Re: publishers decide on reprints

**"bbmackey" b*@prodigy.net**

I definitely would be influenced by the author's energy level, because there
is no other means of publicizing a book that is as effective as the author
getting the attention of the public. The author's efforts can include
participating in events, giving talks (everywhere the talk is listed, the
book is being mentioned), having a website, having an open garden day, and
writing for newspapers or magazines, using a tag line that mentions the
book. Another factor in a decision about reprinting is the timeliness of the
information. A book that stresses currently popular cultivars can go out of
date very quickly, for plant fashions change and new garden stars emerge all
the time. Scientific books sometimes have a short life, for rapidly paced
new findings or changing nomenclature can make a recent book obsolete.

My business is very small and simple compared to that of most other
publishers. There are complex factors that are not the same for everyone. A
book that is a winner for me probably would still fail to meet necessary
sales levels at a large publishing house. Color photography, which is
extremely expensive to print, is practical only in large print runs, so it
can inhibit the reprinting of a title that has done only moderately well. On
the other hand, color helps sell books.

I tend to take on very few books and always to keep them in print. I only
have one book, the trough book, that is a hardcover with interior color
photographs. The rest are paperbacks with line drawings inside, very easy
and not so expensive to reprint.

Betty

B. B. Mackey Books
http://www.mackeybooks.com

------Original Message -----
From: "Marty Wingate" <martywin@earthlink.net>

> I am interested in Betty's comments on how a publisher decides to
> reprint; I'm hoping she can tell us more.  Does an author's energy level
> have anything to do with your decision?  In other words, if you have an
> author who is always out there giving talks at garden clubs, book
> stores, nurseries, garden show, etc., are you more likely to reprint a
> book that has sold out of its first printing?

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