I have two questions when it comes to the publishing process and was hoping I could get an answer from someone who has already been published. 1. When is a good time to tell the publisher that you want to use a pen name to publish under? To me it seems kind of odd to ask in your query letter because the publisher hasn't even read your novel yet and your already asking to be published under a pen name. 2. In terms of payment, lets say the publisher does agree to publish your book, how does the author go about getting paid, does the publisher send you a cheque? Can you tell them to directly deposit what ever money you make into your bank account?
...what is normally done is to use your legal name for the query letter and in the author info contact block that appears on the cover page of the ms, with your pen name as the by line under the title... that lets them know you're not using your real name for the book... you can also add 'writing as' before the by line, if you're afraid there may be some confusion... if you have an agent, all monies are paid to the agent, who takes her/his [usually] 15% commission off the top and sends the remainder to you by check, made out to your legal name, or to whatever name you specified in your agent representation agreement... if you don't have an agent and have contracted directly with the publisher, they send you a check made payable to your legal name, unless you have a bank account set up under the pseudonym and specify that you want it paid that way instead... they don't usually make direct deposits, as far as i know... but things are changing, so i may be behind the times on that...
Yes, Mammamaia is right on target. It will also state in your contract what % (usually based on cover price) you will earn for each edition of a novel (ebook, mass market paperback, hardback, audiobook, etc.) You may not sell/release all of the rights to a publisher, such as audio. Most publishers will want both print and ebook. If you don't have any knowledge, or only enough knowledge to get you into trouble, negotiating your own contract could very easily end up hurting your career rather than benefiting it. Agents or literary attorneys would be someone to count on to deal with this aspect. Also, as far as payment, the contract will stipulate an advance amount (if there is one) and when it will be paid, and when royalties will be paid..ie twice a year and the months it would occur. Most publishers, I believe still, write checks. I know one author who went with a small publishing house (ebook) that pays to a paypal account, I believe. But virtually every other published author I know enough to know how they get paid (thus only a dozen or so, via both large and small publishing houses) gets paid by check, either through their agent as mentioned above, or directly from their publisher.
