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Publishers under pressure on costs

CarolCarol
edited November 2008 in - Reading
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/71707-publishers-under-pressure-on-costs.html

Comments

  • Author OnlineAuthor Online
    Have just seen this myself - no more champagne lunches for their execs then !
  • CarolCarol
    Wonder how long it will be before they stop taking on new writers, and return to reissuing old books?
  • Author OnlineAuthor Online
    Using POD of course !
  • CarolCarol
    That's a given. As one of the main publishers started doing this earlier in the year- remember seeing it in the Bookseller snippets.
    If they want to reduce costs it will be an obvious way to go.
  • RandomguyRandomguy
    Pay execs less, spend more on promotion, take a business course... all some suggestions that publishers might find helpful in these trying times.
  • StirlingStirling
    Considering an editor earns an average of £16,000 a year (and lives in London!) for the first 15 years in the job, I don't think wages are an issue.

    Personally, for their workload editors, marketing, publicity etc should be paid more!
  • RandomguyRandomguy
    I thought I typed Publishers? Maybe I typed publisher here and it came out editor there... Sorry about that, I'll upgrade my computer to avoid these mysterious diversions.
  • the_watchmanthe_watchman
    I wonder whether publishers will ask new authors for more "joint investment ventures" in the future?
  • StirlingStirling
    Surely you mean subsidy publishing? (I know another name for that too . . .)

    RG: who do you think the publishers are? A group of publishing experts who work under one brand. I've never seen a job title of Publisher before.
  • BarryHutchisonBarryHutchison
    [quote=Stirling]RG: who do you think the publishers are? A group of publishing experts who work under one brand. I've never seen a job title of Publisher before.[/quote]

    Actually I had a manuscript with a publisher before which was approved by the editorial team, but ultimately turned down by someone higher up - a dark, mysterious figure known to me only as The Fiction Publisher.

    So yes, there's a publisher within each publishing house. Possibly many. I bet they're not on 16k a year.
  • StirlingStirling
    I have to disagree, the 'fiction publisher' would have been the fiction commisioning editor - a part of the executive team who have the final say so. Then again the book rejection would have more than likely came from a member of the marketing team.

    Of course executives have higher wages (starting at £30,000 a year), but yes the lowly editors only earn £16,000.
  • StirlingStirling
    This link will take you to a website that contains all the info on jobs in publishing and their salaries.

    http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Explore_job_sectors/Publishing/job_roles/p!egFjdp
  • HPRWHPRW
    Each publishing house has at its head a publisher, as do many publishing imprints--so yes, that is a job.

    Pay within publishing is terribly low overall: even the top executives earn less than they would in other businesses. I doubt any real economies can be made there.

    If you expect to sell a reasonable number of books of each title, then offset is still way cheaper than POD (I think 400 is about the breakeven point), so POD doesn't provide a route to money saving for most commercial presses (although it does have some rather sinister implications where rights reversions are concerned and yes, I've blogged about that).

    I can't imagine that publishers will every stop seeking new talent: the whole industry depends on it. But I can imagine that changes will be made to the current business model, such as we've seen with the Macmillan New Writer imprint; then there is the problem with returns, which Snowbooks has discussed on its blog, which threatens to drive a few small presses underwater each year.

    There are plenty of areas where change can and will occur. But cutting out the writers isn't one of them, I'm happy to say!
  • BarryHutchisonBarryHutchison
    [quote=Stirling]I have to disagree, the 'fiction publisher' would have been the fiction commisioning editor - a part of the executive team who have the final say so. Then again the book rejection would have more than likely came from a member of the marketing team.[/quote]

    Nope, it was definitely the Fiction Publisher. The editorial and marketing teams both said yes, but she had final say, and chose to say "nae chance".
  • Lou TreleavenLou Treleaven
    Bad luck, Barry. Hope you find success with the book elsewhere, and don't encounter any more dark, mysterious figures (apart from ones who say yes!).
  • CarolCarol
    Well you got that far Barry, so keep trying elsewhere.
  • BarryHutchisonBarryHutchison
    Actually it worked out great. HarperCollins picked up the series - just signed the contracts last week :D
  • CarolCarol
    Congratulations.
  • TessadragonTessadragon
    Congrats :D
  • BarryHutchisonBarryHutchison
    Thanks!
  • Jay MandalJay Mandal
    Congratulations, Barry!
  • dorothyddorothyd
    edited November 2008
    that's good news! That happened to Darren, who had a series with The Friday Project. They went broke and his books were picked up by HarperCollins. Amazing, one door closes and all that.
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