Number of books sold needed to break even in 1880s: 1,000. By 1914: 1,500. In the '40s: 2,500. In the '50s: 5-10,000. Today?
Figures from The Book Trade in the Gilded Age, Donald Sheehan (1951).
@jeffjarvis
Today, if it's published under Gold Open Access or any of those quirky new publishing models where processing charges are paid by the authors, books and journals break even before they're even released. Self-publication 2.0
Add comment