BLEAK FUTURE FOR BOOK PUBLISHING

The managing director of Se-Ed, Thailand's largest bookshop chain, on Thursday gave some dire predictions of both the current state and future of the book publishing industry in Thailand. Thanong Chotisorayuth said half of all publishing houses in Thailand are not strong enough to survive. He cited an unsold rate of 30% as a contributing factor, meaning three of every ten books that arrive in a shop remain unsold and consequently do not generate revenue for the publisher. He said 27,213 books were launched in Thailand during 2007.
I don't think any publisher is going to launch a book they don't feel will sell, but when you take into account all the costs it's probably that unsold 30% that is the difference between a profit and a loss.