Should You Print 100, 500 or 1,000 Copies of Your First Book?

Deciding how many copies to print is one of the first real business decisions an author makes, and it is easy to get wrong. Printing quotations almost always show the price per copy falling as the quantity rises, which makes a large print run look like the sensible choice. The price per copy is only half the picture. A larger run also means a larger payment, more books to store, more books to transport and more money tied up until those books are sold.

There is no single correct first print run. A novel sold mainly through the author's own contacts has a very different pattern of demand from a workbook ordered by a school. The useful question is not "What gives me the cheapest copy?" but "How many copies can this book realistically reach, and how much money can I afford to commit before I know the answer?"

Our position at Sotrane Publishers is that a first print run should be based on evidence of demand rather than hope. The steps below show how to gather that evidence and turn it into a quantity.

Compare the total you must pay, not just the unit price

Suppose, purely as an illustration, that a printer quotes K95 per copy for 100 copies, K70 per copy for 500 and K60 per copy for 1,000. The totals are K9,500, K35,000 and K60,000.

At 1,000 copies, each book costs K35 less to print than in the 100-copy run, which sounds compelling. But choosing that run means finding K50,500 more at the outset and taking responsibility for 900 more books. These figures are an example only, not current prices or a Sotrane quotation. Real costs depend on the size, page count, paper, colour, binding and finish of the book.

A lower unit price improves your margin when a copy sells. It does nothing for money tied up in copies that have not sold. Before approving any run, write down the full amount payable and how much money will remain afterwards for delivery, marketing and your ordinary obligations.

The cheapest copy can become the most expensive decision if hundreds of books remain in cartons.

Separate interested readers from committed buyers

When an author announces a forthcoming book, many people reply that they want a copy. That is encouraging, but it is not the same as a paid order. Some will buy. Others will forget, change their minds, wait for payday or discover that delivery costs more than expected. Social media in particular attracts generous encouragement from people who were never planning to buy.

It helps to keep three separate counts:

• Paid or formally confirmed orders, from buyers who have taken a clear step to purchase.
• Credible prospects, meaning people or organisations who have asked about price, availability and delivery but have not yet committed.
• General interest, such as likes, congratulations and casual expressions of support.

Treat the first group as firm evidence and the second with caution. Do not turn the third into a print order simply because the numbers look encouraging.

With institutions, find out who can actually approve a purchase. A teacher who loves your children's book may recommend it, but the decision to buy usually rests with someone else. A church member may want copies of a conference manual while the organiser has not agreed to buy any. Interest can begin a sale. It does not complete one.

Work backwards from the readers you can actually reach

Consider a first-time novelist in Lusaka who plans to sell at a launch, through direct messages and possibly through one bookshop. She expects 150 guests. Before settling on a quantity, she needs answers to some practical questions. How many guests have said they will buy? How many copies will be given away? Has the bookshop agreed to stock the book, on what terms and in what quantity? If someone in Ndola wants a copy, who will arrange delivery and what will it cost? Until those questions have answers, printing 1,000 copies is a bet on distribution that does not yet exist.

A lecturer producing a course reader for a known class is in a different position. If the institution has confirmed the order, quantity, delivery date and payment terms, demand is far less speculative and a larger run may be reasonable. Even then, it is worth checking whether the content will need updating before the next intake. An extra 500 cheap copies are poor value if the information in them will soon be out of date.

The same quantity can be sensible for one book and reckless for another. What matters is the evidence behind it.

Allow for copies that will not sell at full price

Authors sometimes estimate their income by multiplying every printed copy by the cover price. That assumes every copy reaches a paying reader at full price, which rarely happens. Some copies will be used for reviews, publicity, your own records or agreed contributions to events. A bookshop or distributor will need a discount. An institution may negotiate a different price. A few books may be damaged in handling, and delivery costs money even when the buyer pays for it separately.

Before choosing a run, divide the copies into realistic uses: confirmed orders, likely direct sales, bookshop stock, review copies and a modest reserve. If you cannot explain where most of the copies are likely to go, the proposed quantity is ahead of your sales plan. This exercise sometimes reveals a second problem, which is that the planned selling price leaves too little room once printing and delivery are paid for.

When a small first run makes sense

A smaller run is valuable when the readership is untested, when the author is doing most of the selling alone, when storage is limited or when the book may need an updated edition. It lets you learn from real orders before committing more money.

For example, an author who prints 100 copies of a practical guide and sells 70 in the first two months may discover that most buyers are training organisations rather than the general readers originally imagined. That information can shape both the next sales approach and the size of the next print run.

The disadvantages are a higher cost per copy and the risk of selling out at an awkward moment. Ask the printer how long a reprint is likely to take, whether the same paper and finish will remain available and whether a later order can match the original specification. Treat any timing or price you are given as something to confirm when you are actually ready to reorder.

When a larger first run may be justified

There are sound reasons to print more at once. A confirmed institutional order may require it. A publisher may have established routes to readers. An author may have documented advance sales, several committed stockists and enough money to hold stock safely.

Even then, distinguish confirmed demand from a confident forecast. If an organisation asks for a proposal for 500 copies, find out whether the purchase has actually been approved. If a bookshop expresses interest, agree the quantity, payment terms, responsibility for unsold copies and how restocking will work.

A larger run also needs a storage plan. Books must be kept clean, dry and secure, and someone must count the stock, record where it goes and fulfil orders without opening every carton to see what remains. For authors supplying several towns, packing and transport are part of the decision.

Compare quotations for the same book

One printer's figure for 500 copies cannot be compared with another's if the books are different. Ask each printer to quote for the same page count, finished size, interior colour, paper, cover, binding and delivery destination, and check whether a proof is included and which costs are charged separately. A change in paper or page count alters both the price and the finished book, as our guide to choosing book paper explains.

Ask for the quantities that are genuinely useful to you. If 100, 300 and 500 are your realistic options, request those figures. You do not have to order 1,000 simply because it produces the most attractive unit price.

Decide in this order

Start with the readers you can actually reach and count your firm orders. List the sales channels that are ready now rather than the ones you hope to build. Allow for complimentary copies and bookshop discounts. Compare quotations for the same specification. Then look at the total cash required and ask what would happen if sales took twice as long as you expect.

That last question is often the most revealing. If slow sales would leave you unable to pay for delivery or meet other commitments, reduce the quantity or revisit the plan. On the other hand, if a confirmed buyer needs hundreds of copies by a fixed date, a very small run may create a different problem. Your first print run is a stock decision as much as a printing decision. The aim is enough books to meet real demand without placing an avoidable financial burden on yourself.

How we approach print quantities

Sotrane's minimum print run is fifty copies, and we discuss the most appropriate quantity for each author's budget, readership and sales plan before production is confirmed. Because approved production files are kept on record, a reprint can usually be produced from the same files, subject to confirming that nothing in the content or specification needs to change. A standard paperback run generally takes about two to four weeks after the proof is approved.

If you are preparing to request a quotation, our book printing page lists the details to provide, including size, page count, paper and the quantities you want priced. Ask for several quantities that fit your actual sales plan.

If you have already published, how did you decide on your first print run, and what did your actual sales teach you?