THE CAREER NOVELIST
Surely that compensates for higher shipping and commission
costs?
Canadian authors are also under the impression that Canada's
Goods and Services Tax ("VAT" elsewhere in the world) is also a
rationale for lower rates, even though no U.S. publisher mentioned
it to me. In reality, the GST is paid only by Canadian customers at
the cash register. Canadian sales reps pay it, too, but can get it
refunded. GST may somewhat inhibit sales, but its direct cost to
U.S. publishers is nil.
As for low population density, Canadian authors point out that
80 percent of Canadian sales are made in the province of Ontario.
Much of the rest come from a few metro areas like Vancouver. Thus,
the cost of a given unit sale should be no more than in the U.S.
They have a point. Now, as ever, U.S. publishers treat Canada
exactly as what they claim it is: an export market. They do not want
to do business there directly simply because they are not used to it.
Frankly, their Canadian operations are wastefully inefficient. No
wonder they perceive their costs as high.
Will that change? Yes. It must. Canadian sales are edging toward,
indeed may already be over, three quarters of a billion dollars annu-
ally. That is big bucks. Agents and authors cannot afford to overlook
this source of revenue, and neither can publishers.
The first step for everyone is to look at Canada in a new way.
Canada is not across the ocean. It is right next door. Getting there
is easy. Most Canadians even speak our language.
Indeed, looking at Canada in a new and more creative way is the
whole point of NAFTA. It is time for authors to demand equal royal-
ty rates on Canadian sales. Publishers are actually less and less sur-
prised when I raise this issue, and it is possible that if everyone
keeps hammering at it, things will eventually change.
Until then, though, I maintain that authors are victims of the
Great Canadian Royalty Rip-off. Arguments for unequal rates do
not hold up. And anyway, it is time to stop seeing Canada as the
same as any other foreign country. It is not; Canada is America's
number-one trading partner. The sooner publishers start doing
business there in a normal way, the sooner we will all make more
money.