An article here covers some bases on the effects on publishing of Brexit:
What Does 'Brexit' Mean for Publishing?
Mostly there's a general gnashing of teeth and wailing, but a couple of specific pointers raised are:
1. Trade publishers face a shrinking market, as UK rights previously applied to English rights throughout Europe. I'm not sure how big this area is, but the writer claims its significant by mentioning it.
2. Consumer spending may result in lower sales volume, and publishers may have to cut prices to keep up unit sales.
3. A weak pound is good for sales income, not so good for production costs.
I may have unintentionally misrepresented some of the arguments - those are the points and their interpretation as I understood them.
All of which, to me, point to Brexit being:
1. Bad news for traditional publishers: less marketshare, lower sales revenues, increased costs,
2. Good news for ebook self-publishers: continued control of existing marketshare, limited impact on already discounted book prices, and increased foreign currency revenues due to weakened pound
There's also the possibility that the EU VAT ruling would no longer be applicable after Brexit. If that is the case, then this would surely benefit self-published writers who wanted to sell their ebooks directly from their own websites. EU VAT rules are complex though.
What Does 'Brexit' Mean for Publishing?
Mostly there's a general gnashing of teeth and wailing, but a couple of specific pointers raised are:
1. Trade publishers face a shrinking market, as UK rights previously applied to English rights throughout Europe. I'm not sure how big this area is, but the writer claims its significant by mentioning it.
2. Consumer spending may result in lower sales volume, and publishers may have to cut prices to keep up unit sales.
3. A weak pound is good for sales income, not so good for production costs.
I may have unintentionally misrepresented some of the arguments - those are the points and their interpretation as I understood them.
All of which, to me, point to Brexit being:
1. Bad news for traditional publishers: less marketshare, lower sales revenues, increased costs,
2. Good news for ebook self-publishers: continued control of existing marketshare, limited impact on already discounted book prices, and increased foreign currency revenues due to weakened pound
There's also the possibility that the EU VAT ruling would no longer be applicable after Brexit. If that is the case, then this would surely benefit self-published writers who wanted to sell their ebooks directly from their own websites. EU VAT rules are complex though.
