# Stephen King Testified Against Publishers. Here's Why ![[images/Stephen-King-Testified-Against-Publishers.webp]] **Creator:** Marley Jaxx ([channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC062X1VdOLH7wHTEZZ6Q74w)) · **Published:** 2026-10-21 · **Length:** 2:59 (vertical, 360×640) · **Views at capture:** about 473,000 · [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI) > Transcript source: YouTube captions failed this run (`yt-dlp` `android_vr` hit HTTP 429, `mweb` hit the bot check, `youtube-transcript-api` was IP-blocked), so the speech was transcribed on the box with Whisper (`small.en`, about 565 words) from the 360×640 download. Quotes are from that Whisper transcript and may differ slightly from the spoken words. No chapters; the sections are mine. Screenshots come from the same download. Added from the Summarize playlist watch. ## Outline ### 1. The hook: publishers admitted it under oath — [0:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=0s) ![[images/Stephen-King-Testified-Against-Publishers-t00003.webp]] *Title card: "Day 7 — Publishers admitted this under oath"* - Jaxx opens: "Publishers admitted under oath that most of their books don't make money, and if you're writing one, you need to see these receipts" [0:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=0s). - "I read all 135 pages so that you don't have to" — framed as "an exposé" [0:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=6s), [0:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=11s). ### 2. The case — [0:17](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=17s) ![[images/Stephen-King-Testified-Against-Publishers-t00018.webp]] *"In 2022, the biggest publisher in the world..."* - "In 2022, the biggest publisher in the world tried to buy one of its biggest competitors, and the government said, absolutely not, and then took them to federal court" [0:17](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=17s). - So "publishing executives had to sit in a witness chair under oath and tell the truth about how this business actually works" [0:26](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=26s). ![[images/Stephen-King-Testified-Against-Publishers-t00034.webp]] *"...tell the truth about how this business actually works"* - "And Stephen King showed up to testify against them. ... When the horror guy thinks your business is scary, that's a sign" [0:34](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=34s), [0:39](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=39s). ### 3. The lottery: 35 of 100, and the top 4% — [0:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=46s) ![[images/Stephen-King-Testified-Against-Publishers-t00052.webp]] *Cashews on the table, each one "somebody's book"* - The prop: "Every one of these cashews is somebody's book, somebody's years of work" [0:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=46s). - "Out of every hundred books they publish, the number that make money, 35. Those were their numbers. A federal judge wrote it down" [0:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=50s). - "Of the ones that make money, the top 4% makes 60% of the profit. So they don't need your book to work, they need one Harry Potter to pay for the other 99. It's a lottery, and your book is a scratch off" [0:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=58s), [1:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=64s), [1:09](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=69s). ![[images/Stephen-King-Testified-Against-Publishers-t00072.webp]] *On-screen graphic: "Publishing lotto — Try again"* ### 4. Even the favorites don't earn out — [1:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=72s) - The books publishers "pay a quarter million dollars up front for": "the government's economists testified more than 85% of those never sell enough to pay that advance back" [1:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=72s), [1:16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=76s). - "If a weatherman was wrong 85% of the time, we would at least get to watch him get fired. Those are their favorites" [1:22](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=82s), [1:29](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=89s). ![[images/Stephen-King-Testified-Against-Publishers-t00094.webp]] *"The ones they didn't bet on..."* ### 5. The author's cut and the marketing budget — [1:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=90s) - "Imagine what happens to a book that they didn't bet on." On an "$18 paperback, the author makes about a buck 35, the publisher keeps the rest" [1:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=90s), [1:34](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=94s). ![[images/Stephen-King-Testified-Against-Publishers-t00105.webp]] *"So surely with all of that money..."* - "Their US CEO testified that marketing is about 2% of their revenue. One analyst ran the math, that's roughly $3,000 per book. You spent years writing it. They spent a couch" [1:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=105s), [1:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=110s), [1:53](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=113s). - "About two thirds of new books from the top 10 publishers sell under a thousand copies a year. That's under three books a day" [1:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=118s), [2:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=126s). ### 6. Launch day, then silence — [2:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=128s) ![[images/Stephen-King-Testified-Against-Publishers-t00130.webp]] *"Launch day — amazing": a group photo in front of a "Titans Industries" sign* - Launch day is "balloon, champagne, a post with your cover on it," then "it's like a first date that went amazing and then they move to another country and block your number" [2:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=128s), [2:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=133s). - "One of the most respected voices in publishing says most publishers stop promoting a book about three months after it comes out. After that, it's you, your book, and your mom's Facebook" [2:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=140s), [2:27](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=147s). ![[images/Stephen-King-Testified-Against-Publishers-t00150.webp]] *"...and your mom's Facebook"* ### 7. Stephen King's line and her pitch — [2:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=150s) - King "said this on the stand and I quote, it becomes tougher and tougher for writers to find money to live on" [2:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=150s). - "So we built ours backwards. They need one Harry Potter. We need every single author selling a hundred books a day each" [2:36](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=156s), [2:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=160s). ![[images/Stephen-King-Testified-Against-Publishers-t00165.webp]] *"...selling a hundred books a day each"* - Teaser for the next Short: "how a man got the number one best seller badge on Amazon with a picture of his foot" [2:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=165s). She ends by dropping the cashews ("Oh, I dropped my nuts") [2:52](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=172s). - The description repeats the hook and asks viewers to comment "STAGEBOOK" for "the playbook for a book that pays you back." ## Standout quotes - "I read all 135 pages so that you don't have to." ([0:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=6s)) - "When the horror guy thinks your business is scary, that's a sign." ([0:39](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=39s)) - "They don't need your book to work, they need one Harry Potter to pay for the other 99. It's a lottery, and your book is a scratch off." ([1:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=64s)) - "If a weatherman was wrong 85% of the time, we would at least get to watch him get fired." ([1:22](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=82s)) - "You spent years writing it. They spent a couch." ([1:53](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=113s)) - "After that, it's you, your book, and your mom's Facebook." ([2:27](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=147s)) ## Things mentioned ### The case - **United States v. Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA et al.** (D.D.C., No. 21-2886): the Justice Department's suit to block Penguin Random House's purchase of Simon & Schuster; tried in August 2022 before Judge Florence Y. Pan, who blocked the merger [0:17](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=17s). - **Penguin Random House** ("the biggest publisher in the world") and **Simon & Schuster** ("one of its biggest competitors") [0:17](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=17s). ### People (named or alluded to) - **Stephen King**, who testified for the government [0:34](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=34s), [2:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=150s). - PRH's "US CEO" (Madeline McIntosh, not named in the clip) on the 2% marketing figure [1:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=105s). - "The government's economists" (Dr. Nicholas Hill, not named) on the 85% earn-out figure [1:16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=76s). - "One analyst" who turned 2% into about $3,000 per book (not named) [1:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=110s). - "One of the most respected voices in publishing" on the three-month promotion window (not named; likely Jane Friedman, but unconfirmed) [2:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=140s). ### Books and titles - ***Harry Potter*** (series), by **J.K. Rowling**: used as the shorthand for a breakout hit that pays for everything else [1:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=64s), [2:36](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=156s). - No other titles are named. "STAGEBOOK" (description) is her company's lead-magnet playbook, not a published book. ### Terms - **Advance** and **earning out**: an upfront payment against royalties; a book "earns out" once royalties cover it [1:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=72s). - **Amazon #1 best seller badge**: teased for the next Short [2:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=165s). ## Biographies - **Marley Jaxx**: media founder, producer, writer and actor based in the Boise, Idaho area. Per her own site and LinkedIn, she started as a dental hygienist, built this YouTube channel (about 188,000 subscribers at capture per yt-dlp), produced a documentary on cancel culture, and is co-founder and CEO of Pursuit of Profit Publishing (home of "The Stagebook," whose stated mission is "100 authors selling 100 books a day"), and hosts the Titans of Industry mastermind with her husband Steve J Larsen. She is selling an alternative to traditional publishing, so this Short is also a pitch. - **Stephen King**: American horror and suspense novelist (*Carrie*, *The Shining*, *It*), published by Scribner, a Simon & Schuster imprint. On 2 August 2022 he testified for the government against the merger, telling the court "I came because I think consolidation is bad for competition." - **Florence Y. Pan** (not named in the clip): the federal judge who heard the case (then on the D.C. district court, since elevated to the D.C. Circuit) and blocked the merger. - **Madeline McIntosh** (not named): CEO of Penguin Random House US at the time of the trial; testified about the 2% marketing figure and that paid marketing is "the least effective way to generate sales." ## Claims check | Claim (when) | Check | Verdict | | --- | --- | --- | | In 2022 the biggest publisher tried to buy a top competitor; the government took it to federal court ([0:17](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=17s)) | PRH agreed in 2020 to buy S&S for $2.175 billion; DOJ sued in November 2021; trial began 1 August 2022; Judge Pan blocked it (ruling 31 October 2022, opinion November 2022). | Accurate (the suit was filed in 2021, tried in 2022) | | Stephen King testified against them ([0:34](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=34s)) | King testified for the government in August 2022, though he was an S&S (Scribner) author. | Accurate | | She read "all 135 pages" ([0:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=6s)) | Not checked; the public memorandum opinion is cited to page 80 in coverage, so the 135 pages may be a different document. | Unverified | | 35 of 100 books make money ([0:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=50s)) | Pan's opinion: "only 35 out of 100 books turn a profit," citing a PRH presentation and Dohle/McIntosh testimony. | Accurate | | The top 4% makes 60% of the profit ([0:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=58s)) | The opinion says "the top 4 percent of profitable titles generate 60 percent of profitability." | Accurate (4% of profitable titles, as she says) | | One Harry Potter pays for the other 99 ([1:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=64s)) | Rhetoric; the opinion describes a hit-driven "portfolio business" in which backlist also provides steady revenue. | Overstated | | More than 85% of big-advance books never earn out ([1:16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=76s)) | Economist Nicholas Hill testified more than 85% of contracts for "anticipated top-selling books" ($250K+ advances) never earned out. Publishers can profit at about 70% of earnout, so this is not a publisher loss rate. | Accurate, but missing context | | Author makes about $1.35 on an $18 paperback ([1:34](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=94s)) | Matches a standard 7.5% trade-paperback royalty on list price; not a figure from the opinion. | Plausible | | US CEO testified marketing is about 2% of revenue; about $3,000 per book ([1:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=105s), [1:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=110s)) | McIntosh testified to about 2%; analysts worked it out at about $3,000–$3,187 per print title as an average. The court record also shows under $10,000 average for sub-$250K advances vs $40,000–$90,000 above. | Accurate as an average | | About two-thirds of new books from the top 10 publishers sell under 1,000 copies a year ([1:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=118s)) | BookScan's Kristen McLean (2022): roughly 66% of frontlist titles from 10 major publishers sold under 1,000 print copies over 52 weeks; print retail only, no ebooks or audio. | Accurate with that limit | | Most publishers stop promoting a book about three months after release ([2:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=140s)) | Attributed to an unnamed "respected voice"; a common industry rule of thumb, not a court finding. | Unverified attribution | | King: "it becomes tougher and tougher for writers to find money to live on" ([2:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yI4d1pqrI&t=150s)) | Publishers Weekly reported: "I think it becomes tougher and tougher for writers to find enough money to live on." | Accurate (slightly paraphrased) |