The Publishing Industry Changes and no one pays attention
OK I just had to search this out again and let me tell you what a bitch it was to find. Why? Because no one is talking about it- it isn't real news. But to some of us who are interested in both authors making a living wage and stores who can't afford the minor margins of book sales this is HUGE (or it could be) because it could change the industry.
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Dec 16
(Reuters) - Borders Group Inc (BGP.N), the second-largest U.S. bookseller, will accept books from publisher HarperStudio on a nonreturnable basis, departing from a decades-old publishing tradition, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Industry practice dating from the 1930s allowed retailers to return unsold titles to publishers for full credit and without incurring shipping costs, the newspaper said.
These titles, about 30 percent to 40 percent of all titles according to industry figures, eventually get sent back to the stores for heavily discounted sale, the paper added.
According to the WSJ, under the deal Borders will get a deeper discount on initial orders of books from HarperStudio in exchange for not returning any unsold books.
The paper quoted HarperStudio's president and publisher Robert Miller saying that the economic downturn has made publishers and booksellers more open to experimenting with models that might decrease waste and increase profit.
HarperStudio is the new imprint of News Corp's (NWSa.N) HarperCollins Publishers. Borders Group and NewsCorp could not be immediately reached for comment.
(Reporting by Eric Yep in Bangalore; Editing by Erica Billingham)
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Imagine no pulping! Authors and stores (and probably publishers as well) have had a system that hasn't worked. It's about time to rework it.
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Dec 16
(Reuters) - Borders Group Inc (BGP.N), the second-largest U.S. bookseller, will accept books from publisher HarperStudio on a nonreturnable basis, departing from a decades-old publishing tradition, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Industry practice dating from the 1930s allowed retailers to return unsold titles to publishers for full credit and without incurring shipping costs, the newspaper said.
These titles, about 30 percent to 40 percent of all titles according to industry figures, eventually get sent back to the stores for heavily discounted sale, the paper added.
According to the WSJ, under the deal Borders will get a deeper discount on initial orders of books from HarperStudio in exchange for not returning any unsold books.
The paper quoted HarperStudio's president and publisher Robert Miller saying that the economic downturn has made publishers and booksellers more open to experimenting with models that might decrease waste and increase profit.
HarperStudio is the new imprint of News Corp's (NWSa.N) HarperCollins Publishers. Borders Group and NewsCorp could not be immediately reached for comment.
(Reporting by Eric Yep in Bangalore; Editing by Erica Billingham)
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Imagine no pulping! Authors and stores (and probably publishers as well) have had a system that hasn't worked. It's about time to rework it.