One of the first questions to answer once your book is written is: How many books should you print? This is really the million dollar question and where a lot of money is often made or lost. Print too many — you’ll be stuck with a huge inventory of unsellable product. Print too few — you’ll get stuck doing costly reprints.

Unfortunately, if there is a secret formula, I don’t know it. However, after nearly 15 years in the publishing industry, I can tell you my experience. More often than not, publishers are overly optimistic about how many books they will sell. So be careful - don’t get stuck with a garage full of books.

Ask yourself how many books you would hope to sell in your realistic best-case scenario. I’m not talking about Oprah choosing your book for her book club - let’s stay grounded here. But come up with an optimistic number. Now look at your worst-case scenario. How many books are you extremely confident you can sell based on your current market research?

Now pick a quantity in-between those two numbers, but probably closer to the lower number. You’ll find it’s much less expensive to do reprints than it is to be stuck with a garage full of unsold books. Plus, you’ll feel more successful having gone through your first print run.

Your quantity will determine whether you will end up using a digital printer or a typical offset printer.

If printing fewer than 1,000 books, you’ll probably be better off with a digital printer. On a digital press there really isn’t a huge cost savings based on quantity. So it’s definitely better to start with a lower quantity and come back for reprints later.

An offset press is better suited for quantities of at least 1,000. In this case, there can be some heavy quantity discounts. If you’re still debating on your quantity, comparing the cost per book numbers between quantities may help make your decision easier. In any case, be sure to ask your printer for quotes for a number of different quantities. Hey, if Oprah does call, at least you’ll be ready!

In other words: start small, but don’t be afraid to dream big! Keep working at it, and with a little luck and a lot of perseverance you’ll eventually start hitting those larger print runs.