[Python-authors] Author Python Book - Packt Publishing

Fri Dec 18 13:19:56 CET 2009

/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 <sunnyk at packtpub.com>/
-- 
*Sunny Kansara*
Author Relationship Executive
Packt Publishing
www.PacktPub.com <http://www.PacktPub.com>
Skype: sunnyk
MSN: sunny_packt at hotmail.com
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" <wescpy at gmail.com>
>> To: python-authors at python.org
>> 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 <sunnyk at packtpub.com> 
>> 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: sunny_packt at hotmail.com
>>
>> -- 
>> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>> "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
>> _______________________________________________
>> Python-authors mailing list
>> Python-authors at python.org
>> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-authors
>>
>> -- 
>> Julie Steele
>> Acquisitions Editor
>> O'Reilly Media, Inc.
>> jsteele at oreilly.com
>> Mobile: 201-937-7866
>> -- 
>> AIM/Skype: JSteeleEditor
>> Twitter: @jsteeleeditor
>> _______________________________________________
>> Python-authors mailing list
>> Python-authors at python.org
>> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-authors
>>
>
>

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