I know someone must have mentioned it in one or more of the threads, but just can't find it through searching. So, on average, how many copies does a university press book sell? Thanks for sharing any insights or experiences.
how many copies does an average university press book sell?
(42 posts) (15 voices)-
Posted 2 years ago #
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Gosh, what's with my mouse? Mods, could you delete the other thread due to duplication? Thanks!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Otis?
On "average", since they never make a paperback printing, most sell below 1000 copies. And that's for good presses.
I'd love to hear from all the tenure-rank people that are allegedly on here. Peeps? Your own professional confessions?
Posted 2 years ago # -
For books that are hardcover only, I'd guess that most sell between 200 and 500, with most of those sales being library copies; 200-300 library copies is common. If the book also comes out in paperback, that typically means that the author already has a track record and/or that the publisher expects to have decent classroom sales. But even then, total sales may be around only about 1,000. Some books that really catch on for use in upper-level undergrad classes and grad seminars may sell a few thousand copies, but small class sizes and the availability of used copies mean that huge sales are highly uncommon. I've had two books published in both hardcover and paper that were used in some classes. Both are at around 1,200 in total sales, with libraries accounting for roughly a quarter of that.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Many thanks. Gaspar, how many hardback copies need to be sold so that a publisher can probably break even on their investment?
Posted 2 years ago # -
A university press person would be the best person to answer this. I'm a junior person in political theory that nobody has read. My book sold about 200 copies in the first year according to the royalty statement. There was probably a small bump this year when the paperback came out.
Posted 2 years ago # -
^ congratulations on the paperback. Was the issuing of the paperback in the original publishing contract? Or was it warranted by the fact that your theory book sold more than 200 copies in the first year (very impressive for your field)?
Posted 2 years ago # -
My university press book (on American institutions) has sold just over 250 copies to libraries as a high priced hardback. Total copies are about 350 and the press decided to issue a paperback edition, which will be helpful for sales I hope.
So, the numbers expressed above seem to relate to my experience.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Gaspar's numbers are roughly consistent with conversations that I've had with multiple university press editors in recent years. Different presses have different business models on what it takes to break even on a book (is it a $90 cloth, or a $25 paper?), and sales expectations are different for the "average" book at different presses (Cambridge is expecting something different for its average book compared to either Harvard or SUNY).
Posted 2 years ago # -
^ Khakis, what would be the expectation of Cambridge for a $90 cloth?
Posted 2 years ago # -
presidentialscholar: My contract did not guarantee paperback, but the acquiring editor said, "Look at our catalog--most books comparable to yours came out in paperback and we would have every intention of doing a paperback." I wasn't aware that 200 was considered a lot, but thanks for the compliment!
Posted 2 years ago # -
I am a first-time author. The university press is coming out with simultaneous hardcover (priced at more than $50) and paperbook (priced at less than $25) editions, although there was nothing about a paperback edition in the contract. I was told that the decision to come out with a paperback edition right away was because another press licensed the book to distribute it in the region covered by the book (it's in IR/CP). So there's that -- if you can get a 'local' press to license it, that would help with sales. The press also said it felt there was classroom potential, but left it to me to think of specific people who would actually assign it in their classes (in this the press may be more optimistic than I am).
Posted 2 years ago # -
Khakis is right on about the importance of different business models, so it is difficult to really generalize. This is something that has been changing quite a bit in the past few years. Ten years ago, Stanford, Cambridge, Princeton and other similar university press books were priced roughly the same (Oxford seemed to be an outlier). Now, Cambridge has gotten much more expensive (they seem to rely on libraries) while Princeton seems not to have changed all that much. I have published with Cornell, which sells at a much lower price point than most. None of this really has much of an effect on an initial print run, but pricing can determine general likelihood of a subsequent paperback run. But, yeah, 200-500 is a pretty much what you can expect, 1000 if it is anticipated to have broader appeal (geared to large classes, multiple disciplines, etc.). That number really shocked me when I found out with my first book.
Posted 2 years ago # -
My book (hardcover only, but relatively reasonable price) sold about 700 copies. That's probably more than breaking even for the press but unless the book will become mandatory reading in classes it will not come out in paperback. The book was published a little over a year ago and since then the press changed its policies so now all books come out in both hardcover and paperback. I don't know how that affects how many books are printed.
Posted 2 years ago # -
^That's a really high number for a hardback, so congrats on that. What was the price range?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Where are most of your books sold--Amazon or the publisher's website?
Posted 2 years ago # -
The majority of books are purchased by libraries. I would guess that they purchase directly from the publisher, but you would have to ask them.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Libraries purchase directly from the publisher or through a selection service (Greenslips is a common one). They purchase from Amazon only in circumstances where a book is needed immediately (and usually only at extremely well-funded libraries).
This means that the base purchase of a book (200-400, depending on the area and the interest) are directly from the publisher. My book (general american political behavior) has sold about 500 copies so far, 400 of which were directly from the publisher and 100 of which were off Amazon. This gives me a rank of #510,000 or so. My book is also available on the Kindle and has sold an additional 75 or so through that (obviously exclusively through Amazon).
Posted 2 years ago # -
no2808 - You bring up another related point: Is there a different royalty schedule for for hardcover/softcover vs Kindle and other digital book formats?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Amazon give (now) a 70% royalty on copyrighted books on the Kindle. They also take a "delivery fee" of 5-10 cents. The agreement with my publisher was then based on the money left over from those charges. So, if your book (like mine) is sold via Kindle for $15, you have something like $10.45 going to the publisher for each e-book. I then get a percentage of what the publisher makes. This is different from the traditional arrangement, as my percentage is not calculated off of the list price, but instead off of the publishers net receipts.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Just a couple more data points on sales. My first book sold about 500 copies (400 hardback and the rest paper that came out several years later). My second book got picked up in a few courses and sold 900 hardback and 600 paper. So making it on syllabi is a big deal.
Posted 2 years ago # -
how often do we use a $100 hardcover in the classroom?
Posted 2 years ago # -
USE? Occasionally.
Make students PURCHASE? Never.
Posted 2 years ago # -
My last extremely interesting book sold 460 copies
Posted 2 years ago # -
Does the rise of e-books mean that faculty will feel freer to ask students to buy more "books" b/c they are so cheap, even compared to paperback?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Look a bit more closely. Many scholarly books cost the same as an e-book as the real thing. Unless the pricing structures change, there's no likelihood that e-books will lead to higher sales. Granted, an e-book bought by a library can be read by more than one student at the same time, but this is not going to affect sales.
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