Canadian writers and publishers react
Martin’s comments only increased the anxiety level among the literati, who have been spreading the story on social media and trying to interpret what it means.
Brian Kaufman, who heads up Vancouver’s feisty Anvil Press, says the only thing that surprised him about Martin’s comments was the fact that people were surprised.
“To me, it was the new order blatantly stating their position: sales, volume and revenue,” Kaufman says. “
That said, Kaufman thinks the $100,000 threshold is unrealistic.
“Most books in Canada simply don’t sell anywhere near those numbers,” he says, especially literary fiction.
“The more niche, literary works aren’t going to drive those kinds of sales figures,” he says.
“I think people who are upset about this comment don’t understand how publishing works,” he says. “For a book to generate $100,000 in revenue, it needs to sell between 7,000 and 10,000 copies, depending on the list price of the book. That’s not an unreasonable number for a publisher like PRH, which does not receive any government funding, to use as an economic benchmark. A book which is sold to 0.03 per cent of the population does not indicate a craven commitment to profit it indicates a prudent wish to stay in business.”
A book which is sold to 0.03 per cent of the population does not indicate a craven commitment to profit it indicates a prudent wish to stay in business. “Here you can see a run of 1,000 books for a literary title be a very good run. you are looking at 7,000 as a decent run. One hundred thousand dollars seems like asking for blood from a turnip.”
Like Kaufman and Degen, Moreno Garcia is skeptical about any publisher’s ability to consistently hit such high numbers.
“You never know who’s going to strike it big, so I’m not sure exactly what secret formula Penguin has cooked up to make only big sales numbers,” she says.
While the $100,000 comment is a source of contention for many, most industry professionals agree it is increasingly important that publishers have a vision for the books they acquire.
“There are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of books published every year that have no vision, no plan,” Kaufman says. “They spend their four months out in the market only to return to the warehouse where they’ll be remaindered or, worse, pulped. Anvil Press publisher Brian Kaufman
Galloway echoes Kaufman’s sentiment, saying it’s important for publishers to believe in a project.
“Brad Martin says that they’re not going to just publish books to fill a list; they’re only going to publish books they believe in. I see this as a good thing,” he says.
Vancouver literary agent Carolyn Swayze agrees with Kaufman and Galloway that publishers need to care about the books they publish rather than simply dump them into an indifferent marketplace. “That is maybe where some of them should be. They might actually be better served with a smaller house. For example, in general, if you would precede write on paper the name of an entity with the article the in speech, do so in writing, and if not, don’t
