§ Mr. Frederic Harrisasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what was the cost of printing Sir Ernest Gowers book, "Plain Words"; what was the cost of distribution and advertising and the profit; what was the author's remuneration; how many copies were printed; and how many sold.
§ Mr. JayThe number of copies printed was 232,000 and 201,000 have been sold. The cost of printing and publishing, including advertising, was £6,500. The cost of distribution, including trade discounts was £7,000. I do not think it would be appropriate to disclose the author's remuneration. The book was priced in accordance with the average pricing scale for official publications 155W generally, which aims at equalising profits and losses. On "Plain Words" the profit was approximately £6,000.