10
CHAPTERNumbers, Numbers, Numbers
POP QUIZ
READY? HERE IS A PROBLEM TO TEST HOW WELL YOU
understand book publishing in the nineties. Writer A received a
$10,000 advance for his first mystery novel. Published as an original
paperback, it shipped 32,000 copies to bookstores; 23,000 of those
were sold.
Writer B's agent, on the other hand, auctioned her third mystery
novel. Her hardcover publisher lost the auction and her paperback
publisher bought hard/soft rights for $45,000. The hardcover edition
sold 4,000 copies of the 8,000 copies shipped. Reviews were mixed,
but the Times was positive. An independent Hollywood producer
purchased a one-year option on movie rights for $2,500 (against an
eventual pickup price of $150,000). Later, Writer B's publisher
shipped 166,000 copies of the paperback to bookstores. Of these,
55,000 were finally sold.
Question: Which author has a brighter future, A or B? Take a
moment to think....
Okay, your time is up. Did you choose Writer B? If so you are
wrong. The future of Writer B's fiction career is seriously in doubt. In
fact, it may be over (under her real name, anyway). However, Writer
A is looking good. He will prosper a while longer.
Surprised? I do not blame you. In the mixed-up world of book
publishing in the nineties, numbers do not add up the way one
expects them to. 119