You can have your book available in book stores and online you can distribute and sell and yuou can have us sell them for you.
Pricing & Royalty FAQ
Will I make money when my book is sold online?
Do I have to buy books upfront from you?
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" ?
How does NXTGen 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 NXTGen 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?
Will NXTGen send me a 1099 to report additional income from royalty payments?
Will my book be sold online?
Yes, you can make money by selling your book. You will earn revenue when your book is sold through NXTGen, 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.
Will I be paid a royalty even if I live outside the United States?
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.)
How is the price of my book determined?
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.
What is "distribution cost" of publishing?
Book resellers purchase books to sell either through their retail stores or customer base. Discounts are based on volume and terms. 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.
How does NXTGen calculate royalty payments?
Royalties are based on the payments actually received from the sale of printed or electronic (e-book) copies of your book, less any shipping, printing 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.
Here's an example of a common sales transaction:
The cover price (list price) for your book is $19.95.
Your royalty rate is 80-90% percent of revenue received - minus printing, shipping or handling cost you wish us to do.
Large retailers, including Barnes & Noble, Amazon and most Borders stores, place orders for books through distributors like; Ingram, Baker & Taylor or other companies. Those orders are wholesale orders based on multiple copies and will show the shipped books on your royalty statement. Because NXTGen pays a higher royalty rate on sales through Barnes & Noble or Barnes & Noble.com, all Barnes & Noble book shipments. sales or returns will appear on your statement.
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When do I choose my book's price?
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).
Can I change the price of my book later?
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.
What is the best price for my book? How do I decide?
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. 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.
How am I paid for my book sales?
There are two methods of being paid. When You sell books direct to end users you get paid immediately. The other option is to have your book sold through resellers such as bookstores and web resellers. You will have a fixed priced and know exactly what the books cost right from the start. Book stores and distributors will order book by issuing a P.O. a purchase order. The major accounts will want terms of at least 30 before payment. Gift stores and other outlets may resell you books after purchasing them,
When am I paid royalties? When do quarters start and end?
You can sell and distribute books direct or you can have us do it or both. All money comes to you for direct sales. IF you sell and distribute books yourself then you will always have payments made directly to you. IF we sell book to distributors and book stores when you purchase the book marketing plane we pay accordingly:
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.
How long does it take to receive payment?
It takes about two months after the quarter closes until the royalty payments are sent to you. First Quarter checks are mailed in late May, Second Quarter checks are mailed in late August, Third Quarter checks are mailed in late November, and Fourth Quarter checks are mailed in late February.
We do not receive the information reporting sales through distribution until 30 days after the close of the quarter. Then, we need additional time to verify, compile and send out the information to you.
Can my royalty check be split between a co-author and myself?
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.
Can I arrange for someone else to receive my royalty payments?
Yes you can, but only if you transfer the entire rights of your agreement with NXTGen 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.
Am I paid royalty on books I purchase?
It depends on how you place the order. If you place an order for copies of your book through Live or e-mail with NXTGen 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.
I've noticed my book being sold as "used" on Web sites but I have not received payment; why haven't I been paid?
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.
Why is my book listed at a different price on certain sites?
When you publish with NXTGen, 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.
How do I know that I am being paid fairly for my book sales?
If you ship books from your inventory that you purcashed and you will keep track of all royalty. You will be provided with a royalty statement showing book sales and royalty payment details each quarteri fwe ship books. 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 Micro Informationly 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.
How can I track my book sales?
Monthly reposrt from your order processing or from our fulfillment.
You must pay taxes on your earnings from the sale of book and royaltiesr
.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.
I do not have a Social Security number because I am not a U.S. Citizen. What now?
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.
Will NXTGen send me a 1099 to report additional income from royalty payments?
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.