P&Ls and how books make (or don't) money
Apr. 20th, 2006 02:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
algProfit & Loss/Profitability & Liability: How Books Make (or Don't Make!) Money
A basic outline of what happens when an editor buys a book and wants to publish it. This is very much a basic look at publishing and publishing finance, with some explanation of terms commonly used by the marketing and sales departments.
A basic outline of what happens when an editor buys a book and wants to publish it. This is very much a basic look at publishing and publishing finance, with some explanation of terms commonly used by the marketing and sales departments.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Now, with identity!
Date: 2006-04-25 05:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-25 06:03 pm (UTC)I'm going to have to friend you just so I can have these essays in my memories list.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-25 06:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-25 09:29 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 06:09 pm (UTC)Good luck with your aspirations, in any case.
I was first introduced to the internals of publishing through science fiction fandom -- sitting around the bar / consuite at a convention or even sometimes at panels hearing authors and editors talk about the business side some. That still goes on some -- but since I'm married to an author and have known numerous authors and editors for decades now, I don't go to the intro panels so often, so I may have a mistaken impression of how often they occur these days.
p and l spreadsheet paperbacks
Date: 2006-04-25 09:36 pm (UTC)Re: p and l spreadsheet paperbacks
Date: 2006-04-26 02:03 am (UTC)Or, in short, not so much for this type.
Of course, this is just an opinion.
Great post!
Date: 2006-04-26 04:17 am (UTC)Tara Gelsomino
Re: Great post!
Date: 2006-04-26 02:00 pm (UTC)What, more questions?
Date: 2006-04-26 06:26 am (UTC)You made it clear that there's a definite difference between trade and mass-market, and phn made it clearer and maybe even fascinating. But, y'know, this sorta begs the obvious question:
Here's a new novel from author X. Is it to be trade, or mass market; and why; and who particularly makes that decision? Is it contractually negotiable? Should it matter to an author?
Then you have your grid of production costs, and I realize you didn't want to do an exhaustive breakdown but I am just assuming that it is a workable breakdown in context of this question: which of those items does Tor do in-house, which are contracted out, and which might go either way? And why?
For example, I know some printing is done in the US, while some is done overseas and shipped by slow boat, particularly if there's an important delivery deadline that can be missed. Is it a lot cheaper to have it printed overseas? Is the quality comparable? And are there other factors to the decision?
This next question arises because I bought what I thought was a new novel by a favorite author, from a major trade outlet while on vacation in Santa Fe. I was really thrilled to find their sole remaining(? It was the only one.) copy, in the course of looking for a geology text, so I scarfed it up (but didn't say, "OMG! SQUEE!") without looking too closely and went back to my hotel. I was all set to enjoy it when I realized that I'd already READ it, fairly recently, bought under a completely different title. A note printed inside the cover advised me that this particular book was for release to the Canadian market. (Insert extreme annoyance here.)
But how might that solitary volume have found its way from Canada all the way to Santa Fe to be sold as a new book? Is there a grey market in SF novels? This wasn't remaindered or used, and it was from a major chain, so I've been trying to figure out exactly what might have happened?
Re: What, more questions?
Date: 2006-04-26 02:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 03:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 06:05 pm (UTC)De-mystifying publishing is a worthy goal all around. Publishers can get more sympathy (and be beat up more for any actual bad things they may do, and less for how things work), new authors are less subject to exploitation by scammers, and book buyers can understand just how lucky they are that *anything* they like *ever* reaches the shelves :-).
P n L. Can you do a version for ebook sales
Date: 2006-04-26 07:10 pm (UTC)Derek Benner
Re: P n L. Can you do a version for ebook sales
Date: 2006-04-26 07:11 pm (UTC)Sorry!
Re: P n L. Can you do a version for ebook sales
From: (Anonymous) - Date: 2006-04-28 07:53 pm (UTC) - Expand(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 08:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 11:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-27 02:11 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-27 04:19 am (UTC)Part II?
Date: 2006-04-27 12:14 pm (UTC)Thanks!
Re: Part II?
Date: 2006-04-27 01:41 pm (UTC)Re: Part II?
From: (Anonymous) - Date: 2006-04-27 01:50 pm (UTC) - Expandacquiring books that won't be promoted
Date: 2006-04-29 01:36 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-05-04 02:14 pm (UTC)The bookbusiness..is a hard business!
Greetings from Germany
Irena
Pessimistic?
Date: 2006-05-15 04:58 pm (UTC)"What do you write?" he asked.
"Short fiction."
"HA!" he mocked, "Good luck, buddy!"
"How can I improve my chances?"
"You really wanna make money writing? OK here's what you do: first become a big celebrity, then write a cookbook."
No kidding. That's what he said. I still write but not as much or as enthusiastically as I did five or six years ago. I have not yet started a cookbook.
letmeoutofhere
Date: 2006-05-16 02:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-06-24 06:21 am (UTC)Thank you!
Shannon
Thank you
Date: 2006-07-06 02:04 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-30 01:34 am (UTC)For Andre ...
Date: 2006-12-04 04:03 am (UTC)Regards.
Why???
Date: 2006-12-28 10:36 pm (UTC)Speaking of religion, it's often said that Christianity succeeded when it did because it welcomed women and slaves. Sounds a lot like the POD movement which is eating the flesh off the bones of Bertelsmann et al.
100 tips how to choose vacuum cleaner bag
Date: 2007-04-16 08:24 am (UTC)How you buying [url=http://www.iwannaforum.com/vacuumbags/]vacuum cleaner bag[/url]s?
Cheers :)