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A Publishing Company |
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Unknown yet insightful literary works deserve discovery.
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Penultimate Imprint does not offer the services of the top publishing companies such as advances on books, book agents, cover designs or product marketing; just thoughtful insights and free advise on publishing options based on personal experience. Founding a publishing company was a solution to support literary works demanding to be voiced. Perhaps the ignored authors might turn out to be extraordinarily valuable.
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Decisions On Publishing… We’ve all heard the saying, ‘Writer’s don’t get rich, publishers do.” Fact is, unless you fell into the lottery with a sign up bonus because you were in the right place at the right time, the saying is pretty much the truth. The other truth is: to get your book sold, you’re going to have to spend your own money. Thought I should get that out of the way upfront. Writing a manuscript is not the ‘hard’ part. The difficult issues in attempting to get a novel published are the lessons that frustrate a writer: · Finding quality Editing Services at reasonable rates · Determining the ‘first steps’ to take · Finding a publishing house that will take your manuscript So, you’re here because you passed the first decision: ‘to write or not to write’. You’ve become a writer and having finished your first work you are now faced with the question of publishing and if you do who do you want to read your labor of love and how do you want it presented. And, if you do move your words from your computer file into a more formal print process you must decide how to start. Since you’re here at AuthorsDen you took the first step in the decision chain of ‘to publish or not’ the minute you set up your ‘den’. That's an appropriate name as it signals a place of comfort and security where you can feel safe when making major decisions. At this moment, it’s seemed more like having a nagging headache than fun; but, at least you reached this milestone of sharing your words publicly. As a result, you’ve been thinking about publishing your work in a 'book'. But what is the first step to publish; specifically, self-publish? Secretly you’ve already advanced into this end of the pool when you sent out your first manuscript sample to one of the larger publishing houses and you have the rejections notice as a reminder of reaching that goal too. Don’t worry, as most writers here have either personal experience or have a friend who has experienced the drama of sending a manuscript off to the ‘big publishing houses’; and, they likely have the expanded folder of rejection slips as proof. It’s also likely that you took the step of researching other avenues and discovered the hundreds of possibilities that are still open when your courage is screwed back on and you’re ready to start over again. For those that are still simmering, here’s a hint about some players in the self publishing arena; Author House, Publish America, Lulu, iUniverse, New Leaf, Vantage Press, Blu Sky Media, BookSurge, Amazon.com, OutskirtsPress, CafePress; and hundreds of others with less familiar names. Some of the posts in the blog section and the repository reveal a trend. Many have selected a publishing house to get their books printed; self printed, ‘vanity’ or whatever name is currently thrown around for the not yet famous writers; but, they report disappointments for the money spent. It has been my personal experience that writers who want to become authors have some basic information that they need to ask when deciding: 1. Does editing the manuscript come with the fee charged? (This can cost from $300-$4,000 depending on 'quality'.) 2. Do you get an ISBN number assigned to the work including the bar code? 3. Does the fee cover filing for copywrite protection? 4. How many ‘free’ to author books are included in the fee? (Initial review copy stock for ads.) 5. What does using the publishing firm do to the cost of your book when publishing; don’t stop at the sales pitch of ‘you decide how much you want your royalties to be” as this may price your book out of the market. 6. Does the fee include distribution and if ‘yes’; which companies? 7. Does the fee charged include advertisement or ‘marketing’ and if ‘yes’ what does that ‘mean’? How and what happens with this piece? If this merely means notice is given to Amazon that your book is for sale, well, this is free everywhere else so you are paying for free. If it means interviews are set up for you, then this is a good thing as this piece can cost you $2,000 for one week of radio ads or as much as $10,000 for a four hour radio interview 'tour' (you're actually not traveling but on the phone) or a one day 'media' blitz. 8. Does a cover for the book come with the price of entry? Get samples too as you want quality artwork; otherwise, you can create your own cover just like you created your writing! Here’s a helpful web site with some free advice available to new writers from the host; Antoinette Kuritz. I want to say up front that I get the distinct impression she is not a ‘fan’ of self publishing or print on demand publishing as the method to use; but, she does interview people that are. So take time to listen to a few of the programs as it will give you an opportunity for enlightenment in this decision loop. Here is the web link: http://www.worldtalkradio.com/show.asp?sid=11 Some interesting ’learning’ opportunities on the above web site include: Date of Interview: 7/5/2006 What Every Writer Needs To Know About Distribution Date of Interview: 3/15/2006 On Behalf of the Small Press Center of New York Date of Interview: 1/18/2006 On Behalf of the Small Press Center of New York Take some time and research your options, you'll be glad you did! Become informed about distribution too; it will serve you well as many times a book purchased has a 'return' policy and authors don't get paid when a book is returned. Thought you should know that piece on the backside too! |
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