Quote:
Originally Posted by Fbone
I believe the large publishers use their small imprints for the non-mainstream and riskier publications.
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That's part of what imprints are all about. They are specifically intended to publish certain types of books, appealing to certain market segments. They may spawn bestsellers (and the champagne corks will pop and joy will abound if they do), but that's not their purpose.
The question for the parent company is whether the imprint reaches a large enough market and makes a good enough contribution to revenue and profit. In some cases, prestige is also a factor, and an imprint might exist that publishes "important" books that win awards, gain critical fame, and wind up being taught in literature lasses, but which don't actually sell all that well.
Many years ago, I worked in retail, and at one point a friend who worked in the same store was going on about the stuff the buyer for the China department had picked up in Europe. "This is such
shit!" he said, as he unpacked it. "But the shit
sells son!", said the canny old buyer. The store was considered the high end department store in the area, and sold expensive high end goods, but it's a good bet the China department made more money on German kitsch than expensive Wedgewood settings.
So it is with publishing. The National Book Award winner is what the publisher points to with pride saying "
We published that!", but the trashy romance novel might pay the bills.
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Dennis