From Quinn & Quire
More details on Trafford Publishing sale
April 9, 2009 6:31 PM By Scott MacDonald
Earlier this week, Q&Q Omni reported on the sale of the Victoria-based self-publishing firm Trafford Publishing to its U.S. competitor, the Indiana-based Author Solutions. Since then, details have arisen that shed new light on the sale. Author Solutions has purchased Trafford’s author contracts and intellectual property, including the Trafford name and trademark.
In a recent missive to Trafford shareholders, Reid explained that he was forced to sell the publishing business because it had been experiencing “significant losses” over the past two years. “The self-publishing business was bleeding money and our ability to staunch the flow was severely hampered by a lack of working capital,” he wrote. “The print business was profitable but not enough to offset the losses in self-publishing…. Early this year, it became clear to Trafford that it was time to make some hard choices.”
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Well now, makes you wonder, doesn't it, especially with all the media hype of late stating how self-publishing is doing so well. Maybe Trafford just had a bad business model, or maybe not. -- cannegardner
More details on Trafford Publishing sale
April 9, 2009 6:31 PM By Scott MacDonald
Earlier this week, Q&Q Omni reported on the sale of the Victoria-based self-publishing firm Trafford Publishing to its U.S. competitor, the Indiana-based Author Solutions. Since then, details have arisen that shed new light on the sale. Author Solutions has purchased Trafford’s author contracts and intellectual property, including the Trafford name and trademark.
In a recent missive to Trafford shareholders, Reid explained that he was forced to sell the publishing business because it had been experiencing “significant losses” over the past two years. “The self-publishing business was bleeding money and our ability to staunch the flow was severely hampered by a lack of working capital,” he wrote. “The print business was profitable but not enough to offset the losses in self-publishing…. Early this year, it became clear to Trafford that it was time to make some hard choices.”
--
Well now, makes you wonder, doesn't it, especially with all the media hype of late stating how self-publishing is doing so well. Maybe Trafford just had a bad business model, or maybe not. -- cannegardner
Comments
I can't wait to read your article and look at the numbers.
I wonder if some of your findings may be based on the fact that most POD authors are still relying on physical book sales and don't know how to take advantage of Amazon's DTP publishing system for Kindle? I look forward to your article.
Cheryl-
I've had much success with pricing my latest on Kindle at $5.99. Amazon discounts it to $4.79, but I still make $2.10 per sale as opposed to my .69 cent cut of hard copy sales.