HarperCollins- Thinking Outside the Box

By Lisa Burns

HarperCollins is announcing big changes in the way it publishes books. Their newest imprint, yet to be named, will offer little to no advances and will not accept returns from retailers.

These changes to the business side of the publishing process present a substantial difference from traditional publishing practices. HarperCollins’s announcement to change its business model is a landmark decision, for the simple fact that they are the first big publisher to think outside the box. Small publishers, on the other hand, have been practicing this business model for years, to the dismay of critics. “We do not have the means to offer huge advances and print an astronomical number of books,” says Publisher and CEO of SterlingHouse Publisher in Pittsburgh, Dr. Cynthia Sterling. “It’s nice to see them thinking outside the box. SterlingHouse Publisher is ahead of the game. Not only are we thinking outside the box, we’re thinking outside the oval.”

In addition to paying little or no advances and not accepting returns from retailers, HarperCollins new imprint, according to the Wall Street Journal, likely won’t pay for prime placement in the front of bookstores either.

This decision comes at a time when e-books are gaining more and more popularity. Because of slumping book sales, between 30-40% of books shipped to retailers are returned to publishers. This results in less money for the author. Currently, according to the New York Times after authors have paid off their advances, their royalties are typically 15% of the hardcover price for each book sold.

High advances not only hurt the publisher; they also hurt the author. Many times, the advances are so high that the publisher barely makes a profit, resulting in lower or no royalties for authors.

HarperCollins issued a press release on April 3 in which they stated, “HarperCollins Publishers today announced it has signed publishing veteran Robert S. Miller to develop and launch a new global publishing program based on a non-traditional business model.” The release goes on to say, “Miller will publish approximately 25 popular-priced books per year in multiple physical and digital formats including those as yet unspecified…Authors will be compensated through a profit sharing model as opposed to a traditional royalty, and books will be promoted utilizing on-line publicity, advertising and marketing.”

Currently, when unsold books are returned to publishers, the publisher is left with the high cost of returning and restocking books. Miller believes that the money publishers will save by not having to pay for returned books can be shared with the author.

For small publishers, this is a step in the right direction, a step that should have been taken a while ago. Many industry insiders look to the big publishers to see what trends in the literary business will change the industry. The time is now for the big publishers, critics and agents to notice what the small publishers are doing.

The business model HarperCollins is implementing is the same publishing format small publishers like SterlingHouse Publisher have been following for years. By heavily publicizing books online and making a profit off the sale of the book, authors and big publishers will finally start working together to produce a project worthy of respect in the industry.

When asked if she thought SterlingHouse Publisher should say, “I told you so!” to the critics, Dr. Sterling replied, “Time will tell who will prevail in this industry. It’s nice to know that the small publishers are ahead of the times.”

WNW will continue to follow this developing story.

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