Book Business ~ Terry Whalin

Shocking News To Authors: The Book Business Is A Business First

By W. Terry Whalin

            Before I began working inside a book publishing house, I had written more than 50 nonfiction books, ranging from children’s to adult books. I have never self-published a book and always worked through traditional publishers. However, I was unaware of the financial production numbers for nonfiction books and I found it shocking—and something critical for potential authors to understand. The author never sees these figures for their books as the publisher doesn’t reveal them throughout the contract negotiation process. A publisher will produce these financial calculations as simply a part of good business practices.  As an author, understanding this helped me see publishing as a business. Authors have huge amounts of time and emotional investment in their words. When I saw these production numbers, I understood that the publisher, not the author, has the largest out-of-pocket cash investment in a book. 

            Inside the publisher, the editor will gather a sales projection about how many copies the sales department believes they can sell of your title the first year. That sales figure will be used to calculate the production costs of ink, paper and binding for various amounts of printing (5,000, 10,000 or 15,000 copies). As the initial print number is raised, the cost per book decreases. You may ask, So why not print a large volume each time? The answer is, if the publisher prints a large number of copies, then he has to store those copies in their warehouse (read cost and expense), plus make sure they actually sell those copies within a year’s timeframe. The cost of tying up financial resources in storing and warehousing books that aren’t selling is large. Also the federal government taxes publishers on each copy in storage. These tax rules have forced publishers to think long and hard about how many copies of each book to print.

            Inside my former publisher, we calculated the overall printing details of the book (paperback with general publishing look or hardcover with jacket) and the number of books to print before offering a book contract. In short, publishers pour a great deal of work into their books and financial projections before they call you and offer a nonfiction book contract. Understanding this process helps you see some of the reasons it takes such a long time for an author to receive a publishing contract…

            Often the publisher returns to an author with whom they have already published a book. If the publisher takes a second or third book from the same author, they are investing in that author’s career and trying to build that author’s audience and market. If the author’s books are selling well, then the publisher will be eager for another project. Each week, publishers monitor sales numbers on their books to see if particular authors merit another book contract.

            Many writers focus only on the creative aspects of writing a book and getting it published, but the executives inside a publishing house are business people who want to sell books and turn a profit at the end of the day. It’s a delicate balance between creating the best possible product and assuring that each product has the best opportunity to sell into the market and reach the target audience.

________________________________________

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and publisher lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. A former acquisitions editor, former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. To help writers, he has created 12-lesson online course called Write A Book Proposal. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com.

Writing from the Heart

Authors come to the profession in so many different ways. Some were born with the drive to write. Some never considered being an author a viable choice for a profession, still others considered writing an end to a means. What about those who write because of a passion. What about a mother with an autistic child? I have the privilege of interviewing people from all walks of life, however a mother with a love for a child is a very special guest.

My guest Annie Eskeldson is a mother of five, with a passion for understanding her child. Her fourth child was diagnosed with classic ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders). Today, due to Annie's intervention and therapy, Ashi is high functioning and gifted. As Annie puts it, she spent "...every day, all day, over the last 7 plus years..." with Ashi, and that made the difference in her daughter's life.


Due to Annie's immersion in her daughter's world she had an understanding that those of us outside of this world can little comprehend. And, she brings this knowledge to the table within her made for children illustrated books. Ashi inspired Annie to write a series of books from her daughter's perspective. These books are a rare look into the world of an autistic child. Annie explains these books are, "specially written to bring comfort to the parent by validating their feelings of sadness, frustration, and also the joy that comes with raising a special needs child.  Annie's books are full of 'self - discovery' type tips."

Giving your heart to a project, especially one that has impacted the life of a family can fall flat. I've read other "from the heart" types of books and one in particular that I can recall left me with sadness, disappointment and the feeling that I couldn't wait to put down the book. Annie's books however gave me a sense of hope that everything will be okay and an understanding of the situation within their home. I learned that having compassion may not solve all of the problems, but allow the families to cope well.


This is a book celebrating the facts and coping with the obvious, a child that needs understanding, compassion, love and attention. Really not that much different than other children who crave the same from their parents. I applaud Annie for stepping out and helping other parents and those who want to understand the life of an autistic child for writing these books. Her books show us that love, in this case does conquer all. Well done Annie and Ashi and the entire Eskeldson.

You can find more information about Annie and her books here:

Ashi's Gift website is at :  http://www.authorannie.com

Ashi's Gift blog is at: http://www.ashisgift.blogspot.com  

Co-Authors: Writing with Two

My first book was a solo affair and then the idea hit me for a great new series of curriculum study guides. There was one little problem. I did not possess the expertise to write the books on my own, but I knew the perfect candidate to join me in the endeavor. When she agreed I was excited about the prospect and we began our work in earnest. So far so good.

We quickly penned the book, had an editor, her husband read the manuscript and with a few more pairs of eyes and one other professional taking a look we were ready to go. I had speaking engagements lined up and had even contacted another author who was speaking at the same conference to "plug" our book after her seminar, by holding up a newly minted copy. Everything was humming along, or so I thought until reality struck my co-author. Cold feet.

She had a bad experience in the professional work place years ago when another co-worker took her presentation and with a few tweaks called it his own, presenting it to the board of directors and landing a raise. She was concerned that this would happen to her. I assured her that her name was prominently on the cover and I considered her the "brains" behind the science-based curriculum series for children. As the owner of the company, my job as her publisher was to inspire and instill confidence and we went on to write four books in the series and created many hours of hands-on fun  workshops across the nation for school aged children.

Flash forward a few years later and I found myself with another co-author. This one was a bit closer to home and happened to be my teen-aged daughter. She had an idea for a book and between the two of us many hours of brainstorming later we had a series in mind. With the first book written in a little under six months (and another 18 months of reviews by readers and professionals) we were ready to go to print! Our first book signing was set up and we both were speaking, jointly at a conference. It was an exciting time for us and her books outsold my curriculum 2-1. Three books in the series later we had thousands of books in print and the books are in their third printing at this point.

You could say I have experience with self-publishing, co-authoring, and publishing other authors. The above two authors were not under contract, both were verbal agreements. I had a great experience with them and still do, even though my friend is deceased. Her heirs now receive her royalties. I quickly learned this was not the way to do business and I have legally contracted with other authors every since. My attorney (Susan L. Spann) does a wonderful job in providing a fair contract that meets all of my needs and those of my authors.

I was extremely blessed to live through those two co-authorships unscathed. I would highly recommend a clearly delineated contract. Here is a quick check list in the event you consider working with a co-author:

1. Plan on splitting the royalty evenly.
2. Clearly explain each person's job.
3. Decide who will handle the tasks of publishing if you are self-publishing.
4. Decide who will handle obtaining an agent or publisher if looking for a royalty publisher.
5. Decide who will obtain speaking engagements.
6. Sign a contract before you begin that clearly states your royalty split if you plan to do #3 or #4.
7. Split any type of costs such as an editor, mailings or printing.
8. If one of you decides to be the publisher, make sure you receive at least 10% more for the subsequent expense and work (this is optional but highly recommended).
9. Decide who will handle publicity, or contacting or hiring a publicist.
10. Set time-lines and deadlines for all of the above.

One thing I've learned if there is a squabble over whose name goes first on the cover I'd be cautious. The rule of thumb is alphabetically, but it really is up to the two of you to decide. Beware if one author's name goes first the publisher will want to keep it this way through subsequent works even if you are the one doing most of the work. Co-authorships have been called marriages without love and that is possibly true. My experiences have been positive but then my personality is such that I tend to get along with the majority of the people, and I don't sweat the "little stuff"...

I will be interviewing co-authors, Donna McCrary and Sherri Holbert, both professional life coaches who have joined to write the book DIVA's of the Divine. They will share their experiences with the audience and much more about the writing and publishing process. I hope you'll join me live, if not the archives are here.