Deciding how many books to print is one of the toughest decisions a publisher has to make. Guess too high and you've got lots of unsold product. Guess too low and you'll be stuck going back for costly reprints - as well as perhaps dealing with a supply lag and some unhappy consumers. So what's the secret formula?
I've worked for nearly 15 years in the book printing industry, and I still don't have a perfect answer for this question. However, I would definitely recommend being cautious about printing too many books. It's much more common to see someone end up with too many books than not enough.
So start with your worst-case scenario. How many books are you convinced you will sell even if things don't work out as well as you hope? How many books do you think you can sell in your REALISTIC best-case scenario? (Not the "Oprah chose my book for her book club" scenario.)
Now compare the numbers and choose something in-between, but probably closer to the lower side. Again, the cons of printing too few books usually heavily outweigh the cons of printing too many.
Your quantity will determine whether you will end up using a digital printer or a typical offset printer.
A digital press is usually most cost effective for print runs less than 1,000. If you decide to go with a digital printer, you definitely want to lean toward a smaller quantity. The cost savings per book for 100 copies vs. 500 copies on a digital press just aren't that great usually.
An offset press is better suited for quantities of at least 1,000. In this case, there can be some heavy quantity discounts. If you're still debating on your quantity, comparing the cost per book numbers between quantities may help make your decision easier. In any case, be sure to ask your printer for quotes for a number of different quantities. Hey, if Oprah does call, at least you'll be ready!
So to recap: Don't stretch your budget too thin by reaching for the stars with a huge print run to start. Stick with smaller quantities until you can definitively prove the market is there with your book sales. If you stick to your marketing plan and continually build on your sales, you'll be able to jump up to larger book printing quantities soon enough.
About the Author:
Josh Prizer has enjoyed working in the book printing industry for nearly 15 years and is a cheap book printing expert. For a Free 7-Part Mini-Course on how to publish your own book, visit his web site.
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