A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: How Many Books Will Be in My Print Run?
It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. Today's topic addresses a widespread misconception by new authors: print runs. Frequently, a new author will ask how many books will be in a print run. Clearly, they have read somewhere or heard somewhere about print runs for offset books. Offset printing is becoming less common though at one time it was the only way to print books; print-on-demand is becoming more common though at one point it was looked down upon as not being the professional way to do things. Let's examine both of these to help understand the concept of "print run." Offset printing: books are printed from physical plates, an older for