In recent months, several large publishing houses (as well as a number of smaller ones) have succumbed to the pressure of the recession. Major layoffs and reorganizations have taken place at Random House and Harper Collins, and several other companies have had to cut back and tighten their purse strings. All of a sudden, the glamorous world of publishing is facing a major wake-up call, and million-dollar advances and swanky book parties are starting to seem, at best excessive, at worst, deadly.
Which raises the question: should publishers rethink the way they do business or just keep on keeping on (though, perhaps, a little more cautiously) until the recession ends?
If we do need to change our business model, how do we do it? In Wednesday’s edition of The New York Times, Motoko Rich profiled the small independent publisher, Europa Editions, which has managed to turn a respectable profit by publishing English-language editions of acclaimed European books that they acquire for small advances.
Would it be possible for a larger publisher with a more diversified list to adopt this sort of business model and still remain competitive? Well, maybe or maybe not. After all, publishing is still a business, and the primary goal of any business is to turn a profit. And, no matter how much you spend on a book or how great the book is, ultimately, every deal is a gamble. But, maybe it’s at least worth considering a return to the romantic idea of bookmaking—where writers write because they have something to say, not because they want to be a multi-millionaire—and publishers earn respect because they produce great books, not because they represent celebrities.
Europa Editions Finds Success Translating Literary Novels by Motoko Rich
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