Freelance book editors provide services to authors before literary agents or publishers come into the picture. The assumption here is that the original manuscript has potential that can be accentuated with a little help.
There are many subjective and commercial aspects you need to consider before you decide to hire a book editor. Some of the subjective elements were covered in an earlier post titled ‘Hiring a freelance editor for proofreading & editing your book’. This one focuses on the commercial perspective.
Life as a struggling author can be tough and complex. So rather than focussing on too many parameters, I’m going to keep it simple here and just talk about one – Breakeven point. This would be the number of copies you need to sell just to recoup the money you have invested in your book before it gets published and hits the shelves.
Of course, the line of thinking outlined here (and the broader definition of the breakeven point) has different connotations if your primary motivation to get published is non-commercial. But if you want to make some real money from your efforts (whatever little that might be), then you might want to spend some time thinking about the following rationale.
Here’s the logic. If you spend X thousand Rupees on a book, then your income (from book royalty) should exceed this amount before you make any profit from the project.
Let’s put some numbers in there to understand what that means. For each of the scenarios, let’s assume a royalty rate of 10% and the book sells for Rupees 100 (typical pricing of most mass market novels that are coming out nowadays)
Scenario 1: Zero investment from your side (i.e. X = Rs 0)
In this case, your breakeven point is 0 copies. This means, you start making money right from the first book sale.
Scenario 2: You pay Rupees 10,000 for book editing services (i.e. X = Rs 10,000)
Now, each book you sell will fetch you 10 Rupees. So your breakeven point is:
10,000 / 10 = 1,000 copies
This means you need to sell thousand copies of your book before your bank balance is no longer in the red.
Scenario 3: You pay Rupees 20,000 to book editors, cover designers, others
The breakeven point now jumps up to 2,000 copies. You’d need to be in the top 10% of all books sold to cross that mark.
An estimated 90% percent (God only knows who makes those estimates, but anyway we need a number so we’ll take it and move on) of the novels hitting the market each will struggle to come even close to that number.
You know the drill now. For every additional 10,000 Rupees you spend on getting the book to the market, the breakeven point gets pushed further. If you are comfortable with this basic math, change some parameters like the royalty rate or book price to see how that impacts your breakeven point.
Do keep in mind that there are interdependencies. For instance, if you increase the book price to 200 Rupees, the breakeven points falls to half, but the book may also sell lesser copies.
Book editing isn’t the only expense you need to keep a tab on. Marketing expenses are another category where going overboard won’t help you. Read the post ‘Book promotion celebrity book launches’ where break-even point gets another mention.
Decide how you want to define your parameters for success as an author and then take a call on whether the expenses are justified.
Comment By: Nethra
August 6th, 2012 at 10:29 pm
Those are facts from grave reality you have pointed out Sameer. For a budding author the critical factor is connecting with the audience and developing a reader base. Until then, these factors are inevitably going to fuel many a night’s insomnia! The trick is to hang in there and keep trying.
Comment By: Sameer
August 6th, 2012 at 11:11 pm
True, Nethra.
I guess the long stint I’ve had in the corporate world has made me (relatively) emotionally de-linked about the ‘products’ I create (including books) – not during the creation process, but after. I like to discover (or build) processes that are not one-off, but sustainable.
For instance, in case of books that are aimed at the general reader (as opposed to relatives and friends), I think it’s hara-kiri to invest a lot of money without knowing whether you are getting something equally valuable in return.
For many authors, there’s a deeper emotional connect with the books they write, even when they move into the post-writing phase. The bigger picture becomes a little hazy.
I think there has to be a balance between the two. Creating a ‘product’ purely based on market & commercial potential will come across as being cold, dry and business-like. And readers might reject that.
On the other hand, approaching the publishing process purely from an emotional angle makes authors susceptible to many unwanted influences.
Rather than recommending what’s right or wrong, I’m hoping my posts will give new authors enough knowledge to decide the route that’s best for them. Let me know if that’s happening or if the posts on this blog need a course correction.
Comment By: Ashish Sahasrabudhe
August 16th, 2012 at 1:17 pm
Hello Sameer,
Firstly I would like to thank you for the massive amount of information you have posted in regards to the publishing of a book. I can dare say that it was by far the best information I have found on the internet when it comes to the literary industry in India. I have completed writing a fiction novel recently and have been given a reasonable amount of positive feedback from the few people who have proof-read it. However Being a layman in this industry, when I try to search for some reliable literary agents on the internet I cant help but feel like a ‘Baby in a topless bar’ as Mr Navjyot Singh Sidhu would call it.
Hence I would be obliged if you could take some time out and if possible help me with some literary agents looking for a fiction novel.
P.S: I am definitely a very paranoid author as you mentioned in one of your blogs
Comment By: Sameer
August 16th, 2012 at 3:44 pm
Ashish,
First of all, I’d like to know how you managed to trick the bar bouncers into letting you in. They have strict instructions to keep babies and anyone under 18 outside the sinful doors.
On your info request about literary agents, apart from the list of Literary agents in India, at this stage there’s not much help I’d be able to offer.
Comment By: Ashish Sahasrabudhe
August 17th, 2012 at 12:49 pm
Dear Sameer,
In a country where people get their driving license issued before they complete 18 years, anything is possible. Its isn’t a question of what you know that matters nowadays, its just who you know that counts.
And Thanks a ton for the information provided (Both from your blogs as well as the list of literary agents provided). In a world where ‘something is better than nothing’, its great to find a person who provides information which exceeds the definition of the word ‘something’ by a fair margin.
Thanks again.
Ashish Sahasrabudhe
Comment By: Ankita Shrivastava
August 20th, 2012 at 5:28 pm
Respected Sir,
I’ve heard about people liking their work more than anything in this world, the self appreciation state? But when I at a state of total disgust and vexation came across your blog, I was hands down bowled! There is sincerity and passion in your work, moreover I like the way you deal with every not so humble comments maturely and help to the very extreme you can. Last night while I was to devote time in finding more names in the known list of publishers surprisingly I sat back and read your website.
Wish you all the Best !
Great Job!
Comment By: Arvind Madhavan
April 4th, 2013 at 1:29 pm
Hi, I’m in an unique dilemma. I have almost completed the second draft of my book, But I have no idea of its potential. I need to get my story and writing style evaluated objective in a cost effective manner. Can someone tell me where or to whom should I go for such a service in India?
In short, I want someone who shall evaluate my plot, characters, story elements, writing style before I begin writing my final manuscript. I’m not looking for proof reading or copy editing, just evaluation whether the novel will be worthwhile in a short and concise manner. Can someone help me with this?
Comment By: Sameer
April 8th, 2013 at 10:23 am
Arvind,
I sent you an email several days back, but there’s been no response.
Good luck with your novel, buddy.
Comment By: K.D. Heidari
April 8th, 2013 at 11:57 pm
I have questions regarding my book to be edited.
regards
K.D.Heidari
Comment By: Sameer
April 9th, 2013 at 11:03 am
@Heidari: You can post your questions here. Happy to answer them.
Comment By: Shashank Shah
June 12th, 2013 at 11:39 pm
Just as another writer, i’ve also been working on a book. And as i come from middle class family can you suggest me any low expensive editor and publisher….it would be divine if you reply me ASAP …
Comment By: Sameer
June 12th, 2013 at 11:53 pm
Shashank,
Fortunately, your destiny in the publishing world has little to do with your family background and economic status. If you have the talent and the tenacity to be in it for the long run, you will succeed.
Never use the middle class argument to compete in this industry. At best, it’ll get you sympathy, not respect for your work.
For your editing request, send an email with details of your manuscript to: info [at] booksoarus [dot] com
We’ll see what we can do.