Tariffs are coming to publishing

Well that was fast.

Ever since Trump announced all the tariffs he’s been threatening us with are going into effect this week, I’ve low-key been waiting for them to come for my industry. It’s bad enough I won’t be able to get a decent cucumber (Mexico and Canada export the best). Now I can’t afford to stay in business in an industry with already razor-thin profit margins.

Authors, publishers, and book stores are, understandably, freaking the fuck out. A 25% tariff on books printed outside the U.S. will make already-high cover prices astronomical. The White House has since amended the tariff to be lower on children’s books, and made religious exemptions for, say, bible publishers. (One wonders what constitutes as a “religious” book… Does Sierra Simone’s Priest count?)

Right now, if you’re an indie author using IngramSpark or KDP to print your books, the tariffs won’t effect you because both IS and KDP have facilities right here in the United States. With publishers large and small scrambling to save costs with this sudden announcement, though, we could see an influx in IS/KDP users, which could raise prices for everyone.

Or it could be a good thing, lowering printing costs for everyone. We don’t know yet.

In the meantime, authors may want to review your cover prices more frequently to make sure you’re still making a profit as costs fluctuate. You’ll also want to consider alternatives (like local book printers who can better handle your orders if IS/KDP get flooded), or ways to lower your costs (like creating truncated editions,publishing longer novels in parts, serializing chapters, or utilizing zines).

The publishing industry is constantly changing. We have to adapt or die, especially in times when external entities have tumultuous effect on publishing. Nothing could stop me from writing, not even my own body, so there’s no way in hell someone like Trump could ever.

This is the part where we get more creative.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash