Print Runs

[swanhill41]

I am trying to work out if any railway book published makes money?

The target audience for the majority of the books published can only be say 2.0k print run,and at that level how can a profit be made?

Obviously the likes of Booklaw who publishes and retails his products via his shop and more importantly on line,might because of quantity and price make a profit?

But the likes of the quality operator as Lightmoor,how do they survive.?

As a retailer on a small scale of S/H rail books,know how price concious the customer is,accepting s/h is a somewhat different market.

 

[deltic]

I am trying to work out if any railway book published makes money?

The target audience for the majority of the books published can only be say 2.0k print run,and at that level how can a profit be made?

Obviously the likes of Booklaw who publishes and retails his products via his shop and more importantly on line,might because of quantity and price make a profit?

But the likes of the quality operator as Lightmoor,how do they survive.?

As a retailer on a small scale of S/H rail books,know how price concious the customer is,accepting s/h is a somewhat different market.

Publishers must make money or they wouldnt still be in business. Whether the authors make any money is another matter - some will write as a hobby - others to make a name for themselves so they can earn money elsewhere and the top 0.1% will make a decent living for themselves. Baker's rail atlas is perhaps one of the best rail selling books ever (14 editions?) and must have made him a few £100k but that is over a 40yr period so earnings per year are probably only a few thousand for a book that has sold well over a 100,000 copies

 

[Matt Taylor]

I was approached in January by a publisher and have since had my first book published, all the writing was done in my spare time but the major component of the work was drawn from my archive of railway images so while it was time consuming to re-scan and re-edit many of my images and write the comments it was completed in a few months. There has been no direct cost to me and I get a guaranteed commission on every copy sold. It won't be enough to live on by any means but it'll be a nice little bonus when i get it.

 

[deltic]

I was approached in January by a publisher and have since had my first book published, all the writing was done in my spare time but the major component of the work was drawn from my archive of railway images so while it was time consuming to re-scan and re-edit many of my images and write the comments it was completed in a few months. There has been no direct cost to me and I get a guaranteed commission on every copy sold. It won't be enough to live on by any means but it'll be a nice little bonus when i get it.

Out of interest did they tell you what the likely print run was in advance? My sister's royalty cheques arrive every 6-12 months depending on sales (even more specialist topic area than railways) - they tend to cover the weekly shop!

 

[plarailfan]

a few years ago the factory I worked at, ran out of orders and closed down, so I was made redundant and, during the gap between jobs, I sold railway related books and models on various West Yorkshire market stalls.
I was dismayed to discover that many second hand railway books, are worth very little money !
Even Somerset & Dorset books in good condition, often only fetch around £2 each and that line was ideal for modellers, being one of the few routes where Southern, Great Western and LMS express passenger locomotives hauled three coach trains.
There's always the odd trader at toyfairs and model exhibitions that will have overpriced books on sale, but often they are retired, or financially secure and just trade for a hobby, without really worrying about how much stock is actually selling, whether sales will cover their stand fee, plus a realistic days wages for themselves.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Would modern books even be done it batches or would they be done as print-on-demand?

 

[swanhill41]

Wild Swan back in time used to get contents printed ,and only have a limited number bound....This had nothing to do with computers as to this day Paul Karau has never used computer type setting,I have been told..Feel very much a control freak in that respect,save money.
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Just noticed post ref Spacepheonix....Amadeus are the printer of choice ref most rail book publishers...They are specialists in short runs,and have the latest best printing machinery..This could have helped in offering a better quality and poss cheaper product..Interestingly they have in fact branched into rail mag pub,RCTS Observer ,Backtrack are just 2 ,and makes you wonder if they have been able to offer a more cost effective service....Their name for quality of product goes back 20 years or more and speaks for itself.

 

[Starmill]

The Baker atlas had an 'early' update for July 2015 that it's said in the inside cover was down to 'stronger than predicted sales'. I wonder if the 15th edition is due soon? Less successfully the Platform 5 Track Atlas Second Edition from 2012 is now well due a Third Edition, which I would definitely buy but do not see any evidence of...

 

[euryalus]

I think many publishers are now down to print runs of no more than 500. They keep them in the shops for about 9-10 months and then sell the remaining stock to discount sellers. I think they can do this because the costs of modern printing are very low.

 

[swanhill41]

Euryalis.....Heard a variation on that,not mention publisher except say serious end,in that say 1.0 k is put out in marketplace,booksellers etc,and if they don't sell within a certain time,destroyed....Wild Swan never remaindered,and controlled the print process,by printing full run of contents,but only boarded up say 50%,and sold those first and then if sold,boarded up say the remainder?....Paul Karau certainly was unique !

 

[euryalus]

In general, traditional railway publishers such as Oakwood, Wild Swan and Lightmoor Press would print about 2,000 copies and keep them in print until all were sold. Modern publishers such as Alan Sutton and their various off-shoots have much smaller print runs and, in many cases, they seem to offer some titles at discount even before publication.