Publishers Can No Longer Set Fixed Prices

Nimazh Publishing director says conditions have changed so that some publishers prefer not to print prices on books, since a printed price may have to be changed shortly afterward.

Alireza Esadi, in an interview with the reporter of Iran's Ambassador Arjan (Ambassador Arjan), referring to the difficulties of book production in the current economic and country conditions, said: working conditions have become complicated and difficult for all trades, the increase in currency prices and economic problems have caused prices to increase sharply, and production in the field of publishing is also facing serious obstacles. Meanwhile, the most important issue in the production sector is paper; Because most of the costs of book production are dedicated to the supply of paper and currently the market situation is not suitable at all.

He continued: The price of paper is very expensive and this issue has made the conditions of book production difficult. In my opinion, in the first 6 months of the year, many publishers have stopped their production or severely limited their activities. Some are also waiting for the economic conditions to stabilize so that they can start production again.

Esadi, stating that Nimage Publishing cannot completely stop its activities due to its previous commitments, added: We have several contracts and we must continue on our path; Of course, we can slow down production, but we can't stop it completely; Because we have an obligation to the works we have accepted and the contracts we have concluded. We have first edition books in the program and we also reprint works that are known and have an audience if needed.

Referring to the performance of these publications since the beginning of the year, he said: Despite all the problems, from the beginning of the year until the time of this interview, we have published about 100 titles of books in the field of theater and books in the field of fiction literature of Iran and the world.

current situation; A drastic reduction in numbers

Referring to the most important change in the way of book production according to the current conditions, Nimage publishing director said: What happened in this situation is a huge reduction in the circulation of books, the circulations have become few and in some cases, we have reached 200 copies. Of course, this limitation helps us coordinate production with the real market conditions.

In response to the question of whether Nimage publishing is more selective in selecting titles than in the past, he explained: The selection of titles is always done with great care and obsession. When we sign a contract to publish a book, we are committed to its implementation, and so far the conditions have not been such that we want to cancel our contracts. Of course, I have heard that many publishers are canceling their contracts in the current situation, but so far we have not had such an approach.

Esadi continued: What we have changed now is more related to circulation management, we are trying to bring the circulation closer to the market demand and somehow go towards production based on order or demand. This method helps the books to be produced according to the actual needs of the market and does not impose additional costs on the publisher.

He considered this change to have positive effects from the aspect of "production management" and said: One of the problems we faced in the past was the issue of storage; Publishers usually had a large inventory of books and needed larger warehouses to store them. We also faced the problem of lack of warehouse space in the past and we were always thinking of adding space for storing books. But now, with the limited circulation and the move towards production based on the order, this problem has decreased to some extent.

Nimage publishing director stated: However, if the situation continues in this way, we may have to think about further reducing production and even canceling some contracts. Today, the paper crisis is really serious, and if a solution is not found, it will be more difficult for publishers to continue their activities.

paper crisis; Why are the basic materials needed for the book not provided?

Referring to the state of the paper market, Esdi stated: An important part of the paper used in the publishing industry, including balki and writing paper, is imported, and most of the paper used in books is supplied from Russia, however, even though it seems that imports from this route do not face some problems that exist in other routes, we are still facing a shortage of paper and very high prices.

He added: It is not really clear why, despite the clear need of the publishing market, paper is not available in sufficient quantity, and if it is found, its price is so high! Currently, the price gap between balky paper and Tahrir is much less and the price of these two types of paper are close to each other.

Esadi, warning about the consequences of the continuation of this situation, said: If no measures are taken to provide paper, many publishers may be forced to close their activities or reduce their collections by the end of the year.

Nimage publishing director further explained about the effect of inflation on book pricing: In the past, the situation was not such that the publisher had to constantly change the price of the book, when publishing the book, the publisher included its price in the receipt notice and the price was also clear on the book itself. Then the book would be offered at the same price until the stock was exhausted and in the next edition, a new price would be determined according to the new costs.

He continued: But now the situation has changed in such a way that some publishers prefer not to include the price on the book. Because if a certain price is written on the book, they may be forced to change it a short time later, and this issue has become one of the new problems of the publishing industry.

Esadi added: Today, you may publish a book with a circulation of 200 copies, and a month later, you will face a significant increase in costs for reprinting the same book. Depending on the conditions, the production cost and the price required to sell the same book may increase by 20 to 30 percent because the cost of paper, printing, and binding is constantly changing, and the general trend is also increasing.

In response to a question about Nimage's publishing policy to control book prices and reduce pressure on readers, he said: The issue is how much the publisher can transfer the increase in costs to the final price of the book. In the past, the publisher's profit margin from the final price of the book was about 25%. But if the publishers want to consider the same profit margin today, the price of the book will reach a level where there will no longer be buyers for it.

Reducing the publisher's profit margin and revising the contracts of authors and translators

Stating that the publishers have had to change their financial policies to continue their activities, Esdi said: the current situation forces the publishers to both reduce production costs and limit their profit margins; In the meantime, one of the solutions is to revise the contracts related to authors and translators. Maybe in the past, the percentages of copyright and translation fees were 12, 15 or even 18%, but now some publishers have to reduce these percentages to continue their activities.

He continued: On the other hand, the publisher must also limit his profit to a great extent, we can no longer talk about the past 25% profit margin; Because if such a profit is included in the final price, the book will become unaffordable for a large part of the audience.

Nimage publishing director stated: The publisher must manage its costs and keep the price of the book in a range that is compatible with the market custom, the price cannot be increased without considering the purchasing power of the audience. At the same time, production costs are also real and the publisher cannot ignore them; Therefore, the way to continue the activity is to control the costs and reduce the profit of the publisher.

Pointing to the difference between the conditions of small publishers and professional collections, he said: Small publishers may have lower costs or operate without extensive human resources, but a publisher who wants to work professionally has a set of employees and current costs and must pay their salaries and financial obligations, and it is very difficult for such a publisher to continue operating without careful management of costs.

Esadi added: "Professional and serious publishers are still trying to maintain the flow of book publishing, but this requires a review of economic methods and cost reduction. We have to do the pricing in such a way that the audience can still afford to buy the book and at the same time, the author's and translator's rights are also paid."

In summing up this part of his speech, he said: "Currently, we are only thinking about survival, not about generating income. The main goal of publishers in the current situation is to be able to continue their activities and keep the light on so that maybe the economic conditions will improve in the future and it will be possible to return to a more suitable situation."

planning for the next 6 months; Daily activity in unpredictable conditions

Also, in response to the question of what is his plan for the next 6 months and how he wants to continue publishing, the director of Nimage Publishing said: The situation is not such that one can make an accurate prediction about the future, no one knows what will happen in the coming days and in which direction the country's war situation will go. It is not clear whether an agreement will be reached or the war will continue and sanctions and restrictions will remain the same or change.

He continued: "If the current situation continues and there is no solution for the existing problems, the risk of closure is not only for publishing and it can affect various economic areas. For this reason, we are currently operating daily." We advance our work and pursue long-term projects at a slower pace, but we cannot have a precise plan to, for example, get from one point to another within a certain period of time.

Asadi added: Even if someone makes a specific prediction for the future, due to possible fluctuations and changes, it cannot be guaranteed that that prediction will be fully realized. We also cannot announce a definite plan for the next 6 months; However, we continue to operate and try to get things done despite the difficulties.

He emphasized: We believe that the right and high-quality work should be done, even if the quantity and number of published books decrease, the quality of the works is very important to us, and we do not want to abandon the standards of book production due to economic conditions.

The high price of books has forced publishers to be more careful in selecting and producing works

Referring to the effect of economic conditions on the quality of book production, Esadi said: the increase in costs and the relative stagnation of the market have forced publishers to be more careful in selecting works and how to prepare them. In the past, some publishers may have been more negligent in the process of producing works, but now the situation is such that it is no longer possible to publish books without sufficient care.

He continued: When the price of the book increases, the audience buys more sensitively. Therefore, one cannot publish any book with any quality and expect the audience to buy it, the book must be in good condition in terms of content, editing and production quality.

The director of Nimage Publishing stated that the economic conditions have caused a lot of damage to the society and the publishing industry, and added: But one of the changes that can be seen in the way publishers operate is the increased attention to quality. Publishers have to be more careful in choosing titles, editing and preparing books. Because the cost of production is high and it is not possible to compensate for past mistakes easily.

He emphasized: reducing the quantity should not mean reducing the quality, the number of books we publish may decrease, but we must try to reach the audience with the same limited number with the right quality.

proposal to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance; Providing paper at a fixed and predictable rate

Nimage publishing director also said about the government's measures to improve the publishing market situation: the biggest current problem of the publishing industry is the issue of paper, balky paper and other papers used in book production are an important part of publishers' needs, and the consumption of these papers in the publishing market can also be estimated.

He continued: Writing paper has various uses, but a certain part of the paper needed by the publishing industry is used to produce books. For this reason, it is possible to estimate the annual demand of publishers and consider a specific plan to provide this amount.

Emphasizing the necessity of creating stability in the paper market, Esadi said: My suggestion is to devise a plan to supply the paper needed by publishers so that they can obtain this raw material at a specific and predictable rate. This issue does not necessarily mean lower paper prices or allocation of subsidies. The main issue is that the price of paper does not change continuously due to currency fluctuations and inflation.