Beyond Vanity
Fare?
FROM PUBLISHING
TRENDS (MAY 2003)
Call
them what you will — “print-on-demand subsidy publishers”
or “glorified vanity houses” — the three leading POD
publishers are subtly rethinking their roles in the
realm of pay-to-play publishing. Collectively, iUniverse,
Xlibris,
and 1stBooks
Library
are banging out some 20,000 titles per year — with
that market growing 40% or more annually — and new authors
are signing on by the bushel. But “the leverage is not
in getting another few hundred authors a month,” says
one executive. “The real leverage is getting the book
sales.” Authors grabbing at that holy grail, though,
are forced to negotiate a bewildering array of “add-on”
services (“Book signing kit? That’ll be $250.”), marketing
affiliations, and remittance routines that are making
the road to royalties seem as tortuous as ever.
Perhaps the biggest POD paradigm shift has come at iUniverse,
where authors are now considered part of a “farm team”
playing their hearts out for the big-league scouts.
“Our aim is to behave as an agent,” explains President
and CEO Kim Hawley, “to identify authors that
have a huge amount of talent, and work within our system
to give them the visibility and sales figures to take
them to a traditional publisher.” In this model, iUniverse
operates as an incubator, armed with traditional publishing
services such as its new editorial review program, whereby
“industry experts” (typically people who are editors
in their day jobs) score the quality and viability of
a book, and offer feedback on theme, structure, marketability,
and the like. The service will be available to all iUniverse
authors beginning May 1 at a cost of $249, but is included
with the “Premier Program” package (see chart below).
Then there’s “performance-based marketing support” such
as the “Star Program,” which targets books with strong
initial sales — at least 500 units worth — and ponies
up cash to cover some of the costs of securing book
reviews, direct marketing initiatives, book repackaging,
and co-op advertising (iUniverse retains a financial
stake in the titles). The program’s first 36 titles
have been selected, and another 45 will roll into the
pipeline in August.
iUniverse also announced that investor Barnes &
Noble will review books in the Star Program and
stock the “cream of the crop” in stores, probably 18
to 25 books per year. “That does take us into a more
traditional publishing business model,” Hawley says.
“These books are all run offset, they’re all inventoried,
and they’re all returnable.” Completing the company’s
semi-makeover — which began when it abandoned the corporate
documents business last year to focus on author publishing
— Hawley is stepping down as the company’s “interim”
chief and helping iUniverse seek “someone who really
understands the publishing industry” to fill the Lincoln,
Nebraska–based job.
Of course, iUniverse hasn’t been the only one to do
some soul searching. “We spent the vast majority of
2001 in an epic battle to rebuild the business and become
economically sustainable,” says Xlibris CEO John
Feldcamp. “Random House was our remarkably
stable and supportive partner through that whole exercise.”
The company is up to around 9,000 authors, and expects
to publish 4,000 titles this year. Feldcamp says one
prime focus at the moment is to buckle down on the basics:
namely, ferreting out “highly inexpensive but highly
effective copy editing,” mostly done overseas. “We have
very little interest in being the least expensive service,”
he adds. “We work unbelievably hard to make our customers
happy.” About 100 authors per month use the picture-book
service, which offers full-color titles between 24 and
80 pages in length, starting at $999 for up to 25 images.
The business has now been growing at 50% per year, Feldcamp
says, and “at this point the company is essentially
profitable.” The market position? “Upfront, professional
service and support, but without the sideshow barker.”
Business has been more stable at 1stBooks, which published
5,000 titles last year and will ramp up to 8,000 this
year, reports President Robert McCormack. The
average title sells around 175 copies, with 99% of sales
made in printed versions (ebooks are “a thimble in the
ocean,” he says). Manuscript reviews are not a top priority
— the site notes flatly: “1stBooks Library does not
edit manuscripts; you decide exactly what the public
reads.” — and McCormack plays up his promotional offerings,
including a NYT ad option. The bottom line: “We’re
still profitable and growing. The business model has
proved to be a solid one and we see nothing but continued
success for ourselves.”
Back at Xlibris, the journey embarked upon by POD publishers
is summed up in more, well, eschatological terms. “We
have not found the promised land,” Feldcamp says. “But
we still have a strong sustainable business that’s experiencing
pretty good growth. It’s not like we’re lying in the
middle of the desert wondering when the buzzards are
going to get to us.”
The
POD Contenders
iUniverse
Program/Cost: Premier Program: $449
Format:
Trade paperback. Add $199 for hardcovers, which
are sold exclusively via iUniverse.
Royalty:
Print: 20% of net receipts Ebook (optional service
for $99): 50% of net receipts
Other:
Service includes pre-pub editorial review by an
“industry expert” who evaluates book for style, content,
and overall quality. Includes marketing toolkit with
templates for posters, bookmarks, sell sheets, etc.
Copyediting for $.012 per word.
Xlibris
Program/Cost: Basic Service: $500
Format:
Trade paperback and Adobe Acrobat ebook.
Royalty:
Print: 25% of printed list price (direct Xlibris
sale), 10% (via reseller) Ebook: 50% of retail price
(direct sale), 25% (via reseller)
Other:
Print cover prices are based on page count (a 250-page
paperback sold via a distributor is priced at $21.99).
Ebooks are priced at $8. Bookseller discount is 20%
on hardcover, 40% on trade paperback. Marketing Starter
Kit (postcards, etc.) is $125. Copyediting is $3.50
per 500 words.
1stBooks
Program/Cost: Standard Agreement: $399
Format:
Adobe ebook or Rocket eBook. Add $199 for paperback
and $350 for hardcover.
Royalty:
Print: 10%-50% of printed list price Ebook: 100%
of first $300 in sales via 1stBooks, 40% of retail price
thereafter; 50% of net for resellers
Other:
Author sets cover price and takes corresponding
royalty rate. Marketing kit with 100 bookmarks, 100
postcards, and 100 business cards costs $200. Copyediting
is $4.50 per page. An optional 3.5” x 1.25” ad in the
NYTBR costs $2,650.
©2003
Publishing Trends
