Keeping Pace

Click here to read a report prepared by the Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association on the Economic Impact of the Nova Scotia Book Publishing Industry.

“We’re growing but the pot isn’t getting any bigger,” says Terrilee Bulger, treasurer for the Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association and sales manager at Nimbus, the province’s biggest publishing house.

 

Publishers are hoping the new NDP government will increase the pot. “The NDP’s campaign platform stated they’d bring funding for publishers up to the level of other provinces,” says Mike Hunter, publisher at Cape Breton University Press. “If the campaign promise is met, Nova Scotia publishers will be better situated to compete…”

 

Not that there’s anything ‘level’ about the way provinces fund publishing. Some provinces, such as Ontario and Quebec, prioritize publishing, even matching federal dollars. They help industries forge strategic partnerships and provide funds for publishers to digitize catalogues.   

 

It’s common for Nova Scotia publishers to lose authors because they cannot offer sizable advances or tax breaks. The Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association puts sales lost to the province because of local authors contracting with national publishers at $8,324,600 in 2008.

 

“It’s easy to be a writer in a cottage on the south shore and send your books to Random House in New York; that’s the model here,” says Nimbus general manager, Dan Soucoup.

 

Ideally, Nova Scotia publishers would like the book sector to benefit from the kind of incentives and tax breaks that have made Nova Scotia’s film industry the country’s fourth largest. Last year, the film industry hit new highs, reporting $150 million in production activity, according to Film Nova Scotia.

 

Figures from the publishers’ association show that in 2007-2008, Nova Scotia publishing houses recorded $5,411,940 in sales. Of these, 63 per cent occurred in markets outside the province—proving that Nova Scotia books have wide appeal.  

 

“We’re a strong industry,” says Bulger, “We export a lot of books—something the government has said it wants. With a boost from government, we could be so much more.”

 

Soucoup says, “In Ontario, they’re trying to replace the car industry with the cultural industry. They’re throwing so much money at culture and they’re throwing even more at the digital challenges and opportunities.”    

 

This situation isn’t new; Ontario and Quebec have always dominated. Statscan shows that in 2007, the two provinces accounted for 93 per cent of industry operating revenues and 97 per cent of operating profits.

 

But several trends, especially the need to digitize collections, create a modern twist. Most publishers see digitization as vital if they’re to grow with the market. E-book sales rose almost 200 per cent in 2009, according to Forrester Research (quoted by Canadian-based e-retailer, Kobo).  

 

It takes time and money to digitize books so they can be read on-line and on devices like Amazon’s Kindle or the new Apple iPad. Print copies have to be delivered to specialized companies where each page of a book is scanned. Software then converts images to text, which is usually checked by proofreaders back at the publishing house.

 

Publisher James Lorimer said the Ontario company that bears his name is digitizing books with the support of the Ontario government—support that’s not available to Formac, his Halifax-based operation.

 

The economic value of publishing isalready being recognized by some regional governments, insiders say. Suzanne Alexander, publisher of Fredericton’s Goose Lane Editions, hailed the New Brunswick government’s recent book policy as “enlightened” but stressed publishers can’t depend entirely on favourable policy. “We keep in touch with the marketplace and respond to it,” she said.

 

The N.B. strategy was launched in September, 2008 and was touted as the first in the region. The three-year plan aims to help publishers become more competitive nationally. Goals include supporting translation and helping public libraries purchase books by local authors or books published in-province.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, a publishers’ assistance program aims to stimulate economic activity and supports digital technology. “The government is starting to understand what publishing is here and what it does,” said Anna Kate MacDonald, publicist at Breakwater Books in St. John’s.

 

Laurie Brinklow, publisher of Acorn Press, P.E.I.’s sole publisher, said the provincial government has recently acknowledged her years of lobbying and instituted a book publishers’ assistance fund, providing a maximum of $10,000 per year.

 

Publishers face various issues right now, including changing consumer tastes, which often result in soaring demand for some genres and plummeting desire for others. The range of titles on any given subject has broadened. The reader has choice, while publishers sell fewer copies of any given book. 

 

But it’s the rapidly-changing world of e-publishing that is everyone’s current focus. New trends will be created by iPad, which has a colour screen that can show video. Right now, prices for e-books are low and content is sometimes given away. Publishers say the only people making money are distributors. The market is expected to soar although the Associated Press has reported that incompatibility among e-reading systems may dampen demand.

Whatever happens, no one wants to be left behind. “The e-book issue is a potential tipping point,” said Nate Crawford, the new executive director at the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia. “There’s a potential for serious returns if the government is willing to invest.”

 

Suzanne Alexander said Goose Lane employees watch the landscape. “We feel like we’re scrambling in a very interesting period of time,” Alexander said, adding that e-books may “cannibalize” part of the print market.

 

“E-books will in some manner redefine what we think of as books,” Alexander said. “With e-books it may be possible to incorporate an audio book as well as a text version.” Books may include a reading by the author or a video link, she added.

Soucoup said that when the dust has settled there’ll be an economic model that makes sense for publishers. “Those that are ready to go and have their books digitized will benefit and grow further,” he said.