How much royalty fee to charge?

Question:

How much royalty fee to charge?

An author wants to include a page of my material in his book of about 350 pages which sells for about US$100 and ask me about the royalty fee. Anyone know who much should I ask for?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: You may want to just request a flat rate instead of a percentage. It's only one page of material, and while the author may be selling the book for $100, that doesn't mean it will be a big seller. I am assuming this is a specialized, technical book, because they are the only ones that can normally expect to fetch that kind of price.

Also, royalty arrangements can get very sticky. If the author is working with a traditional publisher, he is either going to have to work you into his royalty contract or handle this arrangement separately. Either way is an accounting nightmare. If the author is self-publishing the book, you can expect there to be almost NO accounting controls. Which means your chance of being 100% certain you are being paid as agreed is low.

How much would an article in your field pay on the open market? If the going rate in your industry is, say, .20/word, charge him .20 a word for reprint rights (and make it clear in your contract he is only buying reprint rights to THAT specific portion of text). If the going rate in your industry is $200 an article, charge $200. Also insure that you are properly credited in the book. And get paid up front. That way, even if his publishing deal falls through you still got your money.