The first duty of a publisher is to remain solvent

The last of the publishing mavericks - Books - Times Online:

Ernest Hecht, the proprietor, right, has two favourite sayings. One, borrowed from the late Sir Stanley Unwin (of Allen & Unwin), is that “the first duty of a publisher is to remain solvent”. The second is that “you cannot run a publishing company like this by committee”. He has observed them for 55 years, outlasting every other independent publishing entrepreneur in London.

Amen to that. Just had to capture it here for future reference. It's imperative that publishers remain solvent, and that goes for indie publishers, too. It's awfully difficult to be true to your voice and vision, if you can't afford the paper or postage or computer to get them out there. Commercialism is one thing; commercial viability, which ensures one's very survival, is another. I do believe the two can co-exist. But it's a fine line.

Book Drop is actually a literal term here

Because for the first time since 1999, there's been a decrease in the number of books published from approximately 190,000 to 172,000, according to a statement released by Bowker, the bibilographical compiler.

'In 2005, publishers were more cautious and disciplined when it came to their lists,' Gary Aiello, chief operating officer of Bowker. 'We see that trend continuing in 2006. The price of paper has already gone up twice this year, and publishers, especially the small ones, will have to think very carefully about what to publish.'

Another marketing consultant for the company, Andrew Grabois, said: 'For years, the strategy was to put out everything you could. It was like throwing spaghetti against the wall and hoping something would stick. Now, at least for a while, they're finding that publishing less is a more effective way of business.' Looking at the stats more closely, The number of new titles released by the largest general trade houses decreased 4.7%, to 23,017. University presses increased their title output 1.8% to 14,746, their largest annual total since 2000. And virtually every broad publishing category tracked by Bowker except legal showed significant decreases.

Sounds to me like it's getting tougher to be big. Is this the end of the traditional publishing model of producing runs of 10,000 and then hoping to high heaven that all of them sell? That hope can get a little pricey up front, I'm thinkin'.

Is print on demand rising on the horizon? Methinks it may be, as paper costs double and the price of warehousing all those books and paying people to drive the forklifts rises even more. Ironic, how in the age of virtuality, the price of real estate and wholly tangible assets continues to increase. Kinda goes against the paradigm of needing to lower your prices to stay competitive, no?

Unless that paradigm is a fabrication and a figment of some economist's imagination, which is entirely possible.