A question came in:
In your reply [to a listserv post] you mention a “plant cost of $2000″.
Does this refer to editing, design & typesetting of the manuscript to get it into a print ready digital format? I understand typesetting alone for trade fiction could cost $3 per page. That’s if input is digital. If it’s a paper manuscript with editorial changes, then it could cost more. So for a 300 page book, typesetting alone could cost upwards of $900.
Is this estimate correct?
Considering the challenge that small publishers face which you’ve outlined, what kind of savings in this area (without a compromise on quality) would be worthwhile?
Let’s start with the typesetting number. It may well exceed $3 per page, even if you’re sending a digital version of the ms.
As you noted, plant costs include more than just typesetting and cover design. They also include all the different types of editorial work you may have done, proofreading, any special permissions or illustrations that the publisher commissions, etc.
Your book and your audience will determine where you can cut plant costs without cutting quality enough to harm your sales or your reputation. (Another “it depends” answer, no?) For example, art books will require very high levels of design, but may have a lower copyediting cost. High level technical books need to be carefully copyedited and proofread, but you can often get away with really bland layouts.
As for whether this is different for the small press — I would say not. Small presses that want to compete against larger ones in the bookstore and for review attention can’t cut corners. There’s already such a presumption of lower quality for a relatively unknown house that you need to go overboard to overcome it.
Does that help?