[LMB] Tax law and the publishing industry

[PAT MATHEWS]

Yes. The tax law created a problem, the solution for which is either Print 
on Demand or a Used Book Clearinghouse. Amazon and several others have been 
using the latter model.

http://idiotgrrl.livejournal.com/

"Now is the winter of our discontent...."





>From: "Ed Burkhead" <edburkhead at insightbb.com>
>Reply-To: "Discussion of the works of Lois McMaster 
>Bujold."<lois-bujold at lists.herald.co.uk>
>To: "'Discussion of the works of Lois McMaster 
>Bujold.'"<lois-bujold at lists.herald.co.uk>
>Subject: [LMB] Tax law and the publishing industry
>Date: Sun, 2 Dec 2007 10:11:58 -0600
>
>
>The third topic we discussed, relevant here, was about backlist books.
>
>The bookstore owner said that in the 1980s, Congress changed the tax law
>making it no longer profitable to keep backlist books.  He said that
>publishing companies used to make big print runs of an author's books and
>keep the extras in a warehouse, selling them slowly as orders came in.  The
>tax law changed this.
>
>Now the publishers are punished for warehousing these books so when sales
>drop off, the remaining books are dumped, often at cheap prices, to get rid
>of them.  The publishers are no longer offering slow-selling backlist 
>books.
>
>He gave an example of a romance author with 160 published books.  In the 
>old
>days, he said, the entire backlist would usually be kept available on the
>warehouse shelves.  Now, only the newest books are kept.
>
>I'm also thinking of Herself with 13 Vorkosigan Saga books, stretching back
>into the '80s.  If it weren't for Baen Books publishing omnibus editions,
>the first part of the series might be very hard to find.  As it is, I'm
>discouraged how difficult it is to find the series-starter books in book
>stores.  How do you sell books 11, 12 and 13 in a series if people can't 
>buy
>the entry point #1?  It makes sense for an ongoing series to keep the 
>entire
>series in print.
>
>What about books that don't fit a series?  Will they be available?  Will we
>need to buy e-books or books printed by "Just In Time On The Spot" book
>printing machines to get them?  Will these things save the writing
>profession (and the reading hobby) by keeping good books "in print"?
>
>Ed
>
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