Book Publishing

Archive Report

New Rncertainties in Publishing

Impact of Inflation-Recession on Book Brsiness

Book publishing, like many other businesses, faces “a year of crisis” in 1975.1 Publishers, caught in the current inflation-recession and hard hit by high interest rates and printing, binding, shipping and storage costs, have been forced to raise the price of their books, cut back on the number published, lay off employees and reduce payments to authors. But higher book prices have led to lower sales and large inventories of unsold books which must be remaindered—discounted to a fraction of their original price—stored or destroyed.

Industry optimists suggest that the gloom may be exaggerated. They point out that during the depression 1930s, many Americans gave up their more expensive leisure pursuits and turned to reading. Book sales ...

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