/Hi Everyone,

I see a lot of questions been raised by authors before taking up a writing project. We have a crystal clear working style at Packt and we have made our royalty public as well which means we do not negotiate it and we do not hesitate to say it on public platforms.

16% royalty is given to authors on the net revenue generated from that book.

We have a complete team of editors, production and marketing people which means author get full support from Packt from beginning to end. We do not ask them to go and come back when the book is ready. The sale of the books is as important to Packt as it is to the author.

To give you an idea about the way things works at Packt:

- The editorial team at Packt works with the author through out the project.
- We pay a royalty of 16% and an advance against it.
- The marketing team at Packt ensures that the book is well promoted.
- In its ongoing commitment to OpenSource, Packt donates a percentage of revenue generated by the book to the OpenSource project on which it is based. We have donated more than 100 000 dollars to various OpenSource projects since inception in 2004.

If anybody is interested in writing or has further questions then please contact me directly and I will be happy to discuss them.

Thanks,
Sunny <[email protected]>/
--
*Sunny Kansara*
Author Relationship Executive
Packt Publishing
www.PacktPub.com <http://www.PacktPub.com>
Skype: sunnyk
MSN: [email protected]
Interested in becoming an author? Visit http://authors.packtpub.com for all the information you need about writing for Packt.


Hi everyone,

First, full disclosure: I'm an Editor with O'Reilly.

I just wanted to contribute the note that when a publisher states its royalty rate as a percentage, you need to ask: "of what?" Some publishers calculate royalties as a percentage of profit rather than of net revenue, or their definitions of "net revenue" may vary. So just looking at one publisher's percentage vs. another is usually a comparison of apples to oranges anyway.

Then there's the matter of how many copies they expect to sell. Some publishers sign books only if they expect the book to do well and make a profit; others are willing to take a hit on some niche books and expect to make up that revenue with a few blockbusters -- which is all well and good, unless you're the author of one of the niche books that never earns out its advance. (The silver lining here is that this is how books on niche topics are made available to those that want them; if you're considering writing on such a topic and are primarily concerned with publicizing your content or growing your community, then this could be the way to go. Just be aware that you might not make any money doing it.)

These are all good things to ask a publisher you're considering working with (as well as questions Wesley indicates, such as what the tech review and editing process will be like, and who is responsible for that: some publishers ask authors to handle their own tech review).

It's always good to know what you're getting yourself into, no matter whom you're considering working with.

Happy writing,
Julie


----- Original Message -----
From: "wesley chun" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 12:23:44 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: Re: [Python-authors] Author Python Book - Packt Publishing

this is a warning to all before jumping in without looking at the
waters first. i haven't worked with them before, but based on the
existing review of their Python books, i would be somewhat hesitant,
and i certainly wouldn't approach them without an agent. (i'm also not
sure of their marketing and PR... i doubt they have the same type of
staff as a more well-known publisher like Pearson [Prentice Hall,
Addison Wesley] or O'Reilly.)

the royalties they're offering seem abnormally high, and even scarier
is that they tell you over email when this is typically something
that's negotiated. the standard royalty rate is 10%, as O'Reilly
states publically:

http://www.oreillynet.com/oreilly/oreilly/author/ch03.html

i'm concerned that they offer a higher rate because they spend less
elsewhere, such as editing. read Alex Martelli's review very carefully
as well as others' here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/184719494X

he is doing both the Python community *and* authors at-large a huge
favor by exposing this type of publisher behavior in the hopes that
anyone would jump at this project because they: 1) want to be
published, and 2) want higher royalties. as long as they sell enough
to cover their minimal costs. it is also strongly likely that the
editing, if there is any, is outsourced.

here's another one (check out the "most helpful review"):

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1904811841

anyway, i'm not telling you guys *not* to do it, but just be careful,
and have good English writing skills because likely, it won't be
edited much so you should be prepared to be practically camera-ready.

cheers,
-wesley


On Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 4:52 AM, Sunny Kansara <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi All,

I represent Packt Publishing, the publishers of computer related books.

We are planning to publish a new book on wxPython which will teach the
Python developers who want to quickly use wxPython to create programs with high functional GUI's and currently we are looking out for some potential
authors to write this book.

We pay a royalty of 16% and an advance against it.

An ideal candidate to author this book will be someone with an experience in wxPython. He/She should be able to communicate his/her thoughts clearly in English. Past writing experience will be an advantage though not mandatory.

If you are interested in authoring this book, please write to me with a
brief information about your experience with wxPython and any past writing
experience you may have..

Thanks,
Sunny.
--
Sunny Kansara
Author Relationship Executive
Packt Publishing
www.PacktPub.com
Skype: sunnyk
MSN: [email protected]

--
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Core Python Programming", Prentice Hall, (c)2007,2001
"Python Fundamentals", Prentice Hall, (c)2009
   http://corepython.com

wesley.j.chun :: wescpy-at-gmail.com
python training and technical consulting
cyberweb.consulting : silicon valley, ca
http://cyberwebconsulting.com
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--
Julie Steele
Acquisitions Editor
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
[email protected]
Mobile: 201-937-7866
--
AIM/Skype: JSteeleEditor
Twitter: @jsteeleeditor
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--
*Sunny Kansara*
Author Relationship Executive
Packt Publishing
www.PacktPub.com <http://www.PacktPub.com>
Skype: sunnyk
MSN: [email protected]
Interested in becoming an author? Visit http://authors.packtpub.com for all the information you need about writing for Packt.

<<attachment: sunnyk.vcf>>

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