What is the standard royalty percentage for an author to receive?
the best rate most writers can hope for is 15% of the cover price of trade hardcover books, with this percentage being achieved only after a certain number of copies have been sold. Many segments of the publishing industry have successfully changed that maximum to 15% of publisher net, which amounts to less than half the cover price. The lowest royalties I’ve heard of are less than 5% of net in genres like romance literature, where the publisher may even own the rights to the pen name under which the books are published. Sources: http://www.fonerbooks.com/contract.
