Idea, draft, story, revision, done, right? Not quite. Book writing doesn’t end with the last sentence. It ends when the book hits the shelf. And even not then, but let’s step on the brakes for now. A book today is as good as the publishing dedicated to it.
The market is profuse with outfits that are offering book publishing services for book writers, claiming to make this process a hassle-free endeavor and promising miraculous results. And while we admire assisting and admonishing the lost, we always believe that the best thing to do is to enlighten them first.
Book Writers have multiple options to opt for when going for their book publishing and we will try our best to explain each as best as we can.
Large Publishing Companies
Also referred to as Trade publishers, these are the companies that have expertise in full scale, mass publishing of books and have large global book chains as their client. These companies are established enough to offer financial advances to popular author. They sign publishing contracts with authors and offer royalties on book sales.
Such Companies are well riveted in the market and capitalize on their established offices and financial stability to craft elaborate marketing strategies and schemes and deploy thorough publishing and advertising campaigns. They employ a whole school of dedicated sales people who leverage on their market credibility and reputation to accelerate the sale of the book of their authors to a wide reader base.
These companies almost never take risks with a novice author who might be new on the literary map and any author willing to get their books published by them can only reach out through a seasoned literary agent.
Some recognized Publishers are: Harper Collins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House
Mid-size Publishing Companies
Not big enough to be declared large scale but quite well networked, these are the publishing companies that usually have a profit-driven goal of their own. They focus, more often on the profits and mostly cherry pick literature that might draw in large reader attention and churn up healthy profitable revenues for them. They also incline toward manuscripts that dispense information that might be instrumental in reaching their strategic or corporate ambitions.
Many Mid-size publishing companies are sponsored and affiliated with institutions like NGOs, media groups and Universities and thus more attentive towards the literature that might be in line with the missions and objectives of the sponsoring organization.
The publishing process is little less intimidating and overwhelming for small time, new writers but the royalties and profits they offer are smaller. They are less likely to publish authors that doesn’t have profit-generating profile. These companies are more receptive of the nonfiction genre, a proclivity that can be credited to their functional approach and mode of operations. While profit-centric companies don’t publish manuscripts that are not reviewed and refined by literary agents, many Mid-size publisher welcome direct submissions by author if the author can ensure compliance to their publishing procedures.
Small Publishers
Most receptive of new beginner writers, small publishers or independent publishers as they are usually referred to, are more eager to toy around, explore and experiment with novels themes and manuscripts.
Manuscripts with an unorthodox theme and specific target reader base are openly invited and endorsed by small publishers. There are small publishers that are mission specific and will cater to literature that enlightens on their mission and goals, gives lessons for public knowledge or informs on ways that can propel a progress a cause.
Due to the size and fiscal limitations Small and independent publishers often lack the most up to date marketing and publishing apparatus, and don’t have the right connections to get their book sales to sky rocket. This might be a downside for authors who are toiling with literature to reap some financial benefits for themselves. For such authors small and independent publishers encourage the authors to take charge in the promotion and marketing of their own book. They assist such authors by educating them with marketing stratagems and sharing with them the limited marketing, advertising and promotional accoutrement. They also encourage the practice of simultaneous submission where an author can submit their book to alternate publishing houses at the same time. They are the best option for authors or writers that are dedicated more towards spreading information about a cause or mission and don’t have an economic goal associated with their writing endeavors.
Hybrid Publishing
This publishing scheme engages the author and the publishing company simultaneously where each contribute with their resources to publish the manuscript. A common practice is that the author pays for the publishing assignment and gets the major share of royalties from the sales. The Publishing practice is also addressed as Assisted Publishing, Cooperative Publishing, or Entrepreneurial Publishing.
Such a publishing practice minimizes the fiscal risk of publisher as the publishing cost is payed for by the author and offers the greater share of the profits to the author is the book sells well on the market.
Brooke Warner, Writer’s Digest are among the most notable Hybrid Publishers.
Self-Publishing
Authors are the whole and sole in charge of the entire book publishing assignment including the marketing and promotion. The publishing practice was made popular by the prominent emergence of publishers like Amazon and Barnes and Nobles that offer print-on-demand options for small scale publishing of limited number of copies according to the sales demand.
The scheme has been popular as it eliminates the need of literary agents, query letters and book proposals and an author can easily handle the whole operation with a little guidance and counseling from experts that offer their services in self-publishing.
There are a school of tools and platforms like Calibre and Sigil and Ingram that are making this practice the quickly adopted scheme.
With all the options available there are still titbits and details that might be too technical for an author or individual who is not attuned to the ways of the literary. BookWriter.co are a team of hardworking, smart and creative professionals who can concoct ingenious marketing and promotional strategies and execute perfect publishing plans for your book sales to soar.
