Book Publishing
A few definitions
Trade Paperback
- Whole-copy returnable
- Usually 6"x9" trim size, but can be the same size as mass-market paperback ("rack-size trade paperback")
- Intended for bookstore sales
Mass-Market Paperback
- Stripped rather than returned
- Usually 4" x 6 3/4" trim size
- Intended for non-bookstore outlets (news stand, grocery store, etc.)
- Distributed in the same way (and often by the same companies) as magazines and newspapers
Digital Printing
- A technology
- Converts a digital file to a finished book one at a time using a machine such as a Xerox Docutech
- Low setup cost
- High per-unit cost
- No economy of scale
Offset Printing
- A technology
- Uses large presses and photographic plates to create many books rapidly
- High setup cost
- Low per-unit cost
- Major economy of scale
Publish or Print on Demand (POD) Book Publishing Company
- A business model
- Prints after orders are received
- Usually non-returnable, non-strippable books
Vanity Press Book Publishing Company
- A business model
- Author pays the cost of publication plus a percentage to the publisher
- Publisher has title to the physical books on the day they're printed
- Primarily markets books to their own authors
Self Publication
- A business model
- Author pays the cost of publication
- Author has title to the physical books on the day they're printed
- The author and the publisher are the same person; otherwise the same as commerical publication
- Often used for specialized non-fiction, niche fiction, and poetry
"Traditional" Commercial Trade Book Publishing Company
- A business model
- Prints before orders are received
- Returnable/strippable books
- Publisher pays author for rights to publish
- Publisher has title to the physical books on the day they're printed
- Primarily markets books to persons other than the author
Some rules of thumb
- Money flows toward the author
- A useful agent has sold books you've heard of
- A real book publishing company has books that you've seen with your own eyes on the shelves of physical bookstores
- Royalties are based on cover price
A few bookstores
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