Publishing
for Profit: Successful Bottom-Line Management for Book Publishers launched its
fifth edition and any small publisher looking to survive or grow will find the
guidance and resources useful. The Associated Press has called it “the bible of
the industry.”
Publishing
for Profit
(Chicago Review Press, April 2014) is written by Thomas Woll, the president of
Cross River Publishing Consultants. He has held a variety of executive
positions in publishing, among them vice president and general manager of the
professional and trade division of John Wiley & Sons, publisher of Stoney
Communications/Garden Way, and vice president and publisher of Rodale Press’
book division.
Woll’s book has been updated four times
since it debuted 15 years ago. The newest version consists of information and
guidance on:
·
Today’s
publishing environment
·
Protecting
your assets: contracts, copyrights, trademarks, cash
·
The
editorial process
·
Book
production and manufacturers
·
Sales
and marketing plans
·
Subsidiary
rights
·
Direct
response marketing
·
Operations,
fulfillment, and accounting
·
Digital
publishing
Woll writes: “We have seen the rapid
transition from a print-based industry to a digital-based industry,
particularly in the professional and academic segments, but increasingly, as
well, in the trade segment; from a very clearly defined, and tested, print
business model to much more amorphous, fluid, and just-being-tested digital
business model to much more amorphous, fluid, and just-being-tested digital
business models; from an inventory-laden print-and-deliver system to an
inventory-minimal deliver-and-print system.”
It is clear that the book publishing
landscape and marketplace have changed dramatically in the past five years.
“The one sure thing is that the current
norms will change,” says Woll. “By understanding the fundamentals of industry
and your business, by becoming completely familiar with the process of
strategically planning and managing your company, by putting in place the
proper templates and management structures so your staff understands what you
want and how you want it, you will have done your job. Then, no matter what the
future brings, your company will succeed.
“So what does this mean for the future?
The one certainty is that the publishing process will continue to evolve. In my
crystal ball, I see a future in which:
·
Publishers
emphasize more direct-to-consumer online sales.
·
There
is greater, though slower, growth of e-book sales and use.
·
There
is greater use of print-on-demand and smaller print runs.
·
Independent
bookstores stabilize as the chains falter.
·
More
emphasis is placed on special and non-traditional sales.
·
There
is greater mobile phone and “mini” tablet book readership.
·
There
are continued mergers of the largest publishers (Simon &
Schuster-HarperCollins?).
·
Greater
use is made of cloud-based computer systems to run and track the business.
·
There
is a continued reduction of fixed costs and an increase of variable costs by
reducing staff and/or selling warehouses, buildings, and equipment.
·
What
all of this means for the publisher is that it must target more, plan more
carefully, and budget better than ever
before.”
The future of book publishing, regardless of changes
in technology, will still depend on one’s ability to create a worthwhile
product and to invest in marketing it accordingly. As long as publishers and
authors follow the steps in Woll’s book, the future could be bright.
SPEAKERS TOOLKIT FOR AUTHORS
Brian Feinblum’s
views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of
his employer, Media Connect, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow
him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important
when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted
by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.