Amazon.com: Publishing for Profit: Successful Bottom-Line Management for Book Publishers: Thomas Woll: Books

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

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

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

Paperback: 282 pages
Publisher: Fisher Books (August 1998)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1555611702
ISBN-13: 978-1555611705
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,718,672 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
Before a publishing company can begin, three critical tenets must be accepted. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
other publishing income, editorial niche, satisfactory manuscript clause, many smaller publishers, commissioned reps, editorial acquisition, net pricing, competitive books, base royalties, larger publishers, direct response marketing, backlist titles, club price, binding costs, serial rights, publishing environment, major wholesalers, editorial program, foreign publishers

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Vice President, United States, New York, Publishers Weekly, Library of Congress, Book Industry Study Group, Literary Market Place, Author Questionnaire, Editorial Plan, Payment Dates, Total Units, Association of American Publishers, Publisher Prefix, Random House, Royalty Percent, Company Sold, Ingram Book Company, John Wiley, Career Books, Des Moines, Keep Your Staff Lean, Manuscripts Manuscripts Books Acquired, New Providence, North American, Production Published Sales Target

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 23 books:

How to Get Happily Published by Judith Appelbaum on page 207, and Back Matter
New Complete Guide to Gardening (Better Homes & Gardens) by Better Homes and Gardens on page 201, and page 202
Book Publishing: A Basic Introduction by John P. Dessauer in Back Matter
The Book Publishing Industry, Second Edition by Albert N. Greco in Back Matter
How to Read a Financial Report: Wringing Vital Signs Out of the Numbers by John A. Tracy CPA on page 66

See all 23 books this book cites

2 books cite this book:

Selling Subsidiary Rights : An Insider's Guide by Thomas Woll in Front Matter, and Back Matter
Keywords in Creative Writing by David Starkey Wendy Bishop in Back Matter

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Complete Guide to Self Publishing by Tom Ross

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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Children's Books, Second Edition by Harold D. Underdown

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The Complete Guide to Book Marketing by David Cole

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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published, 4th Edition by Sheree Bykofsky

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	81% buy the item featured on this page: Publishing for Profit: Successful Bottom-Line Management for Book Publishers 4.7 out of 5 stars (22)
	6% buy Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual, 16th Edition: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book (Self Publishing Manual) 4.7 out of 5 stars (261) $13.57
	6% buy How To Start And Run A Small Book Publishing Company: A Small Business Guide To Self-Publishing And Independent Publishing 4.2 out of 5 stars (8) $17.05
	4% buy Book Design and Production 4.6 out of 5 stars (22) $19.77

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Customer Reviews

22 Reviews

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
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Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Lynellen Perry "lynellen.com" (Dumfries, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!

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41 of 43 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

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. DanPoynter@ParaPublishing.com.

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18 of 18 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)

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.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this reference
I have been continually reading reference books for my small publishing business. This is a must have and a must read for anyone interested in this industry.

Published 14 days ago by R. D. Jentsch

5.0 out of 5 stars No question, THE best book for small presses
I own a small press, publishing books written by kids under the age of 15. We started out as a subsidy press and are now beginning to take some of our more successful titles into... Read more

Published 20 days ago by Perry Donham

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional resource
Reader:
When I was reading the negative comments, they sold me more on the book than the positive. Why? Read more

Published 5 months ago by S. Prokopowicz

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and Helpful
Woll, who has worked for publishers large and small, is currently the president of Cross River Publishing Consultants. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Bryan Catherman

4.0 out of 5 stars Too... much... information... Need... brain...enhancers...
I bought "Publishing for Profit" on the strength of the reviews. And what a book it is!

Unfortunately, those who don't have the patience or drive to go through loads... Read more

Published 17 months ago by Architect of Skin

3.0 out of 5 stars A pessimistic tone for great information
The tone in which the information in this book is presented is discouraging, pessimistic and sometimes condescending. Read more

Published 20 months ago by BookDog

5.0 out of 5 stars The Inside Scoop on Publishing as a Business Not a Hobby
For many people publishing is a hobby. It's about producing an art object, a labor of love, perhaps an ego trip. Read more

Published on June 13, 2006 by John Matlock

4.0 out of 5 stars Probing Insight for Anyone in Publishing
One of the difficulties in publishing is knowing how to ask (then answer) the critical questions. These authors have been there and guide readers through the details of a... Read more

Published on May 12, 2006 by W. Terry Whalin

5.0 out of 5 stars What I didn't know to ask
I've worked on the editing side of publishing for years and am expanding my horizons into the actual publishing side of the business. Read more

Published on March 16, 2006 by Deatri L. Bey

3.0 out of 5 stars Knowledge is key and this books has plenty!
Its very hard for me to read "how to" novels, because I am afraid that somethings may be misleading. Read more

Published on November 13, 2005 by Rene Reyes(Brewedsosweet)

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