins.

“While our first priority is to sell books through as many different retail channels as possible, we are pleased to provide this platform for our authors who want to sell directly. Our authors can also be certain that their books will always be available to consumers through HarperCollins, even if they are difficult to find or experiencing shipping delays elsewhere,” said Brian Murray, President and CEO of HarperCollins Publishers. “Since we view this program as both a service to our authors and a partnership with them, those who participate will receive additional earnings.”

The e-commerce program will start in the U.S. and roll out to other HarperCollins divisions over the coming months. Royalties will be paid through the royalty system and will appear on an author’s royalty statement.

In July, HarperCollins Publishers announced the launch of www.hc.com, a redesigned version of its website that includes the capability to sell print, e-books, and physical audio books directly to consumers.