Big publishing is not what you day dream about!
All of this I think proves the point that the publishing operations of these multi-billion dollar corporations have to compete with the other divisions for a share of the resources and to provide an attractive return on the investment. Otra Vez! The bottom line, not Pulitizer Prizes, motivate how big publishers have to approach the marketplace today. That also means that they engage in petty level fraud and major league cheating. Try the million dollar advances you read about. How many authors actually get the cash and how much of the advance is paid over time or is actually contingent on sales or based on a completion incentive? In other words, while you feel badly that you aren't getting what the big names are getting, know that the big names may not be getting it either-reference anxiety to sociologists.
Take sales. Another field of lies. The most respected firm following sales, Neilsen BookScan, acknowledges that it typically measures only 70% of hardback sales. Publishers are always announcing a new printing…but in the world of publishing there is a difference between a commitment to print and an order to print. Another bulletin: If you purposely under- order with each printing, you can exaggerate the book's acceptance in the marketplace. Another trick: Big publishers order 1.5 million new copies-to suggest market demand-but actually commit filling the order in 100,000 unit increments-the average peak sale of a best seller. What about discounting to keep a book on the best seller list to make it look like a bargain to buy. And how long do they last with all the tricks? About four to 12 weeks on average before disappearing to the remainder tables. In short, all big house books-except maybe Harry Potter or the Da Vinci Code-have short lives.
Another point-same theme
McGraw-Hill, one of the great textbook publishing houses of our time, thinks that the $60 to $90 charged to students for a book does not produce sufficient profits. It just bought J.D. Powers, the customer satisfaction survey company. Does this tell you something? It does me. The world of publishing is a whole lot different than it used to be. OK, you say, but doesn't the fact that these publishers are part of something very big mean they can produce something much better? No!
Did the almost $300 million spent on the Walt Disney Concert Hall prevent Frank Geary from making an expensive heat and glare mistake that has to be fixed at an enormous cost and diminution of the Hall's design features? Big doesn't necessarily mean better. Let me say it again. Major publishing has changed from the mythical description you still carry in your heads. If you take nothing away from this evening, take this away: BIG PUBLISHING TODAY HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH TALENT OR QUALITY OR SOCIALLY BENEFICIAL ACTIVITIES. IT IS ABOUT MAKING MONEY!
BECAUSE OF THAT, IT OFFERS A WEALTH OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL AND INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS INTERESTED IN FILLING OTHER NEEDS IN THE BOOK TRADE.