Numbers, numbers, numbersto acquire! (A sale of four thousand copies is typical for a mystery,
to be sure, but it is not the figure you expect for that kind of money.)
In short, Writer B is in trouble. Her situation gets worse, as well.
Her publisher ships 166,000 copies of the paperback edition. Of
these, 55,000 sell. Sell-through on that edition is 33 percent.
Terrible! It means that three copies were manufactured and shipped
for every one finally sold. A lot of waste there.
A 33 percent sell-through is so awful, in fact, that it completely
offsets the good news regarding the movie sale, which to a discern-
ing eye was never promising to begin with. The producer, for one
thing, is not a major player but an independent with little chance of
getting this book made into a movie. Plus it was an option deal, and
that is a long way from movie-on-screen.
Still, though, Writer B's paperback edition sold some 55,000
copies, more than twice writer As sale of 23,000. Does that not
count for something? Frankly, no. In a logical world it might, but this
is book publishing in the nineties. B's numbers may look better, yet
to a publisher they signal danger, if not disaster.
Even if the publisher continues with B, the worry is that book-
stores and wholesalers, noticing the 33 percent sell-through on this
book, will balk when the next one comes along. Never mind that the
next one is as good as or better than the last one. Few buyers will
read it. Virtually all buyers, though, will check their computerized
records and order it in lower quantities. Less exposure will mean
fewer sales, which will, in turn, probably mean still lower orders on
the book after that one.
In other words, this is the beginning of a downward spiral. So
familiar is this pattern, in fact, that there is a term for it: selling into
the net. Many publishers would be inclined to drop Writer B immedi-
ately. Why wait for the bad news to hit? Why not start over again
with someone brand new?
Is Writer B's career over? Very probably, unless she cares to con-
tinue under another name. Can her hotshot agent save her? That is
doubtful. In fact, Hotshot Agent is very likely soon to stop returning
her calls. That is the power of sell-through.
In case you doubt me, think a little about sell-through from a
store manager's point of view. If you have four copies of a novel on