Agency model publishing

So have we stumbled upon a model that actually works better than the current model? Could this model work for printed books also? And could it be the long-sought route to a net royalty structure that works for both publishers and authors?

To recap, the ‘agency model’ is where a publisher allows a bookseller (be they Waterstones, Amazon, Walmart or Barnes & Noble) to become an agent and sell their digital e .

Certainly this would be better for publishers, who routinely grant fifty-percent discounts off list. Could it be done? But books could be cheaper. The publisher makes nearly the same money. The bookstore makes more money, and the author makes a lot more money. So why not thirty percent to bookstores, thirty percent to authors, and forty percent to publisher?

If bookstores sell at full retail price, they will make more money than buying at fifty percent discount and selling at thirty percent off list. Publishers will make about the same money than selling at a fifty percent discount and paying a royalty based on list, and authors will make a lot more money. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

The agency model for journal PSAs borrows from the book trade, where agents routinely represent the interests of authors in licensing a broad array of rights.

Frankly, with HarperCollins and Hachette on board with Macmillan, I half-surprised the so-called big six powerhouses in publishing did not go for broke and attempt to introduce this across the board including printed books. Though, this may be the first step in that direction, particularly if booksellers are allowed the free-for-all policy that exists on returns.

It is certainly an intriguing idea and brings the greatest benefits to the author. Sometimes the models and ideas spoken of in publishing are not so much new, but rather already exist in some form and are simply untried at the top level of the publishing industry.