Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #176568 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
"One of the best references available today on how to become a book publisher . . . -- Jan Nathan, Executive Director

"Solid nuts-and-bolts advice for everyone who wants to run a publishing business. Forms and illustrations help make this manual crystal clear." -- Judith Appelbaum, Sensible Solutions

About the Author
Thomas Woll is president of Cross River Publishing Consultants. He is a former vice president of the Professional and Trade Division of John Wiley & Sons, publisher of Storey Communications/Garden Way, and vice president and publisher of Rodale Press. Jan Nathan is executive director of the Publishers Marketing Association.

Customer Reviews

Informative and Helpful
Woll, who has worked for publishers large and small, is currently the president of Cross River Publishing Consultants. And while there are many books written for the small publisher or self-published author, Woll's work is much less of a cheerleading rah-rah, and much more of a how-to. It's loaded with formulas and charts and business math. He shares both horror and success stories. His advice is much more realistic and often even scary for the little guy, but as G.I. Joe often said, "Knowing is half the battle."

Much of Woll's focus is on cash-flow and budgeting. Planning is also a major focal area, as it should be in any business. In addition, he discusses basic organizational structures, hiring practices, inventory management and distribution, contracts, subsidiary selling, and much more.

For those looking for editorial advice or market trends in the area of content, this book is not for you. Publishing for Profit is all about the business side of publishing. It's about the bottom line. Anybody thinking about self-publishing should think about reading Woll's book. Anybody thinking about starting a publishing company and those who work for or manage a small, independent publishing house or a large, financial giant, need to read Publishing for Profit.

I wish I'd read this book a few years ago!

Too... much... information... Need... brain...enhancers...
I bought "Publishing for Profit" on the strength of the reviews. And what a book it is!

Unfortunately, those who don't have the patience or drive to go through loads of information may do good to skip this book. It's not an A-connects-to-B, dummies-and-idiots kind of book for the moonlighting publisher. This is the real deal for serious publishers, who are willing to be bulldozed over by technical and business jargon. I can even call "Publishing for Profit" a textbook, which in this case isn't a bad thing.

Since I'm a newbie to this whole business, I found myself plodding through the pages. I want to learn as much as I can, but it's going to be a slow ride.

I'm glad I got this book.

A pessimistic tone for great information
The tone in which the information in this book is presented is discouraging, pessimistic and sometimes condescending. It is a depressive read for someone considering starting a small press. It portraits the publishing business as an unpredictable and scary place where your chances of survival or even barely scratching a living are infinitely slim. It becomes easy to think "why even try?"

The introduction tells you how tough the business of publishing is, how easily disasters can happen, and how sales channels are practically impossible to access unless you are an established publisher. The part that explains that these risks can be overcome or mitigated, and how, is not included. After this initial backlash, the book is sprinkled with ifs, buts, hopefullys, and maybes. In addition, the constant recommendation of answering the suggested questions is not always accompanied by a good explanation of how to find pertinent answers to those questions.

This book could have been so much better if it had presented the same facts and information in a more positive way in the light of the wonderful opportunities that the changes in technology and the internet present to the very flexible and adaptable small press.