Publishing for Profit: Successful Bottom-Line Management for Book Publishers [Paperback]

Thomas Woll (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1998

What does it really take to become a successful and profitable publisher? Tom Woll shares the strategies and techniques which are required -- regardless of the size of your publishing company.

Includes more than 25 original worksheets, templates and forms you can use immediately.

For all who are involved in the publishing community -- in any aspect of the business -- learn the secrets of success from one of the most respected experts in publishing.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of the best references available today on how to become a book publisher . . . -- Jan Nathan, Executive Director

"Solid nuts-and-bolts advice for everyone who wants to run a publishing business. Forms and illustrations help make this manual crystal clear." -- Judith Appelbaum, Sensible Solutions

About the Author

Thomas Woll has a wealth of publishing experience. Currently President of Cross River Publishing, he has held a variety of executive positions with some of the best-known publishing companies in the world: Rodale Press, one of the top direct marketing organizations in or out of publishing; Storey Communications/Garden Way Publishing, a mid-size, niche-oriented successful publishing house recognized throughout the world for its fine craft and gardening books; John Wiley & Sons, as vice president and general manager of its Professional & Trade Division.

Product Details

• Paperback: 282 pages
• Publisher: Perseus Books Group (August 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555611702
• ISBN-13: 978-1555611705
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,866,617 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keep this close at hand, April 8, 2004

By 

Lynellen Perry "lynellenDOTcom" (Dumfries, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Publishing for Profit: Successful Bottom-Line Management for Book Publishers (Paperback)

As a small publisher, I definitely want to get to a successful bottom-line! This book is helping Chalfont House become even more successful. It's one thing to say that a published book is working well...but show me the numbers! Publishing for Profit shows you exactly what you need to know for a Title Profit and Loss statement. Other topics demonstrated are: defining your niche, goal setting, budgeting, cash flow analysis, income statements, balance sheets, planning, contracts, distribution, marketing, advertising and publicity, and operations. Those sound like dreadful, math-filled, boring accounting topics, but Woll makes them urgently relevant.

There are 35 highly valuable forms/tables included: book sales by channel; publishing time line; organization chart; budget template; cash flows; growth rate; income statement; editorial plan; comparative book template; title p&l; contract analysis; title fact sheet; production schedule and checklist; tip sheet; book list analysis; sales tracking; marketing plan; author questionnaire; subsidieary rights forms; and book club pricing template.

Get out your highlighter, and dog-ear this book!

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Profit From Experience, October 1, 2000

By 

Dan Poynter "Author-Publisher-Speaker" (Santa Barbara, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Publishing for Profit: Successful Bottom-Line Management for Book Publishers (Paperback)

Whether publishing their own work or taking in manuscripts, publishers pursue fame, fortune or both. Unfortunately, most publishers are interested primarily in marketing, promoting and distributing; selling more books. Tom Woll shows you something more important: keeping track; counting your money. He shows you how to manage your cash and organize your business--to sell more books.

I have been a publisher for 31 years and I wish this book had been written 32 years ago. [e-mail].

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thomas Woll has the expertise to teach about publishing., July 14, 2003

By 

David A. Hall "David Hall" (Infinity Dental Web, Mesa, Arizona) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Publishing for Profit: Successful Bottom-Line Management for Book Publishers (Paperback)

Thomas Woll draws from a variety of publishing experiences including being a start-up publisher and years of consulting for a variety of publishing clients. He has the expertise to teach us the publishing business.

He covers the gamut of publishing. Subjects covered include defining your niche, structuring your staff, using financial projections, the editorial process, copyrights, book production, sales, more sales, fulfillment, publicity, selling subsidiary rights (a special expertise of his), direct mail marketing (another of his areas of special expertise), and (ugh) returns. I can't imagine a publisher, new or experienced, not being able to find great value in this book.

Tom gives a variety of valuable forms and charts to use for tracking data and strategic planning. We've decided to incorporate several of these into our operations. He also goes through in greater detail than I've seen in any other book the projections you need to run in order to manage your cash flow. Cash flow will make or break your publishing company. Study these sections carefully.

I speak from my own experience as a small publisher: If you're a small publisher, you need to know the information in this book. As Tom says, publishing is a tough business, and you need the competitive edge of this knowledge.