8 has me puzzled -- 8. Too expensive to produce.

Are the costs between two different books really that different?

I definitely understand it in terms of movies. I'm really curious about how much it costs to produce one book versus another.

I'm curious why it isn't part of #3. 3. Too small in sales potential.

@James...

Puzzles me too. The article says:

"8. Too expensive to produce. Handmade paper? Die-cut/pop-up/squid ink? We see dollar signs (and not the good kind)."

But these choices are not made by the author of the manuscript, are they? I mean asking for squid ink doesn't seem like a common request.

The size of the volume could have something to do with it, as well as whether there are legal fees attached (like life rights, etc.). If the author is something of a so-and-so who demands a higher payment, a bidding war ensues and jacks up the price, or if book would need to be extensively marketed. (I interned for a literary agent at one point, just to see how that industry worked, and those are two of the things that come to mind.)

I think #8 is also similar to what you see with that 150 page spec script or the unknown screenwriter with the $100 MM budget movie idea.

Lots of studios just don't want to take a chance with a newcomer on a long, expensive film.

Newcomers have a similar challenge when writing novels. There is a magic page count they are supposed to abide to (like our magic 120) because after a certain amount of pages, the binding changes, the cost per page changes, and so on.

Publishers don't want to risk the extra cost on a newcomer. The two worlds of literature and film are very similar in those ways.