I should have paid more attention in Math Class

More fantastic information about publishing, from Anna Lousie (editor at Tor). It doesn't scare me, but it should.

P&Ls and how books make (or don't) money: part the first: the mass market original complete failure

In which I explain how we figure out how much money to pay authors for their advance, and also in which I explain how sometimes books make money and sometimes they don't:

P&Ls and how books make (or don't) money: part the first: the mass market original complete failure

A P&L is done a couple of different times. The first time is when we are estimating what we think we will spend on a book versus what we think we will make. If we buy the book, P&Ls are done throughout the book's life.

P&L usually stands for Profitability & Liability or Profit & Loss.

In order to buy a book at Tor, we have to fill out a P&L to make sure that the book will be profitable.

Anna Lousie goes on to explain with numbers and math how it all comes together (or doesn't)