Twelve Little Indians

Here's a NPR report on a new imprint, Twelve. They're committed to only publishing twelve books a year, giving their full attention to each. There's the obligatory lines about making all books a bestseller, I recommend listening to the whole story (as the printed transcript doesn't have everything.

But it does mirror some of the thoughts that were brought out in several panels I've seen, and from some of the reading I've done into the current state of the publishing industry. Part of this research includes things like at 12 they focus on selling the book for a whole month, where as with most modern publishers, you get maybe a week on the shelves. With only a week you've got to start with a good buzz going about the book, which means starting a year before the book comes out to build word of mouth.