IngramSpark Reduces Author Royalties

IngramSpark Reduces Author Royalties - Disappointing Update

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9 ай бұрын

IngramSpark Reduces Author Royalties - Disappointing Update // This past week IngramSpark made the announcement that they are forcing authors to have a wholesale discount of 40% when it was previously 30%. For self-published authors who use IngramSpark to distribute their books, this could mean a huge reduction in royalty rates, and force authors to increase the price of their books if they want to maintain their current royalty rates. I wanted to use this video to point out just how much money authors could lose, and why I'm so disappointed in IngramSpark's response to the wholesale discount issue.
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Mandi Lynn published her first novel when she was seventeen. The author of multiple books, Mandi spends her days continuing to write and creating KZfaq videos to help other writers achieve their dreams of seeing their books published. Mandi is the owner of Stone Ridge Books, a company that works to help authors bring their books to life through cover design and digital book marketing. She is also the creator of The Book Launch Planner, a planner designed to help authors publish and market their books. When she’s not creating, you can find Mandi exploring her backyard or getting lost in the woods.
#ingramspark #selfpublishing #bookpublishing
• IngramSpark Reduces Au...
DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links. By purchasing a linked product or service, Mandi Lynn will receive a small commission at no additional fee to you.

Пікірлер: 81

@MandiLynnWrites 9 ай бұрын

What do you think about IngramSpark forcing authors to change their royalty rates? Let me know in the comments below!

@Olectralab 8 ай бұрын

Well this in unfortunate :'(. I was just going to publish my first book and this is what I am greeted with haha XD.

@luvsnursing9946 9 ай бұрын

I personally think the indie community needs to band together and form something that works for indie authors. I know there are indie type associations, but having an indie author friendly place to publish is the ticket

@JasonHauser125 9 ай бұрын

In hardback! That's what I need for the children's book I do.

@juliekitto 9 ай бұрын

Yes, please make this happen! Ingram is the bane of my existence. What pisses me off even more is when I go into indie book stores and they say, "we love your book but we only order through Ingram". Wait, what?? Indies, should support indies!

@dienercontent6872 9 ай бұрын

Full side note, whenever I log in to IS, they ask me how likely I am recommend them to other authors. I rate them 0 for their customer service and for their ease of website use.

@stefanielozinski 9 ай бұрын

I do this too, LOL

@jonathanbaumler 3 ай бұрын

This is wild! And the fact they try to justify that in the lower description is even crazier. This video is very informative!

@lifted_united 5 ай бұрын

You wanna hear the crazy part. The bookstore showed me their side. Of the 40% ingramspark demand your discount. The bookstores are only receiving 20% of the money. I took pictures because I didn't believe it. Where is the additional 20% going????

@cabrielleholden 9 ай бұрын

I feel like we're going to hear about a lawsuit in ingram sparks future. I just get this sketchy feeling that there's going to be legal drama with them at some point.

@JasonHauser125 9 ай бұрын

I have yet to jump in bed with them because I keep hearing sketchy stuff.

@cabrielleholden 9 ай бұрын

@@JasonHauser125 I took them off my list of potentials with Mandi's last video about them, because she mentioned how bad their customer service is. They just seem like a crappy company.

@toonyana5384 9 ай бұрын

I hope so. Ingramspark needs to learn how their actions affect indie authors.

@AuthorDLTillery 9 ай бұрын

Thanks for the info! This news does suck, not happy with this at all. We really need someone to look out for indie authors more, when a platform forces us into a corner like they are doing its messed up.

@user-iu9cm2bn5h 8 ай бұрын

It's always fun and fruitful watching your video, Mandy, loads of information that we need to know - great job as always.

@charlie.cummings 9 ай бұрын

I am starting from scratch with my novel (change of genre), but playing around with IS's Publisher Comp Calculator. For a paperback 5.5x8.5 that has 200 pages - to make $1, the book would have be priced at $8.61 to meet the 40% wholesale discount. But only $7.36 to make $1 at 30%. A price increase of 14.52%. I think they have just moved the $49 upload fee from the start to elsewhere in the process (re: 60 days, and wholesale at 40%), rather than removing it entirely - which a newbie would assume.

@MandiLynnWrites 9 ай бұрын

After 60 days if you have to upload new files or change changes, then you have to pay their fees

@cabrielleholden 9 ай бұрын

I bet you're right! They redistributed the fee so they wouldn't lose that money even though from the outside it looks like you don't have to pay it. 🤔🤔🤔

@JessicaCMadden23 9 ай бұрын

I have never understood the royalty rates. I have always used 55% because I thought that's what you were supposed to use. I have never been able to make money from my paperbacks even when my books are low. I haven't gotten paid by Ingramspark for a year now because no one is buying paperbacks. I have only sold 3 paperbacks this year

@magicjudy 3 ай бұрын

I’ll be avoiding Ingram Spark. I haven’t got the patience to deal with the frustration :) Thanks Mandi for the insights as always.

@InvestigatorsInCars 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for explaining the "business end" of self-publishing. I had our book with Ingram Sparks priced in such a fashion that, between "print charge," "global distribution fees" and "net pub comp" (net publishers compensation?), the last column (recovery remaining) was zero. Now I haven't received any monies that I can determine with a book priced at $44.99 (it's a professional manual) and discounted to $26.99. Gotta be a better way!

@stefanielozinski 9 ай бұрын

I was totally waiting for some error to pop up on your back end while you were filming this 😂 would have been so on point

@amandamontgomery4217 9 ай бұрын

As a first-time author in the final stages of publishing my first novel, I have to say...this sucks. Thank you for breaking it down for us. I guess the question is, is there an alternative? Does it make sense to switch to Draft2Digital or is their quality not up to the standards at IngramSpark and Amazon? Also, and this is WAY off topic, but I've noticed your hair looks AMAZING lately - pregnancy hair is a wonderful thing. Your hair is gorgeous. Take lots of pictures and don't freak out when it starts falling out by the brush-full when the baby gets here. You'll be so in love with the baby you mostly won't care but...we all care a little so have fun with it while you can. Also, my unsolicited mom advice is to read up on baby sleep problems before the baby gets here (just in case) because trying to make sense of it when you're sleep-deprived is not fun. I learned that the hard way with baby #2 and it's my favorite advice to give moms-to-be (and dads-to-be, for that matter). Thanks for all the insight, and good luck in the home stretch of pregnancy :)

@user-or7uy6in7z 9 ай бұрын

There are aggregare publishers out there that DON'T charge ANYTHING to upload your book, and have HIGHER royalties for Indie authors. One will even professionally format your book for FREE just for using them as your publisher, then they'll list it on over a DOZEN of the world's most popular websites. I was considering NOT using Ingramspark anyway, but KNOWING THIS, I am now absolutely NEVER GOING TO USE THEM. Plus, they charge $49 to upload your book, on top of now paying LESS than what they already were. Draft-2-digital has from what I understand, very good quality print books, but I've heard that Barnes & Noble Press is NUMBER #1. For print books that is.

@MandiLynnWrites 9 ай бұрын

I have a video where I talk about alternatives to IngramSpark here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hbZjosWoxsydc6s.html

@brittanydanielledesigns7544 9 ай бұрын

Which one does formatting for free?@@user-or7uy6in7z

@neopagan1976 9 ай бұрын

This makes me glad that I don't do any business with them.

@bertalanvarga1176 21 күн бұрын

Hi! Thanks for sharing your experience and also showing the details of the whole process. First, I was supprised on your reaction because Amazon KDP has a 60% royalty, which equals to the 40% wholesale discount, so I didn't get the reason for the difference. Then, I run the calculation and I think what makes it different for KDP, that the printing cost for your specific book is almost a dollar (4.84 vs. 5.76) compared to Ingramspark. That is why with Amazon 60% royalty you recieve around 2.95 and with Ingramspark 40% royalty you receive only 1.9 dollars. I saw in an other video that Ingramspark has better quality (not sure that is true), maybe that can justify to rise the price to match their higher printing cost?

@Llamagurumi 9 ай бұрын

I had my book set to 14.99 and I was making $1.90 at a 35% discount... I had to raise my book price to $16.99 or make only like 30 cents per book :/

@dodgygoose3054 9 ай бұрын

Holy crap.

@christinacoombes6660 9 ай бұрын

Ingramspark sounds like a headache I wouldn't want to publish a book there

@JamesSedgwick-jp6hh 2 ай бұрын

12:52 Even some of those platforms who say that they care about their authors may at the end of the day don't care as much as much as they say. The other day I did a price comparison on royalty rates between two different companies. I entered the same book size, cover option, paper type, page count and retail price. Do you know that one of those platforms paid double the royalty rate compared to the other platform? And the book was identical on both platforms! Go figure. LOL

@stefanielozinski 9 ай бұрын

YES! You made the video! 🎉😂 But I’m sorry you had to. I’m so over IS.

@pipstonespublishing8802 9 ай бұрын

As if Ingram wasn’t making enough in the first place! Terrible!

@chrisledden1264 9 ай бұрын

How does this new pricing compare to the amazon wide distribution pricing ?

@kimberlymullins5971 9 ай бұрын

i just put my book out and cannot increase the price--such a problem.

@johnorr8094 9 ай бұрын

Ingram Spark attributed both of my self-published titles to a Sociology professor, by the same name. Professor John Orr died in 2010.

@calliopelove 7 ай бұрын

Yeah, I get it, it sucks, inflation is happening everywhere. But, you can choose to raise your prices, if you really feel that strongly about having the exact same royalty. You have options. Some bonus income is better than none, right? I haven't used Ingram yet, still on the fence, leaning toward D2D instead.

@SpeakTruth-zi9nx 8 ай бұрын

why my books are not getting enabled for distribution i appealed in Category integrity appeal but they give no specific reason and simply says violation of policy. i have my own content good cover and valid isbn bought from bowker. am us based in june 2023 they used to take my books but after that something changed. kindly help. i price my book 30 usd for 200 pages black and white 6x9 size paperback. no opensource content. copyrighted and build as per ingrams file creation guidelines.

@hjkluoijljoiu 9 ай бұрын

I’m a wide author, but that’s a personal choice.

@juliebyls 9 ай бұрын

This was helpful. What are your thoughts on BookBaby?

@MandiLynnWrites 9 ай бұрын

I haven't looked into BookBaby too much since they aren't a traditional print on demand company, but I think I may start doing some research!

@writingforchildrenwithkare4686 6 ай бұрын

Just be sure to have a quality manuscript that's been properly edited before giving it to BookBaby. I've seen a few of their finished products. @@MandiLynnWrites

@amandamontgomery4217 9 ай бұрын

Also also, this means you have to get new ISBNs for all your books and updated covers with the new codes to reflect higher prices, doesn't it?

@MandiLynnWrites 9 ай бұрын

I don’t put the price on my barcodes for this reason

@amandamontgomery4217 9 ай бұрын

Ooooooh! I thought you had to. Thanks! @@MandiLynnWrites

@rw9866 9 ай бұрын

I see it as a cost of doing business, the expense to produce the books myself is not worth it.

@technoshaman001 9 ай бұрын

lmao Sunday morning roast with Mandi

@karlhooper4400 9 ай бұрын

Hi. I'm an old guy living on social security. I live out in the Alaska woods. I like to write stories. Have gotten two published through page publishing. They put them for sale through Amazon. Barnes and Noble and a few others. I'm not doing very well at it. One is called the Unfortunate life of Bill. I'm not any good at computers. Don't own one. Any help would be appreciated. Even if it's just advise.

@roseamy552 9 ай бұрын

I already have the 55%, question is, how will it affect the royalty I get?

@MandiLynnWrites 9 ай бұрын

If you already do a 55% discount, then this change won't affect you.

@JasonHauser125 9 ай бұрын

I have one illustrated children's book completed that I had been considering to upload to Ingram. I have used KDP in the past with their free ISBN but I just can't get any sales, and I have a YA book and three coloring books on Amazon. So I thought I would try hardback on Ingram and a different distribution route, but I keep hearing what a pain in the ass they are, and this news doesn't make it any better.

@authorjdnichols 9 ай бұрын

so glad I went wtih D2D Print...

@najeejamerson9231 6 ай бұрын

Is their print cost cheaper than Ingramspark if you don't mind me asking?

@madlife3770 9 ай бұрын

Yeah, and that's $3.20 BEFORE taxes. :(

@tonygold1661 9 ай бұрын

Print costs?

@amandamontgomery4217 9 ай бұрын

She mentioned that IS deducts for that, but that she suspects the actual print cost is lower than what they claim it is, which would make their cut that much larger.

@tpjohnson7528 4 ай бұрын

Infeamspark takes printing charges

@clivewarner2162 6 ай бұрын

I'm done with that company, going to close my account.

@MajesticAngel13 9 ай бұрын

As someone who’s from the UK, THIS WAS THE FINAL STRAW! I couldn’t update my files because of this stupid update! You were right, this is NOT user friendly!

@NunofromPortugal 9 ай бұрын

I'm curious to know how many more retailers picked up your book due to the 40% discount. You said you're making 3,20$ per sale of your book with a 30% discount. But if no retailers pick up your book due to low wholesale discount, then you have no sales. With a 40% discount you make 1,90$ per sale but more retailers might pick up your book. If you now have 2 sales, you make 3,80$, more than you were making before. So the question becomes, is the 40% discount worth it?

@FablestoneSeries 9 ай бұрын

Everything i read said if you don't opt for the 55% discount (the maximum) then bookstores won't take your book. Even though it scales between 30% and 55% effectively the choice is between 55% or not selling your book.

@MandiLynnWrites 9 ай бұрын

At the end of the day, even with the higher discount stores may not order your book. Unless you get a big fanbase (which is possible) book stores will only order your book if a customer comes in to request the book.

@caesuracrossing5473 9 ай бұрын

Please don't take this as a dig or anything, but from what I am seeing that It might just be cheeper to do the traditional publishing route. Would you be able to do an updated non-blas pros and cons of traditional publishing vs indie publishing with the end of why u chose your current path. Since the indie publishing industry changed so much over the years. To an aspiring author working a 9-5 traditional publishing seems more reasonable especially with now publishing is listening to their author when it comes to cover design and formatting designs. Of course there is bad apples out there in the TP space, but for the back end it seems like fledgling authors whom might feel overwhelmed by all this might be better off going the TP route.

@FablestoneSeries 9 ай бұрын

You don't get a choice to go traditional. Less than 0.01% of submissions get picked up. If your book is outstanding, and what agents are looking for right now, and you get REALLY lucky you MIGHT get picked up, but i can tell you the market is so saturated right now, and the agents are stretched so thin at the moment that your chances of getting picked up traditionally are... well you are more likely to be hit by lightning.

@caesuracrossing5473 9 ай бұрын

@backstagecomics That is the biggest misconception of Traditional Publishing. I feel like you just completely glossed over my comment 😅. I get it that it is hard to get traditionally published but that doesn't mean to bash the whole experience of being traditionally published. From what I've seen from both large, mid-list, and small traditionally published authors have had choices through out their publication process. It also depends on whom you get as an agent. An authors agent plays a big role in finding the right publishing house fit for their clients and are well deserving of their 5%. I feel like people should look at the self publishing route with more of a realistic lens. I could also argue that there is a 1% chance of a nobody (a person with no social background) that can get their book picked up in sales. SP author can pour up to thousands and thousands of dollars only to get only 1.20 cents back per book. It just doesn't seem like a smart business plan for an aspiring author. I've seen people put in 5K-16K into their self published book. And that's for one book. Imagine a series. Buying a bulk cover design and interior packaging I've found is somewhere between 500-2k editing is 2K and there is three rounds of edits a book should go through before it being published. Don't even get me started on marketing and paying for ad spots for your book. And all this for what? 1.20 in return for 1 book.

@FablestoneSeries 9 ай бұрын

@@caesuracrossing5473 You misunderstand ME. i wasn't bashing it. I too would prefer it, if given the choice. But for those who HAVE TRIED, it is arduous. and if you haven't, I'm warning you from experience, it is NOT to be trifled with. Getting an agent is a monumental task. A nearly impossible mountain to climb as a first time author. If you don't have dollar signs attached to your name they WON'T sign you up. A saying with agents is, "The Book, the Hook and the Cook". You need to not only have a great book and a great hook, but unless you are SOMEONE they won't give you the time of day. You must realize agents have an average of exactly 6 minutes to read your submission and make a decision. That's hardly enough time to read an entire query let alone your sample. So unless you shoot rainbows out your ass you won't get signed on with an agent. SP authors get FAR more per book that TP authors. KDP gives an average of $3 per book. Don't be fooled by Ingramspark's royalties. They are the lowest in the business. Stay away from Ingramspark! Brandon Sanders has talked in length about how SP authors make far more than TP authors, (per book). The SP route however requires you have many talents. You need to be an expert in everything.

@destresswithyoga 9 ай бұрын

I agree with @backstageco - there are so many more authors publishing, which makes it harder and harder for an Indie author to be accepted by an agent and then traditional publishing. In order to get into traditional publishing, you have to know someone in the traditional publishing. I’ve seen it. I agree, Mandi may not be going your route,; she is implying what she received from IS and is telling her story as a heads up - she’s very honest in her KZfaq videos.

@FablestoneSeries 9 ай бұрын

@@destresswithyoga i work in the film industry. I KNOW PEOPLE, and i couldn't even get traditionally published. The market such as it has become means that you need to prove yourself in SP first before you can break into TP.