Al, what's interesting is this quest for these blockbuster qualities might be what's driving book sales down by putting out so many books that fit the same formulaic mold. I personally think The DaVinci Code had a devastating impact on the industry, even if it sold a hundred gazillion copies, by pushing these editors to want the same sort of "relentlessly commercial" prose that The DaVinci Code was filled with.
--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "Allan Guthrie" <allan@...> wrote:
>
> It's long been an industry truism that 85% of the profit comes from 15% of
> the books. You make your profit from the blockbusters. Without 'big books'
> you go bust. Books that sell moderately don't tend to make money and
> publishing is (usually) a business. It used to be the case that moderate
> sales were okay, since moderate sales of an original title might be around
> 10,000 copies. But very few books sell 10,000 copies now. 'Moderate' is more
> like 2000-3000 copies. So many publishers are reaching for blockbuster
> qualities just to create previously moderate sales...
>
> Just my interpretation, of course.
>
> Al
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "jacquesdebierue" <jacquesdebierue@...>
>
>
> > Some of the trouble with the industry is that they're looking to have
> > blockbusters as opposed to selling a lot of different stuff in moderate
> > quantities. You can make a profit that way, just like you can make a
> > profit by spending five million (not two hundred) on a movie and making
> > 15%. It's three quarters of a million. But the idea of the blockbuster is
> > everywhere.
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > mrt
>
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