An introduction to literary accounting 101:

Breakdown of author royalty.

Title: The Time Traveler's Wife
List Price: US$2.99
Royalty: US$1

PAid Royalty example: US$100 (paid in cheque)

Cashing royalty (from US dollar to Brazilian Real)

Royalty Value: US$100
US taxes: US$30
Bank Fee for cheque conversions: US$50 per cheque

FInal Royalty: US$20


So in short, for every 3 dollar book sold, I, the author take a 1 dollar royalty, and from this 1 dollar royalty, after US taxes and bank fees, I am left with 20 cent royalty. This does not take into account declaration of earnings to Brazilian government for US revenue which is between 30-55%. Sales that occur outside of US (australia, Europe, Japan, Canada, India, South Africa, Mexico), cannot be cashed, as Brazilian banks do not work with any currency outsde of US dollar. So end result on royalties for UK sales (where The Time Traveler's Wife was a best seller), is zero.

So, in short,even when there is money in art, there is no money in art. This is why i give my books for free. The extent on my wallet is the same. I am not dependant on my art. but that not to say that some compensation wouldn't be nice. Though, if i am going to be broke, better to have built that estate than to have been paid in someone else's bricks and mortar, and being left with nothing more than a poorly drafted floor plan.
So in short, all books are being made free again.

You can download my novels in ebook form here for free - http://goo.gl/OOTpKr

Take Risk and Take Care,

C.SeanMcGee
www.goodreads.com/c_sean_mcgee
www.cseanmcgee.com