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UK indie publishers rally for support as costs spiral

In the UK, independent publishers are rallying for support in the face of rising costs, including price hikes of up to 40% for printing, reports the Bookseller.

Last week the Bookseller reported that printing companies were warning publishers to expect a ‘significant’ increase in prices due to surging supplier costs, leading to fears small presses are in danger of ‘going to the wall’. Publishers have been told the rising costs are due to a price hike of international raw materials, Brexit-related issues, and fuel and freight costs.

Dead Ink publisher and 404 Ink cofounder Laura Jones found a 40% increase in the cost of two identical print jobs between October 2021 and this month.

‘After printing and distribution costs, sales commission, and author royalties are deducted, what is left for publishers needs to be enough to sustain them and this printing cost increase could completely upend that precarious balance and throw a number of publishers into loss or eventually closure,’ Jones said. ‘At a time when we’re only just finding our feet again during the pandemic and moving gradually back into making meaningful revenue, this is a massive potential knock back.’

‘We may see some indies go to the wall because no publisher can increase their RRP by 20%–30% when the pricing is so competitive on the high street,’ added Bluemoose Books co-founder Kevin Duffy.

In a Twitter thread, Dead Ink called for consumers to purchase books direct through publishers’ websites and advocated the use of subscription-based services such as Patreon and the indie bookshop network.

Other publishers highlighted the importance of sales through bookshops, particularly independent retailers. Stefan Tobler, co-founder of And Other Stories, which has a subscription service, said selling through bookshops gives greater exposure and recognition to titles. ‘All sales are beneficial, but while our margin is indeed greater on direct sales, I think we value sales through bookshops even more, because we know the book is then noted by the book trade,’ Tobler said.

 

Category: International news