Midlist
Encyclopedia
Midlist is a term in the publishing industry which refers to book
s which are not bestseller
s but are strong enough to economically justify their publication (and likely, further purchases of future books from the same author
). The vast majority of total titles published are midlist titles, though they represent a much smaller fraction of total book sales, which are dominated by bestsellers and other very popular titles.
Authors who consistently publish acceptable but not bestselling books are referred to as Midlist authors.
Midlist publications were negatively affected by the US Supreme Court decision in the case Thor Power Tool Company v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, which changed how book publishers have to account for and can depreciate unsold inventory each year. This has been somewhat mitigated by the development of online bookselling
, which makes less popular titles more accessible to average readers. (For more on this phenomenon, see The Long Tail
.)
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s which are not bestseller
Bestseller
A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...
s but are strong enough to economically justify their publication (and likely, further purchases of future books from the same author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
). The vast majority of total titles published are midlist titles, though they represent a much smaller fraction of total book sales, which are dominated by bestsellers and other very popular titles.
Authors who consistently publish acceptable but not bestselling books are referred to as Midlist authors.
Midlist publications were negatively affected by the US Supreme Court decision in the case Thor Power Tool Company v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, which changed how book publishers have to account for and can depreciate unsold inventory each year. This has been somewhat mitigated by the development of online bookselling
On-line book
An on-line book is a resource in book-like form that is only available to read online. It differs from the common idea of an ebook, which is usually available to download and read locally or on an ebook reader.Book-like means:...
, which makes less popular titles more accessible to average readers. (For more on this phenomenon, see The Long Tail
The Long Tail
The Long Tail or long tail refers to the statistical property that a larger share of population rests within the tail of a probability distribution than observed under a 'normal' or Gaussian distribution...
.)
External links
- How Thor Power Hammered Publishing by Kevin O'Donnell, Jr.