I understand that the percentages can vary greatly, depending on a multitude of factors, among them the specific terms of the negotiated contract between the author (and/or his/her agent) and the publishing company. But assuming it is a popular technical book, though not necessarily a bestseller, by a first-time author (and no literary agent involved), I am looking for an idea on the generally practiced/acceptable market range.

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By technical book, I assume you mean a nonfiction work that has a limited audience. If that's the case, you can expect to make about a dollar on every ten dollar book (retail) that you sell IF you are selling through a legitimate publisher. Standard percentages vary from ten to fifteen percent of the book's cover price with many publishers, so if the book retails for more than $10, you can make a bit more per book. The sad thing is, unless your book becomes a bestseller or you have a terrific, motivated agent pushing it to foreign markets, it's VERY difficult to make money on a single book of any kind these days. Publishers are hurting, nationwide. In fact, the US produced about 20% fewer new books in 2005 than they did the previous year. Nonfiction books often sell ONLY to a small audience and never get much attention unless you can get on Oprah. I write fantasy books for a major publisher and even though fantasy is very hot these days, it still takes a lot of effort to get a book noticed. Fortunately, Amazon and B&N and all the other online e-tailers do a great job of getting a book's title in front of the entire planet. That doesn't necessarily hold true with nonfiction titles, though. Keep in mind, the dollar royalty you make off your $10 book is subject to 1)taxes; 2)returns; 3)self promotional costs and 4)other expenses that may reduce your bottom line to about $.25 per book of actual, in-your-pocket cash. Truth be known, betting on the horses is probably about as good of a return as publishing a book. I know--I've been there. Good luck, whatever you decide! FiveStarAuthor

It just depends on the publisher. The artist gets a percent though. Tempra Collins Award-Winning, Best Selling Author www.freewebs.com/tcollins

it depends. it could be 5-12 % in where i live. i usually get 10%. here, it doesn't matter whether you're writing popular technical books, self-help, fiction, usually it's 10%... or sometimes 12% (bestseller).