Publishing and marketing books in Regency England wasn’t easy, especially for a woman. How did Austen manage it? The world loves to paint her as a spinster who sat around writing about love and marriage, but the reality is that she was a businesswoman, working to sell and manage her books.
Austen’s Publishing Options
Austen had two publishing options in Regency England. She could sell her books to a publisher for a flat rate. The publisher would then assume all the costs of printing and distributing the books, but he would also keep all the profits. This was a safe bet, but it had lower earning potential.
Alternately, she could publish a book on commission, which Austen called “publishing for myself”—or self-publishing. This meant that the publisher would front the expenses for publishing and distributing the book, but the author had to repay these costs plus a commission of about 10% of the sales. Ideally, the book sales cover would cover these expenses, but, if not, the author had to pay the expenses out of pocket. This was a risk but could lead to higher profits.
Northanger Abbey
Austen sold her first book, Susan (later renamed Northanger Abbey), in 1803 to Crosby & Co. for £10 (approximately $986 today). During her father’s lifetime, Austen received £20 a year as an allowance, so £10 was a significant sum for her.
Crosby advertised the book once but never published it. After six years of waiting, Jane wrote under a pseudonym to inquire about her work, adding that she’d like to publish the book elsewhere. Crosby responded by threatening legal action if she did this and said she could buy the book back for £10. Austen no longer had this money (half her yearly income!), so the book sat unpublished for years.
Northanger Abbey was a sad story. Austen had better luck with her next one.
This site is ending, so I moved this post. Read the rest here. (Jane gambled on publishing on commission next.)
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