Hydra Imprint of Random House Changes its Contract

[Steerpike]

Just by way of follow up to the other thread:

Writer Beware ® Blogs!: Random House Announces New Terms at Digital Imprints Hydra, Alibi, Loveswept, and Flirt

 

[Devor]

Those terms look a lot better to me.

 

[Devor]

Random House will cover general publicity costs for the imprint, and up to $10,000 of book-specific publicity. Any book-specific PR above that amount will be borne by the author and deducted from net revenue before the profit split--but such expenditures will be optional.

I just want to pull this quote out, partly because it emphasizes how bad the last contract was (that's about the number you'd have to pay back before you got royalties under the other terms), but partly because it shows how much publishers can do towards a book when they want to.

We've talked about $1,500 being a lot to invest in a self-published book. Random House could pay up to $10,000 just to promote your book, and more if you consent to contribute.

Of course, I assume that most of that money is probably spent on labor done by a staffer calling up book reviews. But it points to the amount of work you need to spend to promote a novel if you're self-publishing.