James D Macdonald
Re: RE: it's just
But, they have no guarantee that their authors or authors' friends and family will buy the books--although human nature and vanity dictates otherwise.
They know that, on average, every book will sell 75 copies. The ones who sell fewer will be made up for by the ones who sell more. They don't need to force authors to buy copies of their own books. They know that authors will do it, if there's no other way to get their books out to the public.
They do a dead-cheap job of production. No editing, quick-n-dirty Photoshop covers, pouring text into a template rather than designing the interiors. They don't do any promotion or marketing. They don't have a salesforce. They don't publish a catalog. They don't pay for copyright. They only offer a one-dollar advance. They don't take returns. They offer lousy royalties. They give short discounts. These books are done on the cheap.
We know that companies that do have a sales force, do publish a catalog, do take returns, do pay advances, do pay standard royalties and offer standard discounts, pay for shipping, and all the rest of those professional-publisher things -- yet use the exact same digital printing technology (through the exact same printing company) -- sell their books for five dollars a copy less than PA, and still make a profit.
The high cover price (and the minimal spending on production) is the key. For those average 75 sales, PA collects a $375 vanity press fee, on top of the profits that they'd normally make if they were a real publisher.
What Lightning Source International charges them is 0.013 cents per page, plus ninety cents for the cover. A 200 page book costs them $3.50 to print, they sell it to the author at a 30% discount ($13.97), and they charge for shipping.
On those 75 copies they pull in $784.88 after cost of printing is deducted, plus $40 for shipping, minus whatever shipping really costs them. Can they do whatever "editing" they do and make a cover for less than that? You betcha.
It's a recipe for making money.
But, they have no guarantee that their authors or authors' friends and family will buy the books--although human nature and vanity dictates otherwise.
They know that, on average, every book will sell 75 copies. The ones who sell fewer will be made up for by the ones who sell more. They don't need to force authors to buy copies of their own books. They know that authors will do it, if there's no other way to get their books out to the public.
They do a dead-cheap job of production. No editing, quick-n-dirty Photoshop covers, pouring text into a template rather than designing the interiors. They don't do any promotion or marketing. They don't have a salesforce. They don't publish a catalog. They don't pay for copyright. They only offer a one-dollar advance. They don't take returns. They offer lousy royalties. They give short discounts. These books are done on the cheap.
We know that companies that do have a sales force, do publish a catalog, do take returns, do pay advances, do pay standard royalties and offer standard discounts, pay for shipping, and all the rest of those professional-publisher things -- yet use the exact same digital printing technology (through the exact same printing company) -- sell their books for five dollars a copy less than PA, and still make a profit.
The high cover price (and the minimal spending on production) is the key. For those average 75 sales, PA collects a $375 vanity press fee, on top of the profits that they'd normally make if they were a real publisher.
What Lightning Source International charges them is 0.013 cents per page, plus ninety cents for the cover. A 200 page book costs them $3.50 to print, they sell it to the author at a 30% discount ($13.97), and they charge for shipping.
On those 75 copies they pull in $784.88 after cost of printing is deducted, plus $40 for shipping, minus whatever shipping really costs them. Can they do whatever "editing" they do and make a cover for less than that? You betcha.
It's a recipe for making money.