So says an article in the Financial Times (registration required). According to the Times an unexpected consequence of the Wylie deal is that other companies want to reach deals quicker to avoid a prolonged war and risk missing ebook sales.
“We feel much more comfortable in giving our valuable backlist to publishers at very good royalty rates, which we are now winning,” said Amanda Urban, the literary agent at International Creative Management. Ms Urban represents bestselling authors E.L. Doctorow, Jay McInerney, Toni Morrison and Haruki Murakami.
Since the iPad’s debut, Ms Urban said her agency had secured e-book royalty rates of between 40 to 50 per cent from some of the big six major publishers, including Random House. These e-book royalties are worth about $4.20 per book sale, or roughly the same as those earned from hardcover books in some cases.
