Waiting for ... Well, Whenever

Yep. Sorry. Kinda missed Wednesday this week. Instead of harping on the negative, though, I want to talk about printers. Though that, too, may delve into the negative. Still, I really want to express my frustrations about the publishing industry ... again.

So. Here we go ...

My little independently created children's book is chugging along, and I've finally chosen a printer. Now all I have to do is wait for the quote I get about printing in quantities of both 100 and 500 copies.

And that, as I was told by the nice man at the printer who apparently doesn't like talking to small press publishers over the phone, will be "very expensive."

Excellent. That's precisely what I was going for. "Very expensive."

I'll hold off until I get the actual numbers before I launch into my missive about why the current publishing landscape is so incredibly, stupidly wrong, but I will say that, if the price per unit (what each printed book will cost me to produce) is higher than, say, oh, thirty dollars, I will flip my switch, man.

I know it's a really small print run (though that's not entirely true, as 500 is the average in the industry--the numbers are just thrown off by the Big Boys and Girls who actually make their livings after selling one mega-hit), but think about it for a second.

Let's say my cost per book is $30. What, then, do I have to sell each book for to make a profit on the project?

Factoring in artist costs? A lot more than $30. Which I absolutely will not do. Heck, I want to give the thing away for free to get my name and my company's name out there. (Please don't tell the printer that, though.)

In order to break even, using that $30 price point, I'd need to charge around $45 per book.

Yeah, because that's what thirty-page children's books go for. (Also, that was sarcasm.)

I know this whole diatribe today is like trying to swing at ghosts since I do not yet have the actual quote. But, as you all know by now, I am not what one would call an optimist. I'm braced for the Worst Case Scenario. I'm ready to spend an entirely unfair and unreasonable amount on this project.

I'm going to get it out there, no matter what.

The only question is--how much will I complain about it come Monday?

You'll have to wait and see.

: )