Sunday, April 17, 2011

Hannover House Sets New E-Book Royalty Standards and Initial Releases

In the wake of continuing debate between publishers and authors regarding the establishment of fair and reasonable royalty rates for the emerging E-Book platforms, Hannover House (http://hannoverhouse.com/index.php ) has announced a new standard rate of thirty percent of E-Book net revenues for authors. This new rate for all Hannover House authors surpasses the current industry standard of twenty-five percent E-Book royalties being offered by most major publishers.

Initial E-Book releases from Hannover House will launch in June, and include two non-fiction titles from author Barr McClellan, and two fiction thrillers from author Vivian Schilling. McClellan's "Made in the USA" was published in hardcover format in March of 2010, and his New York Times Bestseller, "Blood, Money and Power: How LBJ Killed JFK," was originally published in September 2003. Schilling's acclaimed thriller "Quietus" was originally released in hardcover format in January 2002, and her debut thriller "Sacred Prey" was originally published in September 1994. Both "Blood, Money and Power" and "Quietus" have sold more than 100,000 units each in various print formats, and are expected to be significant sellers again once released on the various E-Book platforms.

"It was important for Hannover House to make a statement that we stand with our authors in support of fair and reasonable royalties for new media formats," said Eric Parkinson, C.E.O. of Hannover House. "E-Books provide publishers with greater efficiencies and lower costs of production, freight and storage, so it only makes sense that the author's share should increase, not decrease as other publishers have claimed. If we don't compensate the authors fairly for these emerging formats, the publishing industry will jeopardize the supply of quality material by removing the financial incentives for authors."

The launch of Hannover's initial E-Book titles will be promoted with ads in the New York Times Book Review, Publisher's Weekly and multiple internet sites targeted to reach avid readers.

"These royalty rates will not jeopardize the profitability of our publishing division," said Parkinson. "We believe that paying a fair royalty will build author loyalty as well as encourage other, established authors to consider Hannover House for their future publishing needs."

In other news, Hannover House announced the creation of the new position of "Publisher - Editor" to administer all acquisition and release activities for the company's book division. A search for qualified candidates has commenced, with the goal of having this key managerial post in place prior to the Book Expo America convention in late May. Hannover House book titles are available through most major book retailers, including Barnes and Noble, Borders Group, Hudson Group, Books-A-Million, Hastings and all major internet book selling sites.

No comments: