alg | P&Ls and how books make (or don't) money

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Profit & 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.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

pnh.livejournal.com

It seems to me you're trying to have a very different conversation than the one

alg volunteered for.

She's trying to convey some fiscal realism to aspiring writers. You're taking it as an opportunity to demand that she defend costs and practices from a side of the enterprise that she already said is outside her area of expertise.

It may well be that we're dumb old lumbering dinosaurs and your operation is one of the tiny mammals that will eat our eggs while we're "doing little or nothing to work efficiently." If that's the case, I expect we'll see evidence of it soon, as your operation, with its "positive attitude," quickly overtakes ours. Meanwhile, I think you're kind of off on the wrong foot with

alg, who didn't set out to explain why Everything In New York Publishing Is Just Exactly Perfect. You know?

From: (Anonymous)

Granted. My comments might be considered to be off-topic. But part of what's wrong with NY publishing is that there are certain "truisms" that really aren't all that true. The fact that something costs XX dollars isn't necessarily written in stone. That's my real point.

You can make fun of my attitude -- folks often do -- but I believe that it's a mistake to instruct new writers (or others in publishing) on the inevitably of losing money on most all titles published. As I've written elsewhere, I believe that the notion that a book might lose money has turned into a license to lose money. That's not a good thing, and it's not part of the "realism" that I hope aspiring writers learn.

I don't believe that people in publishing are "dumb." Most folks I know who work in publishing are both intelligent and committed to their work. It's also true that most folk I know in publishing are often scathing in their criticism of the way things are done -- even at their own companies. And, for the most part, feel unable to change the system.

-- Jim

From:

alg.livejournal.com

In no place throughout any of my entries, this particular entries, or any comment thread do I tell anyone that it is inevitable that all or most titles lose money. Your comments seem to me to be reacting to something that is not in my text. I suggest you get a livejournal and blog about this yourself.

From: (Anonymous)

I may have misread this line: "And this is totally normal. This is an average book."

When you say that this P&L represents the "average" book, what exactly do you mean, then? Do these numbers (or something close to these numbers) apply to 10% of what Tor/Forge publishes in this format? 30%? 60%?

From: (Anonymous)

"She's trying to convey some fiscal realism to aspiring writers."

and, as an aspiring writer... she totally did. So, Jim. You are confusing me & a lot of new writers go for the big guys in NYC anyway, because we know we can trust them. I'd rather have the facts, and i don't see negatives here... but I think Anna's post is really positive and informative, ....information that is really helpful to a clueless newbie.

From:

laast.livejournal.com

(as in clueless I can't seem to ever log in... this was me, and I promise to stop forgetting~!)

From: (Anonymous)

It's not my intention to confuse the issue, and if that's what I'm doing here, I apologize. I think it's probably time for me to bow out of this discussion here.

For a more complete -- and I hope less confusing -- expression of my point of view on all this including the advice I'd give to new writers, visit: http://statelyhuangmanor.com/essays/DSkeynote.htm

-- Jim