Sense and sustainability

Mensch Founder, Richard Charkin, was featured in an article on PoD-based publishing in Future Book Magazine today.

“The whole catalogue is now available in print and e-book on the basis of just-in-time responsive technology. I am paying roughly twice per copy by using Print on Demand, but the savings in warehousing, distribution, freight, and stock provisions compensate adequately. There are no overstocks. There is no pulping of paper. There are no shiploads or planeloads of books destined for Australia.”

He tells the story of his cutting loose from the constraints of the print-run-fixated business model that has been holding sway since the days of John Gutenberg – to the detriment of cash flow and our environment. It’s a story of liberation that might get legacy publishers dreaming, too – and should prompt them into probing the value of “just-in-time responsive technology” for their own, ever more difficult, business. What they might win is not only ease but also, and sometimes even more importantly, speed.

“When I established Mensch Publishing, the intention was simply to test whether it was still possible to publish books for the general reader which couldn’t necessarily be supported by larger publishers carrying significant fixed overheads.

What I hadn’t factored in was the growing importance of environmental sustainability. The first few books were printed traditionally, stored in warehouses around the world, shipped between the warehouses and to (and from) book wholesalers and retailers. All other activities (marketing, publicity, author acquisition and contracting, editing, proofreading, rights, royalties, finance etc.) were undertaken by me or by freelancers. It worked pretty well and I remain grateful for the help I received, particularly from Bloomsbury.

But I had to face some uncomfortable realities. Despite long years of experience, I was still carrying too much stock: the reprint that was too exuberant; the initial sales not living up to expectations; returns of unsold stock from retailers; difficulties in ensuring simultaneous publication around the world; and the costs of the logistical infrastructure as a whole.”

Click here to read the full story.