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The Steve Laube Agency

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Home » Money » Page 3

Money

A $100,000 Threshold for a Worthy Book?

By Steve Laubeon July 20, 2015
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Recently Brad Martin, the President and CEO of Penguin Random House Canada, was quoted as saying the following:

“I’m not interested in a book that is going to generate less than $100,000 in revenue unless the editor or publisher [division] has a compelling vision for the book and/or the author…If the person that’s championing that book in the acquisitions meeting doesn’t have a compelling view of it, it’s just trying to fill a slot, then I’m not interested in doing it….I don’t subscribe to the, ‘Well, it’s not going to cost us very much.’ I don’t care what it’s going to cost you – what’s your vision of this book? Because, no, we can’t afford to do a lot of small books without a vision, because they take as much time to put through the system as a big book does.”

In other words, for this publisher, unless there is a threshold of $100,000 in projected revenue, they won’t publish it.

Publishing Economics 101

Before your eyes glaze over with another discussion of publishing economics, think on this – publishing is a business. A business must have money left over after expenses – or they go out of business. This principle can also affect a non-profit ministry that is involved in any enterprise, not just publishing. If their revenues are exceeded by their expenses it begins to drain resources designated for other parts of the ministry. I know of one large denomination that, many years ago, dropped their publishing division because its losses were draining funds intended for their clergy’s pension plans.

Back to the $100k proclamation. On the surface that sounds like a very high, if not impossible, number. But if you look more carefully you’ll see that it isn’t as nefarious as it sounds.

Let’s say the retail price of the book is $20. The publisher sells that book for $10 to a bookstore or an online retailer like Amazon. To have $100,000 in revenue, using this scenario, the publisher needs to only sell 10,000 copies to hit that magic threshold. And that is a very doable number!

Disclaimer

Note that the $100k quote was from the Canadian branch of Penguin Random House. The Canadian book market is not quite as large as the U.S. Market which makes that 10,000 unit sales threshold a little more challenging.

Be careful not to apply these numbers to all publisher and all genres. Fiction and non-fiction are different. Although the costs of production are quite similar, sales channels are different and expectations vary. In non-fiction a book on raising kids is different than an academic tome on the nature of electricity.

Every publisher is different. Each one has a different expense structure and different definitions of success.

Reality

A few years ago I had a major-sized publisher tell me that their in-house threshold was $250,000 so this isn’t “new.” In that case the editor was basically saying that they needed to project sales of about 30,000 units in the first year to consider a project viable.

Publishing is an unusual business in that it is the “Business of Art.” Art has within it an emotional component and thus a book can often be acquired because of the intense belief, on the part of an editor or publishing group, in the power of the story or the power of the message. This gives hope to many aspiring authors that their book (fiction or non-fiction) will captivate an agent, and editor, a publishing exec, and the public. It can happen, and it does.

It is a little rattling when the art form is reduced to numbers by a powerful person inside a publishing house. It suggests that numbers trump art… (That mathematical formula looks like this: $$ > !! )

And yet there remains optimism at every turn. Deals continue to be made, even in these “dog days of Summer.” (We did three new ones last week!) Great writing and great ideas will always be paired with great publishing.

 

 

 

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Category: Book Business, Book Business, Economics, MoneyTag: Book Business, Economics, Money

A Major Money Mistake

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 16, 2014
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When I was working for a small company years ago, the extremely reliable woman who cut our paychecks missed the Big Day -- a Friday. As it became evident she would be a no-show, one of my co-workers revealed she was upset. "I wrote out and mailed checks for all my bills last night because I thought I was going to get paid today. Now they'll all bounce."

I didn't understand why anyone would …

Read moreA Major Money Mistake
Category: Book Business, Career, Money, TamelaTag: Book Business, Money

Two Basic Tips on Budgeting with an Irregular Income

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 9, 2014
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One challenge of writing books for a living is the fact that unlike many other jobs, you don't usually see a cycle of paychecks appearing at regular intervals with predictable amounts. Instead, you may see a whoosh of money, followed by smaller amounts every few months triggered by actions on your part, such as turning in manuscripts and proposals. Only well-established authors will have this …

Read moreTwo Basic Tips on Budgeting with an Irregular Income
Category: Book Business, Career, Money, TamelaTag: Book Business, Budget; Finances; income, Money

Why Is My Royalty Check So Small?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon December 6, 2012
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This is it! You’ve had a book published, and your advance money is long gone. But your publisher has promised a royalty check and you know exactly when that check is supposed to arrive. You run to the mail box every day for two weeks until finally, Voilá! The check is here! You rip open the envelope to see a grand total of: $28.52? What???!!! How can this be? So much for the big screen TV. …

Read moreWhy Is My Royalty Check So Small?
Category: Book Business, Contracts, Money, TamelaTag: Book Business, Money, royalties

I Thought I Was Rich!

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon November 15, 2012
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Recently I received a check in the mail. I opened the envelope, and discovered the amount that was larger than I anticipated. "This is great!" I thought. "Now I have a little extra to shore up my savings."

I reached for another envelope in the stack of mail. It was from the insurance company. Upon opening, I discovered that, after I deducted income taxes, the premium consumed the entire amount …

Read moreI Thought I Was Rich!
Category: Book Business, Money, TamelaTag: Money

News You Can Use – April 17, 2012

By Steve Laubeon April 17, 2012
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Getting by on a Writer’s Income – Lawrence Block reflects on the challenges of the writing life. An excellent article from someone with a half a century of experience.

Microsoft Word is Dead – Tom Scocca in “Slate” makes a bold claim. I would vehemently disagree from the point-of-view of writers and editors and publishers. But he may be right when it comes to office collaborations and the …

Read moreNews You Can Use – April 17, 2012
Category: News You Can UseTag: lawsuit, Money, Movie rights, Writing Life
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