www.CreativeTeamPublishing.com
Fee-for-Service (Also called ‘Author Funded’)
Creative Team Publishing (CTP) is a Fee-for-Service publisher of quality trade paperback (soft cover) books.
Fee-for-Service
A Fee-for-Service publisher is one who charges a fee for publishing to the owner of copyright. The owner of copyright, after initial fees are paid and wholesale purchases are completed, retains profits from book sales. These profits usually represent the difference between the wholesale price and the retail price of the book.
A Fee-for-Service procedure is common and becoming more common today for many reasons. Among them: digital technology POD (Print on Demand) has become, for many, the method of choice. There are huge benefits. For example: virtually no inventory is required and only books ordered are those that are printed. For CTP authors there is *never* a minimum order required. You and outlets obtain only what you believe you can sell.
A “traditional” publisher pays anywhere from 8% – 10% (sometimes more depending on sales volume) of the retail selling price of books sold. The publishing company retains and works within the balance of about 90% - 92% as part of assuming the upfront costs. Further, it is extremely difficult for a traditional publisher to accept works of an author who is unknown. They simply can’t afford the risk.
In CTP’s case, the author pays a reasonable up-front fee, and retains the profits. This arrangement is cleaner, more concise and, over time, has the potential to make the author more money depending on the success of publication.
Royalties—Unless an Author Is Well-Known, This Is Seldom Where the Money Is Made
The author or owner of copyright retains all copyright to the work. In this instance there are no royalty payments because the publisher does not receive the bulk of profit from a book—the author does.
So where is the money made? The difference between what the author or bookstore (outlet) pays for the books and the price for which they sell them is the author’s money to keep, pure and simple. For example, let’s say that once publishing fees are paid (and these vary according to length and intricacy of the book), the owner of copyright pays $7.95 per book (plus shipping, handling, and applicable tax) and sells these books for $19.95 (plus shipping, handling, and applicable tax). In this case the author retains $12.00 per book instead of 10% of retail selling price, which would equate to $1.99 or $2.00 per book. Which would an author rather have?
CTP offers an author a competitive price for publishing and we have two categories from which to choose: Streamline and Superior. Because it can be shown that an author’s profit margin exceeds the amount of what a “traditional” publisher would pay the author in royalties, why wouldn’t an author choose this route? Many do, and are very happy with it.
How Are Fees Determined?
Fees for publishing are established on many factors. Among them:
- Length of book
- Complexity of editing required
- Nature of graphic art for front and back covers
Because we don’t take a ‘one size fits all’ approach we will treat each of our author’s manuscripts individually and offer the absolute best financial deal we can for each work based on these factors (see Pricing).
CTP Home Page Pricing Marketing Guidelines The Front and Back Cover