Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 13:32:14 -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>

> kfl at KeithLynch.net 12/23/04 9:31:47 PM >>>

>
>If publishers gain enough by the higher prices to make up for
>having
>fewer customers, more power to them.  If not, they know what
>they have
>to do to avoid going out of business.

Well, from where I work publishing is not making anyone great gobs of
money.  And in talking to to folks in the trade end of the biz, it's
still tight financially.  Sure, profits are being made, but frankly if
someone wants to make lots of money, stay out of publishing.

Publishing is a crap shoot.  Supposedly vitually every major publisher
turned down J. K. Rowling.

And when you go into a bookstore and see a fairly recent book at 50%
off, well, that tanked, really tanked.  A publisher, rather than getting
returns of the book, grants to the store a credit sufficient to lower
the retail by 50% and giving the store a 40% profit.  Case in point: at
B&N one could, should one desire, purchase Robert Jordan's "New Spring"
for $9.99, not the original $22.95.  Tor really, really, really didn't
want that coming back to the warehouse.  So they did what is called
"remainder in place".

But B&N is tryingto do something.  They publishing their own books.
Some are public dokmain, some are produced for them.. None of the books
go through outside wholesalers - it's all B&N distribution.  Next time
you go into a B&N, take a look.

But, as for reducing the cost of paperbacks to $5... only if the page
count goes down to novella length.  Heck, the new Harry Potter, with a
guaranteed printrun and sales of millions is going to cost $29.99 -
there's only so much that even a high volume print run can do to costs.

There's always Amazon, with the "blue box" used book display.

The web sure is changing how books are sold.

mjw