Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 10:08:31 -0500
From: "Michael Walsh" <MJW at press.jhu.edu>
To: <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: New mass market pb format
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

> sgs at aginc.net 12/22/04 7:21:57 PM >>>
>Michael Walsh wrote:
>> "Recently, both Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster
>announced that they
>> would be testing a new mass market format in hopes that it
>will give
>> paperbacks a needed sales boost. "
>>
>> http://news.bookweb.org/3114.html
>>
>> mjw
>
>Sigh.  The market is "soft", so they come up with another way
>of
>charging more for books.  Maybe they should work on a way
>of selling
>books for less?

Well.... there's this problem.

Everyone wants a discount.

The major book bookwholesaler in the US in Ingram.  They want a 55%
discount, though they will live with a 50% discount.  Let's not forget
the pesky author... he/she/they get around 8% royalty (when there is
one; Trek novels and the like are works for hire which is a another
story).  Then there's the printer...  Then there's advertising...
Shipping, argh (publishers pay to ship books to Ingram and pay for the
returns too).... The list goes on.

In my case I have to farm out everything, I have neither time or skill
to do page layout/design, nor free time to spend on invoicing, packing,
shipping and bill collection.  This adds up.

Here's an example -  to get a $27.00 book published by Old Earth into a
bookstore or sold via Amazon:

Ingram gets $13.50 discount
My fullfilment company gets 10% of the net billing, that's $1.35
Royalty is 8% of list, which is $2.16
Printing was about $4.00 each
Total: $21.00

(So you see, I should be charging more...)

& most of my sales are not in person at conventions.

Now one may think: "Ah ha! The big boys in NY... they get deals!"  Ha!
You don't think the chain stores are putting those books in the front of
their stores out of the goodness of their heart, do you?  End of
bookcase displays cost too...

>
>Or maybe even work on putting out more books that are worth
>reading?

I have more than enough worthy books laying around waiting to get read.
 & I'm a bit of a snob.... last Baen Book I read was eons ago, and they
certainly contribute to, if nothing else, the volume of stuff coming
out.

>From the December LOCUS "Forthcoming Books" a few authors with books
coming out:

Brian Aldiss
Kage Baker
Stephen Baxter
Greg Benford
Terry Bisson
Ben Bova
John Brunner
Ramsey Campbell
Orsobn Scott Card
Jacqueline Carey
Suzy McKee Charnas
Glen Cook
John Crowley
Jack Dann
L. Sprague de Camp
Tom Disch

... and the list goes on

Let us not forget the Reverse Sturgeon's Law: 10% of everything is not
crap.  And there's a lot of SF being published.  Lots.  Granted your 10%
and my 10% may have no overlap.

>
>Current reading:  "Life is a 75 Cent Paperback", by Johnny
>Hart.

SF Hall of Fame, vol IIA (for SF Revu).  Lotsa good stuff.

mjw