Thomas Woll's "Bottom-Line" Book?

No matter what small press or publishing conglomerate you plan on submitting your manuscript proposal to, Woll reminds us how important it is to define your market before anything else. He notes that developing a niche, while etching your overall goals and objectives in stone, leads one to adapt more effectively to unforeseen cultural and economic forces that may have a negative impact on the industry as a whole in both the short-term and the long-term. Times and literary tastes change, so commitment, consistency, and credibility should not become even the slightest bit elusive, for that may hinder the creative process, as well as the business side of such things, at all possible costs.

In regards to the industry's formal rules and regulations, Woll emphasizes why quality, rather than quantity, is more of an important strategy for getting your work published. Every non-writer continues to assume that many aspiring writers dream of fame and fortune in the name of their works. However, the author knows that even the most promising writers should still seek out the best agent because, regardless of how many copies are sold in today's increasingly complex global economy, you may still receive higher returns as long as the overall market for your book remains financially sound.

Since our culture as a whole has become ever more tech-savvy, Wool notes that it is absolutely essential for us to do our homework in regards to finding the right print and/or electronic resource operation standards for our most applicable markets. Publishing industry statistics do fluctuate the same way the global economy continues to fluctuate. So, therefore, the author knows how critical it is for us to research a particular company's fiscal year budget constraints, preliminary estimates, copyright protection laws, subsidiary and distribution rights, advertising revenues, public relations campaigns, annual profit margins, backlist vitalization and ISBN cataloging methods, liability standards, and other rules and regulations before we decide to pick up on our craft altogether. In addition, he explains what aspiring writers could do to increase their potential in the less traditional "direct-response" market made up of books-on-demand, e-books, and other technologically advanced information retrieval systems.

Woll's occasionally encouraging publishing manual is not exactly "the bible of the industry" phrased by the Associated Press on the front cover, although it does have its moments. The main drawing card here is the first section, which gives an almost completely philosophical view on how writers should approach their work, as well as the ethical principles they should abide by when researching (and hopefully attaining) their prospective publisher. Indeed, commitment, consistency, and credibility are important characteristics we should ALL abide by in the "real world," so the publishing industry itself is certainly no different.

The rest of this book, however, is too vague or unspecific when it comes to the real nitty-gritty of the important strategies Woll notes all promising writers should abide by in the literary workplace. Some of the tables, charts, graphs, etc., describing the most current advertising revenues, circulation/production quotas, and other cumulative data analyses are rather bold and comprehensive, but a majority of them are very confusing and sometimes superficial. There is also not a whole lot of information pertaining to contractual negotiations and responsibilities. I believe all authors, no matter what house they're working for or how "big" or "small" it may be, have the right to earn a fair share of the royalties. What Woll fails to explain, therefore, is how one should effectively approach his or her publisher without risking the prospect of costly lawsuits and other daunting legal matters.

The surprisingly popular world of self-publishing is another aspect of today's publishing industry that Woll almost completely removes from consideration. Being that basically all publishing houses focus on the "niche" factor of their respective markets, there is no doubt that self-publishing also involves finding specific audiences or demographics for your market. What this manual failed to cover, in particular, was how to approach an online "specialty publisher" who could probably dramatize your research for what some literary luminaries call "creative non-fiction."

But I'm happy to report that a fun, enlightening on-demand publishing outlet I discovered online recently does more than pick up Woll's instructional slack. CreateSpace, a subsidiary of the Amazon retail giant, has everything you need to know about royalty payments and other contractual matters. In addition, the tables, charts, graphs, etc., seem to be less superficial, and much less perplexing, than the ones depicted in Woll's manual, all because I have a respected and trustworthy friend of mine to prove just how reputable CreateSpace is altogether, despite the fact that it may not look so!

Works Cited

Woll, Thomas. Publishing for Profit: Successful Bottom-Line Management for Book Publishers. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, Inc., 2002.

CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com/

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About the Author

Jamie Quaranta has a Bachelor of Library and Information Science degree from Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Connecticut. As a journalism student at Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport, CT from 2003-2007, he received numerous accolades from his friends, teachers, colleagues, and relatives alike for his outstanding amateur writings in a diverse range of styles, including creative non-fiction essays. In addition, he worked as a staff writer for the renowned two-year school�s student newspaper, where he specialized in arts-and-entertainment reviews, editorials, health news briefs, and other genres.