how much does it cost the publishers to publish a book?

Question

How much does it cost the publisher to publish ten thousand copies of a book. Just to print and place in book shops, not including advertising.
Thank you.

Answer 1

Bookshops are reluctant to stock books that haven't been advertised, but that's another matter.



It depends whether the book is hardback or paperback, how many pages, what type of paper it's printed on, whether it has any pictures or photos, whether those are colour or black and white...



I read somewhere yesterday that a book typically sells for about six times what it cost to print it. When you add on the cost of moving the books around and storing them in warehouses (if necessary), the bookshop will usually buy the books for about half what they sell them for. (This is typical in retail.) That amount will include the publisher's profit, so their total cost will be somewhat less than half the retail price of the books.

Answer 2

Depends on who the publisher is, what they're publishing, & how big the book is.



If you're publishing something that needs to be in color, it'll cost more. If the book is of an abnormal size (either smaller or larger), it'll cost more. If you are going through a smaller publisher who can't obtain a good discount or doesn't have their own printing factory, it'll cost more. (You'd be surprised at how many people outsource to other factories.) The cost to PRINT a book is usually pretty low, to be honest.



It also depends on WHERE they're sending it. They have to pay for the trucks to distribute it to the various warehouse & locations, so if this is a smaller company or a company specializing in self-published books, it'll cost more to get the books to those warehouses & stores so the books can be sold.



Then on top of that you have the manpower. This is where a good sizable chunk of the book cost comes from because you have to pay the agents, the editors, & so on... Even minus the author royalties it comes out to a sizable chunk.



There's really no good answer, to be honest. I'll say that on average the author only gets about 10-15% in royalties, so that should give you an answer as to what to expect if you're wondering what the author should get. Depending on who you publish through & how influential you are, you could get more. If you self-publish then you might find that you are getting a lower percentage than people who are signed to companies such as Harlequin or HarperCollins.

Answer 3

What you're concerning is the "earn out" variety, in spite of the shown fact that it varies for each books no longer in basic terms because of the fact of royalties, print runs, and distribution, yet advertising and marketing and exposure expenditures, no remember if the e book has bought to subsidary markets (e.g. e book golf equipment, overseas publishers, action picture), and if there are area of expertise printing expenditures, e.g. die-cut back or foil covers, pics, maps. you do no longer want "shoppers" to be attracted on your e book. in basic terms one editor -- at a expert publishing homestead -- to furnish you a freelance. sturdy success!