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Hi ...

If a book is still selling well, it is likely to stay in print.  Else not.
Sometimes negotiations between author and publisher may affect whether the
book stays in print (even a successful book), as may the financial
condition and other publishing commitments of the publisher.  It does NOT
pay a publisher to do little print runs (though new technology may be
changing the economics -- I don't know about that), and it is certainly not
profitable to do a large run that will simply molder in a warehouse.
Beyond that, publishers have an interest in producing NEW books (they MUST
do that for their long-term viability), and must make room for the new by
dropping the (unprofitable) old.  Also, I heard some years ago that changes
in tax law led to sharp reductions in publishers' back lists.  Publishers
could no longer afford to retain stock of older books, and simply
remaindered out the left overs.

I am not an expert by any means, but I think the above is a fair summary.

No "hard and fast figures" are likely to be available, or if available,
they are very unlikely to be meaningful with respect to any specific book.
(Just as life-expectancy tables tell you nothing about how long someone you
see walking down the street is going to live.  The tables are inapplicable
to individuals.)

This is my own personal understanding as a long-time observer, and I am not
speaking for anyone else, but I hope it is of some use.

Regards,

Ken Umbach

At 11:06 AM 2/1/98 -0600, you wrote:
>I have been wondering about this also.  Every year the literature teachers
at my

--
Kenneth W. Umbach, Ph.D., Policy Analyst
California Research Bureau, California State Library
Sacramento, California
E-mail: kumbach@unlimited.net
Phone (voice) 916-653-6002 (fax) 916-654-5829
Personal Web page and selected papers: http://members.unlimited.net/~kumbach
This message reflects my opinion, not that of my employer or anyone else.

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