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

Thomas Woll (Author), Jan Nathan (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1556524625 | ISBN-13: 978-1556524622 | Publication Date: September 28, 2002 | Edition: 2nd Rev&Ex

Publishing is a rapidly changing business, and this readable and comprehensive reference is right in step, covering operations, financial, and personnel management as well as product development, production, and marketing. Whereas competing books deal with publishing theory or focus on the self-publisher with a single title, Publishing for Profit is written for the practicing professional, whether just starting out or looking to learn some new tricks of the trade. This revised and expanded edition contains updated industry statistics and benchmark figures, as well as new chapters on the state of returns in the industry and ways to mitigate them, and features a chapter on electronic publishing, including e-books and print-on-demand. Highly practical, it provides forms and sample contracts as well as up-to-the-minute advice.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of the best references available today . . . providing a solid foundation and answering every question."  —Jan Nathan, executive director, Publishers Marketing Association

"Vital to doing the business of publishing well."  —Independent Publisher

"A remarkable book and a must-have volume for anyone interested in the business end of book publishing. Everyone in the book publishing business should have a well-thumbed copy on their desk."  —David M. Hetherington, adjunct professor, Pace University, Graduate School of Publishing

"No matter what your size, Publishing for Profit is an essential tool for growing your business. The book is about as close to an operations manual for a book publishing company as can be found."  —Dominique Raccah, president, Sourcebooks, from the foreword

"Publishing for Profit was immensely useful in helping me understand some of the subtler business challenges of a small press . . . Your advice is practical and immediately applicable."  —Perry Donham, president, KidPub Press

“The bible of the industry.”  —Associated Press

“Solid nuts-and-bolts advice for everyone who wants to run a publishing business, no matter how large or small. Forms and illustrations help make this manual crystal clear.”  —Judith Applebaum, author, How to Get Happily Published

“A great book. It sits on my nightstand. I often pick it up and read parts of it again.”  —Rod Colvin, president, Addicus Books

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Thomas Woll is president of Cross River Publishing Consultants. He has held a variety of executive positions in publishing, as vice president of the Professional and Trade Division of John Wiley & Sons; publisher of Storey Communications/Garden Way; and as vice president and publisher of Rodale Press's book division. He lives in Katonah, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press; 2nd Rev&Ex edition (September 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556524625
• ISBN-13: 978-1556524622
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,361,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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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.