OK, let's start a fantasy boxed set. Who's in?

Does it have to be something exclusive, or are previously published/soon to be published works allowed?  Pretty much all of my time is going into my series at the moment, but I'd love to get in on something like this.

ML, I'll add that information to my first post. No, it doesn't have to be exclusive for the boxed set. Previously published books are fine by me.

Neat.  I'm definitely in, then.  I'll have a think about which one I want to submit, since they all work as solo pieces.

1) How much would the buy-in on the cover be?

2) Would a 13K story be okay?

I've long been curious about how people make these boxed sets work. I assume one person 'controls' the book and somehow distributes royalties? Not saying people are going to be untrustworthy, but how do folks know they are getting the proper payments? Doesn't the government assume the person 'controlling' the book owes taxes on the full amount (I'm only recently published, so maybe I'm wrong about the various sites giving sales info to the IRS)? Sorry for the questions--I've just been thinking about these things in case I ever got involved with a boxed set.

Ted Cross said:

I've long been curious about how people make these boxed sets work. I assume one person 'controls' the book and somehow distributes royalties? Not saying people are going to be untrustworthy, but how do folks know they are getting the proper payments? Doesn't the government assume the person 'controlling' the book owes taxes on the full amount (I'm only recently published, so maybe I'm wrong about the various sites giving sales info to the IRS)? Sorry for the questions--I've just been thinking about these things in case I ever got involved with a boxed set.

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This... ^^^

As self-published authors, this one becomes interesting. I spoke with my accountant about this after being approached last month. His advice was to set up a separate LLC for the boxed set and run it as it's own business.

The tax liability would otherwise fall to the "publisher" - in this case whoever took the lead on the project. Royalty distribution and accounting could be handled easily enough by setting up a new account for publishing at all of the ebook sellers, but tax liability was my accountant's biggest single concern.

The person who invited me to participate said that she would simply handle it all with a handshake and no actual contracts.

I wished them well and opted out.

Claudette, I think you'll need a few guidelines. What kind of fantasy? Will YA novels be rubbing shoulders with erotica? Any length restrictions? Do I get to play with a 20,000 word novella (I have one) or my 100,000 novel (have one of those, too). I'm intrigued but I'd like to know more.

I would be very interested.  I have a stand-alone that's already published, and the first in a series that I'm working on right now which might be ready in time.  Also a novella in the same world as the series.

Count me as interested. As others have said, there are tax and legal considerations that I'd prefer to see addressed first, though.

I recently was involved in a StoryBundle and it was a great experience. But each author's obligations were neatly spelled out in a contract we each signed.

Same as stated ^.

I am interested and have a first in series ready to go.

I'd love to do this.

Raingun has about 100,000 words, and a color map. It's definitely not for children though.

How do we submit?

Count me as one of the interested but I'd prefer to know more about the overall idea you have with regards to word count and any specific 'type' of Fantasy.  Are we talking about Urban Fantasy or maybe a more classic sword and sorcery Fantasy or what?  How bout word count?  I only have two books written and the one published is 77k and the one I'm editing is 120k.  I hope you get this off the ground 

I might be interested as well depending on what type of fantasy it ends up heading towards.....

The fantasy I'm looking for is Sword and Sorcery kind of stuff.
As for the tax stuff, I'll be consulting an author friend who just did a boxed set. He said one person took the reins and they split the money equally. 
I'm submitting my 30k word novella, so novellas are definitely welcome. Just submit what you think readers will enjoy best. I suppose the books can contain some sex; we're all adults here, and adults are the ones with buying power, so I'm okay with it. But please, no downright erotica that's all covered in sex and barely passing as a fantasy book.

ccruz said:

The fantasy I'm looking for is Sword and Sorcery kind of stuff.
As for the tax stuff, I'll be consulting an author friend who just did a boxed set. He said one person took the reins and they split the money equally.

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Your author friend would be liable for the entire tax bill this way. All of the income would be considered his legally, and he would have to pay the taxes.

If you are not very successful with the effort, that would not be a big deal, but should it bring in real money.... well you guys might not like where it ends up. If it should bump him into a 50% tax bracket for instance (combined state and federal).... half of your gross income as partners would have to be set aside for taxes, regardless of whether the income from the boxed set was high enough to warrant any tax liability for the other authors.

Just keep your eyes open, that's all.

thewitt, thank you for the information.

By "boxed set", do we mean paperbacks in a physical box? Or is it like a virtual "box set" of ebooks?

It's an ebook boxed set. Just like the ones running around in Amazon at the moment. They're great for building fan bases when you price them at 99 cents, and at that price the boxed sets run up the charts like they're on fire.

Hi Claudette.
Like the idea. Seems worth pursuing. Wish I had something to contribute
in that genre, etc.

Would like to see someone start a boxed set package for erotica and/or horror
and/or LA crime/noir. I'd be interested. While I enjoy working in different genres,
have never explored sci-fi or fantacy.