Since many of the posts were made a while ago, is there a consensus of which e-book publisher is best for authors? Which one provides the best sales and royalty stream?
Hi StephVE,

I don't believe there is one e-book publisher that is best for all authors. E-book publishers, as well as sites that take e-books directly from the author, are often seeking specific genres, formats, etc.

And the personality of the publisher, or the person you'll be working with is also important. If you don't like dealing with that person, it's not going to be a good relationship for either of you.

Most publishers are competitive with sales and the royalty stream. They have to be in order to secure new authors and keep others returning to publish with them again.

Other things to think about:

Are they asking you to pay them for being your publisher?
(A huge warning sign.)

What rights are they asking to your work?
* Exclusive or non-exclusive?
* For how long?
* Do you retain rights to any derivative works?
* Do you retain rights to screen plays, movie/TV/video productions based on your work?

* If you are unhappy with the contract, how quickly can you end it and under what conditions?

How much marketing/promotion does the publisher do and how much is the author expected to do?

Does the e-book publisher have an easy to use web site(s) for sales?

What's there distribution channel?

Will you as an author, have an opportunity to have an affiliate site - for your own works - or for a book store - where you can make money off the sale of other author's works?

The more you research, compare the contracts and author submission guidelines of the various publishers, the more you'll gravitate to a chosen few that meet your needs.

If you want to clarify your questions to a particular genre, like BDSM books, I recommend these sites, which work with publishers and authors directly.

www.a1adultebooks.com

www.bdsmbooks.com

www.bondagebookshelf.com

Here's an example of an affiliate website through A1adultebooks that my publisher uses to promote her authors. After you get through the "I'm old enough to enter" page, you are dropped into a page that leads to the books published by her company.

http://www.a1adultebooks.com/17.htm

Note: Authors or individuals can sign up and promote their own affiliate sites. Each affiliate has a choice of "landing pages" and can promote what they want. It's also easy to track royalty payments online, so an affiliate always knows what's been sold and when.

To your success,

Ruby

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